"Now, how exactly did this happen?" demanded Sebastian. Bo could tell he was trying very hard to remain calm and she had to fight the urge to smirk at his annoyance. Despite her feeling of smugness, however, not even Bo could enjoy the small victory when the garden was half-dead, the tea sets were all shattered, and the meat had been charred.
"We're so sorry, we didn't mean to!" Mey-Rin and Finny apologized in unison. She sighed and rolled her eyes as they hugged Sebastian around the waist and began sobbing apologies uncontrollably.
"Calm down, all of you," scolded Sebastian. "In fact, you should try taking a page out of Tanaka's book and start behaving like –" Suddenly, the head butler paused and stared at the older man. He smirked and Bo knew he had come up with a brilliant idea. "Everyone, listen closely and do exactly as I say, understand? We must be quick about this. We might save this night yet..."
Bo raised an eyebrow but said nothing as she listened to his plan. Despite her contempt for Sebastian Michaelis, not even she could deny his ability to think on his feet. Then again, if he couldn't do that much for his master, then what kind of butler would he be?
Bo stood nervously with the other servants at the entrance to the manor as they waited for Damiano's carriage to arrive. Only Sebastian seemed calm, though his posture was tense. As the carriage pulled to a stop, Sebastian stepped forward to open the door for the guest. Damiano was a handsome man, with longish brown hair and blue eyes which stood out against his tan skin.
"How impressive!" exclaimed Mr. Damiano as he took in the garden. Sebastian's quick thinking had transformed the dead brush into a beautiful Japanese landscape.
"Hello, welcome sir!" the servants greeted in unison, bowing respectfully.
"This is called a stone garden," Sebastian explained as he walked with Damiano. "It is a traditional feature in Japan."
Damiano clapped his hands together happily. "Ah, prodigioso!" he exclaimed. "Wonderful! Truly an elegant garden!" Bo held back her sigh of relief as the two men made their way towards the other servants.
"We thought it appropriate to serve dinner al fresco this evening," continued the butler with a kind smile. "Isabo will escort you inside until the meal is ready." Bo nodded to the gentleman and bowed once more.
"Welcome, sir," Bo greeted warmly as she looked up at him. "Shall I take your coat?"
"I should have expected this from a Phantomhive," Damiano declared. "I cannot wait to see what else is in store!" He handed Bo his coat and hat and entered the manor with excitement.
"We actually did it," Baldroy sighed as the servants cheered happily. Bo grinned.
"Who would've thought a dozen bags of gravel could turn into an amazing garden?!" agreed Finny.
Sebastian was his usual cool self though. "Naturally we were able to handle this," he said confidently. "We serve the Phantomhive family, after all. There's still work to be done. Let's take care of it while the master is talking business with his guest. Look sharp now."
"Right!" The other servants split up as Bo followed after Damiano.
"Miss Stuart?" Sebastian called after her. Bo fought the urge to roll her eyes and turned back to him. "See to it that you act carefully around Mr. Damiano." Before she could ask what that meant, he was already off to continue making preparations for dinner.
Damn that butler, Bo thought as she made her way to where Damiano was waiting. He's so irritatingly vague. Nonetheless, the black-haired woman forced a smile as she entered the manor and hung up Damiano's coat and hat. "Forgive the wait, sir. Master Phantomhive is expecting you in the drawing room."
"Molto bene!" declared Mr. Damiano. "I cannot wait to see the esteemed Master Phantomhive once more. It has been so very long since we last met. Is he well?"
Bo nodded, making sure to keep her expression blank but pleasant. "He is," she replied simply. "The young master been looking forward to this meeting for quite some time." That was a lie; Ciel couldn't have cared less about this meeting, and to be honest, neither could Bo.
Even so, the words had their intended effect as Mr. Damiano straightened proudly. Stroking his beard, the Italian grinned broadly. "Is that so?" he said with a smile. "Well, as have I." Bo nodded and hid her smirk at how easy it was to puff up such a simple man's ego. She imagined Ciel would have laughed at her words. As we walked, Bo pretended to not notice the sideways glances Mr. Damiano shot at her. "Earl Phantomhive must be very lucky to have such loyal and capable servants," he finally complimented.
