( chapter four ! )
"Goodness sake, where did they put the tea leaves in this house?"
Seated in one of the chairs not drowned in random items, Leah watches as Madame Red, Lau, and Grell search every nook and cranny of the room, Anna stationed a couple of feet behind her. The room that was previously decorated quite nicely is now askew, leaving a mess in the group's carelessness.
"I can't find them either.." Lau remarks, staring into a vase while squatting on the floor.
Breathing out a concerned sigh, Leah can hardly believe her eyes at how none of the adults seem to think trashing a room that isn't theirs is a bad idea, "Perhaps we shouldn't make a mess.." Trailing off, the girl sets a couple of books to the side.
Bending in her seat, but overall unmoving from her position, Leah makes small attempts to tidy the room and ignores the faint 'nonsense' that leaves the older woman in red. It's not worth the effort, however, as Ciel and Sebastian have already seemed to arrive to take in the group of five leaving part of the young Earl's townhouse in disarray.
"Madame Red?! Lau?! Leah?!" Ciel exclaims, observing the damage with small beads of sweat running down the side of his face, "Why are you here.."
"Ah, he came back so quickly," Madame Red looks up in surprise at the sight of her nephew, "Since my cute little nephew is in London, how could I not come to visit you while I'm here?"
Besides Angelina, Lau smirks at Ciel's arrival, "Hey, Earl. I've heard that many interesting things happen here."
"Hello, Ciel! Lau invited me to tag along, isn't that kind of him?" Leah muses before pushing herself up from her seat, and approaching her fiancé with a bright smile drawn across her face.
Holding back a sigh when he sees the bundle of brown hair, Ciel allows her to envelop him in a chaste, but rather tight, hug. The Phantomhive awkwardly places his arms around Leah in return, making small pats on her waist and feeling the soft fabric of her carnation pink dress.
Putting more thought into his betrothed's statement, Ciel's brows are quick to furrow in confusion, "Lau invited you? You're friends with Lau?"
"I don't know if I would say, friends.. I think acquaintances is a better fit." Leah says with uncertainty, nodding her head to her words.
Across the room, Lau makes playful sounds of disapproval at the teenager's response, "Aww.. I would say we are friends, are we not? You're friends with Ran Mao, after all, that makes us friends!" Lau smirks, wrapping an arm around Leah's shoulder.
"Well— I suppose.."
"You're friends with Ran Mao?"
Leah turns her head at Ciel's question, blissfully ignoring his faint look of disapproval, "I would like to think so, yes! I speak with her to practice my Chinese, sometimes I struggle with the grammar. Lau introduced us." she smiles.
Brushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear, the brunette smiles when she recalls the eccentric lady she's grown fond of. Out of all the friends she can have, Leah always manages to find them in the most random places.
"You speak Chinese?" Ciel stands beside the girl, dumbfounded at the new information. The young Earl is even more confused when his fiancé doesn't acknowledge his question and gives him an unnerving smile.
Seated around a long table, the aristocrats peacefully enjoy a cup of tea, taking sips and enjoying the aroma. On Leah's side of the table, she sits a decent distance away from Ciel while playfully twirling the liquid in her cup, aimlessly whispering to Anna.
Gently holding a teapot in his hand, Sebastian has a cloth situated beneath it and a slight tilt to his head, "Today's tea is a Jackson's 'Earl Grey'."
"It's the same kind of tea, but yet the way you make it makes such a difference~" Madame Red lifts the cup to her lips, "Grell, you should follow his example."
Behind Angelina's chair, Grell dips her head and wears a disappointed expression, "Y.. Yes."
"Anyways," Madame Red starts, eying Sebastian to her left, "No matter what, every time I see you, you're still so handsome.. Why don't you simply quit working here and come serve me!"
Stroking her hands across Sebastian's bottom — in a rather quick manner — Madame Red laughs to herself with a satisfied smirk across her lips. Watching in disdain, irritation, and perhaps a little disgust, Ciel coughs from his end of the table and calls out to his aunt, which all he receives is a quiet 'I'm sorry' with flushed cheeks.
