History: A Touch of Colour in Grey

Book 1: Shading the black.

Date: 25 July 2019, corrected March 2022

Beta: Koneko has tentatively taken over ! (2019) and none (2022)

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, taking the name Eve, becomes Tricia Kamelott's lady-in-waiting. Eve quickly becomes aware of the social and gender differences of the time and begins to fear for her future, especially when Road, the twins, Tyki and even Allen arrive. As she got to know them, Eve became more or less friends with them, which made her feel the wrath of the other employees of the manor. This is compounded when Tyki discovers that a maid was stealing Allen's mail from Eve and decides to send her away. As a backlash, Eve gets harassed even more and one employee ends up falling down the stairs (more or less because of Road)

Chapter Trigger: Nothing (as far as I can see)

A bit of a quiet chapter but I had to manage with the little time I had to devote to it these days, so...

Enjoy your reading!

Shading the Black Chapter 22: Family Troubles

Marie Brown was not dead.

And honestly, I didn't feel anything.

I guess... well, my feelings were cancelling each other out? I was relieved that she was alive but she had been such a pain in the ass the last few weeks that I was just glad she was out of my view... somehow.

Yes, because even though she was still breathing, she had broken her left arm badly and even with time and care it would always be difficult for her to move. Mrs Brown had been "subtly" dismissed as soon as she woke up from the operation by a furious Tricia: Road had happily fed her all my misadventures that I had been careful to hide from her for the last few weeks.

I might as well say that I hadn't escaped a sad reprimand either. All three of us nestled under the covers of the big bed in the master bedroom, a weeping Tricia had hugged Road and me, making us swear to tell her if anything happened to us again.

I had crossed my fingers.

Surprisingly, I had a very good night afterwards. Huddled under heavy blankets alongside my boss and a Noah who had nearly killed another employee in front of me, and all in the nineteenth century of a parallel world, you'd have thought I'd spent the night tossing and turning anxiously. However, as soon as I had made my 'promise' to Tricia, I had been lulled by anxious whispers and had fallen asleep without further ado. I must have missed the cuddles very much. Not surprising, I hadn't had much opportunity to cuddle in the last eight months...

The next morning had been quite strange. I don't know if Sheryl had come in the night or not, but if he had, he must have ducked out when he saw his bed invaded by women because he was nowhere in sight in the morning. He must have gone to his secondary room, the one he occupied when Tricia was too ill or he came home late. I stayed in bed for a long time enjoying the moment. With Sheryl gone and not having made a sound myself, Tricia and Road were still sound asleep despite the increasingly late hour. But eventually I dragged myself out of bed and headed for my room to change my clothes... before I remembered that I'd hidden the last of them at the twins'. Still in the nightgown Tricia had lent me last night to replace my blood-soaked clothes, I had returned to the master bedroom, not sure what else to do. I must have made too much noise, because Tricia was awake.

The rest of the day was a blur. Like my first period in this world, Tricia had taken care of everything and I had just sat on the bed with Road to witness her tornado of efficiency. The other servants who had actively participated in my hazing had been sent to clean my room from top to bottom under Eliott's scrutinizing gaze (akuma I tell you) and then Tricia had happily placed an order for some new dresses (the good thing, according to her) and then promoted Elinor Ingleston, the previous Head Maid, to be Tricia's personal maid in place of Mrs Brown. Which, surprisingly, had left the Head Maid position to my friend Clarisse.

Hu.

I guess I was glad that at least something good came out of the whole thing? Clarisse took the news without a blink of an eye and dived into her new role with enviable ease. I didn't know how she managed to be so calm and efficient when I know I would have been a nervous wreck if I had been in her position. Besides, John had certainly taken the matter well, but Louise had become very uncomfortable. I understood, it was her aim to become a maid as soon as she was old enough, and in that case Clarisse would be her direct boss. Fortunately Clarisse's calmness had saved the day, because otherwise the dynamics of our little group would have taken a hit. After a few dinners and breaks here and there, the bad feelings had dissipated and the atmosphere was back to normal, even more pleasant now that we were not on constant alert, waiting for a bad move from other employees.

A week later, things were pretty much back to normal. Only I was even more ostracised by the employees now. Practically everyone, except my little group and Berthe, avoided me like the plague. Even those who had more or less supported me during the employee cold war. It was a bit sad, but having known the alternative... Anyway, I didn't really have time to be lonely. Road was even more clingy than usual, with the school not standing in her way and the twins weren't exactly out of it either, coming to play as soon as their private lessons finished.

