Chapter Twenty-Four
"Someone was in the young master's study last night?" Sebastian asked once more and try as he might, he could not hide the look of disbelief from me. All my pervious frustrations with him had been momentarily forgotten and pushed aside, replaced with a fresh bout of them. Of course it didn't help my case that there was no evidence to support my claims of the intruder. The mess had been miraculously cleaned up the moment the shadow figure vanished, leaving behind a disturbing presence unlike that of which I'd ever felt before. Unfortunately that too faded within the hours prior to Ciel and Sebastian's arrival home.
"I may be many things, Sebastian, but I am no liar when it comes to these things," I stated, fighting the growl out of my voice as I continued to press forward. "There was someone in there last night. They were looking for something, what that was I am unable to say. They did a very thorough job cleaning up after themselves."
"And how was anyone able to get by you?"
I tried not to appear baffled by this. It was something I hadn't considered yet. How did someone or, rather, something get by me? Even immortals couldn't get by another immortal so easily. There would have been some trace left behind, something to inform me of exactly who or what I was dealing with. But there was nothing, just a disturbing notion that something truly powerful lurked in the shadows.
"Sebastian," Ciel's tone was warning, the sound of his voice startling. The young earl hadn't spoken since we'd parted for discussions in the study and the sound of his voice now came as a surprise. "Tessa has done nothing but prove her worth to us since her arrival and while we can not find evidence to prove her report the truth, we have no evidence to discredit her either."
He sighed, resting his chin over his hands. "If you truly don't believe her statement couldn't you order her to tell you the truth? She is under a blood oath with you, is she not?"
I wrinkled my nose up in distaste at the notion, but as much as I loathed it if it were the only way to get them to believe me then I'd reluctantly hand myself over to the power of an order.
The raven haired demon looked at me, but shook his head firmly and turned to his master. "Very well, but if what she says it true then we have a formable opponent, my lord."
Formable indeed.
"I thought you liked a challenge, Sebastian? Afraid someone may be stronger than you?" Ciel goaded.
"I assure you, young master, there is no one stronger than I."
I smirked as the two dissolved into their typical power banter. Of course it would be Ciel to discover something as trivial as testing Sebastian's power in something so disturbing. I had to hand it to him, the boy didn't give up easily. Sadly, and as much as I truly did wish to see Ciel find someone who could defeat Sebastian, this game was doomed to end in the demon's favor. There was no one out there, short of God himself, who could defeat him- and I rather hoped it was not that entity we were dealing with.
A knock on the door startled all of us into silence. Straightening up, Sebastian crossed the room in three large strides and opened the door for the person. Standing on the other side was a very flustered Mey-Rin, who took one look at the demon and promptly melted into a stuttering mess.
"Th-there be some... me-men here to s-se-see the young master, th-th-there isss," she fumbled, eyes never raising much further than the male's chin.
Ciel's brows knitted together at the center of his forehead. It was obvious he hadn't expected a visit from anyone. That alone ruled out the frequent business partners he met with to discuss the toy company and it's progress. It didn't rule out Soma, the prince had horrid timing on everything, nor did it rule out Elizabeth, I wouldn't put it past the girl to bring herself right back to the mansion after being dismissed this morning. She had seemed rather excitable when Ciel was around, though that was only my assumptions from watching her at a distance- Sebastian had thought it best that I refrain from interacting with her yet.
"Who?" I asked, inclining my head slightly.
Mey-Rin seemed glad to be able to look at someone other than the black clad butler. "A Charles Phipps and a Charles Grey, they are."
"Personally?" Ciel exclaimed, practically dropping his tea.
She gives a jerky motion of her head that was meant to be a nod.
"Send them in at once," Ciel ordered hurriedly.
Mey-Rin curtsied quickly and clumsily rushed from the room back in the direction she'd come from. As soon as she vanished, all eyes turned to Ciel. The earl was running his hands over his suit as if trying to smooth out the invisible wrinkles as he picked himself up and moved over to the desk. He seemed visibly nervous.
"Ciel, who are these men?" I inquired, angling myself so that I was facing his new position now.
The boy looked up at me with vague annoyance for my ignorance. "The double Charles are the personal assistants to her majesty. If they are here that means they are bringing her orders personally rather than send them by letter."
"And this is a bad thing?" I press, not yet comprehending the source of his agitation.
"The young master was ordered to see the children to safety if possible," Sebastian explained. "All perished in the fire."
My eyes widened briefly and I nodded in understanding. He was worried she blamed him for their deaths, which in all honesty was his fault. Sebastian had informed me of his lord's orders at the Baron's mansion last night. I couldn't fully place the blame onto Ciel though, he had been traumatized by the surprise the Baron had planned for him. The man had been demented if he had believed reconstructing the cult's sacrifice would please Ciel. However Ciel should have known better than to let his emotions get in the way of his work as the Queen's Watchdog.
"So shall we sit back and try to scramble for some sort of excuse as to what happened last night?" I drawled, accepting the tea cup Sebastian offered me.
Sebastian smirked as he stood up straight, moving for the door. "No, we simply plead a different case."
