"I'm the Phantomhive m-maid. Please, come in!"
The stuttering maid stepped aside and Rodric and I took a few steps inside, slightly uncertain. The interior of the manor was sparkling clean, and smelled like fresh bleach and soap, (the lemon scented kind), I almost slipped when I stepped on the marble flooring because of how waxed it was. Luckily, Rodric grabbed my arm before I fell, but the maid didn't seem to notice. She was wringing her apron around in her hands and seemed rather nervous.
"My name is Mey-Rin, and I'll take you both up to see the Master and his fiancée."
Fiancée? Ciel? I wouldn't have thought it. Instantly I wanted to see who could be betrothed to such an arrogant Earl, but there were a couple questions still tugging at my conscious. Such as, where was Sebastian?
"Hold on a moment," I said when we had reached the top of the stairs, "could you please ex--"
"Ah! Maldoris!"
All three of us spun to the left and saw a rather weary looking Sebastian at the top of the staircase, a bead of sweat on his forehead. His hair had been streaked back from the usual style he had it in, and his smile was extremely forced. Whatever had Mey-Rin on edge obviously affected Sebastian too. This meant nothing good.
"Mey-Rin go to the main hall. Madame Adelina and Maldoris, come." Sebastian ordered, waving his hand. "Quickly."
Rodric blinked but nonetheless followed Sebastian's instructions, walking up the steps while I followed at his side. This was extremely out of the ordinary, (not that we had experienced anything ordinary when it came to Lord Phantomhive and his butler), and I couldn't help but start to feel uneasy as well. After following the black butler for what felt to be a few minutes, he stopped and ushered us all into a tiny closet, shutting the door behind us. We all had little to no space available to each of us, but both butlers made it very clear that they wanted to give me my own space out of respect, leaving them smushed and entangled with each other on the other side of the small cupboard. At second glance, I realized that the shelves held extra covers and pillows.
"Now, listen to me very carefully," Sebastian whispered, moving his arm so it wasn't digging into Rodric's side. "Whatever you do... do not make any mistakes. She notices everything with such precision, it's a wonder she even has a husband."
"Who the blazes are you talking about?" Rodric hissed.
"His fiancée?" I asked, puzzled.
Sebastian scoffed and rolled his eyes, shaking his head as much as he could with the limited space he had. "Non, elle est très bête... Je parle de sa mère.1"
As Sebastian insulted Ciel's fiancée, I smiled, knowing already that she and I would not be the best of friends. I wasn't one for troublesome friendships. I also wasn't surprised in the slightest that Sebastian was fluent in French. So was Rodric, and he hadn't stepped on French ground in all his demon life. I was raised bilingual, with French and English being my first two languages, while Italian, Spanish, Japanese and Latin came in my later years.
"Sa mère?" I asked incredulously. "Elle est la cause de toute cette nervosité? 2"
"Oui, et elle est trop strict. Elle ne sait pas que vous êtes arrivé, donc être prudent, s'il vous plaît.3"
"Bien sûr.4" Rodric responded, nodding. This breakfast invitation was only getting more and more peculiar and questionable. Why wouldn't Ciel let his other guests know? I opened the door as carefully as I could, and we all fell out, landing on the marble floor with small thumps. I was stuck at the bottom, and as I opened my mouth to complain about the excessive weight, Rodric and Sebastian placed their gloved hands over my mouth. Each placed a finger over their lips and silently picked me up, brushing off my dress.
"Follow me," Sebastian said with a hush, and he lead us to a nearby hall where a few voices could be heard. Even at the distance that we were, it was evident that someone was berating Ciel.
"Just act as I say."
Sebastian opened the doors and stepped aside, bowing lowly to the people occupying the room before turning to do the same to me.
"My Lord, Countess Adelina has arrived."
Thankfully, the training of keeping my emotions inside was still in its prime, because I was holding back the biggest snort in months. Here was the Earl of Phantomhive with his hair swept back in two parts, reminding me of a two-year-old attending a tea party. His eye was twitching and his smile was strained as the taller woman continued scolding him about his Manor, while a girl with blonde hair clung to his arm in fear. My eyes widened slightly in sudden realization. She was the girl sobbing at the funeral.
"Ah! Countess Adelina!" Ciel exclaimed with slight relief, pulling himself away from the girl. "I'm pleased to see you could make it."
