Ch. 9

When they arrived at the Phantomhive manor there were already several guests present. Theresa and Undertaker were personally greeted by Sebastian before he walked off to entertain the other guests. "Why don't you go on and mingle dear?" Undertaker said. Theresa nodded and hesitantly walked away from him towards a group of women on the far end of the room. She introduced herself and quietly joined their conversation, though she found little interest in their topics. Soon a young man came over and asked Theresa to dance. She nervously accepted and he whisked her away to begin a waltz; thankfully she was able to keep up and not make a fool of herself in front of the stranger. The song ended, but Theresa didn't return to the group of women. She wandered around and talked with other people instead until another man came over and asked her to dance. This continued for most of the night.

Eventually Theresa walked away from the rest of the crowd, getting tired of all the dancing and socializing. It was nice to meet new people, but the events were becoming monotonous. Looking around she saw Ciel talking with Sebastian away from the crowd as well; realizing she hadn't thanked them for her rescue, she walked over to the young earl. "Lord Phantomhive," she called out. Ciel turned around at the mention of his name.

"Ah, Theresa, I'm glad you came. I trust you've recovered all right."

"Yes. Actually that's why I came over here. I never got a chance to thank you for rescuing me from the Italians." Ciel was about to respond when a fit of laughter sounded from a boisterous redhead coming from behind Ciel. Grell wrapped an arm around Theresa's should as his laughter subsided. "Grell, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know I can't resist a party when my sweet Bassy is sure to be there. Anyway, you really are too much Theresa."

"What are you talking about?"

"The brat over here wasn't your rescuer that day." Theresa looked to Ciel, who confirmed what Grell had said.

"Well then who did?" Grell grabbed Theresa's shoulders and spun her around. He pointed into the crowd at Undertaker, who was busy scaring guests and laughing hysterically. "Undertaker?"

"Oh yes. I was here at the manor since I was done working (Theresa seriously doubted that), when all of a sudden there was a furious knock on the door. The clumsy maid opened the door and there was Undertaker with you in his arms. You were quite a bloody mess, you were. I'm so jealous of you Theresa; first he picks a fight with Will to try and get you your job back, and then he cradles you so sweetly. I wish I had a nice strong man to hold me in his arms," Grell turned to Sebastian, "How about it Bassy?" He leapt toward the butler who quickly sidestepped and let Grell tumble to the ground. Theresa was still in shock. Undertaker had saved her life? But why hadn't he said anything? And had Grell said he had tried to get her job back? She needed answers, now; Theresa quickly excused herself and went over to Undertaker. He was still laughing uncontrollably so she had to tap him on the shoulder. He turned and his smile widened.

"Ah, there you are my snowflake. Have you been enjoying the party?"

Theresa completely ignored his question. "You saved me from the Italians?" Undertaker nodded. "But why? How did you find me?" Suddenly the band started up again. Undertaker took Theresa's hand and pulled her to the dance floor. They spun around gracefully in time to the music.

"When you had been gone for quite some time I became worried. So I looked through the information on your desk and found out where the man you were observing lived. It didn't take me long to find where you were from there."

"But why? Why didn't you just alert Ciel and Sebastian and have them rescue me?"

"Because I felt I needed to save you myself. You see Theresa, I sense in you a spirit kindred to my own. We have both tasted a world of loneliness and strived multiple times to escape it. Ever since you walked through the door to my shop, I've felt a strong connection to you. You've made my world less lonely, for which I am very grateful. To lose you, especially after getting to see how special you are, would be a fate worse than death." Theresa pondered his words as they continued to dance. He felt connected to her? She had to admit at times she had felt a similar feeling, but thought it was just because over the past three months they had just gotten to know each other rather well. But for him to say losing her was a fate worse than death… nobody had ever expressed such feelings towards her. It was a little hard to process.

The music ended and Undertaker had disappeared. Theresa, however, made no effort to look for him. Instead she resumed the routine of mingling and dancing. But she had a hard time focusing on enjoying herself to any degree. Why did Undertaker feel connected to her? Why did she feel connected to him? One thing was for sure, Undertaker was a man of many mysteries, several of which Theresa was determined to unravel.