"Let's talk seriously now," Ciel sets down his cup of tea and adjusts himself in his seat, resting his left arm on the armrest, "I've heard about the case of prostitutes being murdered on the streets lately."
Leah's cup clatters at the sudden change of topic, surprise written all over her face. Placing a pale hand over her chest, the young girl lets out a breathy gasp and a faint 'oh my'.
Observing from her seat, Madame Red smiles at the teenager's behavior, "Ciel.. You can't just say such a thing around a lady!" she says, teasingly shaking her head. "But I do know of it yes. What are you planning?"
Lau's signature expression remains as he glances in Leah's direction, smiling and pushing a pastry her way. Ciel on the other, sighs at his aunt's words, remembering his fiancé is in the room and not nearly exposed to such topics as Angelina is.
"Pardon me," Ciel leans back in his chair and crosses his right leg over his left, "This isn't just some ordinary case. The killer's ways are very special— no, I should say, abnormal. That's why 'she' is so concerned about it."
"What do you mean?"
Plate held under his arm, Sebastian speaks up from behind Ciel's chair, "The murdered prostitute was called Mary Ann Nichols. The wounds looked like they were from some kind of sharp tool, using quick cuts, with a painful death."
"The police and other prostitutes call the murderer Jack the Ripper." Ciel butts in, placing his fork in his mouth.
From her seat, a grimace invades the face of the brunette, not accustomed to hearing such a thing. Leah has spent so many years of her life heavily sheltered — like most young girls — so to hear even a faint depiction of murder, it's hard to take lightly. 'How is no one else batting an eye to this?'
"I just wanted to know the circumstances sooner, so I rushed to London, too."
A chuckle sounds from Lau, slowly taking a sip from his teacup, "The Queen's Watchdog has already been dispatched but I'm not interested. However.. do you have the guts to go to the crime scene?"
"What do you mean?" Ciel asks.
Lau lifts himself out of his chair with a creak and makes slow moves towards the Earl, "I smelled a wild beast at the crime scene, the murderer is definitely an abnormal madman."
"Will you be scared, Earl of Phantomhive?" Lau questions, bringing his hand up to lay a gentle touch upon Ciel's left cheek.
Gaze lowering, Ciel's eyes take on a darker tone, "I came because I was worried about my fiancé. I don't need to answer your pointless questions." he says, his voice lowering an octave.
Looking up at the mention of her, Leah's eyes drift to the scene casually being displayed to her right. For what seems to be a split second, there's a smile on her face before it disappears just as fast.
"I thought you said you came because you wanted to know the circumstances?" Leah pouts, lowering her teacup to spin it on the saucer.
A brief silence fills the room before Angelina bursts into a short fit of laughter, hand on her forehead while doubling over in her seat. Wiping a tear from her eye, the red-haired woman barely notices the deadpan expression on Leah's face who was entirely serious with her question.
Ignoring the atmosphere in the room, Lau grabs ahold of Ciel's arm and begins to drag him, "Come take a stroll with me!" Lau has an overly happy smile on his face, attempting to run.
"Wait a minute!" Ciel yells in exasperation, struggling to keep up due to being caught off guard.
Releasing a sound of irritation, Madame Red shoots Lau a nasty look, "Seriously! I rarely ever get to have some afternoon tea with the Earl, but I can't even enjoy it in peace? I want to go too." The woman demands. "Lau, where is this crime scene?"
"Don't you know, Madame?" Lau glances behind himself to ask, "Don't ask me.. I don't know the way either."
"You talk so arrogantly, yet you don't even know where it is?!" Madame Red shouts, irk marks appearing on her forehead when she sees the Chinese man.
Pushing her teacup to the side, Leah watches the scene before her until she decides to join in on the fun, happily walking herself closer to the other group of aristocrats. Leah waves for Anna to follow but makes no other effort, positioning herself beside Ciel with a blissful smile.
