Chapter 9: Danny POV

The Demon was coming up the stairs as I was walking around the corner. "Mr. Hyde, I trust you found your accommodations suitable?" I didn't trust my voice not to be gushing over how lovely they were, so I settled on a curt nod. "Excellent. Do you wish to meet with the Earl and Lady Phantomhive to go over your details on the young Master's education?"

"Best to do that first," I said. I followed him and thought about all the things Grell had written about him. If I put aside my Reaper knowledge, if I slipped back into myself - into me, as Daniella - I could see how one would find the Demon attractive. In fact , at the night at the pub, my one night I had dressed in a dress, letting my feminine side out, I had to acknowledge there would have been an attraction to the physical nature of the man. Demons usually clothed themselves in beautiful Human flesh, capturing their prey with their handsomeness and their beauty. They would drip words of desire, and make one wish and long, and then give in. My foot hit the granite floor of the vast entry and I took a breath; it was a Demon, nonetheless.

I was next lead to a beautifully decorated receiving room, where the Lady was standing by the window, and the Earl was sipping tea. They turned as the Demon lead me in, and the Earl offered for me to sit, his wife joining.

"Thank you for coming so promptly," the Earl said. "I know you indicated you were eager to start, but this is great timing. I have to leave for a trip for a week in a few days, so this gives us time to get Vincent settled in your care before I leave."

I nodded and took out my notebook, not terribly different from my Reaper book, but this one had actual notes in it. "I did have a few things we should discuss before I proceed. Namely, that if your son is indeed acting out, you should leave the discipline to me. Best he gets a firm hand that can be monitoring him constantly. Not that I doubt you have the time, Lady Phantomhive, I believe that, even so he is at home, he should still feel as if he is at school."

Lady Phantomhive nodded slowly. "Yes that makes sense. I can agree to that. And your next item?"

"Next, if I can see his previous makers and any work he has done before I arrived. This will let me know what has he mastered and what he has yet to perfect."

Again the Lady Phantomhive nodded. "Sebastian can get those for you."

"Very good. Lastly, are there any specific things you wish me to concentrate on?"

The Earl shifted and placed his cup down. "He is a representative of the Phantomhive family, and will one day take over as the head of the family and the businesses." He looked over my shoulder and I imagined he was looking at his Demon. He focused back on me and smiled softly. "When he has displayed more discipline, perhaps you will allow me to take him for business adventures? To expose him to a few other things - real life applications of your classical tutoring, perhaps?"

I smiled. "Sounds like a fine idea. I shall make sure he is well disciplined within the month." I looked at the pair and again wondered what had possessed the Earl to summon and make a Contract with a Demon; he seemed very well rounded. "Well," I said, closing my notebook, "those were my only items."

The Earl and Lady rose and I stood as well. Lady Phantomhive came over and told me she would take me to see her son. I nodded at the Earl and walked with the Lady out to the entry and down a hall, lined with windows, once more over looking the gardens.

"You must be very proud of your gardens," I noted as we passed the windows.

Lady Phantomhive smiled and nodded. "They are Ciel's, but I do enjoy them when they are in season. The bushes will be blooming with red berries as it gets colder and our Gardener is wanting to put in some new electric lights he saw in London last summer. Ciel isn't sure if he wants it so bright. The nice thing about being out here in the country, surrounded by so much land is that we can go to the roof and star gaze. I hope to help Vincent learn the stars." She paused and smiled at me. "I do hope you can help us. Ciel is worried - he will never say so, but he is. And Sebastian is doing the best he can, but you are needed more." She pushed the library doors open and I saw the boy sitting on the floor, beside the one Tanaka had called Baldroy, counting the silverware. I raised an eyebrow and noted there were many more spoons than knives and forks out.

"Ah, my Lady!" Baldroy said, getting up with a groan. "Vincent was just showing me his numbers and his imagination."

"That is fine, Bard," Lady Phantomhive said. "Vincent dear, if you can come here?" The boy got up from the floor and eyed me, as he walked.

"I'm not going to listen to another teacher, mum," he muttered as he came to stand beside her. He looked up at her and wrinkled his nose. "I don't like him."

"Now, now, Vincent, you haven't met Mr. Hyde yet," she said, bending a bit and smoothing his hair back. She straightened and turned to me. "Mr. Hyde, this is Vincent. Vincent, this is Mr. Hyde, your tutor."

He looked at me and my hand, hanging between us, and then looked back at me. "I don't want to learn any foreign languages. They are hard. Or writing. I hate writing. If you want me to read a book, you should read it to me, I don't enjoy reading silently." He looked me up and down and narrowed his eyes at my waist. "You must be as old as Mister Sebastian wearing those watches around your waist."

I pulled my hand back and smiled at him. "And where shall I put it young Master Vincent?"

"We have clocks around the house. Use those." He turned and walked back to Baldroy who was rubbing his hand on the back of his neck and met my eyes.

"Ah sorry 'bout that. Baldroy, but you can call me Bard, if you want," he said, sticking out his hand. I shook it and was glad for the American accent that was so friendly. In the meantime, Lady Phantomhive had moved the young Vincent to the side and was sitting, pulling him to sit on her lap. She bent low and was talking to him, and he was frowning, looking at me occasionally. "He can be a real smart child," Baldroy said, making me turn my attention back to him. "A bit spirited, but a smart one. He will make the Master proud when he is older."

