Chapter Ten:

"I apologize, Mr. Jones. Your call was... unexpected." Niahm's eyes fell to the man beside her. Fingers tightened gently around the arm he had offered her when they began their stroll through the gardens. "It seems you have very bad timing when it comes to meeting with my step-brother."

Alfred only shrugged, smiling back to her. "Maybe it's a sign that I should stop trying to pay my rent." He grinned at the weak laugh escaping the lady in black beside him. A glance back at the estate house resulted in the American slowly raising an eyebrow. "Your brothers make it seem like I'm going to steal you away," he said as curtains shuffled in an upper story window.

He turned back at Niahm's scoff to find a scowl on her face. "Don't flatter them; all they care about is making sure I don't go about tarnishing the good Kirkland name." She shook her head but turned to look up at the windows with a frown. "I hope that was Cailean... That boy's been awfully aloof this whole day." Turning her eyes to the ground, the young Irish woman softly sighed. "If I may be so bold as to offer some advice, Mr. Jones?"

Alfred looked down at her, his eyebrows threatening to disappear in his hair line. "And what would that be, Miss. O'Hara?"

Tired teal eyes slipped back up to behold Alfred's face, crinkling weakly around the corners with a forced smile. Tenderly, she patted his arm before releasing him and walked ahead. At the doorway Niahm paused, turning her head to the side as she braced herself against the broken stone with her raised palm. A gentle tilt of her head had her barely looking back to him.

"Don't get involved with those brothers if you want to get out alive."

Frozen, he was left alone in the garden to watch the apparition of black fade away around a corner. Alone amongst the plants, his eyes widened at the chill slowly gripping his spine. All his hair stood on end, causing the young man go ridged. Whipping around, he scowled up at the window; the curtains snapped shut.

"…get out alive, huh?" He smirked, giving the window a final look-over. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he began walking out of the secluded floral wilderness. "Sounds like a challenge."

"What does, sir?"

Stopping short, Alfred twisted his torso to the side. Manon stared back up at him from where he crouched beside the bed of creeping vines. Raising an eyebrow in question, Alfred tramped over to the valet. "What on earth are you doing?"

Manon quickly adverted his eyes. Shoving his fingers back into the tangle of vines, he went back to pulling them apart to expose the earth beneath. "Something trivial, sir. Bit of an embarrassment on my part." He sighed softly, head hanging before he stood to face the American. "Was there anything you needed? Perhaps I could escort you to the drawing room for some tea while you wait for his Lordship's return?"

"…isn't he upstairs?" Alfred questioned, raising a hand to point towards the windows.

"Afraid not, sir." The valet shook his head. "His Lordship left for business in London with his brother earlier this morning. Only the Mistress and the young lords are in residence at the moment. I apologize for the inconvenience." Manon frowned when he noticed Alfred was no longer paying attention; the blonde's eyes were busy scanning the estate's windows with a slow-forming scowl. "Sir?"

Jumping, Alfred turned an apologetic smile to the valet. A hand crept up to sheepishly rub at the back of his neck as he chuckled. "Sorry I just thought I saw…" his voice trailed off at the unamused expression on Manon's face, and he quickly hid his words behind a laugh. "Sorry, sorry. What was that about a drawing room?"

Manon looked the other for a moment, sighing as he turned back to the house. "This way, sir."

Author's Note:

Oooh, a short chapter! That's almost like finding a shiny pokemon... Anyways, more to come soon. Allons-y!