It was quite disconcerting to be the centre of attention and I didn't like it much. Fortunately for me, we were soon into September and that date alone brought a lot of problems with it, making other quickly forget about me.

On the one hand, there was Tricia's birthday on the third of September. This was already causing the first disagreement in the family. Road wanted a big ball, as hers had been, but Tricia, not knowing how she would feel on that date, didn't want to organise such a big affair that could so easily become a social disaster. Besides, with Sheryl's political campaign coupled with my "accident" only two weeks before her birthday, it seemed difficult to organise.

In another noble household of that time, the matter would not even have been discussed. On the one hand, the child would have had no say in the matter and would instead be reprimanded for insisting on an 'adult' issue, on the other hand, any opportunity was good to organise a ball. It was a matter of politics, understand.

So it was the real freedom (for the time, again) that Sheryl offered the women in his life that was the problem. Road was a real child-queen and even Tricia who had been so adamant about only celebrating her birthday with her family began to waver when Road made her preference known. Sheryl, on the other hand, was desperate to please Road but was worried about his wife. But finally, the conflict was tipping dangerously close to a ball when Tyki added his two cents.

Or rather, withdrew it.

I admit, it may have been a bit my fault on that one...

Of course, from the start, Tyki was firmly on Tricia's side "She's feeling so well right now, the stress of organising a ball is not a good idea..." he said in an apologetic tone. Ah, as if! He just didn't want to go. I might as well say that I was teasing him mercilessly on that one. Well, it's true that I was originally more timid in my teasing, for fear of being taken in again. Fortunately, Sheryl had quickly calmed my fears by assuring me during the second hour of the debate that there was no way I would accompany Tyki again. Fortunately for me, the reasons were numerous and so convincing that even Tricia and Road agreed without reservation.

It always came back to politics...

Well, anyway, I was having a blast! Since there was no way I was going to get hired again in this mess, I had teased Tyki until he was tearing his hair out. And then, laughing, I told him that, if worse came to worst, he could always run away again.

And he had done it, the idiot.

With only a note vaguely mentioning something to do, he was gone. Of course, Sheryl quickly went on the hunt, locking himself in his office all day and screaming into his office phone, the dance relegated to the back of his mind. I, on the other hand, was making myself scarce. Trying to be as small as possible, I was doing my absolute best not to be noticed, but Road had obviously saw me choking on the tea when I'd heard Tyki was missing and... well, Road was terrifying. So I told her I might know where he'd be. I mean, after three days of begging and thinly veiled threats! So what? Road is really scary! I was already proud of myself for holding out so long...

And that's why we found ourselves, Road, the twins and I, without any adults (and yes, at that time I wasn't counting) in London.

This story was going to end badly...

"Are you sure Uncle Tyki is here?" asked Road suspiciously, wrinkling his nose as he passed a smelly alley.

"No." I almost growled. "I told you, it's a guess, I just know he was hanging around a few months ago..."

"A few months! What are we doing here, then? Even he wouldn't be stupid enough to stay in one place that long" Devit groaned as he kicked a misplaced rock.

"Especially with the Marquis looking for him everywhere..." nodded Jasdero, looking nervous as he looked around. The boys didn't go out very often, so maybe he was a little uncomfortable seeing so many people? It's true that the streets were pretty crowded...

"That's what I said! Let's go back to the mansion, Road, there's no way he's going to be... Tyki?" I choked out as I dropped my gaze to the man in front of me. I had been careful to keep us in the upper alleys, away from the bar, why the hell was he there?

"Uncle Tyki!" Road shouted with delight as she pounced on the pallid-looking man frozen in front of us. The Noah of Pleasure looked tempted to step aside to avoid his fellow clanswoman but he seemed to decide not to tempt the devil and stayed put, just opening his arms wide to catch her with a sigh. "What possessed you to leave like that? Couldn't you have waited a few more days?" Road groaned before letting go of her uncle and suddenly throwing a fast fist into his stomach that made him fall to his knees with a grimace.

The little girl turned sulkily and grabbed the twins by the arm before stomping off towards the sweet shop just around the corner without even a glance to see if we were following.

Looking down, I held out a hand to help Tyki to his feet. Stumbling, Tyki continued to massage his stomach with one hand while turning to me with a slightly irritated look on his face. "I thought you didn't want this ball too, why did you help them find me?"

At his words, I snorted a sarcastic laugh. "As if I could resist Road." I grinned and he nodded in response. "And, I'm flattered that you think I could find you in a city as big as London without so much as a hint of 'I've got some urgent business I need to attend to, I don't know when I'll be back' but it really was pure chance. I'd even been careful to avoid our bar... besides, what are you doing in the middle alleys of London?" I asked curiously as I observed his middle-class clothes. They weren't as nice as usual, but they certainly weren't the rags he wore on our outings with Allen.

