Chapter 1: Memorys
It was a sunny summer day at the Phantomhive manor. Finny, the gardener, was looking after the plants. Well some of them. Sebastian had strictly forbidden him to do anything other than pulling out weeds. Usually Finny followed the butler's orders, but in this case he just couldn't bring himself to abandon his work. Mournfully the gardener looked at his old masters rosebushes. They had been his pride and joy. "Why? Why did it have to come to be like this? Young master…" the young one thought barely holding it together.
Three years ago his young master had disappeared without a trace. No one knew why or how. Most people thought he had been kidnapped by some burglars. Others were speculating the young earl had travelled into hell, where his soul would rot forever. Finny had never heard something so stupid. Sadly the hard facts were that his master had not been found. The Phantomhive servants stood before a mystery that not even the all-knowing butler could unravel.
Often he asked himself why his master left them. On the other side Finnian could not help but feel guilt for not sensing his lord's pain. Tired he sighed and made his way to the rosebushes. "Good morning, young master! It's a beautiful day, right? I hope it won't rain today. Sebastian has forbidden me to come out and talk to you when it rains. Something about getting wet and sick. I don't care. He can say whatever he wants, I won't stop coming to this place. Do you remember the first time we met between these bushes? It must have been three and a half years ago. I ran to this place to hide from Sebastian, because I had kicked a tree a little bit too hard. And you had been sitting here and looking at me…"
"Oh god! Run Finny, run! Sebastian must be around to scold you ones more!" These thoughts flew the mind of the young gardener as he made his escape from the "crime scene". As fast as he could he ran towards some bushes at the other end of the manor. Frightened he sprinted behind them and crouched down.
"Finnian, what are you doing on the ground?" a voice behind him said. Slowly he turned around. On a bench sat his young master in all his glory. The young earl looked with an expression of curiosity at the gardener. "I...I am sorry, my lord. I did not see you there. I'll leave immediately." With these words the older one stood up and turned around to go. The next words out of his masters mouth stopped him: "You haven't answered my question, Finnian. You are hiding from Sebastian, or?" "Eh…well…" Finny turned back around. "I don't want to bother you with my problems, young master." Ashamed the gardener averted his gaze. The young earl chuckled. "You're not bothering me. I am also hiding from Sebastian so maybe we could hide together, eh? Come sit with me." Surprised looked at his master who just pointed at the place beside him on the bench. Hesitant Finny sat himself next to the young earl. "I do not want to intrude but why is the young master hiding?" A sad expression flew over the young one's face before he covered it with his usual mask. "Nothing to major. I may have sneaked into the kitchen and eaten the cake he prepared for tea." The older one laughed. "Young master! I never pegged you for a bad boy!" His master chuckled. "Susan would say: 'Sometimes it's the people no one imagines who do the things no one can imagine or in your case, dear Ciel, everyone could see that coming!'" Confused the gardener furrowed his brows. "Who is Susan, young master?" The earl looked at him for a moment before he laughed. "Oh, I am sorry. I forgot you didn't know her yet. Susan is a good friend of mine from London. I met her during a case. Actually she's going to come over this evening for lunch. I am sure you're going to like her. She's really sweet and funny when she wants to be." Finny was surprised how easy it seemed for the young master to talk about this woman. Of course it would be normal for his master to look for a new wife after his engagement with Lady Elizabeth had been dissolved. As far as the servants knew both parties had felt that there was only a family bond between them. Of course Lady Elizabeth still came over often to spend time with her cousin and they often had tea time together. The young earl had said he was too young to really enter another engagement so no one complained and left him in peace. That was just another reason for Finny to wonder who this mysterious woman was. "Young master...is this Lady a candidate for the title of Lady Phantomhive?" His master looked shocked at him. "No! Oh god, no! She's a very good friend! Nothing more. I do not look for a wife at the moment." Finnian was shocked by this outburst. "When you say so, my lord."
The young master sighed then stood up. "Come along, Finnian. Enough laziness, we both have a lot to do before Susan arrives." "Yes, my lord!"
With these words the two figures made their way towards the manor and towards an exciting evening…