Though I would give anything to have Lord Black out of the manor at this very moment, I would not be able to lay a finger on him until I found a way to disprove his claims to the manor. Which meant I needed to focus my attention on getting more information about the Holloway family. However, there would be a lot of complications. I couldn't go directly to Edna for information in case she or Lord Black got suspicious as to what I was trying to do, same with Martha. So I had to see if I could get anything from the others, hoping they would at least know who Lady Holloway was.

The next morning, as I prepared to start my morning duties, I saw Christine in the library dusting. I stepped into the room.

"Good morning, Christine," I said with a smile.

She turned to look at me.

"Good morning, Sebastian. How are you feeling today?"

"Great, got a lot of good sleep last night."

Christine smiled.

"I'm glad to hear! When I've heard you been getting those awful headaches, I was really worried about you. I'm very relieved to hear you are feeling better."

She continued to dust.

"A lot has happened since we've come back from London. It is nice to have a calmer morning, making it almost seem like everything is normal."

I leaned against one of the bookshelves.

"I agree," I replied. "Lord Black really has really changed the atmosphere here since he unexpectedly arrived. Along with the shocking news of this manor being the late Lady Holloway's."

It took a moment for Christine to reply.

"Yes...that was shocking to hear. And now Lady Edna's reputation and fortune is on the line because of that man..."

I nodded.

"That would be the case...however I don't trust this Lord Black. I mean, he just shows up out of nowhere and just claims to have relations to Lady Holloway without any proof to it! I don't think anyone can just storm up towards an aristocrat's estate and just claim to be the rightful owner."

"Yes, but if he really is who he says he is, then there is nothing we can do about it," Christine said sadly. "We just have to hope for the best."

Hope for the best? Like hope can do much.

"...Well, it was nice talking to you, Christine," I said, "but I really need to get working before Danny gets mad at me for slacking off...again."

Christine giggled.

"Alright. And I don't want to be the one who gets you into trouble."

A small blush made its way to her cheeks.

"...Sebastian, do you think Daniel would get mad at me if I started calling him Danny too? I know he hates it when you do it, but it is such a cute nickname..."

I smiled.

"I don't think he will object to it too much if you called him that. After all, there is a big difference between you giving him a nickname and me giving him one."

I winked at her.

"I wish you luck getting close to him!"

With Christine's blush gaining more color, I left the room to get start on my own work.


It wasn't till late afternoon when I was able to take a small break from my duties, as both Daniel and I had to be on our toes with Lord Black around. Though the lord mainly occupied himself in his room, we had to make sure everything was perfect if he randomly decided to take a walk around the manor or something. It made me angry that we had to do all this work for him, the bastard who would probably be better off dead than alive...

It may be horrible of me to wish death upon Lord Black, but it was something I could not help but feel. Even if my ideas of a death for him were a bit...graphic, graphic enough to even disturb myself a little.

Shaking my head to get Lord Black out of my thoughts, I made my way to the kitchen to get something to drink. There, I saw Simon beginning to prepare tonight's dinner while Jasper, covered in sweat, sat in a chair drinking some water. Jasper saw me come in from the corner of his eye.

"Hello, Sebastian," he said, sounding exhausted. "Did you need something?"

Hearing Jasper say my name, Simon turned his gaze towards me.

"Just getting something to drink, " I replied, grabbing myself a cup from a nearby cabinet. "This is the first break I've had all day, so I'm extremely thirsty."

Jasper nodded.

"Same here. I've been working outside all day and I've only now just came in."

"And that's only because I forced you to come in," Simon added in. "You obsess over that guardian to the point of overheating yourself."

He grabbed a cutting knife and began to cut some vegetables.

"Summer is almost here, Jasper. You can't allow yourself to forget like that."

Jasper growled slightly.

"I'm sorry, though I need to make sure the garden looks its best in case Lord Black decides to see it."

He wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"Bloody bastard...thinks he can just waltz in here and take away Lady Edna's home like this. If I had known who he was...I would have never had allowed him to come within these walls!"

I looked over at him.

"I take it you don't like him too well?" I asked.

Jasper gave a soft laugh.

"Who here does? I've only seen the man a couple of times, but I can tell just how he presents himself that he is up to no good! And to have a claim like that...doesn't that make him seem suspicious, after what supposedly happened here?"

'Supposedly happened?'

"It does seem strange that he wants this manor," Simon replied casually. "I remember it being a shock when Lady Edna first claimed it herself; after all, there was huge talk of burning the place since no one in their right mind would want to live here after the murders."

"Wait, murders?!"

I gave both Simon and Jasper confused and alarmed looks.

"Uh...care to explain what you mean by that?"

Jasper and Simon stared at me for a few seconds.

"...That's right, you wouldn't know since you had your memory loss," Simon finally said. "And I sometimes forget that even though it was big news in London at the time, not too many places outside know about it."

He cleared his throat.

"Twelve years ago, Lady Holloway and her servants were all murdered inside the manor. It was a gory mess, the whole interior from the walls to the ceilings covered in blood, while the exterior was perfectly clean and untouched. It was like a demon of some kind just swept inside the manor, destroying everything in its path without having to break in. When the two surviving maids, who were out of the manor at the time of the murders, called for help from London, Scotland Yard did all they could to track down the murderers, as no one man could do this kind of damage by himself. But, as hard as they tried, they were never able to find the killer, which left the people here in the nearby countryside and London uneasy."

"I...see."

I paused.

"...And yet E-Lady Edna still accepted the manor, knowing about the murders?"

Simon nodded.

"She did, and I respect her for taking it with its dark history. Made it easier to settle in when I first came here, knowing that someone was confident that the past was the past and was moving on."

"It sure was," Jasper replied. "Then again, we were desperate for jobs, so there really wasn't any room to complain. Especially since these jobs were better then some of the gritter, filthy ones back in the city."

He got up from his chair and got some more water from the sink.

"You know what's interesting, now that I think about it? The Holloway Murders remind me of those murders that happened in London not too long ago. You know, those Jack the Ripper prostitute killings?"

Crash!

My cup slipped through my grip as the name 'Jack the Ripper' went through my ears.

"...Sebastian?"

I could feel both Jasper and Simon's concerned looks. My head throbbed with an overwhelming pain. From that name, I could feel like my brain was desperately trying to recall a memory, or even memories, while also blocking it at the same time. I began to hear women screaming, flashes of red and tangled limbs, and a familiar voice in the back of it all.

"'Jack the Ripper?' Such a savage...to call us... ...ungrateful whores, who can't understand how blessed they are to have... While my hatred is strong, it does not... You would not understand my struggle. Your kind never..."

"Sebastian!"

I felt Jasper hold me up, as apparently I was losing my balance. But with memory and reality merging together, it was hard to tell what was truly going on.

I no longer felt myself standing in the kitchen of the Redwood Manor, but now standing in the dark streets of London, my body soaked with bright red blood with blood smears on my glasses, blurring my vision. I could feel the heavy weight of the weapon I was carrying, it too drenched in blood; my hair sticky and tangled and the sides of my mouth aching with the large, psychotic grin I had on my face.

"A whore beautifully covered in her own rich, red blood!" a voice that was mine, and yet was not mine, exclaimed. "I really am a 'butler' to die for, aren't I, dear madam?"

"Jasper, get Sebastian to his room," I faintly heard Simon say. "I'll get Martha and then start making that special tea for him."

"Right!"

With the vision of London slowly merging away, I could feel Jasper dragging me away…