"Can I come along as well?" Leah asks, clasping her hands together at the thought of an afternoon out with her betrothed.
Shaking his head, Ciel looks towards Leah but doesn't meet her eye, "No. This is nothing a lady needs to see or hear about."
"But Madame Red is going, why can't I?"
"Because Madame Red is older. You are still young."
"We're the same age, Ciel! You're going, that isn't fair!"
"It's not about fair! My aunt is accustomed to this, you are only used to sitting inside all day."
"I want to go."
"No."
"I want to go!"
"No!"
"It isn't fair if everyone else goes and I have to go home!"
The group of seven stands before a run-down building, the sign reading 'Undertaker'. Much of the outside and its decorations appear deteriorated or taken over by grass and dirt, seemingly unused. The coffins and headstones add a gothic effect, but would also be seen as odd to the average person who passes by.
Merrily clapping her hands together, Leah keeps her arm linked with Ciel's, and a bright smile adorns her unblemished face, "Isn't this lovely?" she chirps.
"I could have been even more lovely had you listened to me when I said not to come," Ciel grumbles, keeping his arm loosely tucked at his side while his betrothed clings to him.
Taking a moment to glance at his aunt yelling at Grell, Ciel releases an unamused sigh before setting on walking inside the building. Leah, barely a step behind the blue-haired teen, stays tucked near his side as she observes the dingy contents within the walls.
"Are you there, Undertaker?" Ciel calls out.
Hardly even a moment after Ciel speaks, there's an unsettling voice that fills the air. The sound rings out from all directions, surrounding the group as everyone except Ciel looks around with uncertainty.
"Hi hi.. I knew that you would come.."
A creek settles over Leah's ears as she watches the cover of a coffin pull back, revealing Undertaker's grinning form hidden inside, "Welcome, Earl.." he starts, earning screams from everyone —save for Ciel and Sebastian — "Do you want to see how it feels to sleep in my custom-made coffin?"
Undertaker brings his hand closer to Ciel's face, brushing against his lips with a gentle touch, "I didn't come here to play today.." Ciel says, giving the grey-haired man an unimpressed look.
"You don't need to tell me. I know why you came." Undertaker giggles, lifting his left hand to touch a nail to his bottom lip, "With just one look~ I can tell what's on your mind." Flashing his long nails, the man gets a look at Leah, grinning ear to ear, "Since the Earl went out of his way to visit me, I'll certainly do everything I can to help."
"You know something?"
Ignoring Ciel's question, Undertaker moves around the room with a wave of his arms, "Please take a seat first, I'll go make tea."
"Sit where—?"
"Why not just sit on top?"
Everyone looks around in uncertainty when Undertaker blatantly suggests sitting on top of the coffins, staring down at the wooden caskets. Leah decides to step up first, reluctantly releasing her arm from Ciel's but gracefully takes a seat on the top, waiting for the rest of the aristocrats to follow.
"Now then," Undertaker opens a jar of biscuits, a beaker filled with tea stationed before him, "You wanted to know about Jack the Ripper? Everyone's been scared because of this disturbance.." he looks out at the group, not acknowledging their uncomfortable stances, "But this isn't the first time I've handled this kind of thing."
Clenching the beaker in her hand, Madame Red looks towards Undertaker in concern, "Isn't this the first time? What do you mean?"
"It's happened before," Undertaker speaks while simultaneously chewing on a biscuit hanging from his mouth, "A case where prostitutes were killed."
Leaving his spot, Undertaker takes his jar with him to playfully shake it in front of Leah and Ciel, offering to only be quietly denied by the pair, "In fact, the way they were killed was very similar too."
"But in the beginning, the police didn't think much of these cases." The grey-haired man continues, "Though the murdered prostitutes all had something in common."
Ciel's eyes widen, "Something in common?"
"What is it?" Sebastian continues.
