Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji

Chapter Four

"It would seem that you've added some new servants since the last time I visited, Earl," a silky voice stated, addressing the young earl but watching me closely out of the corner of his eyes.

I had pulled a calm exterior onto the outside, but on the inside I was a trembling wreck. If it hadn't been for my mother's training to prepare me for a life in high society, I would've been shaking uncontrollably. As it stood I still was jumpy and unsettled.

I knew that if I'd still been a member of society that I would never have acted like this in a million years. I would've have been safe from a man like him. There were many reasons for the broken betrothal between us, one of them being for his treatment of female servants. It was no secret of the scandal that he conjured up in society when a maid from one of his acquaintance's manor claimed that he raped her. Of course money and power hid such things and she'd quickly recanted her previous claim, but that didn't change the fact of how unsettled I'd felt around him after that. My mother had thankfully broken off the pre-arranged marriage soon after, much to my relief.

But now I was a maid, and though I knew I was safe in the mansion among the other staff, I still had fear clutching at my stomach painfully. I feared him and rightfully so. He had more reason to pursue me now then he ever had for any other servant. I was the one who'd gotten away.

Ciel glanced up at Dupont- I refused to address him by his first name- from over his half-filled cup of tea and then over at me quickly before his gaze returned to his tea.

"It would appear so," he responded dryly, but not harshly.

Dupont nodded and smiled lazily, "Certainly is quite the looker, isn't she?"

I flinched at his words, disliking the way he let the words easily slide off of his lips. He spoke it as if he expected something out of the comment and I didn't dare try to imagine of what.

The loud sound of glass coming together rather roughly caused me to jump and my head snapped up. Ciel had placed his tea cup back onto the saucer harshly, in what I could only assume was either annoyance or anger.

"Please reframe from talking about my servants in such manners, Dupont," he said calmly, but even I could hear the underlying threat in his words. It was scary to think a child of his age could be so intimidating, but I silently thanked the heavens that he was my master and not someone like Dupont.

"I'm sorry, my lord, please forgive me," Dupont said, quickly trying to right his blunder.

I hide a small smirk by bitting the inside of my lip, it served him right.

I quietly moved closer to Ciel, knowing that what I was about to would be like rubbing salt into Dupont's open wound. Embarrassing oneself in front of a higher noble would be bad enough for him, not to mention that the said noble was younger than him, but having a mere servant ignore you would be a thousand times more humiliating.

"Would you like more tea, my lord?" I asked sweetly as I stopped at the arm of Ciel's chair.

Ciel didn't glance at me, but he held out the saucer holding the cup with one hand, "Yes."

I gently took it and poured some for him, before delicately dropping in the right amount of sugar and avoiding the cream. I was proud of myself for remembering the way he liked his tea, this would just make it all the sweeter when I would see Dupont's face. I doubt he would expect someone like me to make a good maid, let alone know her master well.

"Here you go, my lord," I said softly, giving him back the saucer with the tea cup.

"Thank you."

I curtsied and stepped back, watching as surprise and then anger flashed across Dupont's face as being purposely forgotten. My scheme had been quickly caught onto by the earl, for as soon as Dupont made to open his mouth for what would have likely been a degrading remark Ciel cut in with a devious smirk.

"Now I believe it is time for us to discuss business," Ciel began his grin growing towards the end. "After all that is what you came all the way here for, isn't it?"

Dupont swallowed hard and slowly sunk back into his chair. He quickly adjusted the scarf around his neck and cleared his throat.

"Of course."

"Tessa," Ciel addressed me without looking back towards were I stood. "You may take your leave and prepare for dinner tonight."

I curtsied, "Yes, my lord."

I picked up the tray of tea and silently exited the room through the double door entrance. I was lucky Ciel hadn't scolded me for acting so rashly like that and ignoring a guest. Even if he had I would have taken it because I had deserved it, but he hadn't and that puzzled me some. It told me a lot about his character, but I didn't know him well enough to piece the few things I did know about him together. Besides those pieces I did know could be fronts of his and therefor I still didn't know anything.

