The Earl of Phantomhive and his unnatural crew left shortly after refreshments were served. To say that Eleanora was relieved would have been a massive understatement; she could have kissed her worst enemy for joy.
Unfortunately, that joy was short-lived. The Earl and company returned the next day.
And the day after that.
And the day after that.
And the day after that.
The butler Grell was as innocuous as ever; nobody cared about him; nobody looked for him; nobody talked about him. Unfortunately, the butler Sebastian was as beloved as ever. The footmen admired him and the maids adored him, and frankly, Eleanora couldn't blame them. She hated to admit it, but he was absolutely perfect. Modest, kind, helping, encouraging, supportive, handsome, good-humoured with an ability to tell a perfect dirty joke followed by a perfect little smirk…He was almost too perfect, which was why Eleanora was suspicious of him.
That, and the fact that she was convinced he was going to murder her in an alley at some point.
He didn't play favorites, although the maids frequently wished that he would—in their favor, of course. He treated everyone equally, helping them, smiling at them, complimenting them…Eleanora also wished that he would play favorites so he would leave her alone. She never talked to any of the servants while he was in the room, so he only cozied up to her when they were both alone in the same room—an occurrence that happened much more times than she wanted.
"Good morning, Miss Black."
"Mornin."
"Can I help you, Miss Black?"
"No."
"Are you sure, Miss Black?"
"Positive."
"If you're sure, Miss Black…"
"Positive."
"If you need something, Miss Black, please don't hesitate to ask."
"Uh-huh."
Then he'd smile his perfect smile and linger for a few moments, irritating and frightening her by turns.
She knew that he knew something about her. She knew that at some point, he would make a move. She knew that, once the move was made, she would never be able to escape. If life was a giant game of chess, she was a queen, able to make whatever moves she wanted to if given the chance, but the other pieces were slowly closing in on her, restricting her available moves, cornering her until the last possible moment…
But not all of her moves had been blocked off yet.
She accidently left a newspaper lying around, a newspaper opened to the "Help Wanted" section, a newspaper which the Earl's butler promptly saw.
"You're considering another occupation, Miss Black?"
"Hm? Oh yes."
"Nearby?"
"Oh, preferably no. I'd much rather go someplace far, far away."
"Oh? Like where?"
"Like darkest Siberia."
He had laughed, his eerie perfect laugh that always sounded as if he was mocking her. It frightened her; she had to make a move quickly; she'd discuss quitting with her employers next week…
The Earl made his move the very next day.
"You know how I said, Mrs. Standfield, that your servants are renowned among the nobility? Well, I have a little problem: I'm going to host a ball and I'm afraid that I'm running low on help…Could you possibly spare a maid?"
Mrs. Standfield, of course, was honored for one of her "specially-trained" servants to help an Earl with his ball, and any doubts that she might have had were instantly erased when Ciel presented her with five invitations: one for each member of the family and two guests.
"In order not to cause friction between the servants," the Earl said to the servants, lined up before him, "my butler shall close his eyes and point at one of you—randomly. Sebastian?"
The butler smiled and stepped forward and closed his eyes. Everyone gasped and whispered to each other, each wishing each other luck but praying that they would be one to be chosen. Eleanora couldn't stop staring at the butler; he was still smirking as if he knew a secret.
Mrs. Standfield hushed the servants and the butler raised his finger, moving his arm from side to side, slowly, slowly, before landing on Eleanora.
There were more gasps and whispers and the servants congratulated her, even though they all knew that they were jealous of her.
The butler merely smiled at her while Mrs. Standfield told her to go upstairs and directly pack her things.
"I don't think that it was a random selection at all," she confessed to Bella, who had followed her upstairs.
"Don't be ridiculous; it was perfectly random; he had his eyes closed and everything," she scoffed.
"But I think that maybe, somehow…he knew who to pick…"
"Are you saying that he would have chosen you over me?"
Eleanora quickly dropped the subject and packed her things.
The butler held the carriage door open for her, which she ignored and got in without his assistance. The aristocrats and the butler Grell were already waiting for her. Then the black butler got in himself and the door closed, leaving her surrounded by enemies.
She was trapped.
The Earl sighed and stretched.
"Thank god that's over," he said. "I hope I never have to deal with that woman and her brood ever again."
"Now darling," Madam Red said, trying to be diplomatic, "be nice."
"But did you hear her? Putting on airs like that, pretending that she knows everything? Disgusting! It hurt to hear her. I think my intelligence has been significantly lowered just by being in the same room with her."
"I'm sure you didn't have far to fall," the butler Sebastian said quietly, so quietly that only Eleanora could hear. If someone else had said it, she would have probably laughed, but as it were, she remained stony-faced.
"Well, no matter," the Earl said, leaning back in his seat. "Now then, Miss Mary Ann…"
"…That's not my name," Eleanora said, surprising herself. It was rude to correct employers, especially rich powerful employers with butlers that looked like murderers.
"Oh! Really? What is it, then?"
He didn't sound angry; just genuinely interested in knowing her name.
"E-Eleanora Black, sir," Eleanora said hesitantly.
"'Eleanora?' What a pretty name! Isn't that a pretty name, Sebastian?" Madam Red asked the butler, who merely smiled.
"Thank you, milady," Eleanora mumbled.
"Now then, Eleanora," the Earl resumed, "we understand that you have some knowledge concerning the recent murders of nobility. We would be most interested in hearing it, so if you would kindly divulge the information…"
The carriage suddenly stopped.
"Oh, bother!" Madam Red said and stuck her head out the window. "Some kind of jam or something. It'll be over within a minute."
True to her word, the carriage started up a few seconds later.
"So, Miss Eleanora," the Earl said, turning to her corner…
Eleanora was gone.
They looked around for her vainly until Grell pointed out the window:
"Look!"
…And they saw her running like hell away from the street and the carriage, heading directly into a very dark and dangerous alley.
"Move, Sebastian," Ciel growled. "Go bring her back."
Sebastian did a small bow.
"Certainly, my Lord."
And he left the carriage to pursue her.