Tyki ran a hand through his hair and sighed again. He did that a lot. "The first place Sheryl would look for me outside of the house is in the East End... I figured I could take him at his own game, but it looks like I'm the one who got screwed..."

"Well, it's not like Road is paying attention, you can always try running again..." I suggested as we watched Road and the twins through the shop window.

"No, it's okay, it's just over a week until Tricia's birthday, it would be politically incorrect to invite on such short notice, Sheryl would never do that." Tyki replied with a shrug as we entered the shop.

"So why didn't you come home earlier?" I asked curiously, wincing at the price of a bag of fudge.

"Sheryl's going to be awful, whether I'm gone for an hour or a month so I might as well enjoy it..." He explained. "But now that Road has found me, I'm certainly not going to make her wait any longer or she'll make me regret it."

"That I can believe..." I muttered as I watched a poor salesman being orally destroyed by the little Noah.

In the end, all five of us came home with pockets full of candy, nearly a third of it courtesy of Road's terrifying smile. Tyki was dragging himself all the way to the back of the group, but he was reassured when Sheryl didn't come running when we entered the mansion: he must have still been looking for his brother in town. We, on the other hand, were given quite a scolding. I had never seen Tricia so upset. Road had dragged me out shortly after lunch and the twins had stood up their teacher to follow us. So, obviously, I hadn't had time to warn her. We did get the coachman from the manor to take us to London, but Road had ordered him to wait for us in the main square so he couldn't chaperone us or warn Tricia.

So we all stood awkwardly in front of Tricia, sheepish, even Road. It was hard to take her disapproving look without flinching and we were all terribly relieved when she sighed wearily and began to kiss the children in turn.

"Thank you so much, Eve, I was a little relieved to know you were with them." She smiled as she kissed me gently. I had to restrain myself from admitting to her that I hadn't really been the most adult on this one, on the contrary, I had followed Road like a duckling.

"And you, young man!" She said suddenly as she planted herself in front of Tyki, her hands folded. "We were terribly worried! Disappearing like that without saying anything... Sheryl has been looking for you everywhere!"

"I left a note?" Tyki tried to defend himself but the justification sounded a bit lame. "I just had some business I had to take care of..." He said again but was quick to elaborate at Tricia's exasperated look. "A friend had fallen ill, he needed help." He said vaguely in an obvious lie.

Well, not for Tricia, it would seem, because she gasped as she pressed her fingers to her lips "Nothing serious, I hope?" She said worriedly and I felt Tyki slump into himself as he raised his hands quickly to reassure her.

"Oh no, he's already recovering very well!" He said with a nervous laugh.

"Oh, good, I'm relieved." She said before smiling and clapping her hands to get the attention of the children who had already started bickering again. "Let's go into the small living room for some tea, I'm sure Sheryl will be joining us soon."

And indeed, barely an hour later, the door to the small living room flew into the wall as Sheryl crashed into the room and charged at Tyki, smothering him fiercely under the weight of his love. There followed a few awkward minutes where Sheryl alternated between screaming and exaggerated affection on a Tyki who seemed to be in terrible pain. Finally, Sheryl calmed down a bit and they started talking about the ball again. As Tyki had foreseen, Sheryl sighed that it was too late to send out the invitations, causing Road to sulk a bit, which prompted Sheryl to promise her a new dress, which she accepted all too quickly. I guess she didn't care about the ball that much. The last reinforcement in favour of the ball shot down, nobody really wanted to bother about it and the subject was happily abandoned in favour of the small family party for Tricia's birthday.

The mistress of the house was desperate to see an opera currently playing in London which the noble ladies had recommended to her on Road's birthday. She offered to take everyone to the opera, but the twins threw a fit, Tyki promptly refused, and Road had already seen it with the Duke and had no desire to watch it again. Despite Tricia's pout, Sheryl flatly refused to let me go alone with them, and not wanting to go myself, I quickly sold her on the idea of a couple evening like they hadn't had since... well, at least almost since I'd arrived.

