Merry Christmas to you all! I hope by the time you read this your hearts are filled with holiday cheer and you are having a great day :) And if you don't celebrate Christmas, I still hope you are having a magnificent holiday season ^_^
Phew, finally the chapters are getting back to a good length! This one has the lovely Nina Hopkins making an appearance, if you didn't already figure that out :D It was very fun to write lol. And I'm out of ideas for this week, only that I wish you all a happy holiday and a great new year!
The Undertaker's Apprentice
This had to be the best day of Ciel's life.
Nina Hopkins, a popular seamstress among the nobles of London, had been summoned to the mansion that morning. Ciel rolled out of bed as soon as the sun touched his covers. He quickly went about trying to make himself look as presentable as possible when the seamstress arrived, so as not to embarrass Sebastian about taking in some poor, dirty street rat.
Ciel looked through the guest room's wardrobe, trying to find something decent to wear. However, he only found a pair of pants and a shirt that looked like they belonged to someone twice his size. Wrestling with the huge clothes, he dared a glance in the mirror after he had gotten dressed. The clothes were far too big for him, but they would have to do. The shirt came to a stop around his knees, and the pants pooled around his ankles and would have fallen right off him if Ciel had not secured them with a belt. Rolling the pants up so he could walk, Ciel exited the guest room in search of breakfast.
In the time Ciel had been imprisoned by Hammond, he had almost forgotten jut how large the mansion was. It was even more impressive than he remembered. The boy wandered down the long corridors, admiring the decorations and simply enjoying the freedom to wander the place as he liked. He ventured down the grand staircase to the main lobby where he ran into Merlyn.
"Ah! C-Ciel!" she fretted, adjusting her glasses. She looked like a cat that had one too many things grabbing her attention at once. "You're up! Master wishes to talk to you in the garden before Miss Hopkins arrives in about an hour. I'll find you some better clothes in the meantime," she added, glancing at the boy's ill-fitting attire. Quickly, she hurried up the staircase and disappeared around a corner. Ciel almost felt sorry for her; she was the only maid in this entire mansion, as far as he could tell.
He continued on his way to find the garden Merlyn had mentioned. Having been to this estate numerous times, he knew his way around fairly well. Going through the pantry, he pushed open the door leading outside. He stepped out onto a stone patio, where breakfast had been laid out on a table. Sebastian was sitting at the table looking at Ciel expectantly. "Up rather late," he jeered.
"Bugger off," Ciel spat, plunking himself down in a chair and helping himself to a pasty.
Sebastian shook his head. "We can't have you cursing like a lowlife criminal, Ciel," he said, voice lethargic, "Not with Nina Hopkins here. You surely do not know this, but she is one of the biggest gossips I know. Besides the Undertaker, that is."
Ciel swallowed a bite of pasty before speaking. Maybe since he was going to start brushing up his speech, he could start with the manners, too. "And wha' ya think she's got ta say 'bout me?"
Sebastian laughed. Ciel cringed; it wasn't a good-hearted laugh, but rather a cold and sarcastic one. Though that hardly surprised the boy, considering the kind of person the duke was. "A previously unknown boy is plucked off the streets and starts living under Duke Michaelis's roof? I would think you would be intelligent enough to realize the scale of gossip and rumors that would ensue."
Ciel shrugged. "Not my problem. I'm not a member o' high society."
Sebastian looked him straight in the eyes. "Not yet, anyway," he said with a grin that made Ciel's blood temperature drop a few degrees.
Ciel decided not to question the duke's plans further and helped himself to a scone. All would be revealed in good time, and now was not the time he wanted to think about what Sebastian had in store for him.
Sebastian did not let the conversation die, however. "Starting tomorrow night, we begin researching the case again. You've spent enough time freeloading off me."
Ciel almost choked on his scone. "Tomorrow?!" he coughed, "Why tomorrow?!"
"Because," Sebastian said, "thanks to your little detour, I've got a lead. We will be attending a social event celebrating the beginning of the season tomorrow night. It's the perfect time to weasel out new information."
Ciel didn't like the sound of this. "Social event? Like dancing?" he asked, slowly forming his words, "No. Bloody. Way."
"Oh yes bloody way," Sebastian mocked, "You are helping me tomorrow at this event with getting more information about this. It's especially crucial because a number of suspects are going to be in attendance, and I fully intend to investigate them while I am there."
"But what'm I goin' to do there?"
Sebastian's eyes lit up. The boy knew this couldn't be good. "Keep me from being swarmed by the good ladies of London, of course."