I sighed and walked quickly towards the kitchen. Dinner wouldn't be for another hour or so, but preparations would consume much of that time.

I knew when I was getting close to the kitchen when I heard the racket. A chorus of crashes, thumps, and bangs rung through the hall making my ear drums ring. Things certainly were much more lively back here.

I pushed the door open to stumble into a chaotic scene. Bard was picking over charred meat that was beyond help at this point, Mey-Rin tip-toeing on a stepping stool as she struggled to reach the top shelf with all the good china, and Finny was squashing the potatoes he was supposed to be peeling. I let out a soft sigh and stepped into the mess, wondering where Sebastian was while all this chaos was going on.

"What's going on in here?" I asked, placing the tray of dishes I was holding into the sink.

Everyone looked up at me and smiled broadly, greeting me with a chorus of, "Tessa!"

Finny blushed and looked down at the mess of potatoes, "I was supposed to be peeling these."

I frowned to myself in thought as I went over to the mess. The potatoes looked more like mush than anything else. I picked through them, unfortunately Finny hadn't gotten any skins out of the mess of potatoes. The color of the skins caught my eye, a dull purplish-red color and I smiled knowing just how to fix this mess.

"Finny, did you boil these before you peeled them?" I asked thoughtfully.

His bottom lips pouted out, "Yes, why did I do it wrong?"

I shook my head and grinned, "Well usually I would say yes, but this time you did well. Here's what we're going to do."

I picked one of the few potatoes that had been spared and picked up one of the mashing tools from the counter. Carefully I smashed the potato and added it to the rest, skin and all. Finny and the other servants gasped.

"What are you doing?" He cried.

I laughed lightly and repeated it again with another potato. "When I was at a dinner party in Paris once, we ate a dish made of mashed red potatoes with the skin included. Apparently the skin adds texture and flavor, along with nutrients."

Finny's eyes grew wide, "Wow, you're amazing, Tessa!"

I blushed and wiped my hands off on a dish cloth, "Don't say that, I was only helping you. Besides it was the chef of the dinner party that had taught me that. I deserve no credit."

"You sure know a lot for this being a first time working as a servant," Bard stated, leaning onto the counter. "What were you before this?"

I looked down at the dish cloth in my hand and replied softly, "A noble."

"Huh?" He asked again, clearly not having heard my soft response.

I turned to look away ashamed as I spoke my response louder.

"A noble."

Three collective gasps rang out and I flinched.

"Really?" Finny asked, his eyes sparkling if that was physically possible.

I turned bright red and nodded, "At least I used to be."

"What was it like?" Mey-Rin cried, crowding me.

I took a step back, "It wasn't really anything too special."

Mey-Rin frowned, "Really?

I turned away and went to work cleaning up the mess in the sink. I sighed and glanced back at the three of them crowding around me with awed looks on their faces.

"It was actually quite boring of a life really," I explained quietly. "I mean I was pampered by the servants and I got to go to formal dinners and balls during the season, but I always secretly envied the servants. They had a purpose to their lives, while I lived to just be doted upon. Don't get me wrong, I loved every minute of it and would never have wished to exchange places with them, but I did want what they had."

"So how is it that you are so good at your work?" Finny asked.

I smirked and glanced back at him, for once feeling a tad smug, "I was trained by my mother who believed I needed to know how to know some knowledge on household chores. The rest I learned from entertaining myself as a child in the kitchens and servants' quarters."

"Oh, can you teach me, Tessa?" Mey-Rin pleaded, latching onto my arm.

"Oh! Me too," Finny cried, latching onto me too.

I gasped in shock at their sudden attack and then smiled warmly, "Sure. How about I first teach all of you the proper way to prepare dinner for a noble?"

All of them nodded their enthusiasm causing me to laugh lightly, their eagerness to learn was pleasing. I made my way around the kitchen, flanked by the three of them, to where the black pile of meat laid on the counter. I took up the knife besides it and cut through the piece, scowling when the meat crumbled into a pile of burnt ash.

"Well this won't do," I mumbled. "No noble in their right mind would touch this stuff."