Tricia then lit up, obviously delighted at the idea and Sheryl seemed a little ashamed that he hadn't spent more time with his over the last few months. Finally, it was decided that we would all have lunch together (yes, even I, I would have to brush up on my table manners...) Then Tricia would rest until tea time and go alone with Sheryl to have lunch in a great restaurant before the show. The next part of the plan was a bit more problematic... Tricia would probably be too tired after the show and Sheryl was thinking of sleeping at their house in London, avoiding the long journey in the middle of the night to the manor. However, Tricia was worried about leaving Road (so young!) and the twins (Dear, they're not used to the manor yet) all alone for the first time at the manor but Road pointed out, in a voice that was far too innocent to be true, that Tyki and I and a plethora of servants were there if we had a problem and that she really wouldn't "want to ruin your date, mother!" Obviously, in the face of such cuteness, Tricia immediately melted and accepted with a bright thank you to Tyki and me. Exchanging a skeptical look with my fellow sufferer, I could see that I was far from the only one who could smell something fishy... I wasn't looking forward to it...

Yet that wasn't the first problem to blow up in our faces. September didn't just mean "Tricia's birthday" after all. In fact, for me, as for probably many people, September meant back to school. In this case, Road begged, sulked, yelled, but for once Sheryl stood firm and she was enrolled for another year. Of course, before that, she had been careful to bring out all the possible and unimaginable arguments against going back to school (as Tyki had told me she did every time she came back from holiday) but for once, one hit the nail on the head. She had complained that she would much rather have tutors at home like the twins than join other girls from good families. This had raised Sheryl's eyebrows and after Road's situation was settled (with a "The Duke wishes it" which he could have got out half an hour earlier, it would have saved us the moaning) he raised the idea of sending the twins to a college for noble boys.

The twins, who seemed delighted to be able to get away from Sheryl for several months at a time (and was it right that I should feel so vexed that they preferred to leave the house to avoid Sheryl when they could barely see him rather than stay with Road, Tricia and me?) were soon disillusioned when Road chirped happily that the workload was much greater there, that they had chores and even disciplinary punishment.

Tricia was against them leaving either, she said, again, that it had only been a few months since the boys had arrived at the mansion and they had barely had time to acclimate. With all due respect to the woman, I still thought that the main reason Tricia didn't want the twins to leave was because she didn't want to be alone. Then again, Road was at school most of the time or visiting the Duke, Tyki was spending his time on dates or escaping to town to play poker and Sheryl was fully occupied with his ministerial campaign. So really, the twins and I were the only ones available most of the time. On the one hand, because I was working for her anyway, but also because the twins were only too happy to let go of their tutor (even though they've been enjoying him more lately) to help Tricia.

What's more, the twins, despite being about 14 years old, were as childish as could be and argued (well, mainly Devit) all the time on the same level as Road (who looked like nine). So, obviously, Tricia, who was the most maternal woman I knew at the time, couldn't help but treat them like infants and deal with them accordingly. Quite frankly, I think a human baby would do her a world of good...

Anyway, the point is that Tricia was very strongly opposed to the twins leaving, but perhaps not for all the right reasons. Sheryl, for his part, was not taking the welfare of the twins into account either. Again, all he cared about here was appearances. Since the twins were (apparently) of noble birth, they should have started school at thirteen. As it was quite out of the question to release them into high society immediately after their awakening (or at least I assumed they had awakened like Noah) they had stayed at the manor for an emergency refresher on their social skills. However, now that their skills were just about satisfactory (again, if they would deign to make an effort...) Sheryl didn't want to delay sending them to college. They could still pass for thirteen-year-olds (after all, we weren't even sure how old they were) and it was better to enter at the same ages as the other noble children to acquire better connections.

The fact that they wouldn't be around him for several months at a time must also have been a factor for Sheryl.

And that was the extent of the debate. Tyki didn't give a damn, Road was simply taking a malicious pleasure in adding fuel to the fire and, despite my privileged position among the servants, I frankly had no right to open my lips on these issues even if their treatment irritated me prodigiously. Perhaps, before all the latest trouble, I could have slipped in a remark, but Sheryl's patience was particularly short in my favour lately so I preferred not to tempt the devil and kept my mouth shut. It already seemed too much for him that I was even allowed in the room during family discussions given his frown. Honestly, I couldn't blame him. It's true that all the problems with the ball, the servants, Tyki and the children were getting to be a lot for a man who already didn't have a minute to himself with all the politics involved in the election, and since all these things could be blamed on me somehow... well... I would have preferred to be quietly in my room rather than endure the real cold war between the spouses but Tricia treated me as a welcome support and simply prevented me from leaving with a pleasant smile and a hand on my arm.

That's why I just stood back, a bland smile on my face trying to keep my eyebrows from furrowing into an annoyed scowl. I hated these situations where no one spoke to each other, which led to a lot of misunderstandings that often ended in tragedy. Unfortunately, discussion was a particularly underused mode of action in the 19th century. The whole society was based on a superior/inferior system even more accentuated than in the XXIst century and even if the Noahs were surprisingly tolerant on that side (Hell, they adopted street children and let a girl with no memory integrate into their family life.) they were also pretty damn stubborn.

