Story: A Touch of Colour in the Gray
Book 1: Shading the black.
Date: 25 January 2019, corrected july 2022
Beta: Elda
Fandom: D Gray Man
Disclaimer: No, I don't own D Gray Man and I'm not making any money on this story.
Summary: After landing in the 19th century, Estelle soon realizes that she has been hired by the Kamelott family, basically the villains of DGM. Taking the name Eve, she then becomes Tricia Kamelott's lady-in-waiting and helps her with her daily tasks. Now that her life is a little less chaotic, Eve reflects on her arrival in this world and decides to make up her own mind about the people in this new world despite her knowledge of manga. However, she quickly becomes aware of the social difference between women at that time and starts to fear for her future, especially when Road and the twins arrive…
Chapter trigger: None I can think of
This chapter ... Merlin this chapter... Uuurgh!
I wrote eleven pages. I deleted four. I rewrote two.
I thought I was going to eat his hat because the new character is horrifying to write !
Anyway... enjoy your reading!
Chapter 15:The Duke Campbell
Friday, April 24, 1885
Closing the door softly so as not to disturb Tricia who had already fallen asleep, I rushed to my room, a smile on my lips. Since Tyki had shown me this lake last week, I had already been there twice and I had only one desire: to swim in it!
Unfortunately for me, the old adage "En Avril, ne te découvre pas d'un fil!" (something like in April, do not remove your coat) was certainly true in my case and it had been far too cold for me to even think about it. However, to my delight, the sky had cleared up yesterday and it had been getting warmer and warmer until today when we were enjoying a very comfortable temperature for April. So much so that I was inwardly praising Road for making me buy the orange dress as it was much thinner than my other clothes. Putting on the dress, I made sure to put my Robin's trousers underneath and to hang a towel around my waist under the dress. There was no need to draw attention to myself by wearing a bag after all...
Fortunately, this precaution was not necessary because I didn't meet anyone else but Louise on my way, and even then, only from the balcony, I doubted that she had seen me. I couldn't meet Road because she was at school, nor the twins, holed up in their room with a tutor, nor Tyki who was in London on business with Sheryl. What was stranger was not even seeing another of the servants of the manor. Not Rosina, not Alphonse, not Clarisse, nothing, nada.
Afterwards, I realise that everything was going far too well for it not to go wrong somewhere...
But at that moment, I knew nothing about it, and I was going along the paths, with an awfully happy whistle on my lips... Naivety at its best effort, ladies and gentlemen!
Anyway, during the last two times I had realised that Tyki had taken us on a nice detour, and instead of the hour on horseback it had taken, I could actually do it in thirty minutes on foot without even rushing. So, about half an hour after leaving my room, I climbed the leafy slope leading to the basin containing the little lake. The last two times, I had painfully walked down the slope, my skirt getting caught in every possible branch... But this time, I was prepared and, taking off my towel, I soon did the same with my skirt and my corset, finding myself in trousers and shirt, a bit like a pirate, but less classy.
Walking down the slope, I landed on the grassy banks and laid my clothes on the low branches of a tree before taking off my boots, shivering slightly. It was April after all. Still determined, I approached the calm expanse and touched it suspiciously with one of my toes, wincing at the temperature. It was a far cry from the lovely 30°C of the heated pools of my time ... Hesitating to turn back and bathe another time, I decided to give it a go anyway.
Pulling my hair up into a bun so as not to get it wet, I knelt down on the shore and dipped a hand into the water to wet the back of my neck. I had absolutely no idea why I had to do this, but I vaguely remembered my father telling me that it had something to do with a shock due to the difference in temperature... or something like that... Entering without difficulty up to my waist, I must admit that it took me a little longer to do the rest... But once I got going, I splashed around in the lake with happiness. I used to prefer baths to showers, so the last few months had been hard... Hot baths were for the richest and I should actually consider myself lucky that Tricia had let me take one after we played in the snow with the children.
Seriously, I could sit there for hours reading until the water was completely cold. And now it was nice enough if I could take a warm shower... I didn't want to sound like a privileged girl who couldn't be happy with what she had, but for my defense, I had just lost all the people I loved before, all my possessions and dreams for the future, so wishing for a bath, in comparison, wasn't that bad...