"Ouch, that hurt, Tessa," Bard mumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

I looked back at him sternly, "I was just stating the facts."

"So what are we going to do?" Finny asked, poking his head around my left side to look at the meat.

I looked back at them, "Is there more meat somewhere?"

Bard nodded, "In the icebox, want me to go get some?"

I nodded, "Yes please."

With that he took off, while I acquired the help of Finny and Mey-Rin to clean up the left over ashes of the previous selection of meat. Within minutes he was back with a tender piece of red meat. I took it from his hands and looked over it. It was of the highest qualities possible to buy in the market at the moment. Definitely something that would please the taste of both nobles, even if I did wish it to please only one of them.

"Thank you, Bard," I said kindly as I placed the meat on the cutting board.

I took up a clean knife and began to cut thin slits along the width of the meat with even spacing in between each. The three servants hovered over my shoulders as I picked up the rack of spices and carefully selected a few.

"Excuse me for interrupting, but what are you doing, Tessa?" Finny asked.

I glanced out at him from the corner of my eyes, "Just a little trick the old chef at my mansion taught me when I was a little girl. Placing spices inside the meat increases the amount of flavor that is soaked into the flesh, making it taste richer."

A collective chorus of gasps of awe rung out behind me and I smiled brightly, "How about you guys help me mix them?"

And that's how my lesson began for them. They each listened intently to what I had to say as I took them step by step through the processes of making each dish for the meal for the nobles later. I showed them each how to save time by spending time working on one dish while another was cooking and how to watch your time while doing so. By the end of it we had a lovely selection of what I knew would be one of the best meals every served to the pig that was eating with our master.

"Now herbs such as rosemary and sage can be used as decorations to adorn the plates and make them more appealing to the eye," I explained, placing a small green stem of leaves carefully onto the pile of mashed potatoes.

"Ooooo," Finny gasped. "I didn't know plants could do that."

"What's going on in here?"

All four of us spun around in our places to spot Sebastian looming in the doorway. He had on an openly curious expression that invited responses yet was still intimidating enough to keep those responses at bay. I saw the other three servants swallow hard while I just flushed a light pink.

"I was trying to teach the others how to cater to the taste of nobles," I answered quietly.

Sebastian frowned, "And what would you know of that?"

I couldn't help the scowl that became apparently on my face, as I quickly responded, "As having been one I'm sure I know at least as much as you do."

"Oh, you think," he responded slyly. "Then how about we see these dishes you created?"

I stepped aside to reveal to him the dishes. They certainly did look quite delicious. The meat was cooked to perfection, not raw but not well done either. A dark and thick gravy was drizzled over the top in a zig zag pattern, pleasing the eye. The pile of mashed potatoes sat in a corner of the plate, a nice cream colored decorated with the purple skins mixed inside and a dollop of melted butter in a spooned out section in the top. The green herb branch of leaves sat across the pool of butter at an angle. Besides that there was an assortment of green vegetables that were richly covered in a special marinated sauce.

Sebastian looked shocked at the dishes and then up at me with a more composed face, "And how do you know that this taste as well as it appears?"

This, I grinned at. That was something I assumed he knew the response to, but was checking if I did or not. All chefs checked the process of their cooking with small taste here and there. If they didn't then the end product could end up disastrous and they have to restart all over again instead of repeating only one or two steps.

"We took small taste throughout the process to make sure it was pleasing to eat," I answered simply.

"Then you wouldn't mind my checking it then?" He asked, grinning at me in a challenging manner.

I shook my head with an equally challenging grin, shocking myself with my sudden free manner. I didn't know where this sudden streak of confronting mannerism was coming from but just that it belonged to some part of myself. A part that I hadn't know existed in myself.

"We even have excess so that it wouldn't harm our master's meal if you tasted it," I said, pointing him to the three large dishes of excess food.

Sebastian confidently walked over and tasted each dish with equal thoroughness. I avoided an eye roll at his actions, instead smiled broadly in victory when I saw the look of pure shock cross his face.

"I believe that I should take these to the dinning hall before our lord becomes upset with the lateness of his meal," I said calmly, grabbing the dishes and heading out of the kitchen.

