The next week was spent in preparation for investigating the Viscount Druitt. When Ciel received the invitation to the Viscount's ball, he was shocked to find that the man had apparently decided to completely abandon all decorum.
"September and the beginning of autumn is nearly upon us, the season of plenty," Ciel read the invitation aloud at the breakfast table. "In the spirit of bounty, I am opening this masked ball to the lower classes as well as the nobility. Even servants are welcome." The earl tossed the letter onto the table and sipped his tea. "Well. I expect that means Matilda still has a chance to be the bait, then."
Elizabeth struggled to refrain from rolling her eyes. "My previous logic still stands, Ciel," she said firmly. "I am in the best position to do this job. Let's have no more arguing about it, if you please."
The earl was shocked at seeing Elizabeth's assertiveness in this way. His cousin rarely had any qualms about voicing her opinion, but he couldn't remember a time when those opinions had been about anything other than clothing. Had he been ignoring Lizzy's intellect all these years? Or had she been hiding it?
While Ciel may have been stunned into silence, none of the others at the breakfast table had the same problem.
"It seems Lady Elizabeth is finally coming into her own, Ran Mao," Lau remarked, breaking his scone in two. "This will be very interesting indeed."
Ran Mao, in a rare turn of events, responded. "She is secretly tough. I like her."
"Everyone underestimates Lizzy," Prince Soma said from his chair opposite Ciel. "There is nothing wrong with being a lover of prettiness, but because she loves pretty things she is always dismissed. I am eager to see her succeed."
Ciel remained silent, but he felt his anger well up inside him. Without his noticing, a billowing black shadow rose up behind him. The others at the table saw it, and they looked on in terror before Sebastian cleverly intervened.
"My lord," he said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. Instantly the shadow dissipated. "We must begin your lessons now. We have a great deal to do before the ball at the end of the week. And don't forget, you have a meeting over tea with Florentia and Theodosia Loric this afternoon."
Ciel sighed, still angry. "Yes, of course," was all he said, dabbing his mouth with a napkin and leaving the table. Sebastian followed him closely, watching his master through narrow eyes.
It appears I have much to teach him, he thought to himself.
~
The earl's anger did not abate with the passing hours. He, Elizabeth, and Prince Soma took their lessons together in the library now, with Sebastian and Agni presiding over them while Paula cared for Ephraim (with help from Bryony, as she was available now as well). This proximity to each other caused a good deal of unease between all three. Music, literature, business, diplomacy, fencing. Ciel had never felt such relief when the time came for his meeting with the Loric sisters.
After Matilda had persuaded Snake to hide elsewhere, she and Sebastian set a magnificent table in the greenhouse for the tea meeting. Sebastian explained the measures they had taken as he stood by Ciel before the manor, awaiting the arrival of their guests.
"We selected a specific set of china with many patterns but understated colors, as a nod to the sisters' signature toys," he said, noticing Matilda's pleased grin. "In addition, we arranged a marvelous bouquet of day lilies and pink roses, with Finny's help."
Ciel nodded in apparent approval but said nothing as the carriage bringing the Loric sisters came up the path. When it reached the manor, the earl and the present Phantomhive servants were able to get a good look at the man driving it. He looked rather similar to Vicar Jeremy Rathbone, who they all knew now was merely Sebastian in disguise.
"That is the sisters' butler, sir," Sebastian whispered to Ciel, "Apparently he is a multipurpose manservant."
The sisters emerged from their carriage, Theodosia first with Florentia following. They looked as if nothing had changed since the night at the ballet. Even the color of their dresses were the same; aubergine and aqua. The only possible change was that they seemed even more worn-out than before.
"Thank you, Treacher," Theodosia thanked the butler, who nodded to her in response. Snake, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and left his snakes elsewhere, guided Treacher to the stables where the horse could replenish itself.
"Treacher?" Ciel whispered to Sebastian before the sisters came too close. "What sort of a name is that?"