Letting myself float, I savoured the feeling of the water flowing over my body and swam a little further into the lake until I no longer had feet. Noticing the large tree facing me at the edge, I wondered if I could climb it to jump into the lake. With a sly smile on my lips, I did a few awkward swims in its direction (I had never been a very good swimmer) before pulling myself up onto the ground with the help of one of its roots...
... and to fall back into the water with a loud bang, my teeth chattering together. It was far too cold! Muttering nonsense under my breath, I decided to stay in the water a little longer before getting out.
As I was quietly splashing about, I certainly didn't see the sneeze that shook my body a few minutes later or the "Is anyone there?" that sounded faintly behind me, making me jump in terror. With my hands over my mouth, I slowly backed into the water until my back was against the large tree. Glancing behind me, I couldn't see anything, but I knew that the person who had said those words was close by because I could hear footsteps approaching.
"Is anyone there?" Asked the voice again, which I analysed this time as a man's. His tone seemed curious but gentle and I simply couldn't place the voice so it couldn't be one of the manor's servants. Uncertain, I wondered for a few moments if I should announce my presence but quickly dismissed the idea when I realised that if it was an inhabitant of the manor, the ensuing conversation would be very awkward, and if it was someone totally unknown...
In any case, it would be embarrassing.
Slipping into the water until only the top of my head stuck out, I pressed myself against the mound, determined to hide and hope that the man would leave as soon as possible...
Of course, this was without counting on my magnificent sense of timing.
Just as the man seemed to be heading back to the field behind the lake and fortunately away from where my dress, shoes and towel were waiting for me, another sneeze tickled my nose and went out with a bang without my consent.
Oops.
"...This time I'm sure, who is it?" The voice asked again, curious but cautious, coming dangerously close to the tree as I silently panicked while slowly sliding away from the voice. And just as I thought I could stay hidden, not one, not two, but three sneezes began to shake my body in rapid succession.
"Bless you." I heard the voice reply with amusement, a little way up on my left. "I'd offer you a handkerchief, but I think you'd rather have a towel. "
Feeling no new sneezing coming, I stopped squinting and looked up at the mound beside me. There, a man in his late forties was crouching, one arm firmly attached to the large tree behind or under which I had so desperately tried to hide.
"I have one, but thank you." I calmly replied with a neutral face while inside my head it was chaos ... what should I do? what should I do ?!
The man smiled and unfolded his legs to sit beside the roots, his shiny shoes skimming the lake without him seeming to care. He looked like he was settling in comfortably for a conversation and I lowered myself a notch into the water, only the top of my neck and face sticking out of the waves now. Sure, I was still in my shirt and trousers, but a wet white shirt wasn't the best protection... Lucky for me, the lake water was far from crystal clear.
"So..." The man began with a soft, strangely reassuring smile, seeming to enjoy the sunshine as if he had all the time in the world. "What is a young girl doing in the middle of the afternoon in a lake? On Kamelott land no less."
"I felt like swimming..." I replied evasively, evading the end of the question altogether and pushing myself slightly backwards into the water, finding myself now out of the man's immediate reach. That is, unless he suddenly decided to jump into the lake.
"In the middle of April?" He asked surprised before suddenly putting on a worried face. "Oh, you must be cold, right?"
Yes, terribly.
"No, not really." I lied before continuing hurriedly as I saw him open his mouth again. "But I have to go if I don't want to be late at home." There, I insinuated that I was awaited and that he should not attempt anything… weird. Although I felt strangely comfortable, in fact, mostly because I felt strangely comfortable with this man, it was better to take the necessary precautions.
"Oh, yes, I wouldn't want to keep you." He said with an apologetic smile before standing up and dusting off his clothes. "I'm delighted to have met you, I'll continue my walk this way to leave you at your ease." He said, glancing back at the fields he came from as I blushed with embarrassment.
With a final bow, he retrieved a cane and a top hat from the floor that I had not even seen before and left without a backward glance.
... what had just happened?
With the strangest feeling of having misunderstood something important, I crossed the lake again in a daze before glancing over my shoulder.
No one.
Sighing with relief, I pulled myself out of the lake with a groan from the cold, wincing at my sticky shirt, and shivered my way to my towel for refuge. Looking longingly at the sun-drenched shores of the lake, I forced myself to look away and tore my clothes off the tree before sinking, barefoot, into the forest. When I reached the top of the mound, I saw some bushes and hurriedly dressed myself, my body still shivering from the cold.