I counted the seconds in my head before I felt the presence of someone behind my back. I grinned and held out one of the dishes for him to take. When I felt the weight leave my hand I dropped the hand back under the other dish, still holding it a little to the side.

"Don't underestimate me, Sebastian," I said evenly. "I might have a few hidden talents that you don't know about."

I heard him chuckle, "Oh, I know."

He said it so quietly that I wasn't certain if he had even said it or not, but I never got the chance to ask. We arrived at the doors to the dinning hall and Sebastian opened them so that we could quietly walk in.

Even though I never got to ask any questions, something deep within me stirred at the words I thought he said. I felt they had some double meaning, something I didn't even know.

As I saw Sebastian cross the table over to deliver Ciel his dish, I locked up all my emotions and moved over to Dupont. The dish started to rattle in my hands, but as I moved closer I gained enough control over my body to be able to set the dish confidently in front of him. As soon as the dish hit the table, I moved to back away quickly but before I could get very far I found my wrist caught in a tight grip.

"You ignored me earlier, Tessa, which means you'll have to be punished," he purred threateningly, his warm breath sending shivers down my spine as he whispered into my ear.

I snatched my arm away, but not before he got the chance to run his fingers down the curve of my neck. Shaken beyond my talent of hiding it, I stumbled backwards against the wall and gripped my neck. Shivers ran the length of my body transforming me into a trembling mess.

I didn't want to imagine what he had planned for me. Nor did I want to stick around to find out what. But my pride as a maid of the Phantomhive household kept me rooted to the spot. Besides I was safe here among other witnesses, even a man like Dupont would not openly harm me in front of others. I had nothing to fear.

At least at the moment.

Dinner was a very slow event from there. My only solace from the whole thing was getting to see Ciel's face light up in surprise when he tasted the food. It was one thing to be able to cook well it seemed a whole different story to please someone who was probably used to Sebastian's cooking. I might have only been here a day, but I'd witnessed the full extent of the extraordinary dishes he'd cooked up. I don't think I'd ever witnessed a chef quite as talented as that.

After we cleared the table of the dishes, the nobles proceeded back to the drawing room where Sebastian and I had to report with desert. Apparently our master liked sweets and had quite the sweet tooth. He reminded me of my baby faced cousin that way. My cousin had always adored sweets and being the doting parents my aunt and uncle had been they never denied him his deserts. Unfortunately a fever had claimed his life before his ninth birthday and my aunt and uncle moved to the Americas to get away from all the painful reminders of him. I missed them, especially him, he was like the younger brother that I never truly had.

I hadn't been paying attention to my surroundings much as I stood there staring blankly at the wall across from me, until Sebastian's smooth voice caught my attention. He hadn't spoken the entire time we'd stood there so it surprised me to hear it.

"My lord, it seems that our guest's carriage has experienced a broken wheel."

My eyes flew wide open, oh no.

"Is there anyway to get him a new one?" Ciel asked.

Sebastian shook his head as he righted himself from his bow, "Unfortunately the Duke lives all the way on the other side of London. If someone from the mansion were to escort him home in your carriage they wouldn't be back until tomorrow evening."

Ciel sighed with annoyance, "Well I guess that only leaves one option."

He turned to Dupont, "We'll call someone up in the morning to have them repair the wheel, but for now you'll have to remain the night I fear. We have plenty of rooms available and they are quite comfortable I assure you."

Dupont grinned as I shook with absolute terror, "Of course, it would be my pleasure to remain as a guest of the Phantomhive Earl."

"Good," Ciel turned to Sebastian. "Prepare a room for our guest."

Sebastian bowed, "Yes, my lord."

He righted himself and turned to Dupont, "Follow me, sir."

Dupont nodded and stood up, but not before turning to Ciel, "I bid you goodnight, Earl."

With that said both disappeared out of the room, leaving me alone with Ciel and shaking to death. I had not taken into account before that Dupont could remain the night in the mansion. Now I very might as well be shot dead on the spot. If I so much as happened across him at a bad time I would experience something much worse than death itself.

