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"He causes trouble because he is bored, I'm sure. There are only so many days a young man can spend in even a mansion before he is bored."
"Well, how do you propose I fix that? He's really only intelligent thanks to studying, he knows very little practically. The world can't care for him."
"How can you know if he's not prepared for 'the world' if he never goes out into it? Most young men his age are already working, most of his class running the family's business to some capacity. I'm sure that if you give him the opportunity to rise to an occasion, he would do excellently. Besides, a little work to occupy him would keep him out of trouble."
"Most young men his age are already married." Vincent sighed, seeming to have missed the point of Francis' advice.
His sister raised her brow slightly.
"What kind of trouble would marriage keep Ciel out of?"
Vincent shot a short glare towards his butler, standing dutifully and motionlessly in the corner, before crossing his legs the other way and leaning back casually. Sunlight, already orange in the setting sun, filtered in through the open windows, casting slats of shadow across the butler's pale, attractive face.
"I simply feel that having such a bond with another gives one more reason to look after oneself. It's much harder to be seduced with anything when you have a beloved already by your side."
Francis laughed sharply,
"Tell me, Vincent, does Ciel love Elizabeth? If he does not now, that will not change with marriage. If anything, I believe that an unhappy marriage makes a man far more susceptible to...seduction, as you put it."
Vincent shifted uncomfortably.
"Of course he loves Elizabeth." He argued, though unsurely. "Every time she comes to call, he goes out and gathers a new bouquet for her."
"But does he ever come to call for her?" Francis countered.
Sebastian blinked, so quickly it could have been missed.
Vincent's throat tightened.
"Sebastian, go and make sure everything is going smoothly for supper."
He ordered sharply.
Sebastian nearly smirked. Vincent somehow thought he could keep his intentions a secret from his own demon.
"Yes, my lord." Sebastian answered dutifully, turning on his heel and leaving.
He half-expected to find Baldroy quelling a fire somewhere in the kitchen, having been distracted by Ciel's giggle, something that had happened so many times before, and was pleasantly surprised to find that most everything was already cooked, just being kept warm. Similarly, he was surprised to find that the tablecloth was properly laundered, pressed perfectly and already laid, something that never happened, not when Mey-Rin had so often been rendered either clumsy or motionless by Ciel's smile, keeping all of her attention through her thick glasses. After finding both of these things, Sebastian could hardly fathom that Finny had also managed to fill all the manor's vases correctly, something he was too anxious to do when confronted with Ciel's voice.
Sebastian found that the only thing he couldn't find was Ciel, though he knew he was somewhere in the manor; Elizabeth was visiting along with her mother.
He finally found the two in the ballroom, a long-abandoned room of the house that nobody bothered to even dust anymore. Ciel was swinging Elizabeth easily, feet circling the floor as she struggled to keep up.
"-Perhaps, once we are married, nobody would think to look too closely. Maybe the suspicions will drop on both our parts." Elizabeth was saying earnestly. When she had been younger, she was as wiry as her cousin and somehow more formless than him, but perhaps thanks in part to the use of bustles and bustiers, her figure could almost rival Ciel's hourglass. Her hair, once starkly yellow, was now a faded, softer blonde, and her green eyes seemed all the sharper for it.
Ciel sighed airily. He was wearing an earthy gray instead of his usual blues and greens, complimenting Elizabeth's dress and eyes, and he had styled his hair specifically to please his aunt. He had even let Elizabeth tie one of those ridiculous bows around his neck.
"I would hope so, Lizzie, but haven't you noticed that-"
Ciel paused to dip Elizabeth elegantly, and she laughed happily.
"-adults are always so much more scrutinizing of married couples? You know that if we weren't cousins, we could never even be alone together, much less dance alone. Right now, it's expected that we stay apart, but after marriage, we're expected to be much closer."
He lifted her again and resumed his waltz, though she tripped and swayed clumsily.
"How can you dance like this with no music?"
She asked in exasperation. Ciel chuckled and swung her about instead of responding.
"Besides, Ciel, it's easy to look like you're in love with someone in public; you do it to me all the time even now. All we have to do is that. Nobody could tell what happens behind closed doors as long as we're smart about it."
"Do you think I don't love you?" Ciel asked, and Elizabeth shot him a look.
"Not the way you should." She challenged, and he laughed before returning to the subject.
"I want to entertain the idea of a faithless marriage, Elizabeth. I do. But even here, where Father would no doubt have us live, closed doors do not exist. The staff of any building know everything that goes on in it. Isn't that right, Sebastian?"
Ciel suddenly turned towards the side door where the butler was peeking in. Elizabeth flushed darkly and jumped away from her fiancé, clasping her hands behind her back primly.
"Absolutely everything. But you underestimate the loyalty of this staff to your family." Sebastian responded, smile as remorseful as Ciel's responding one.
"No, I don't." Ciel sighed airily, and Sebastian knew he was right.
"Besides, Elizabeth, there's a very easy way to guarantee the staff doesn't speak of your affairs, isn't there, Sebastian?" Ciel extended his hand to Elizabeth again, who hesitated.
"What is it?" She asked demurely.
"You have your affairs with the staff." Ciel responded jovially, like he was joking, but his face was as flat as stone. Elizabeth gave a scandalized shriek as Ciel swung her back into the waltz.
"Am I wrong, Sebastian?" Ciel asked playfully.
Sebastian's laugh came out like a bark instead of the chuckle he had tried to refrain it to.
"Unfortunately, you are as right as ever, young Phantomhive."
Elizabeth gawked suddenly.
"Wait-I thought-Mey-Rin-"
"-Oh, flirting with Mey-Rin wouldn't be nearly a serious enough offense to make my father try to push our marriage up to this spring-he even does it, though he's so bad she can't tell. You do it!"
Elizabeth flushed, but didn't deny.
"No, my father has too many reasons to count for adding another padlock to my cage, and unfortunately, Lizzie, he sees you as nothing more than that padlock." Ciel continued.
Elizabeth was still surveying Sebastian suspiciously, and didn't seem to catch what Ciel had said.
The butler was beginning to look rather uncomfortable, and shifted his weight slightly.
"I hate to be bothersome, Ciel, but you promised to show me the garden, and we still haven't gone." Elizabeth pouted, and Ciel laughed distantly.
"What would you like to see first?" He asked obediently.
"Show me the roses!" She demanded, already pulling Ciel towards the door.
He only glanced back to Sebastian for a second before being shuttled outside, leaving him alone.