His words barely had a moment to settle in the air of the study before he whisked the door open in a grand sweep. My eyes instantly sought out the two men, these double Charles, that had Ciel in such a state. I half expected to see stately men with graying hair and tall top hats, carrying an air of authority. However the two males were not what I had pictured as being the Queen's personal assistants.
The first was a head shorter than Sebastian. Everything about him was disgustingly white and clean, from the tip of his head to his shoes. It was overwhelming, nearly as sickening as the oddly cheerful composure about him. His grin never slipped as he marched into the room with an air of confidence and nonchalance- acting as if he owned the place and then some.
The other followed right after him. He stood taller than his company, nearly leveled with Sebastian. As his predecessor, he too was clad in white from head to toe with limited amounts of black highlights glimpsing here and there. Unlike his partner, his solomon air was not nearly as overwhelming. It hampered the effect of the blinding white.
"Earl Phantomhive!" The first greeted in a voice that matched his personality to the t.
Ciel, try as he might, failed at looking thrilled to see him. "Earl Grey and Phipps."
Grey sat himself down comfortable on the love seat across from mine without waiting for permission, taking the position closest to Ciel, while Phipps remained standing just behind him. Sebastian, being the ever perfect butler, instantly offered them tea and some of the sweet cakes he'd made for the young master's tea. Grey eagerly indulging himself on the treats, his counterpart politely refusing.
"Her Majesty sends her regards," Grey finally spoke between mouthfuls of cake. "She originally had plans for a private meeting with you Earl, but something came up."
The last words didn't seem to settle well with Ciel. He shifted slightly in his seat, the motion barely large enough for my eyes to catch, but his face successful remained schooled in an indifferent mask.
Grey grinned deviously then. "Aren't you wondering what the meeting was to be over?"
Ciel's face paled slightly and for a moment he remained silently staring at his desk. I wondered what he saw there- if anything- and what he hoped to gain from it. However in a moment I understood that whatever he did see, helped to bring the dark Earl Phantomhive back. The smile that crossed his face was so falsely innocent it appear sinister as his eye twinkled with mischief.
"I admit I am curious," he began, his smile growing. "However I am more curious as to what came up to bring you two here to my door instead."
His response seemed to throw Charles off and for a moment the other earl's easy going air was wiped from his face. I watched with a small smile as he struggled to gain the upper hand in the situation again. He seemed to give up after a moment though, when he meet Ciel's wondering gaze.
"You haven't gotten away with your blunder yet, Earl," Grey warned, before standing up and tossing a white envelop onto the desk. "Her Majesty has a task for the Watchdog and it requires the upmost secrecy."
His gray eyes fell to me then, regarding me seriously. "Miss Hale, from the fallen Hale household. I do not care for why you're here, but-."
"She can stay," Ciel cut in, his eyes not moving from the contents of the envelop. "Tessa is a trusted associate of mine. She and Sebastian are two of my best pawns- they will not betray me."
"You seem confident of their service," Phipps remarked, his voice startling me since I had yet to hear him speak since he had entered the room.
It was then that Ciel lifted his eyes to take in Sebastian and then myself, before his lips stretching into a sadistic grin. "I have reasons to be."
In response I watched as a similar look crossed Sebastian's face, his eyes briefly glowing scarlet before fading back to their mundane brown. Neither of the Queen's servants noticed the unearthly display, eyes too intently focused back on Ciel whom was looking appalled by whatever he had just read.
"Human experiments?" Ciel gasped. "Who stands accused of being involved in this crime?"
Reaching into his coat, Grey pulled out a file. He opened it and held it out for Ciel, who readily took it; his sapphire orb hurriedly absorbing the contents.
"Currently the Queen is only in knowledge of one member of peerage involved, the Countess Sicily Alderdice," Phipps explained.
"However it has become apparent in the recent week that her involvement is not purely finical backing. We have come into knowledge that she is the head of the underground movement," Grey cut in.
Ciel dropped the files to glare at the two. "You've known about this and haven't done anything until this point. How long has this being allowed to go on?"
"Months," Grey shrugged. "The Queen was disheartened by the news, however our sources had no cleared up the involvement of any nobles. She did not want any of them to escape should we have gotten involved too soon."
"So you let it be?" Ciel hissed, his anger barely contained.
"Her Majesty did not like it for a moment, but our patience was well rewarded with the information we recieved within this past week," Grey argued.
Ciel's eye narrowed. "And what information would that be?"
Grey smiled then. "The Countess works alone. The other peerage are blind to her actions for the moment. Her goal through these experiments remains hazy, but we have learned that she plans on leaving England for America tomorrow morning. She'll be taking all her closest associates with her and we have reason to believe that this would be the best time to pin the crime to her and unearth her plans."
Ciel hummed in agreement. "Which ship will she be taking then?"
"The new luxury ship for the White Star liner will be launching on its maiden voyage from our port tomorrow morning, destined for New York," Grey chuckled, holding out a set of boarding passes. "Do you think you are up for a trip aboard the Titanic, Earl Phantomhive?"
A/N: So delayed, I know. I had to read over the entire thing because it's been over a year since I started this and I needed to clear up some details to make sure I wasn't contradicting anything. Nothing major, thankfully. I hope to have this completed soon, since my plans are for four more chapters and then an epilogue. Chapter 25 should be out by tomorrow at the latest. Until then~