The Hunt for Jack the Ripper (The Phantomhive Diaries #1)

9. Baldroy Gibbons

No longer having the strength to continue carrying the portrait, Baldroy resorted to simply reclining it against the corridor wall for the time being. At least, until he could regain his strength. Carrying such a load was tiresome. It made his arms ache. Strained, even.

"What happened here?" Sebastian appeared in front of Baldroy out of nowhere. Baldroy didn't even hear him.

This made Baldroy scream like a little girl.

"Calm yourself, Bard," the butler said plainly.

Baldroy sighed and took deep breaths to calm down. He then scratched the back of his head. "Eh, sorry, Sebastian. I dropped the painting while trying to put it away like you said. The blasted thing was too heavy."

Sebastian looked unamused. "So you decided to leave it here in the hall where the master can see the poorly done job you made?"

"I'll keep at it in a bit. My arms are hurting. Do you think it's easy to carry that thing by myself?

Sebastian stared at the cook sternly. "...Very well. It can't be helped. While you're resting, here." He offered him a plate of lemon meringue pie. "Tonight's dessert."

Baldroy frowned, a bit perplexed, but out of politeness he took the plate of pie. "Um, thanks. Not to sound ungrateful but shouldn't this be offered to our guest?"

"I'm afraid Lord Damiano had to leave us earlier than expected. He wasn't feeling well and decided to go to a hospital."

Baldroy let out a contemptuous scoff. "Is that what he was screaming about? A fucking stomach ache? He acted like he saw a ghost."

"Nonsense. There are no ghosts in this mansion. And please, Baldroy, refrain from using foul language, especially in the presence of our lord."

Baldroy rolled his eyes. "The young master ain't even here."

"No, but he has heard you too many times already."

"Fine. I'll keep it to a minimum."

"I spoke to the young master about your request. And he agrees."

Baldroy looked at him, shocked. "He does?"

Sebastian leaned against the wall in a relaxed manner, with his arms crossed. "Indeed. And I'm afraid I must admit that I agree with you too. We're short-handed. We need at least two more."

"Odd, most of these fancy houses would have at least twenty. Why just two?"

"The master only requires a maid and a housekeeper. Nothing more. Nothing less."

"All right. If you say so. I don't think having one of each is going to help much around this place but it's better than nothing. So, you think we'll hire some of the locals from the nearby town or even London?"

"You leave that part to me and the young master. You should worry more about your place in the Phantomhive Estate. You need to stop your attempts at cooking with the flamethrower. The master is already losing his patience with you. No need to give him a reason to fire you."

"I mean, he already has a reason," Baldroy said.

Sebastian looked at him.

"I'm not a real cook, remember?" Baldroy continued. "I mean, yeah, I can cook something decent but I'm not the professional chef you lot want me to be. I can't cook everything the way everyone wants. And even when I try to rush things, I always end up messing it. I still don't understand why you even brought me all the way to England when you could have gotten a real chef."

"...The master agreed to have you here due to your specific skills. The rest is just a formality. I'd try my best to make do with what I have and what I can learn from my personal experience, if I were you. Not sitting around lamenting in self-loathing."

After a moment of silence, Baldroy sighed once more. "All right, fine. Fine. I'll try to do better next time."

Sebastian gave him the usual smile. Though Baldroy still had trouble telling whether it was a genuine smile of politeness or Sebastian was just patronizing him.

"Good," he said. "After you eat, I need you to finish taking the portrait to Lord and Lady Phantomhive's old chambers. After that, you may take the rest of the night off."

Baldroy frowned. He found this odd. He was usually the one having to clean the oven after every mealtime. Why change things now? "Hey, don't you need me to clean the oven first?"

"I'll take care of that," Sebastian said. "Right now, the master needs the portrait put away immediately. And he undoubtedly won't be happy if he sees it in the middle of the corridor."

He continued to stare at Sebastian strangely. Suspicious, even. But, of course, as always, he was right. The young master would certainly be displeased if he saw Baldroy just lying about. And with his parents' portrait being carelessly handled of all things.

After pretty much gobbling up the lemon meringue pie, Baldroy got back on his feet and returned the plate to Sebastian almost perfectly licked clean.

"Fine," he said. "But the least you could do is help me. This thing is heavy."

Sebastian sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Very well."

In an instant, Sebastian picked up the portrait and placed it over his shoulder with no trouble in the slightest. Almost as if it weighed no more than a feather. Baldroy's mouth flew wide open and his eyes nearly bulged out of his skull upon seeing Sebastian's impossible strength.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?"

"Language, Bard."