"Ah, so you all have returned," Jasper said, putting down his gardening tools as Daniel parked the carriage in front of the Redwood Manor. "And good timing too, since a guest had just arrived."
Daniel raised an eyebrow.
"'Guest?' What guest?"
Getting out of the passenger's seat, I opened the door of the carriage for Edna and Christine.
"Well, about twenty minutes ago, a man came by on horseback and requested to see you, Lady Edna," Jasper explained. "I have no idea who this man is, but he seemed well enough, judging by the way he was dressed. Very tidy too, which I was pleased to see, except that inappropriate, disgusting long hair..."
He began to ramble to himself. Edna crossed her arms.
"Jasper, where is this man?" she asked. "Did you catch his name?"
"Unfortunately, I could not get a name from him, he refused to tell me," Jasper answered. "He was also very persistent to see you, my lady."
He sighed.
"I really didn't have a choice but to take him to the manor and have Martha take care of him. I did not want to make it look like you were not a hospitable. I hope you can understand that."
Edna gave a small nod.
"I see. You did well, Jasper. I shall go see who this man is. Sebastian, Christine, accompany me."
She then started to make her way towards the manor. Having an uneasy feeling in my stomach, I was close behind her with Christine, while Daniel and Jasper took care of the carriage.
"Are you sure you should see this man, my lady?" I questioned softly to where only Edna could hear me. "Doesn't this...seem a little suspicious to you?"
"It does, but I have no choice, since he is already in the manor," Edna replied, her dark eyes staring straight in front of her. "From what Jasper described, this man may be a fellow nobleman or businessman. I can't afford anything to dampen my reputation."
A small smile formed on her red lips.
"Besides, if anything were to go wrong, I know you would protect me."
"I..."
I stuttered a little.
"...I will do whatever I can."
Edna chuckled softly in reply. Soon enough, we arrived inside the manor, me closing the door behind us.
"Martha, I have returned," Edna called out.
A minute past before Martha came down the hallway, mix emotions of relief and uncertainty glowing on her face.
"My lady, I'm so glad you have returned safely," she said with a small bow. "You too, Christine and Sebastian."
She made eye contact with Edna.
"Did you run into Jasper when you arrived? Did he tell you about...about our guest?"
"Yes, and I would like to see him."
Martha nodded.
"Right this way, my lady. He is in the lounge now."
She turned around to go back to the lounge. Edna soon followed, however she looked back at me and Christine, signaling me to come with her but not Christine. Christine gave an uneasy look, but obeyed without a word, heading back outside to help Daniel bring in our luggage. With me at my lady's side, we slowly came to the lounge.
Inside, I could see that the man was sitting in a chair, his back toward us. I saw there was a tea cup by his side, as he elegantly took a hold of it and slowly brought it up to his lips.
"Lord Black, Lady Redwood has now returned from her trip to London," Martha announced as she approached the man's side. "She is now here to see you."
The man, apparently named Lord Black, an awfully dull name, sat his tea cup back on the small table.
"Excellent."
Getting up from his chair, he moved past Martha and came face to face with Edna and I. Lord Black was a very tall man, wearing a nice black suit and tie with a dark, newly worn top hat. He had very pale skin and long black hair that was tied back, with spectacles in a similar style like mine, only thinner and a dark brown color that protected his bright hazel eyes.
Our eyes met for a second, and I felt my body turn to ice. Damn...damn does he look amazing! But...his looks were not what was making my body tense up so much. I could not understand why, but all I wanted to do was to get Edna away from that man. I felt that she was in danger, that I was in danger.
Ugh...I could feel an extremely painful headache coming on...
"I am honored to finally meet you, dear Lady Redwood," Lord Black finally said, his voice having a thick accent to it. "I hope I'm not intruding on you, as I had no idea you were not present at the time."
"...It is fine," Edna replied, her expression unreadable, "you had no way of knowing."
She walked closer to him and it took all of my self-control not to grab her wrist and pull her back. This guy was bad news, I could feel it deep down...even if he was very good looking...
"However, I would like to know why you are here and came without any notification," Edna continued. "It is a bit impolite to just show up like this."
Lord Black smiled.