My body was trembling uncontrollably upon hearing the news and I was very glad that the earl's chair was facing the opposite direction of me, I wouldn't want him to see me like this. I was a sight to beyond and I knew that; my face drained of all blood, my hand clammy, and body quivering uncontrollably.

I was frightened of what could happen to me.

"Escort me to my room, Miss Hale," Ciel ordered, snapping me from my terror filled thoughts.

"Yes, my lord," I whispered and quietly followed him as he left the room.

We travelled through the mansion to an unfamiliar part. This had to be the section where Ciel resided. I hadn't been shown this side so I had to assume that this was only a part that Sebastian came to, meaning that the other servants weren't allowed here as well. Which only made me wonder what I was doing here.

Ciel opened a door at the end of the hall and entered, leaving it open where I came to stand. I didn't want to step inside, that seemed to me to be inappropriate as a young woman. Ciel didn't seem to notice at first that I hadn't entered until he turned and looked at me.

"I require you're help to prepare for bed," he said simply like he had asked me for tea and not something more private.

I blushed bright red, "I-I-I can't do that, my lord."

He frowned, "And why not?"

My blush grew even hotter and I looked down, "Because that would be inappropriate for a woman to assist a male in changing."

"As I suspected," he mumbled causing me to look up again. "Sebastian didn't tell me anything about hiring a noble, but I had my suspicions. Tessa Hale, from the Hale household, isn't it?" I nodded and he continued. "Your family was very close to the crown if I remember correctly, shame to see them fall to such an extent."

Shame quickly begun to replaced my pervious embarrassment.

"How did you know?" I asked quietly.

He looked back at me, "Because no true servant would refuse an order even if it was something like this."

"Oh," was all I could say.

He shook his head, "Either way I have no intention of forcing you to do anything. I just wanted to make sure I was correct in my assumption."

I scowled as another piece of the puzzle that was Ciel's personality fell into place. He played people, like one would play chess. Now that I knew that I'd make sure to not allow myself to fall into that trap. I might be a servant but I would not let someone play me like a pawn.

"Then may I take my leave, my lord?" I asked, fighting the annoyance that was threatening to make itself known in my voice.

He waved me away, "Of course."

I nodded and gave a quick curtsy before taking my leave. I didn't get very far before I heard Ciel call out to me. I stopped mid-way down the hall and looked over my shoulder to see Ciel leaning against the doorway to his room.

"Watch out for yourself," he said simply.

I frowned confused by his words, but nevertheless nodded and turned back. I didn't think he knew about Dupont, that would be impossible...I believe at least. So why those words and why now? It certainly was a worrisome thought.

I was halfway to my bedroom and engrossed in my thoughts when he found me. I should have known to actually take into consideration Ciel's words rather than maul over them like an idiot. But it was too late for such thoughts now as I found myself pulled into a dark room and pinned against a wall before I could so much as scream.

"I warned you, hadn't I my sweet Tessa?" Dupont cooed in my ear, causing me to shiver violently.

"Let me go," I cried, trying to shove against him, but it was useless he was stronger than me. "I'm warning you, I'll scream if you don't."

He smirked broadly, "I wouldn't do that if I was you, my Tessa. Not unless you don't care about this pretty little face of yours."

A flash of red hot anger clutched at my chest and I opened my eyes to glare sharply at him. My vision was pulsing red and I could feel the heat building to an uncomfortable temperature within my chest. Rage wasn't quite the word to describe what I was feeling.

"I'd rather save my virtue then my face," I spat harshly.

"Interesting," he drawled. "It's a shame then, your face was definitely your best feature."

My eyes remained narrowed as I felt the edge of a blade run along the length of my cheek, biting deeply into the flesh. A burning sensation throbbed along the area where it had run and I felt a warm liquid begin to run down my cheek.

"Yes, indeed a shame," he sighed. "I was hoping we could do this without any injuries."

My anger melted away as fear overtook me again when I felt his hand run down my side, following my stubble curves. It reached the bottom edge of my skirt and worked it's way up my thigh, taking it's time to caress the skin there. A scream built in my throat, but before it found it's way out a hand clamped roughly down on my mouth, muffling any noise.

