Claude stared at her. She was asking for him to tell her the truth and after the months of wanting her, needing her he could finally tell her. He was well aware of how close to losing all control he had in the carriage and he still felt ashamed that he had acted in such away. It was only when he had felt her lips pressed against his own that he realised that she was comfortable with the situation. He had been in the process of reigning back his control when she had kissed him and he had never experienced so much warmth in his life, which was arguably quite long and cold.

Looking at the petite female now, he wondered where to start. Her eyes glistened with anxiety and curiosity causing him to lose focus for a few seconds but he snapped out of it when she shuffled closer to him.

"I resented our debt. When I was first forced to be your friend I had wished for your demise almost every day". His words were cold and Penelope shrunk back, confusion evident in her expression. She had not been expecting such a response and Claude knew this.

"But then as you grew older, your personality became charming rather than annoying as I had always viewed it. Your innocent features never disappeared even as you aged, making you an even more tempting sight. All of a sudden I found myself enjoying your company. Enjoying the sight of you. Then as you aged, as you lost everyone around you I was still in awe of your strength. When your Uncle attacked you, the protectiveness I felt over you was not that of a Demon and his master but of someone who genuinely would burn the world to save you. I had never intended for you to see me in any other way apart from a friend. Instead you have seen me as the monster I am and now something more". He then leaned in, capturing a red curl in between his white gloves.

"You must understand that I am not the romantic, charming villain of a story Penelope. I am a demon, something which craves souls. Particularly yours. You must be mature enough to know that if you want this, should we say relationship, to progress in a more intense way, that I will still be indebted to you but I will not change for you. I cannot be something I am not. I am not a good person, I have killed far many than I could count and I have caused chaos all around me. Are you still certain you want this? I am giving you this opportunity to forget what has happened and move on. But should you choose not to forget, I will be yours entirely and you would be mine".

Penelope bit her lip, obviously thinking hard about her position. Could she possibly forget this? Would she even want to forget it? And although she had often considered Claude as almost human in looks, she had to acknowledged what he said was true. He could scare her but she knew damn well he wouldn't hurt her. The thought of having to marry Lord Davis or anyone similar and settling down, scared her. She didn't want that when she had experienced so much already. With a deep breath, Penelope looked through her lowered lashes and straight into the golden eyes of Claude.

"I think I like the idea of you being mine". She joked and was taken by surprise when he slammed hr into the soft sheets and pressed his lips desperately against her own. She giggled into the kiss and felt her arms being pinned up above her.

"Are you sure?" The usually calm butler panted, his mouth painted into a grin, shark like teeth glinting from behind his lips. Even with such an intimidating sight Penelope couldn't help but smile. She had been with him too long now to let go of such an important opportunity.

"I am positive" and with that, her words were captured by Claude's lips. She felt his hands move swapping her wrists to one whilst his other arm moved down her body. Slowly she felt his had glide gently over the outline of her hip and with a sudden tug forward their bodies were pressed against each other earning a charming blush from the red head. It was only when she moaned into the kiss that the butler pulled back, his eyes dancing with delight at the sight in front of him.

"I believe it is best if you get some sleep. We will discuss the evets of tonight concerning Lucy in detail when you are well rested". As he spoke, Claude untangled himself from the younger girl and chuckled when she gave a disappointed whine. She wasn't sure exactly what she wanted but his body pressed against her own had been an enjoyable sensation. But as she yawned, she concluded that Claude was correct. But he didn't get too far when her legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him back down.

"Can you stay with me tonight?" she asked, tightening her legs slightly a though he would try to run. With a nod he gently ran his hand up her thigh and then in seconds he was out of her hold and clicked his fingers, causing the once lit room to descend into darkness. Once she had crawled into the bed, she felt his weight next to her and snuggled up against his cold body. However just as she began to feel the gentle lull of sleep take over, her eyes snapped open.

"Oh my gosh! We forgot about Victoria" her exclamation caused Claude to pull her closer against him as he tangled his hands into her hair.

"She is fine, I placed her in her quarters and she will wake up tomorrow. Do not fret, now go to sleep". He demanded and without having to be told twice, Penelope allowed sleep to come.

-The Next Day-

Unusually for Penelope it was not the gentle voice or shake of someone to wake her up but rather she awoke on her own accord. The first few minutes of consciousness was filled with the gentle song of birds outside her window. She felt as though she was in heaven, especially being snuggled up. Yet as she opened her eyes, Claude was nowhere to be seen and she was hugging a pillow closely to her chest. Sitting up with a start, Penelope thought for an awful moment that it had all been a dream. Yet she watched as the bedroom door opened with a quiet click and Victoria scurried in, completely oblivious that Penelope was indeed awake.

Grasping the curtains with each hand, Victoria pulled them apart forcefully allowing the sun to filter in painfully, causing Penelope to flinch.

"Time to get u- "Victoria started but stopped as she saw the grimacing girl sat up in bed.