"Well now, I wonder what, I wonder what it is indeed." Undertaker sings, closing the lid to his biscuit jar, "Is it bothering you?" he teases.
"I see, so that's how it is." Lau smiles, "You're very good at doing business, Undertaker. How much money do you want for this information?"
Stricken with surprise, Undertaker blinks slowly, "How much money?!" Getting uncomfortably close to Lau, he brings his hands near the Chinese man's chest and grins. "I don't want any of the Queen's money!"
The two women in the room watch Undertaker's behavior with shock and unease, an energy matched by Lau at the man's sudden closeness. Leah takes small and continuous sips of her tea, trying to ignore Undertaker who is starting to unsettle her. 'Ciel always seems to know the strangest people.'
Turning his head away from Lau, Undertaker directs his gaze to Ciel, "Now then, Earl.." Doing the same as he did with Lau, he's within the young boy's face in seconds, holding the sides of his face with clothed hands and a laugh, "I only have one requirement.."
Strange giggles leave the man as droll drips from his lips, a permanent smile etched on his face. Leaning closer to Ciel, Leah pushes her lips together, "This man is quite strange, no?" she whispers but is waved off by her fiancé who meets her eye.
"Show me a 'first-rate laugh'. If you do, no matter what you want to know, I'll tell you!" Undertaker laughs eagerly along with his words.
Ciel turns to Sebastian, "Weirdo."
Beside the young Earl, his butler can't bring himself to deny his words as he watches Undertaker slump over a counter. Taking it upon himself, Lau steps forehead with slow strides.
"Earl, if that's the case, let me handle this."
Within many failed — and depressing — attempts, Sebastian is finally able to make Undertaker crack, nearly destroying his outside decor in the process. However, Leah is still a bit upset that Ciel covered her ears, preventing her from hearing Madame Red's inappropriate joke.
The front door opens with a creak and a smiling Sebastian peers from inside, a giggling and shaking Undertaker in the background, "Please come back in. Let's continue our discussion."
Walking back inside, everyone gazes wearily at the drooling Undertaker but says no more, shifting back to their original spots. Sticking close to Ciel, she drags Anna alongside her to vent her frustrations about the grey-haired man before her.
"Come.. Continue, whatever you want to know is fine.." Undertaker releases more strange laughs, leaning back with a euphoric look. As euphoric as he can look without his eyes being shown, that is.
Leah seats herself back upon the coffin, pulling Anna beside her so she's now in between the woman and Ciel. Quietly clearing her throat, she leans into Anna's ear, "This man is quite strange, is he not?" she asks with a lowered voice.
"He works with dead bodies. You can only expect someone so sane in that line of work, Mistress." Anna holds her typical tone of voice, that of someone with a dull personality and entirely uninterested. Yet she seems involved in the situation.
"Why did I come here, again?" Leah asks, hardly noticing when Ciel takes the beaker of tea out of her hands.
"You threw a fit."
"I did not throw a fit!"
Sucking in a breath, Leah readies herself to explain her actions but her voice falters when she feels a pair of hands around her. One lanky hand had a loose grasp on her neck and she can feel the fingernails faintly scratching her skin through her neckpiece, another sits on her lower abdomen, feeling through her corset.
"If he had to act within such a short time, he should slit the throat first. Then proceed to cut open the stomach. It's easier to succeed this way." Undertaker giggles into the young girl's ear, enjoying how she stiffens under his touch.
Poking a pointy nail to her cheek, Undertaker closes in on her and invades her personal space further. "From the looks of the culprit's work, that cruel accuracy wasn't carried out by a normal citizen." Pulling his head back, the grey-haired man turns to peek at Ciel, "It had to have been someone experienced. You should've been able to figure that out too, Earl." he creepily smiles.
A look of disgust paints Ciel's face before reaching a hand out to Undertaker's, firmly pulling them away from Leah's body. There is a faint 'Don't touch her' that can be heard but no further commentary is made as the young Earl stands from his seat, ignoring any of Undertaker's words to pull Leah to stand beside him.
