Catherine's POV

A month passed since the Campania incident. Upon arriving back at the manor the servants literally threw themselves onto us. I couldn't blame them for being worried. My grandmother was just as relieved to see I was okay along with Aunt Briar, Uncle Edward, and Levi.

Sebastian and I had been very eager to see Esme and it was a cute reunion. Sebastian had been the first one to hold our daughter since she was a Daddy's girl. When I finally held her I refused to let her go for a good while because I missed her terribly.

It took a few days to get back to the usual routine at the manor but it was good to be home. However Ciel, Sebastian, and I were now heading to London due to a new case. According to the false queen's letter there was a string of odd murders happening. We didn't need know the details and Scotland Yard I seriously doubted would help us meaning we had to see the Undertaker.

I kept my promise and took care of his funeral lockets. It was time they were returned to their owner.

"I want to talk to Undertaker first" I told Ciel and Sebastian firmly.

Ciel saw the serious look on my face and nodded.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" my husband asked.

"No love this is between me and that damn reaper" I confirmed. "Don't worry I don't plan on harming him"

Esme gave a little laugh and I looked to my daughter. I was currently holding her and her laugh made me smile.

"Perhaps she has the Undertaker's sense of humor" Ciel suggested.

My brother's remark was actually funny and it made me chuckle along with Sebastian. The carriage came to a stop outside of the funeral parlor. Sebastian took Esme from me and Ciel wished me luck as I stepped out of the carriage.

The lobby of the parlor was quiet which wasn't unusual. The mortician definitely was here because his scent lingered all over the room.

"Lady Catherine this is a surprise"

The coffin closest to me opened and the retired reaper smiled at seeing me. His voice was the same deep tone as it had been from that night. The mortician exited his coffin and before he approached me I slapped him hard across the face.

"Oh my" the reaper said.

A red hand print was visible on his cheek.

"How could you do that to Sebastian?!" I demanded. "Do you have any idea what you put me through?!"

"I had my reasons Lady Catherine" Undertaker answered. "However I am truly sorry for what I did to your mate"

I was going to say something else but I heard the honesty in his voice. The two of us looked at one another for a few minutes before I finally spoke.

"I believe this is yours" I held out the funeral lockets.

"Thank you for taking care of my treasure" the mortician thanked me before taking the funeral lockets from my grasp.

I only nodded before I went back outside to tell Sebastian and Ciel it was okay to come inside.

"Good lord" Ciel muttered seeing the large hand print on the Undertaker's cheek.

Sebastian was quiet and he eyed the silver haired reaper with caution.

"So what can I do for you three today?"

The mortician now had his signature tone back and he was smiling.

"There's been a string of unusual murders happening" Ciel explained. "All of the victims are men ranging in different ages however the cause of death is unknown"

"Well my lord your in luck I happen to have a new customer who fits your description and since I laughed quite a lot on the Campania my information is free this time"

Ciel nodded as Undertaker went to a nearby coffin and lifted the lid up. He beckoned us to approach and we did. The dead man was in his late thirties and was prepped for his funeral.

"Look here" the silver haired reaper suggested pointing to a spot on his neck. We all got a closer look and two small bite wounds looked back at us.

"A rogue vampire perhaps?" Sebastian asked.

"No this isn't a vampire's doing" Undertaker pointed out. "This poor bloke was bitten by a venomous animal"

"What do you think it is?" Ciel questioned the mortician.

"My guess my lord is a snake or a spider"

At the mention of a spider both Sebastian and I growled. That bastard Claude Faustus had been a damn spider demon for crying out loud!

"My goodness little Esme is getting bigger by the day" Undertaker said breaking our train of thought. "You know I never had a chance to"

"Not a chance in hell" Sebastian growled pulling our daughter closer to him. "Your not holding my daughter after you seriously injured me reaper"

"I won't harm her demon you have my word" the grim reaper promised. "I already endured your wife's fury"

Our informant pointed at the red handprint on his cheek. Sebastian hissed before he complied with Undertaker's request.

"She is certainly your spitting image" the mortician stated the obvious.

"She has her fangs so watch out" I warned the retired reaper.

Undertaker chuckled and watching him look at Esme was interesting. He watched her with a large amount of affection and then it bloody hit me!

"YOUR HER MATE?!" Sebastian and I exclaimed.

"SAY WHAT?!" Ciel added.

The silver haired reaper giggled.

"I was wondering when you would figure it out"

"How long have you known?" I demanded.

"Since I saw her for the first time" Undertaker then pressed a kiss against Esme's forehead and she emitted a purring sound. Both of my eyes went wide as did Sebastian's.

"Due to her age at that time she didn't sense me as her mate" Undertaker notified.

Now it made sense what he was talking about. Esme had been too young at the time when the Undertaker first saw her. The mortician then handed Esme back to her father.

"Since you are her mate I will accept that but mark my words reaper I won't tolerate it should you try to harm me or my wife again" Sebastian threatened.

"I won't" the silver haired man promised. "I've seen Lady Catherine's temper demon and it even scares me"

Ciel snorted at the reaper's remark and I rolled my eyes.

"Before we go can you tell us if the murder was supernatural related?" I requested.

"I'm afraid not" Undertaker answered with a shake of his head. "But I will keep an ear out"

Back At Townhouse

"If I were guess those bite marks were from a spider" Ciel informed me as Sebastian began to clean up the dinnerware.

"I think your right" I agreed with my brother. Esme was sound asleep in my arms thank to the large amount of milk she gorged herself on.

"We need to investigate harder to find out if we are right and who is responsible" Ciel continued. "I hate spiders"

"Same here I remember one time we were playing hide and seek with Lizzy in one of the gardens back at the manor and a simple garden spider scared the three of us"

A smirk came to Ciel's lips.

"Your reaction was pretty funny"

"You shouldn't tease your elder sister kiddo"

My remark made Ciel chuckle and I ended up doing the same. I needed a damn shower due to my thoughts thinking of spiders. Once Esme was asleep in her bassinet I took the shower I craved. I brought my nightgown into the bathroom this time in case Sebastian was already waiting for me.

I found my husband standing over the bassinet watching Esme sleep.

"Being overprotective again?" I teased the demon coming up to his side.

The butler chuckled before looking to me.

"I guess you could put it that way it will take time for me to accept that reaper is her mate"

"Trust me love I'm just as surprised as you are"

I then winced and Sebastian took notice.

"What is it my love?"

"Nothing much my back is a little tense"

An amused smirk appeared on Sebastian's lips and knowing what he wanted I went to the bed and lay on my stomach. I lowered my nightgown until it reached my hips and buried my head into the pillow. It wasn't long until Sebastian's bare hands began to massage the tense muscles in my back.

"Little Dhampir you are very tense" Sebastian corrected.

"It's probably from carrying Esme around"

"I wouldn't be surprised" my husband agreed as he continued the massage which felt wonderful. He didn't finish until a half hour later and my back felt better.

"Do you want one?" I asked Sebastian as he took off his shirt.

"I'm fine for now my love" Sebastian answered. "Or was that an excuse to try and seduce me?"

I snorted at his question. The butler chuckled before picking up a book.

"I think you might enjoy this it's a new fantasy novel"

He handed me the book and I read the synopsis.

"You have a good eye demon" I praised. "You should try reading Moby Dick"

"Oh? And what's the plot line?"

I told him about the book's synopsis and let's just say the demon was now determined to read the book about the murderous white whale.

I think is having problems with their review system folks but I can still read them through my email. Hopefully this gets resolved soon!