As they drew nearer, Sebastian addressed them. "Welcome to the Phantomhive manor, Lady Theodosia and Lady Florentia. It is our pleasure to have you." he bowed, and the remaining servants followed suit.
"The pleasure is ours, sir," Florentia replied, scanning the estate. "We are delighted to finally meet the esteemed Lord Phantomhive."
"Yes, when Treacher informed us that we were to meet with you over tea and discuss a business collaboration," Theodosia continued, smiling weakly. "We could hardly contain our joy. Indeed, we felt better than we had in months." her smile faded.
Ciel furrowed his brow. Both sisters' voices sounded fragile, like they belonged to women too sickly to be outdoors. Yet here they were, looking unmistakably ill but not in danger of collapsing. Pushing these thoughts aside, he gave the sisters a smile. "I have been looking forward to meeting you for some time," he said, and found to his great surprise that for once he was being honest. "I have always admired the curios your company produces. I find it even more interesting that the two of you are, in fact, the inventors of the toys, not merely the heads of Kurios. Shall we discuss our business alliance over tea?"
As the three were escorted to the greenhouse, Ciel walked close enough to Sebastian to whisper to him. "Help me observe them throughout tea," he said. "I'm sure they are sick, but ordinary people would be bedridden by this point, I believe. Surely whatever ails them cannot be a mere sickness of the body."
"Yes, my lord," Sebastian whispered.
Sebastian and Matilda had enlisted Agni to help with serving tea. While Sebastian pulled out the chair for Ciel, Agni did the same for Florentia, and Matilda for Theodosia. All four of them noticed how the sisters seemed to always grasp onto something for support, be it the back of the chair or even each other's shoulders.
Ciel shivered. Watching the sisters struggle to accomplish basic tasks made something inside him quake. He exchanged looks with Sebastian. Something else was definitely afoot here, and whatever it was was alerting senses he didn't know he had.
Sebastian poured the tea, saying "For today's tea we have a soothing herbal blend known to heal most ailments." He exchanged smiles with Agni and Matilda. The three of them had combined the healing tea and the curry bread in the hopes of curing whatever ailed the sisters. But as Ciel and the servants watched the sisters shakily take sips of tea and merely pick at the curry bread, as if they wanted to eat but simply had no appetite, their hearts sank. Matilda and Agni's faces fell. Perhaps this would not be solved by ingestion.
Trying to ignore the strange prickling on the back of his neck, Ciel addressed the sisters. "As much as I enjoy your company, I do not wish to monopolize your time. Let's get to business. I propose we work together first on an individual product and see how that works out before launching anything too elaborate."
Florentia nodded in agreement and pursed her lips in thought before replying, "What if we could form a curio of Bitter Rabbit?"
"Oh yes," Theodosia interjected, and she seemed to be trying her best to appear enthusiastic. It was clear, however, that she and her sister both were running out of energy. "And he could turn into all sorts of other Funtom creatures. Perhaps he could even turn into you?"
Sebastian just barely stifled a laugh. Ciel glared over his shoulder at his butler before raising a single hand and saying "I would prefer not to become a caricature. I like this idea in general though. If you like, I can compile a list of Funtom's most popular character toys and have it delivered to you, and we can continue this project at a later date."
Theodosia - whose eyes were beginning to dart back and forth ever so slightly - smiled and tilted her head. "Will we be seeing you at Viscount Druitt's masquerade, Lord Phantomhive? If so, we could discuss the next step that evening."
"That would be lovely-"
The earl's reply was cut off by a coughing Florentia. The fiery-haired woman lifted a gloved hand to her mouth and coughed furiously, while her sister held her shoulders. The coughing was wracking her body violently. When she seemed finally able to breathe again, she pulled her hand away to reveal chunky brownish-red blood covering the white palm of the glove.
Matilda couldn't help herself from gasping in shock. Unsure what to do, she produced a handkerchief from her apron pocket and extended it to the sisters. Theodosia meekly took it, nodding in thanks to Matilda and daintily wiping the blood away from Florentia's mouth.