As a result, Sheryl stuck to his positions, Tricia didn't even want to hear about it anymore, and the atmosphere at the mansion had become particularly chilly.

Sheryl, who had been making an effort to spend time with his family lately, had become scarce again, and Tricia, probably because of the bad relationship, had fallen into a kind of perpetual cold and was no longer out of bed. In fact, I thought they were even sleeping in separate rooms, or maybe Sheryl was getting up particularly early because I didn't even see him in the morning when I came to find Tricia.

All this to say that I was particularly happy to see the Duke arrive after three whole days of general tension. I was so relieved that I even came to meet him for once. I would have preferred the couple to settle their differences on their own, but only a miracle seemed to do the trick now, and being a non-believer... At least the Duke was ruling on the matter once and for all. From what I understood, he was the real guardian of the twins even if they lived with Sheryl, so even Tricia couldn't object to the decision if she felt like it.

With a hopeful smile, I guided him to Sheryl's office. Normally, he would have gone first to greet the lady of the house, in other words, Tricia, but as she was bedridden, she could not decently receive him. Well, for once it suited me. Indeed, it was not difficult to steer him onto the right topic of conversation by commenting that Tricia's absence was due to a dispute over the twins' schooling and, ho, perhaps you could talk to them about it? They seem particularly worried about leaving the manor and as they are very fond of you... manipulative? Of course I am. But at some point, you shouldn't have pushed it…

In spite of having overstepped my rank (aaah, the XIXth century, a real time of social plenitude...) the Duke, as usual, it seemed, let it go and concentrated instead on my words.

Perhaps a little too much so.

I was playing cards with Devit and Tyki, Jasdero and Road cuddling a doll next to us when there was a knock at the library door. Looking curiously at the door, I immediately stood up when I saw the Earl so that I could quickly greet him and get out of the way. Squeezed along a well-stocked shelf of books, I watched the Duke walk towards the younger Noahs, an unhappy Sheryl on his heels. It's funny how one person can make you change your behaviour completely. See Jasdevi for example, as soon as the Earl came into view, the boys had straightened up from their previous slumped positions with a bright look on their faces.

"Duuuuc" shouted Road as he jumped over his chair before running with her arms outstretched and crashing into the Earl.

"Phew!" sighed Adam exaggeratedly with a laugh before grabbing Road and carrying her to the small sitting area where the other three young Noahs had risen to greet him in turn, Sheryl dragging his feet behind him.

With a smile that was perhaps a little too smug, I left them to their business and with all the sneakiness I was capable of, I slipped out. Closing the door softly, I let out a tired sigh before walking down the hallway towards the bedrooms. I really hoped they would solve the problem properly this time... In the meantime, I had been meddling far too much lately and I preferred not to get on Sheryl's bad side any more than I already was, it wouldn't do me any good in the long run...

I didn't hear the end of that story that night. Tricia was still bedridden, so I ate early with her in her room before letting her sleep and returning to mine. The next day I was having breakfast with Tricia and Road when she told me that the twins would be going to boarding school.

"They compromised." Tricia explained. She still looked a little sad but nowhere near as annoyed and worried as she had the last few days. "They're trying school for a year and if they really don't like it, they'll have tutors at home."

"The Duke has also suggested a closer school and father has arranged with the management so that they can come back at the weekend," Road explained, swinging her feet back and forth.

"That sounds good..." I replied a little surprised. "I haven't seen the twins yet this morning, are they happy with the result?"

"They probably would have preferred not to have classes at all, but they're doing better than expected so I guess," Road replied with a shrug causing Tricia to scold her slightly about her lack of decorum causing me to quickly bring my cup to my lips to hide a laugh: I was pretty sure Road had caught that from me.

Well, the mansion was going to be pretty empty with the twins at boarding school... With Tricia resting, Road at school, Sheryl at work, Tyki wandering around and the servants avoiding me... I was going to have to find something to do urgently... but that shouldn't be too hard. I had a whole new century to experience after all.

KnK: Eve would make a good philosopher with all the introspection she does, lol.

Nël: Don't laugh, KnK, she WAS based on me after all X) And i would love it to be true but Philosophie is the only class i failed on the End of High School exam sooo... Hum... Anyway, Elogane wrote "Nuancer les sentiments" A fic parallel to this one that until proof of the contrary, I consider canon. Do not hesitate to check it ! It's in French, though.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, think about letting a review and see you on the 25th of next month!