Setting off at a brisk pace, it took me only twenty minutes to reach the manor. Mentally, I told myself that my speed was due to the cold... deep inside, I could hardly admit to myself that it could have been due to anything else.
Anyway, as I reached the back of the mansion, I wondered which way I should go. At this hour there shouldn't be many people in the kitchen, but one could never be sure. As it was the hottest room in the manor, it was not uncommon to find employees there during their rest time. I myself had not really left the place for the first week... Besides, it pains me to say it, but I would almost rather run into a Noah and face an awkward conversation than meet some of the employees...
Very few had taken my promotion well after all...
But hey, I could understand them... A young girl, not even of age, was hired as a maid and bim! A week later as a lady's companion? While some girls had been working here since the marriage of the masters of the house? I may not have been paid more, but my schedules were much more comfortable and I had more free time. Although in my defence, I didn't have any full days off or holidays until now unlike the other servants.
But even if I had, I had no one to see sooo ...
Deciding finally to avoid the kitchen, I took the small path leading to the inner garden without running into many people. Taking one of the servants' corridors (a cramped passage leading from the first to the second floor to avoid taking the main staircase in case of guests), I finally arrived safely in my room and could finally breathe in contentment in front of the fire. Before I could doze off, however, I forced myself to get up to heat up some water and take a quick 'shower'. Dressed in my usual purple dress, and with a headache looming, I decided to take a little nap as I had a few hours left before I went to wake Tricia.
"Eveeeee!" screamed a voice I knew all too well as I catapulted the door into the wall. I jumped up and sat bolt upright in my bed, my eyes round and ready to bolt at the slightest danger.
"What are you doing in bed, aren't you feeling well?" Asked the voice I finally recognised as Road's as the girl approached my bed, looking curious.
"No, no, everything is fine, I was just a little tired..." I replied, rubbing my eyes before putting my feet down to stand up. "What time is it?" I asked suddenly worried that I had forgotten to wake up Tricia.
"A little under 5 pm" Road answered with an unreadable look before suddenly giving me a sheepish smile. "I'd like to play a bit, but we're running out of time, are you coming? Let's wake up mother." She said, holding out a hand which I took mechanically.
Road pulled me to the next door and opened it without knocking, but still with much more care than she had with me. We entered to see Tricia already awake and sitting by the fire with a book in her lap.
"Mother!" Road shouted as she let go of my hand to run to her, leaning on the armrests of the armchair to peck a kiss on Tricia's pale cheeks. "You slept I hope!" Said the girl, a strangely authoritative look on her face as I reached them.
Tricia gave me a welcoming smile before turning her attention back to her daughter and stroking her hair. "Yes, don't worry, I've only just woken up."
"Where would you like to have tea today?" I asked the two nobles, reflexively catching Road when she leaned too far back in the chair and risked falling into Tricia's lap.
"I asked Mary to light the fire when I got home earlier," Road replied as his mother stood up under my watchful eye. But no dizziness interfered with her movement so I focused my attention on Road.
"Yes, that's a good idea," I replied after Tricia agreed, chirping proudly at her forward-thinking and already so grown-up little girl. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing at these words.
"We should go and rescue the twins on the way, I'm sure they can't take anymore work by now" I added, an ever present smile curving my lips as I opened the door for Road and Tricia.
"Oh, you're exaggerating!" Tricia replied with a laugh before knocking on the twins' door. And, yes, Tricia was right. As promised, shortly after our conversation with the twins, I had gone to see Sheryl to ask him to change tutors. It had been a long and trying conversation, but finally, with an annoyed sigh, Sheryl said he would think about it and discuss it with the twins. One thing that could definitely be said about Sheryl was that he was efficient: the next day, the boys had a tutor they liked.
The man in question had already been gone for two hours, but he had left a large enough pile of homework that the twins were obliged to remain holed up in their rooms until now. Anyway, Devit seemed awfully happy to see us, bolting towards us as soon as the door opened, abandoning his homework without a second thought. There was not even a mention of Jasdero, who, although he seemed to enjoy studying more than his brother, had reached us long before he did, seemingly determined to tell Tricia and me everything he had learned today. In detail of course. In less time than one might have thought, we had arrived in the small living room and the late afternoon passed without any further worries and in a comforting good mood.