"Oh my apologies my Lady, I had thought you still asleep. On the orders of Mr Faustus, you were allowed to sleep in today but it is now time for one of your lessons". Penelope nodded along, watching as the maid took out a light blue dress and placed it on the bed.

"I can get changed myself Victoria, but thank you. I'm sure you have dinner to be preparing". Penelope said with a small yawn as she clambered out of bed and almost laughed at her reflection. Her hair was in every direction possible and she completely forgot the dress to attend to her nest of a hair.

"But..." Victoria started.

"Go, I am more than capable of dressing". Penelope chuckled and watched as Victoria shot her a thankful expression, knowing that she still had many jobs to do.

When she was washed and dressed, Penelope descended the stairs and the chime of the clock alerted her to how late in the day it was. She then proceeded to go to her study, wondering if she was to see Claude in there but was disappointed to find an empty room.

Instead she was greeted with a piece of paper and Claude's cursive writing scrawled in black upon it. It held a number of tasks for her to attend to and asked that if she cannot achieve them by Luncheon then she must carry on after she has eaten. From the list in front of her Penelope already knew she would be here after lunch, and resigned herself to her fate. Sitting in the large plump chair behind the ornate desk, she focused entirely at the task in hand, trying her hardest not to think of her Butler.

It was an hour later when Victoria came to get her and began to give her condolences for the loss of her cousin. Penelope just thanked her, hoping that she could achieve looking slightly grief stricken, after all she had entirely forgotten about the lie she had made up to escape Lord Davis. It was when she was being served her food that she began to grow impatient over the lack of Claude. He had promised to discuss the most pressing matter of Lucy, and after last night Penelope had been sure to have had at least a greeting. After eating a mouthful of a salad, Penelope dabbed her mouth with a napkin and turned to Victoria.

"Victoria, do you know the whereabouts of Claude? I have not seen in yet".

"He has been in the library, fixing shelves I believe". Penelope gave Victoria a strange look as the shelves in the library had been perfectly suitable last time Penelope had seen them. She then ate her meal hurriedly, and before Victoria good wish her a good day, she was power walking towards the library.

The library was deadly quiet when she entered bar the slight creak of the old fashioned door. There was no sign of any work being done, instead just rows of bookcases left untouched. It was with a sigh that Penelope walked further into the ornate room, and carefully made her way towards her regular seat. After coming to the conclusion that Claude would have made her well aware by this point about his presence, Penelope flopped down on the chair and stared ahead, admiring the outdoors. But the sudden thought of the work she had to complete in the study broke her few seconds of peace. It was with a heavy heart, and a slight frown that Penelope heaved herself off the comfy chair and begrudgingly went to exit the room. As she was walking, the words Claude had said the previous night rang in her head.

Last night when he discussed how dangerous he was, Penelope hadn't exactly disregarded this fact but as she thought about it now, she had been a bit naïve thinking that he was never going to scare her again after such a romantic encounter. She wasn't regretting her decision to be with him, of course not. But she realised that the situation she found herself in was not any normal one.

"I believe you still have work to do". Drawled a voice from behind her causing Penelope to stop in her tracks and look quickly around the library.

"Why were you hiding?" she retorted, ignoring his statement. She had been close to leaving the room entirely and leaned in slightly to try and find the figure of her butler. It was with a sudden breeze that she found herself dragged in the room, the door closed, and her body roughly pressed against it.

"I was not hiding; I was observing". Came the smart retort. His glasses glinted from the light coming through the window and Penelope admired how clear his complexion was, as though his skin had been painted on. She shook her head, causing her flaming hair to bounce softly, and tugged her body out of his strong grasp.

"We have some things to discuss, my work can wait until later". She said simply and made her way back towards her chair. She was stopped however by a gloved hand wrapping around her wrist and spinning her around.

"Are you considering taking back what you said last night?" He asked suddenly, his glasses still shielding his eyes making it hard for Penelope to recognise his current emotions. She shook her head quickly in reply.

"Heavens no! What on earth gave you that idea? I'm here to discuss Lucy. The longer she is left to her own devices, the longer it will take to get on with our lives. And I am growing tired of having attempts made against my life". Penelope then removed her hand from his grip and instead intertwined their fingers and gave a small squeeze. Taking his hand, she pulled him towards the windowsill gesturing him to sit and sat on the chair she had only been in a few minutes ago. She then gave him a look for him to start talking.

"I suppose you would like the details of what occurred at the theatre then?" He asked but didn't wait for an answer before carrying on. "She had been sitting in the audience within distance to yourself making me believe her master may have been present as well. We then met upon the roof of the theatre and you could say that I 'interrogated' her but alas she was not accommodating. After a disagreement, I got rid of her before coming to get you. Unfortunately, she had been unwilling to divulge who her master was so it appears that our first task it to find who this person is".

"And do you have any idea of who her new master is?" Penelope asked her finger tapping her chin as she waited for a reply. Penelope had been aware that her uncle was Lucy's old master but she was unsure why anyone else would want her dead. Claude was just about to open his mouth when the library door opened and Victoria came timidly in.

"A letter from Lord Davis my Lady".