"What the bloody hell are you talkin' about?"
The duke leisurely rested his chin in his hand. "If I have my hands full introducing my niece visiting from the countryside to the other nobles, when will I have the time to dance with all the young ladies and become sidetracked from the case?"
"Makes too much sense," Ciel grouched. Then he caught himself. "Wait a second… yer niece?!"
* * *
Nina Hopkins arrived exactly at ten o'clock and not a moment later. Her punctuality would normally attribute someone who was well-presented. However, her attire would say otherwise.
"Miss Hopkins, must you really be wearing that out in public?" the duke said after greetings had been exchanged.
"Of course! This is the next big thing for women's clothing!" Nina declared. The woman was wearing a skirt that came to a bit above the knee with a long coat and stockings. A pair of glasses balanced on her nose. "It is a statement for women's freedom to wear what they like!"
Sebastian sighed with impatience. "Freedom to wear what you like and disturbing the piece with your apparel are completely different things," he said, his voice marvelously polite for what he was saying.
Nina disregarded the duke's admonishments and began sizing up the situation. She pulled a measuring tape out of her bag and turned to Ciel. "This him? Oh, he'll be so much fun to dress up!" she squealed, setting to work taking the boy's measurements.
Ciel pulled his arm away and took a step back, eyeing Nina warily. "What're you going to do?" he said, carefully forming his words. What Sebastian had said earlier about Nina's gossiping habits had given him some motivation to shape up.
Sebastian slid up next to Nina and examined Ciel with a critical eye. He raised an eyebrow and tapped his chin pensively. "Hmm… there are a good number of things she could do, Ciel," he said, sounding serious but Ciel saw the mirth dancing in his evil eyes.
The boy looked away before the blush creeping up his neck could be too visible. "You said… I'd have to wear a dress?" He couldn't believe this; he was finally getting the opportunity to be with Sebastian and help him with the case, and he had to do it wearing a hoop skirt and a corset.
Wait, a corset?!
Nina descended on Ciel again, this time catching him when he tried to shy away from her measuring tapes. "Oh my, this will be such fun! You are a very beautiful child, a diamond in the rough! So many options, it's a pity it's only one outfit…!" She continued tittering to herself as she measured and poked and prodded, taking notes and riffling through the fabrics she brought with her.
Ciel cast a look over at Sebastian. Did he really have to dress up as a girl? This didn't seem necessary, no matter how Ciel looked at it. Sebastian was obviously only making fun of him. Sure enough, the duke was looking on with thinly veiled amusement at Ciel's plight. "Awfully convenient plan for you," the boy said stiffly.
"Awfully convenient for you to look so perfect for the role," the duke returned effortlessly. He didn't even bat an eye.
"Tch." This was humiliating. But then again, what did he have left to lose? He'd already given up any pride he had left at that horrible place on Cleveland Street, anyway.
Nina finished her measurements and decisions. "Alright, I've got it! Pity, there are so many other things I would love to sew for you, my dear boy!" she chirped, bending down and pinching his cheek, "You're so beautiful, anything I make would be perfect for you! Of course, I am modest about my talents," she added, standing back up and pushing her glasses up her nose with a smile.
Sebastian came back over to the two of them. "Of course you are, Miss Hopkins," he said, waving his hand. Merlyn entered the room through the already open door, carrying a small pouch. Sebastian took it and handed it to Nina. "A deposit for the dress, which I will expect tomorrow," he said. Then in a lower voice, he added, "You may find the contents of this pouch add up to more than you charged. I will trust you to not speak a word of today?"
Nina took the pouch and opened it, looking through it quickly. Closing it, she said, "Duke Michaelis, I will not breathe a word! A true feminist defends her honor, along with her clients'!"
Sebastian nodded. "Thank you, Miss Hopkins. Merlyn will show you to the door."
Merlyn lead Nina out to her carriage, and Sebastian exited the room without a word to Ciel. The boy was left standing there, thoughts awhirl with what had happened in the past twenty-four hours. But one thought was floating just a fraction higher than the others: he had not seen what was in that pouch. He assumed it was money, naturally, but they had never said so. It had been a small pouch, paid to a woman who went around designing dresses and other clothes for high class children, never thought of and rarely mentioned or remembered when a noble was questioned about an alibi.
Ciel heart sickened as the pieces began to fall into place for him, and he did not like what they were showing him.
Aaand the plot thickens! Now that Ciel suspects Sebastian, what will he do?! Come back on January 1st, New Year's Day, for more! Start your year off with a new chapter (after celebrating with your friends and family, of course lol)!