"Introductions, Ciel!" the tall lady snapped, whacking the back of his head with her fan. Ciel winced and instantly stood straighter, waving his hands over to both females, eyes closed in evident annoyance.
"May I introduce Marchioness Midford and Lady Elizabeth. My dear aunt and fiancée."
Trop strict indeed. In any case, I knew how to act accordingly.
"Pleasure to meet you both," I said with a curtsy. Rodric followed my lead and I continued on, smiling brightly. "I am Countess Adelina DelMare, and--"
"--Your butler is worse than my nephew's!"
"E-Eh?"
Ciel's aunt rushed over to Rodric with a comb in her hand, and I quickly stepped back to watch what she was doing, eyes wide. Rodric winced and let out a few complaints before finally giving up, slumping his shoulders and letting her tug and pull at his hair until she was satisfied. When she stepped away, I was, in short words, shocked. She had completely brushed Rodric's hair back just as she had done with Ciel and Sebastian.
"Je t'ai dit...5"
"H-How much better he looks now." I managed to say after a moment, biting back my tongue. This was all so difficult to keep from laughing at, and Rodric shot me a look of irritation. The woman glared at both butlers before turning back to me, her fan in hand. If slim memory served well, I recalled her from years before. She was married to England's head knight and presented herself as a clean and orderly woman. Not only was she a great fencer, but apparently it ran in the family. Eren and Erin were the ones who had told me since they read about the Midford's in the paper once. Her was hair in a tight bun, and much like Elizabeth had a long cowlick with a slight curl. She wore an ornate dress, with white gloves, and a short beaded necklace. The picture of a strict Marchioness. Elizabeth, on the other hand, had emerald green eyes with waist-long, golden-blonde locks worn in two big drills, along with the cowlick. She seemed to be dressed more like a porcelain china doll than a lady.
"You're the girl who gave Aunt Angelina her last roses," Elizabeth said, pointing at me with her finger. "I never did find out who you were, but I wanted to thank you."
"I thanked her for you, Elizabeth." Ciel quickly said, before glaring indiscreetly at Sebastian.
"Might I interest the Marchioness in our lovely array of horses in our stables?"
At first, Ciel's aunt paid no attention to Sebastian. She instead was looking at me up and down, circling me like a vulture does when it locates its prey. Now that may sound a bit harsh, but she clearly was looking for something to pick at. The scowl she wore furthermore proved it.
"You remind me a lot of your mother," she said, finally stopping her orbit. "She also had a misfortunate aura about her."
Time seemed to freeze at that exact moment. The air seemed to have been sucked out of my lungs and I took a step back, hands gripping the hems of my dress so tightly I could feel the cloth begin to tear. My expression was as blank as a slate, but as my eyes flitted to Rodric behind her, I saw that he had fixed his hair back to its original state, and he was positively seething with rage. Sebastian instantly stepped between him and Francis Midford, his arms outstretched to keep him from causing her any harm. Ciel had managed to turn Elizabeth's attention to the window while he shot troubled glances towards us.
"Sweetheart... whatever you hear... I'm so sorry for being an awful mother... but I love you so much..."
My chest began to tighten and I was beginning to have a difficult time standing. My ears were ringing now and I hurried to find a seat, at the moment not caring about how feeble I must have looked.
"My mother was a strong woman," I slowly breathed out, my eyes shut tight. I would not dare allow her to speak so crudely of her, and even less so let myself seem so affected by it. "And strong women always have misfortune following them."
I forced a smile at her and my uneasiness was lifted as I saw her blink in confusion. "I'm pleased you wouldn't know the pain of it."
Marchioness Midford's vexed glare was cut short by Sebastian, who once again pulled her attention away at the best moment with a hopeful smile. "The invitation to the stables is still open."
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| R E F E R E N C E P O I N T S |
1.) "Non, elle est très bête... Je parle de sa mère." means No, she's very annoying... I am talking about her mother in French
2.)"Sa mère?" ... "Elle est la cause de toute cette nervosité?" means Her mother? ... She's the cause of all this nervousness? in French
3.) "Oui, et elle est trop strict. Elle ne sait pas que vous êtes arrivé, donc être prudent, s'il vous plaît." means Yes, and she is too strict. She does not know that you both have arrived, so please be careful in French
4.) "Bien sûr." means Of course in French
5.) "Je t'ai dit..." means I told you in French
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...My Countess orders, I obey; Anyone who dares interfere, will have Hell to pay...