"Indeed it is...and I apologize for it. But I do have my reasons to show up as I did."
He cleared his throat.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Lord Meriwether Black. I am a lord from Scotland and a distant relative to the late Lady Nora Holloway."
At the mention of Lady Holloway's name, both Edna and Martha froze, their eyes wide for a split second. I could sense a feel of panic coming from both of their souls, tensing up like someone accused them of a horrid crime. I blinked, slightly puzzled by this reaction, and even more so, that a relative of Edna's mentor was here at her manor. Edna regained her composure.
"Oh...you are?" she asked. "That is...unexpected. I didn't know Lady Holloway had any living relatives..."
Lord Black smiled.
"Like I said, I am a distant one and I've only found out about her recently. I just came to Britain not long ago, and was very surprised to see that a new noble, one that isn't related to her by blood, now occupies her manor and wealth."
Wait...what?
I looked over at Edna, seeing if I could see a reaction for her. And while her outward appearance was stiff and calm, her soul seemed to be panicking from within. Even Martha seemed slightly fearful.
"I-I was a close friend to Lady Holloway before she died," Edna finally answered. "She had no living heirs to give her fortune to, so she gave it me as I was like a daughter to her."
Lord Black's eyes glowed slightly.
"Ah, I see. That would explain it. At least it did not go to waste."
A smile slithered its way to his thin lips.
"I again apologize for my rudeness. I hope you do forgive me for it, as I was alarmed at first to see my long-lost family member's estate in someone else's hands."
There was a short pause.
"...No, it is alright, Lord Black," Edna said. "And I am sure we have a lot to discuss..."
Lord Black took a gentle hold of Edna's hand. My eyebrows rose up.
"Please, just call me Meriwether, as I tire of such form titles all the time."
He gave a brief kiss on her hand, and then meeting her gaze.
"You understand that, don't you?"
Edna blushed slightly.
"I...yes, I understand perfectly."
She cleared her throat, clearly uncomfortable. I clutched my fists.
How...how dare he...!
"Oh, what is this," Lord Black said, looking as if he just now noticed me. "Is this one of your servants, my lady? I never noticed he was there."
How could you not notice me, wearing this bright red coat?! And we made eye contact earlier! What is this handsome man playing at!?
"I am one of Lady Edna's butlers," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "My name is Sebastian."
Lord Black smiled, his eyes looking deeply into mine.
"A pleasure to meet you."
I narrowed my eyes, noticing he still had a hold of Edna's hand.
"Likewise."
Edna cleared her throat.
"Well...let's go to my study so we can discuss the issue privately, Meriwether."
She freed her hand from his grip and started to head out of the lounge.
"Would like me to escort you and Lord Black, my lady?" I quickly asked.
Edna shook her head.
"It is not necessary, Sebastian. But thank you."
She then left the room, Lord Black behind her. He walked right passed me, our eyes meeting for the third time. And in his eyes, I could have sworn I saw a great evil in them.
Similar to what happened in London, my headache's pain grew unbearable as I placed my hand over my forehead, my body feeling like something was cutting into me, like a sharp, uneven blade...
"Sebastian, are you feeling alright?" I faintly heard Martha's voice. "Sebastian?"
"I...yes, I'm fine."
Resisting the pain my body and head felt, I turned my back towards Martha.
"I...need to lie down for a moment," I explained with an uneven smile. "I'll be in my room if you need me."
Without waiting for a reply, I walked as fast as I could to my bedroom, without causing too much attention to myself. Once I was completely alone, I fell face first onto my bed, my world fading to the dull black I hate as the pain became too much.
It was hard to tell how long I laid asleep, but it felt like an eternity when the pain finally faded away.
Ugh...it felt like these headaches get worse every other time I have them.
I slowly opened my eyes, my vision unclear as my specs had smudge marks on lenses. I groaned, taking off my specs and slowly sat up. Damn...my head still ached slightly. Walking over to my dresser, I grabbed a cloth and cleaned up my specs. Once I put them back on, from the mirror, I could see that a small cup of tea laid on my nightstand. ...Where did that come from?
Hearing my door open a tiny bit, I quickly turned around to see Martha taking a peak inside.