"The young master is kind and understanding," she replied simply. "He's the sort of person who makes people want to please him." Bo fought back another smirk as she pictured Ciel's annoyed glare at her words. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy praise, but for some reason he considered compassion a weakness, one he preferred Bo didn't announce to others.
Regardless, most guests enjoyed seeing the softer side of the Earl Phantomhive, and Mr. Damiano was no different. "Ahh, yes, that sounds like a master worthy of the Phantomhive family name. However," added Mr. Damiano, his tone suddenly secretive. "If you ever get tired of this dusty old manor, I would be more than happy to take you on. As an assistant, I mean." Suddenly, Bo was reminded of fat old Mr. Brown grinning at her hungrily back in that old shop. Almost as soon as the image appeared, it was replaced by a memory of Sebastian and his warning words. So this is what he meant by 'acting carefully'.
Bo forced herself to smile pleasantly. "I appreciate the offer," she replied politely just as they reached the drawing room. Opening the door, Bo motioned for Mr. Damiano to walk ahead of her, which he did.
Ciel was already seated in the drawing room. On the table in front of him was a board game – created by the Funtom company, naturally. Bo recognized it almost immediately and smirked behind Damiano's back; it was one of Ciel's favorite games, and one of the few she could never win.
The young master stood as soon as the door opened, his expression as sour as ever, though his gaze seemed to soften when it landed on Bo. "Welcome, Mr. Damiano," he greeted, shaking the older man's hand. "It's a pleasure to see you again." Damiano returned the greeting easily and the two sat down. Bo took her usual place behind Ciel and awaited orders as the two men began playing.
"The progress we've been making with the East India Factory is quite amazing," said Damiano as the young master spun the top. "We already have the makings of a top-notch staff."
Ciel didn't seem to notice. "Bewitched by the eyes of the dead," he said. "What terrible luck. It appears I lose a turn." He shook his head as if disappointed and Bo fought back a grin. As if a little bad luck would ever prevent Ciel Phantomhive from winning.
"Right now is the perfect time," continued Damiano uncertainly. "We should begin expanding the company and building a strong labor force –"
"Go on it's your turn," prompted Ciel, obviously uninterested in the man's words.
Damiano looked down at the board as if just realizing that it was there. "Oh yes. I just spin this, then?" He spun the top and moved his own piece accordingly. "Okay there, five spaces. Now, what I wanted to ask you: Perhaps if you could contribute another twelve thousand pounds to support our expansion? I believe it would be quite a profitable venture for you, my lord. And I would consider it an honor to help expand the Funtom company –" Even Bo could tell the older man was growing impatient but the young lord was unfazed as ever.
"Lose a leg in the enchanted forest," commented the dark-haired boy. "And it's your turn again. I lost a turn, remember?"
"Oh, I see." Another spin. "Right, I move six." Damiano went to move his piece, but Ciel stopped him.
"You don't. That's three," corrected the young Earl. Damiano looked at him, his brown eyes filled with confusion. "You lost a leg if you recall," Ciel explained. "Now you only move half the number of spaces."
Damiano nodded in understanding, though Bo could see the disgust in his blue eyes. "Oh my. This is a gruesome board game, isn't it? Is there no way for me to restore my leg, then?" he asked in an attempt to be lighthearted.
Unfortunately for Mr. Damiano, his question only had the opposite effect on the already melancholy boy. "I'm afraid once something is truly lost, sir, that one can never get it back again," replied the young master. Bo watched him sadly as she realized just how true his words were. "Your body is burnt by raging flames," said the young boy suddenly, continuing the game as if nothing had happened.
Before anyone could speak further, the drawing room door opened to reveal Sebastian. "Pardon the interruption," he said, nodding to Ciel. "But dinner is served."
"Oh, dining out in that exquisite stone garden," said Damiano, clapping his hands together excitedly and Bo could tell he was glad to escape the game. "Shall we go, my lord?"
Ciel seemed to consider this before nodding reluctantly. "Very well," he acquiesced. "We'll finish the game later."
At this, Damiano paled. "Oh, is there any real need to finish it? It's obvious I'm going to lose," he pleaded. Bo hid her smirk at his distasteful look.