"I'm afraid we must be going now, Lord Phantomhive," Theodosia apologized hurriedly, supporting her sister. "Will one of you please send for Treacher to bring our carriage around?"
Sebastian nodded and sprinted off in the direction of the stables. While awaiting his return, Agni decided to wrap the curry bread in one of the napkins for the sisters to take with them in the hopes that they would eat them later. He only knew of one instance where curry bread had not healed the sick, and that was when it failed to bring back Lord Phantomhive's lost memories - which, he knew now, was the result of demonic activity, cancelling out the positive demonic activity of Sebastian's recipe. Moments later the butler returned to the greenhouse, stating, "Your carriage is ready, my ladies."
Theodosia tried to help Florentia to her feet, but she was too shaky herself to do it on her own. Ciel and the servants joined in to help the sisters on the short walk from the greenhouse to the carriage. As soon as Treacher saw them, he rushed forward to lend his hands as well.
"They just keep getting worse," he said in an undertone to Sebastian. "I don't know what is causing it, but every day they lose a little bit of their health, and I am helpless to cure it."
After making sure the sisters were safely seated in the carriage, Agni gave Treacher the parcel with the curry bread. "Please do everything in your power as a butler to ensure that they eat this," he instructed. "Even just a little of this curry bread can make all the difference."
"I'm afraid I may have to keep this handkerchief, Matilda," Theodosia called weakly from the carriage to the maid. "I think it is stained beyond repair."
Matilda waved it off, insisting it was no problem. It was obvious to everyone present that Theodosia was far more terrified by what she had seen happen to her sister than she was letting on. Treacher snapped the reigns and they were off. The earl and the servants watched apprehensively, wondering what on earth would become of the Loric sisters, as the carriage thundered away into the distance.
Ciel's eye darkened. "Sebastian," he said, turning on his heel and storming into the manor. The butler was at his side as always, with Agni and Matilda following worriedly. Once they were inside the foyer, he looked at the three servants. "No ordinary illness could escalate that way, I'm sure of it. Lady Florentia coughing up all that blood makes me suspect a slow poisoning, but not by Treacher; I could tell his fear for the sisters' wellbeing was genuine."
Sebastian nodded. "You are quite right about that butler, my lord," he confirmed. "He is a worthy butler, especially for a human. He cares for the ladies to the best of his ability. Whatever is wrong with them, he is not the cause."
"I'm not so sure about poison, though, young master," Matilda confessed, wringing her apron in her hands. "I would agree with you about Florentia's blood, except... it was in chunks, as if tissue was coming out as well. To tell the truth, it almost looked like menstrual blood, but it didn't smell the same. I was closer to her than any of you, I could tell."
Agni rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I've seen curry bread heal those afflicted by the forbidden spice," he mused. "But if those sisters are coughing up blood and tissue... I don't know how much it will do, or if it will do anything at all."
Ciel shifted uncomfortably where he stood. "I felt the strangest sense of unease around them," he admitted. "It was as of something else was hovering unseen behind them, something menacing. I have no idea what, but it made my entire body tense."
Sebastian stared at his master. There was still so, so much he had to teach him. But not here. Not now. "Master," he began, not at all liking what he was fixing to say and knowing that Ciel would not like it either. "If you recall, during the search for Jack the Ripper, Viscount Druitt was on our suspect list in the first place in part because he has a medical license. Surely even though he is not a practicing doctor, he may possess the necessary knowledge to find out the root of what ails Lady Theodosia and Lady Florentia?"
Ciel gritted his teeth. He wanted to argue more than anything, to remind Sebastian what a butcher the Viscount really was, even though he turned out not to be the infamous Ripper. But he knew his butler was right. "It's a good thing the Viscount's ball is open to everyone after all," he growled angrily. "It appears we have more investigating to do than we thought."