"Ssh," he whispered. "The less your struggle the quicker you'll be freed."

I gave him an icy glare as I bit down on the hand over my mouth. He swore as he released his hold on me, allowing me time to release the scream from my throat. It shattered the otherwise silent night around the mansion, no doubt alerting everyone to my distress.

"You bitch," Dupont screamed, slapping me across my cut cheek.

I cried out as I fell back from the force of the blow. Tears unwilling surfaced in my eyes as I briefly brushed the cheek only to pull away when it hurt even more from the gentle touch.

"You'll pay for this!"

I shielded away from the hand he raised to slap me again, but the blow never came. I blinked and dared a glance up to find Dupont struggling to escape Sebastian's grip.

"Release me this instant," Dupont growled, desperately trying to yank his arm out of Sebastian's hand.

"My, my," Sebastian mused. "Didn't my master tell you not to touch his servants?"

Dupont glared at Sebastian, "I don't recall it, but it doesn't matter to you anyway, you're just the child's butler."

Sebastian's eyes took on a eery red glow, "I may be a butler, but I'm one hell of a butler, and how could I say such a thing if I allowed my master's orders to not be followed?"

Dupont's eyes widened slightly, but not with anger. This was a new emotion, one I'd been feeling all day around Dupont. This was fear. True petrified fear in it's purest form. And I knew why. As I sat there on the ground staring up at the two men, I witnessed something my eyes could not believe. Sebastian in that moment transformed into the things of nightmares. Not physically, but the aura around him morphed dramatically. He'd always been slightly unsettling to be around, but now it was absolutely terrifying to witness.

And I wasn't on the receiving end of his words.

"Sebastian," Ciel's cold voice shocked me and I turned my head to see him leaning in the doorway, blocking my view of the lit hallway. "Stop playing around."

"Yes, my lord," Sebastian grinned, revealing teeth slightly sharper then what human teeth should be.

He released Dupont, who stumbled backwards and away from him.

"It has become apparent to me that it seems you were planning to use my company's name to ship in sex slaves, Dupont," Ciel said coldly. "And as the Queen's watch dog and as the head of the Phantomhive family, I cannot allow such acts."

My eyes, if possible, grew wider. This young boy, he was the Queen's watch dog? Impossible! I just couldn't accept the fact. Even if it was so obviously laid out for me.

"As for touching one of my servants, that is unacceptable."

A slight cruel tug of the lips overcame Ciel's face as he looked to Sebastian, "I order you to deal with this bastard, Sebastian."

Sebastian's face was overcome with a terrifying devilish grin, "Yes, my lord."

Dupont stumbled even further back right up until he was against the far wall of the room. His eyes were the size of saucers by now and filled with such terror that his body shook uncontrollably with it. If I thought about it, he looked like a man who seen his death right before his very eyes.

"Master, you might want to remove yourself and Tessa from the room," Sebastian said, pausing in front of Dupont.

Ciel nodded and offered me a hand. I took it without a second thought and allowed myself to be helped up. Even though I was shaky in the knees I didn't stop once on the way out of the room. Even I knew that whatever was about to happen was not something I would want to witness.

Ciel shut the door behind us and waved for me to follow him. I silently followed, my legs wobbling slightly. If I didn't find somewhere to sit soon I was going to collapse. The loss of blood and after shock was finally catching up to me.

Without warning my knees gave out beneath me and I fell to the floor in a heap, two hallways down from the room I was attacked in. Ciel turned as he heard me fall and sighed. He came back towards me and paused about a step away.

"I did warn you to watch yourself, didn't I?" He stated, annoyed but not being harsh with me.

I nodded and looked down, "I'm sorry, my lord, I wasn't paying attention."

Ciel sighed, "We'll have to have Sebastian look at the wound on your face. It'll most likely end up scaring."

I nodded and pressed a finger just below the wound, pulling it away to find it stained completely red with my blood. My head was woozy from the sight and I swayed slightly even in my seated position.

It all went black from there.