Ciel's mood instantly darkened at his words. "I'm not in the habit of abandoning games halfway through," he said simply as he stood to leave. Bo immediately moved so that she was standing beside the young boy with her back to the door, ready to escort both men out.
"How childish," muttered Damiano beneath his breath. Almost in unison, Sebastian, Ciel, and Bo turned their heads towards the Italian, their expressions dangerous. Realizing his mistake, Damiano quickly backtracked. "I mean, it takes a child's eyes to see what's really important. It's a true gift. Maybe that's what's made the Phantomhive family the nation's foremost toy makers. It certainly impresses me." Damiano smiled kindly at Bo as Ciel huffed, rolled his eyes, and left without another word.
Hiding her scowl at the brown-haired man, Bo turned to see Sebastian glaring at Damiano with narrowed eyes; it seemed she wasn't the only one annoyed by Damiano's comment. Even so, Bo couldn't allow her temper to affect her work. "Mr. Damiano," Sebastian said suddenly, interrupting the black-haired woman's train of thought. "If you don't mind, Mey-Rin will now escort you to the garden."
Damiano looked at Bo as though disappointed. "And what of Miss Isabo?" he asked. She fought the urge to flinch at his use of her full name. Damn Sebastian Michaelis for not calling me by my bloody nickname as everyone else does.
"Forgive me, sir," Bo apologized as she forced herself to bow apologetically. "I'm afraid I have some duties to attend to for the young master which must be taken care of immediately. I will see you tonight after dinner though. And, please, call me Bo." This seemed to pacify the older man, because he nodded and allowed himself to be led away by Mey-Rin who had entered with Sebastian.
Once Damiano was gone, Bo immediately turned and began cleaning up the teacups and such, taking care not to disturb the game on the table; she was all too aware how picky the young master could be about his games. When the door shut, she assumed that Sebastian had disappeared to join Ciel and Damiano in the garden, which is why Bo nearly jumped ten feet in the air when his voice broke the silence.
"Nicely done, by the way," Sebastian said. Bo cursed as the tea set nearly fell out of her hand before catching it and turning with a raised brow. "With Mr. Damiano, I mean. You even got him to offer you a job. I half expect a marriage proposal will appear by the end of the night."
Bo narrowed her eyes at the butler. "I merely acted with the hospitality befitting a servant of the Phantomhive household," she replied curtly. "Mr. Damiano was merely polite, as was I. And even if he did propose, that's no business of yours." Picking up the tea tray, she made my way past Sebastian with a humph.
"Would you say yes?"
Bo froze. "Excuse me?" she asked, keeping my back to him.
Sebastian's footsteps echoed throughout the drawing room as he stepped closer to her. "If Mr. Damiano proposed," he clarified. She fought back a shudder as his breath brushed across the back of her neck. "Would you say yes?"
Sebastian's red eyes burned into Bo's green ones as she whirled around to face him angrily. Her irritation outweighed her discomfort at his proximity and Bo felt herself step forward instead of back. "How dare you?" she demanded in a hiss. "Who are you to question me and my loyalty to Ciel? I owe him my life, and I intend to repay that debt for as long as he will have me, regardless of who he chooses to associate with." Sebastian's narrowed his eyes at the dig, but she ignored him. "So, no, I would not say yes to Mr. Damiano even if I was remotely interested in him, which I am not."
By the end of her tirade, Bo was breathing heavily and she had somehow ended up far too close to the butler for comfort. Stepping back, Bo took a deep breath and reigned in her emotions. Bo was normally never the type to show her irritation, but Sebastian had questioned her on a topic she considered fairly sore, something which seemed to be a talent of his.
"I apologize for my rudeness. It won't happen again," Bo muttered before turning around and walking out.
"It's quite alright," replied Sebastian, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Just remember that the young master wasn't the only one there that night." Deciding that she had dug a deep enough hole for herself that evening, Bo ignored his comment and let the door close behind her with a thud. Even so, as Bo walked, she couldn't shake the feeling that perhaps she did owe Sebastian Michaelis something as well, and she shuddered to think what he would do in order to collect that payment.