Sebastian approaches the pair from behind, lifting Ciel's coat to place it on him. Stretching out his arms, the boy beckons the rest of the group to follow him as his arms slip into the sleeves. "The world of darkness has the world of darkness's rules. He wouldn't murder random people for no reason. There must be an influence manipulating him from behind." he speaks.
"I won't be scared, no matter what tricks the Queen's lackeys want to use, I will solve them all." Madame Red and Lau appear neutral to Ciel's words, "Sorry for intruding, Undertaker."
Leaning away from Ciel, Leah gets close to Anna's ear and gives her a wide-eyed look, "Maybe it's not just that Undertaker fellow.. I think all of them are insane." She breathes, squinting her eyes at the rest of the aristocrats.
The group now sits within a moving carriage, a faint rattling noise filling their ears and slight shakes to their movements. Leah is seated beside Ciel and across from Lau, a content smile painted upon her face with a somewhat squished Anna to her right. Surprisingly, the teen doesn't have much interest in the subject at hand but chooses to listen, playing with the gloves encasing her hands.
"What do you think after hearing that?" Ciel asks, sporting a rather uninterested demeanor as he leans on his elbow.
Finger on his chin, Sebastian tries to get his thoughts going, "I've been thinking.. The murderer should be 'an anatomical expert', but also know where the police are when they commit the crime." Sebastian explains, "The culprit could be taking away the organs for some kind of ceremony or because they're with a 'black magic cult'."
"Then right now.. Where do we start from? It's 'The Season' right now, there are so many people gathered at the capital!" Madame Red says in exasperation, hands out while she stares down at her lap.
There's a small gasp that leaves Leah as she turns her head to Ciel, "Can you believe my mother won't be debuting me this season? Tragic, I must say.." The girl places a hand on her forehead as she speaks dramatically.
"You aren't even finished with your studies, are you? It makes sense. Most girls your age still don't debut for another year or two." Ciel grumbles, dragging his eyes across her face.
Leah pouts at her fiancé's words, "I'm nearly finished my studies! I only have some Chinese and embroidery left.."
"Oh, I'm sure you'll debut next year, darling! Your mother will want to get you out into society before you marry Ciel, and that could be any year now!" Angelina cuts into the young aristocrat's conversation, smiling down at Leah with a maternal aura.
An irritated flush covers the Phantomhive's face at the mention of marriage, recalling that it's expected he get married within the next few years. It's not so much that he minds marrying Leah, rather the process and knowing he's in a lifetime commitment is his problem.
"I hope so.. There's only so much you can do inside all day. That's why I'm always trying to accompany you, Ciel! I go whenever my father allows it." The Barrett girl clasps her hands together, sending the blue-haired boy a soft smile. Amidst her interaction, she hardly realizes the conversation shifting back to its original topic.
"There's no way we can investigate clearly during 'The Season'," Sebastian smirks, eying a confused Lau at the mention of waiting for the season to end.
Madame Red starts, "Let's just say we can't investigate clearly.. shouldn't we at least be able to compile a report on the suspects?!" she furrows her brows, seemingly struggling with her thoughts.
A shared glance between Ciel and Sebastian goes unnoticed by the rest, "Please wait a moment." Sebastian places a hand on his chest, "As the Earl of Phantomhive's butler, how could I not be able to accomplish such a small matter?"
Ciel gives a prideful smirk while Leah and Anna exchange a subtle look, "Then, I'll immediately go investigate and quickly research all the suspects' reports." Sebastian says with a smile.
Sebastian, the ever so elegant butler, bursts open the door to the moving carriage, startling the passengers inside. Calling back to Grell guiding the carriage, he speaks with the seemingly nervous woman before shifting his attention back inside the moving vehicle.
"Then, please excuse me if I leave now." Slamming the door shut, Ciel appears unphased after previously shooing the butler off. The rest of the group, however, is very much filled with concern and surprise.