"They're late..." Said Tricia, looking worried, her embroidery untied, as she looked at the big clock in the living room. She was right. It was almost seven o'clock and neither Sheryl nor Tyki had returned. It was rare for them to be late. In fact, as long as I'd known him, Sheryl had never been late after making a commitment to his wife, especially in the evening when a good meal and a promise of family time awaited him.
"I'm sure it's nothing. The meeting must have gone long, they'll be here any minute" I replied from my place on the carpet, a doll in one hand, a dozen cards in the other. It's a good thing I could multitask, because compromise was far from being the strong point of young Noahs...
"She's right, Mother. Surely Dad must have wanted to have a chat with Lord Delrich after the meeting and it went on and on." Road supported me, turning to me again with her own doll when Tricia gave us a grateful smile. "Where were we?"
"It seems to me that Miss Mary was coming into town and unknowingly meeting Princess Prunelle." I replied impassively, putting the doll on my lap for a second to throw a pair of cards onto the pile bringing a loud groan from Devit before taking her back into my arms. Honestly, I didn't think porcelain dolls were that heavy, but maybe it was also due to the huge frilly dress she was wearing now that I thought about it.
"Oh yes! And then Miss Mary asks Princess Prunelle if the..." continued Road, waving her doll before being cut off suddenly by two knocks on the door. Effectively drawing the attention of the entire room, the door opened to let Sheryl in, wearing a cheerful if tired and... worried smile? I wasn't too sure... Entering the room quickly, he hugged Tricia and took Road in his arms, carrying her on his hip with a happy laugh. Beside me, the twins frowned a little. They'd been putting up with Sheryl better since he'd found them a new, nicer tutor, but it still wasn't true love.
"A guest is coming to eat at the house tonight, I expect you to be on your best behavior." He declared after the customary greetings, triggering a series of curious requests from Road. It was understandable, it was rare to receive a guest like this, without a reservation. "Oh no, it's someone you know very well." Sheryl assured her before setting Road down on the floor to open the door for her. The girl ran down the corridor without asking for help and in the distance, shouts of joy could be heard. Hearing the commotion, Sheryl suddenly looked worried and ran with dignity after his daughter down the hall, quickly followed by the twins who seemed particularly curious about the whole thing. Letting our dolls on the couch and putting away our poor abandoned cards, I joined Tricia who was finishing her stitch before putting her work on the small cabinet and accompanied her into the hall where all the action seemed to be taking place.
"Duke! How nice to see you." Tricia suddenly exclaimed as we reached the hall. A man in his forties turned to greet her, Road clinging to his waist and the twins not far from him, talking animatedly.
And then I could do nothing but freeze, widen my eyes and reboot my brain.
Because not only had I already met this man, and this afternoon at that, but if Tricia called him Duke, it could only be...
"Ho, Eve!" Said the lady of the house suddenly, looping her arm under mine to pull me elegantly towards the gathering of Noahs before us. "Meet Duke Campbell!"
... the Millennial Earl in his human form.
Ahaha, I had met the Millennium Earl, the destroyer of humanity, the Akuma maker, the exorcists worst nightmare... by sneezing on him! At least, I thought with a decidedly goofy smile as I tried to recover the shreds of my sanity, I was pretty sure my encounter with him was... unique.
Which means he might remember.
Oh, hell, kill me.
"Miss Campbell, I presume?" Said the Earl with a sharp, appraising look but, I felt no recognition to my relief. "My family seems to have nothing but good things to say about you."
"That's too much of an honour." I say with an undoubtedly strained smile before bowing slightly to him and then repeating the process to Tricia. "The meal will be served soon, do you still need me?" I asked, trying to calm my voice. Normally I would have waited for Tricia to dismiss me on her own, but I could still feel the Earl's and therefore surely the other Noahs' gaze on me and all I wanted to do was vanishing off to my room.
Fortunately, my shift stopped before the evening meal when the family had guests, so I only had a few seconds to endure this strange situation.
Or not.
For instead of returning my gaze with a smile as Tricia usually would have, she instead sent a hesitant glance to the Earl, then to Tyki and finally to her husband before fixing her gaze on me again. "Why don't you eat with us for once?" She finally said, her gaze literally daring someone to contradict her.