"Yes, well, we are also concerned in making him proud now," I said finally. "Besides, no child should dictate to their teacher what they will and will not learn. Perhaps this sort of attitude went over well in boarding schools, but he still is in need of schooling. And I am his tutor, and educating him in various things is my job."

"Etiquette included, eh?"

I smiled at the young Master who was being pushed by his mother to walk toward me. "Etiquette included."

"I'm sorry Mister Hyde," Vincent said, sticking out his hand. "I was rude for no reason and that was improper."

I shook his hand and pulled his head up by placing a finger under his chin. His green eyes flashed in defiance and I smirked. "Now, look me in the eyes and say it one more time."

"I'm sorry Mister Hyde, sir. I was rude for no reason and that was improper."

The look in his eyes told me I would be dealing with his behaviour right off. "Don't do it again. I am here to help you become the young man your parents wish you to be. Now, I do believe Mister Sebastian is fetching some of your former work, so in the meantime, please kindly help Mister Baldroy to clean the silverware from the floor."

"Yes, sir," he muttered and I watched as he shuffled over to the pile he and Baldroy were counting earlier.

"Well, that was impressive, Mr. Hyde," Lady Phantomhive breathed as she watched her son. She turned to me and smiled. "I shall leave you to it. I am sure Sebastian is on his way with the school records you requested. Will you need anything else?"

"If you could fetch his coat. I think we will sit outside and do a lesson while we walk. Clean air does help the mind function better."

Lady Phantomhive smiled again and Baldroy passed us by, carrying the box of silverware. "I'll send Mey-Rin with the coat. Do you require one?"

"No, my jacket is quite enough."

"Of course. Well, welcome the Phantomhive Manor. I will be in the drawing room entertaining my brother for the rest of the afternoon," she said, leaving and shutting the door.

I turned back to the young Master and tried to imagine if he was my own child. He would be loved, yes, as I loved my sisters, but I wouldn't allow him to behave in the manner he had descended into. "Young Master Vincent?" I began. "When the maid comes and brings your coat, we are going outside to walk. I will not tolerate any objections, is that clear?"

He looked at me and nodded. "Yes.. sir."

The door opened and in came the Demon, carrying both the requested coat and the files. He looked at the young Master and sighed. He handed me the file, and the boy the coat. "Do be kind," he muttered to the boy as he helped hIm out put it on. I looked over at the scene. Yes, I could see why the boy thought the world revolved around him. I briefly wondered if his father, the Earl, had been this way.

"I am ready," the young Master said walking over to me. I looked over the file and at him.

"I am not," I replied and focused on the page before me. I blinked. Perhaps the Demon was playing a trick, for the page before me was blank. I flipped it as if it contained important words and I had to study the next page. It too was blank. "Wait here."

"But…"

I turned and leaned down. "Wait here."

His eyes widened in surprise.

I opened the door and walked toward the entry. "Excuse me," I said as I found the Demon standing by one of the windows. "What is this?" I asked holding the file with blank pages.

"Ah, I do apologize, I meant to give that to the young master to draw on."

I looked at him and pushed my glasses up. If I could pull my Scythe out and simply end him, my paperwork would be done, the Earl would be free from giving his Soul to him, and I could retire. The magical word was if. I couldn't. I would alert too many on both sides.

"Mister Sebastian," I calmly said taking my glasses off and polishing them. I looked up and tried not to squint to see him beyond a shapely, dark blob. "Although I appreciate your assistance, I have asked for the files so I can properly teach the young Phantomhive. The files, if you please," I finished, placing my glasses back on and looking him up and down. I held out my hand as if he had them hidden on his person. He actually reached into his jacket and pulled a matching file folder out and handed them to me.

"I am sorry," he said, bowing his head a bit. "I must have mixed them up."

I turned and dismissed him in my mind, yanking the library door open and saw the young Master was mercifully still sitting where I left him. "Come, let's walk."

"Okay," he said. I eyed him. I couldn't have broken him so easily. He was plotting something, I could see it as he walked ahead and pulled the door open. He shot me a look and I heard the laughter rumbling up and out of him as he ran out into the garden, laughing and knocking a plant over. I yelled at him to stop, to not be destructive - all the things I had yelled at my own sisters when they ran around when we worked in the orchid - but the child continued to run and push over pots.

"STOP!"

Even I pulled up to a stop, and turned. The young man from before, the Gardener, came running down the path. He was angry, anyone could see. I turned to the young Master to see if he too had stopped; he had. He stared at the approaching man and seemed to shrink into a demure 8-year-old, not at all the same child who had mischievously ran away.

"What on earth are you doing?" The man asked, tears prickling his eyes as he held the broken pot and dangling plant. "The Master wanted these for your mother."

"I'm sorry Mister Finny," the boy said. "I wasn't thinking."

The Gardener looked at him and knelt down in front of the boy. "When I first got here, I was the same. But I had to control myself." He looked at the plant and then looked at me. "Mister, can I take Vincent so he can help me replant these?"

I smiled. "Certainly. I think I need some tea after that impromptu adventure." And the Gardener and the young Master left, heading toward one of the conservatories. I myself straightened my vest and walked back to the Manor. I looked up and saw a figure standing in the window looking out. I swore it was the Demon, watching me. But surely he couldn't sense me? I was in my physical form and more Human than Reaper. I frowned. The paper. It was a test perhaps, but why? Was the Demon afraid I would indeed try to sever his connection to the Earl, thus starving him and making him even more dangerous.