"Wait a minute?! Isn't this horse carriage still running?!" Madame Red shouts, Lau beside her as they peer out the window.
Staring off at the space that Sebastian previously occupied, Leah turns to Anna with a questioning blink. "My.. he is just as deranged as Thomas." she breathes out, which earns a faint giggle out of the maid.
Out of the blue, Leah begins to feel a sudden disinterest in the conversation. Pursing her lips together, there's a look of frustration in her eyes as she zones out, eyes trained on the floor of the carriage. The girl's hair bounces to the movements of the carriage, no longer participating as Ciel, Madame Red, and Lau discuss Sebastian.
With the townhouse in view, the aristocrats finally return from a long carriage ride. Stepping down from the carriage, Leah gratefully accepts Ciel's hand as her heels make contact with the ground, Anna following not far behind her. Forming a small — and not so organized — line, they make their way towards the front door.
"Haa~ We're finally back home." Lau gives a relieved smile, "My back hurts.."
Towards the back of their little line, Madame Red practically fumes, "We only arrived so late because Grell went the wrong way!" The older woman yells, barely hearing the 'sorry' coming from Grell over her voice.
"Calm down, Madame Red. Let's first have a cup of afternoon tea and rest," Lau glances back at the red-haired woman, opening the door to the townhouse. "Ok..?" his words fall short when he notices Sebastian standing before him.
"Welcome back. I've been waiting for everyone for a while."
Ignoring Sebastian's bow, Leah and Ciel file into the house while Madame Red and Lau stay behind them, staring at the butler clad in black. The two teens hardly pay attention as Sebastian explains the tea and dessert, filing to the next room.
Feeling an overcoming sense of fatigue, Leah releases slow blinks and looks back towards the maid following her, "Anna, do find the softest chair in this house. I'm feeling rather tired.." she drones, noises of discontent leaving her.
"Are you alright?" Ciel shifts his attention to his fiancé, dropping his interest in the snacks to worry about her sudden tiredness.
The Barrett girl gives a cute smile, closing her eyes as she shifts closer to Ciel until their shoulders touch. "I'm sure I am fine.. It's not uncommon for me to feel fatigued for no reason."
Ciel's nose scrunches at Leah's words, "Perhaps you should see a doctor about that?" he suggests, trying to make his concern more loud than it is.
"She has," Anna mumbles, passing by with a chair in her arms.
Nodding along to the words of her lady's maid, Leah pushes her hands together. "Yes, my father has already had me see a doctor. At first, they said I was just being a woman but after hours of research, Thomas found a reasonable diagnosis that the doctors agreed upon." Leah purses her lips, "Iron deficiency anemia, I believe. Currently, I just stay on a diet with a good amount of iron to relieve the symptoms. That's why my skin is so fair!"
The pair of teens pay little attention to Sebastian reading his list of suspects, moving to the parlor so they can enjoy some tea. Taking a seat — not before thanking Anna for grabbing the chair — Leah leans into it comfortably and removes the gloves from her hands.
"Iron deficiency anemia? What is that?" Ciel questions, crossing his right leg over his left.
Putting her gloves down on the table, Leah watches Anna leave the room, "Supposedly my body lacks iron and red blood cells. This causes symptoms of fatigue, paleness, shortness of breath, weakness, rapid heartbeat, headaches, hair loss, lightheadedness, cold hands and feet, and irritability. I do believe I suffer from all of those, except for hair loss.." she breathes shakily after her list, catching her breath as she smiles.
"Can you do anything about—"
"The doctors suggested iron tablets but I thought they tasted horrible so instead I am on an iron-rich diet."
Ciel hums at the explanation, folding his hands together with a nod. Glancing over at the girl, he tries to hide his concerns for her and listens out for the voices that slowly approach the door. "Well do make sure to stay on top of your diet."
A cheesy smile leaves the Barrett girl, leaning her head on her arm in a feeling of ecstasy at Ciel's words.
"No promises."