Luckily for me, if Sheryl understood the memo, he decided to ignore it and hurriedly approached, completing our loose little circle by slipping between the Earl and Tricia, directly in front of me before turning to his wife. "Tricia, we have a guest and Miss Campbell is not..." He began to say before seeming to hesitate on what polite word to use at the end.
Jumping at the chance to try and untangle myself from the ugly noose tightening around my neck, I hastened to add to his words before Tricia could follow up. "My Lord is right, it is certainly not my place, and I would hate to intrude on your family reunion."
"Oh, don't worry about that, you're practically part of the family already, Eve." Road replied, catching everyone's eye. When she was totally the centre of attention, she glanced evocatively at Tyki, with what I would describe as a sadistic grin, causing the latter to do a nice impression of a deer in front of headlights and rip out a groan from Sheryl's worthy of said dying deer. As the master of the house engaged in a serious discussion with an excited Tricia, a playful Road and a defiant Tyki, I took a few steps back, thinking about making my strategic retreat. The Earl was certainly close to me, but he seemed to have his hands full with the twins. But of course, it was at this point that my body suddenly seemed to remember my trip to the lake that afternoon and I sneezed lightly into my handkerchief cutting the conversation short.
Crappy Karma...
"...Bless you," a voice on my right suddenly said, and reflexively my head snapped up to see the Duke. Where before there had been a polite, appraising, but still not very interested look, now there was realisation developing. I forced myself not to groan out loud. Seriously? I had been recognised because of a sneeze? It was terribly embarrassing...
"Did you catch a cold, Eve?" Jasdero asked me shyly, barely scowling as all eyes turned to him. A nice change, that's for sure.
"That would be surprising, it's been particularly mild today." The Earl replied calmly before I could even open my mouth.
"It's nothing Jasdero ("Jasper" Sheryl grumbled in the background) I must just be a little weak from the sudden change of weather. I replied with a smile, careful not to meet the Earl's eyes.
"Can the weather do that?" Devit asked sceptically.
"Oh yes, if the body alternates between a hot, then cold environment etc., it can even get sick." Replied the Earl without a glance in my direction, but I just knew he was holding out a pole for me. "But the temperature difference wasn't that great, it's not like she jumped into an icy lake, Miss Campbell will be fine, nothing to worry about."
Wait a minute...
He was making fun of me, wasn't he...?
Mocked by the Earl Millennium... what has my life become, seriously...
"Yes, of course..." I replied with a smile that was perhaps a little too fixed as I felt the Earl's amused gaze on me. Then, realising that I could totally use that to make my strategic retreat, "But, still, it's true that I feel a bit tired..." I left the sentence hanging before staring at Sheryl.
As I hoped, the Marquess jumped in gracefully bringing an annoyed grunt from Road. "You should go get some rest, your work is done after all," he said with a hard look at Tricia who bit her lips in conflict. But I knew it was all bullshit, because Sheryl was always happy to throw the kids at me in the afternoon, even when I was supposedly off the clock.
"Yes, Eve, Sheryl's right, go get some rest," Tricia finally sighed, glancing at Tyki in disappointment. Oh. Really? She was still trying? Anyway... YES! Feeling joy, I still had to restrain myself and thank Tricia with a slight bow before walking towards the stairs, passing Tyki in the process.
"Well done." He murmured with an amused but still terribly relieved tone. He too must not have wanted to juggle Tricia's innuendo all evening. I smiled at him but still saved the happy hopping until I was locked in my room because I could still feel the assessing gaze of the Millennial Earl pressed into my back.
And to my horror, I couldn't help thinking that it would certainly not be the last time...
Phew... that was a tough one... I wasn't really happy with the first version, this one is better but... I'd have to rewrite something totally different to be happy with it I think X) But, hey! I'm lazy!
So what do you think of the Millennium Earl and Eve Campbell? Over 5000 words and the Millennium Earl! It's a good Christmas present :3 No? and wait till you see the rest! I'm writing UAPV (yes, I'm a bit behind, I still haven't finished it) and I think we're going to have a gargantuan jump in the plot in the next chapter (just two chapters after the exorcists!)
Think about letting a review on your way out and see you on the 25th of next month!