"You're awake. I'm glad to see that."
She gave a small smile.
"May I come in, Sebastian? I would like to examine your head, if you don't mind."
"...Sure. I guess."
I walked over towards the door and opened it wider for her to enter. Martha stepped inside, carrying with her a small, simple medical kit.
"I was very concerned with the way you ran off to your room like that," she said as she sat the kit on my dresser. "And when I heard the comment from Daniel that you have had severe headaches before, my concern deepened."
She looked at me from the corner of her eye.
"Have you drank that tea I left out for you? It is a special herbal tea that is supposed to help with headaches."
"I've only just woken up," I replied, sitting down on my bed. "And I'm sorry I had worried you or any of the others."
I took a drink of the tea. My eyes widened, as the cool liquid had a strong, bitter taste to it. But it was not unbearable, so I took continuous small sips.
"I forgive you, however it is not good to keep medical issues like that a secret, especially with the head injuries you had received barely a month ago."
She sighed.
"Keeping all your pain inside in order to make yourself look strong, you are just like Lady Edna in that way."
Grabbing what she needed from the medical kit, Martha sat right next to me and examined my head.
"It would see you've known our lady quite a long time, from the way you said that," I commented.
Martha nodded.
"I have. I've known her since she was eighteen, seeing her become the woman that she is today. She has had a tough life, and no matter how hard she struggles, she will never show any weakness if she can help it."
"...I see."
I glanced up at the elder maid.
"Tell me, if you've known Lady Edna for this long, then does that mean you knew Lady Holloway as well?"
There was a long silence, Martha pausing in her movements.
"...I suppose you would be puzzled by what Lord Black had said," she said, continuing to examine my head. "What he said is true, that this manor was indeed the late Lady Holloway's. When she passed away, it was meant to be put for sale since there was no direct heir to her legacy. That was, until it was revealed that in her will, Lady Edna Redwood was to inherit it, being the closest thing Lady Holloway had to family."
"So...not only is our lady the head of her own family's fortunes, but Lady Holloway's as well? Is it possible to be the head of two different families?"
There was a short pause. I could sense the hesitation coming from Martha, making my curiosity grow more and more.
"...I would advise you not to continue questioning this sort of thing, Sebastian," Martha finally said, her voice flat and stern. "You are a servant, and these matters do not concern you. Please, keep quiet about it and just allow our lady to handle the situation."
Now there is an interesting response...
Judging by the way Martha had coldly responded, I decided to drop the subject, at least for now. A few minutes of silence passed, till Martha had finally finished checking my old head injuries. When she was done, she stood back up and put away all of her medical supplies.
"Well, it would seem that your external injuries have healed perfectly," Martha said. "And from what I could tell, I couldn't feel any internal cracking in the skull or something like it."
Once her things were back inside the kit, she turned to face me.
"I'm not a doctor, but I would guess that your headaches are just a way of your memory returning. Have you remembered anything during those headaches or have tried to remember something when they happen?"
Carefully, I explained all of my past experiences with my headaches. Though I left out some details, like how familiar Edna looked to me when I first met her, the red tint I had once seen in Daniel's eyes, the evil look in Lord Black's bright gaze, and my accounter with Undertaker. Things like that...I wanted to make sure stay to myself, as they were things I needed to figure out on my own. When I had finished, Martha gave a small nod, her expression deep in thought.
"I see... Well, it would seem they are very unpredictable, but at least they show that you may indeed eventually get your memory back."
She studied me for a moment.
"Have you considered, or have you already, seen a professional doctor about them?"
I rolled my eyes.
"Daniel suggested that back in London, but I told him it would do little good. It's not like a doctor could 'magically' heal internal injuries, specifically mental ones."
I avoided eye contact, hearing a soft sigh come from Martha.
"I cannot force you, but if they do get worse to the point where Lady Edna gets worried about your health, she will force you to go see one. She cares about you, as do the rest of us."
She then made her way to the door.
"Just remember if you start to feel like one of your headaches are about to happen, let one us know so that we can give you that tea to help soothe it. Take it easy, Sebastian."
And with that said, she left the room, leaving me alone to my thoughts.