His Butler, Faithful

A Drowning in the Thames

During the course of the next week, April couldn’t stop thinking about what Sebastian had said at the curry competition. If what he said was true, then where did his strength come from? Surely he believed in something other than his job.

Christmas was approaching quickly, and the staff was busily cleaning and trimming and cooking. The Earl would have his fiancée and his aunt over for the holidays, and everyone was trembling with excitement.

April had never really celebrated Christmas. But Mey-Rin was smiling and humming a happy tune as she handed April a strand of garland to hang over the stair railing. “Young master doesn’t seem to be the type to celebrate Christmas,” said April, wrapping the garland around the railing.

“Yes, but his fiancée does. You’ve never met her, have you?” Mey-Rin answered.

“No, I haven’t,” she replied.

“Well, The Marchioness’s daughter is very… cute.”

“Your tone doesn’t suggest that is a good thing,” April chuckled.

“You will see for yourself once she arrives,” said a familiar voice from atop the stairs. The two maids looked up at Sebastian carrying a tray of tea with a handkerchief draped over his arm. Mey-Rin quickly reddened and started mumbling nonsense. The garland in her hand slipped, but April caught in time before it fell to the foyer floor.

After giving the lesser maid the decoration back, she turned to the butler. “Delivering Master his tea?” she inquired.

“Cleaning up, actually,” said Sebastian. “The young lord has requested you in his study. Leave the rest of the decorating to me.”

“Very well. You may relax now, May,” said April, nodding at the girl. She lifted her skirts and ascended the steps toward Sebastian, who’d now become distracted as Amber brushed past him. “Amber! Master has requested me already not to let you run loose around here! You and I both know he’s allergic to cats!”

“Oh please, allow me to escort this lovable creature out of here myself.” Sebastian bent low and allowed Amber to climb his back and perch herself on his shoulder. Now absolutely beaming, he trailed off toward the kitchen. April, meanwhile, continued to Ciel’s study, wondering if there’d been another murder.

“I am most stressful at the moment,” Ciel sighed, turning around in his chair as April closed the door behind her. “I remember demanding a list of the girls you knew shortly before the curry festival.”

“Yes,” the maid replied. “And I provided you with it, yes?”

“Correct,” the boy said. “But I find it odd that after you’ve given me the list, the killings stopped. And then I had to investigate the Anglo-Indian incident. And now this.” He pointed to a headline on the parchment upon his desk:

 

GRUESOME INFANT BODY FOUND IN RIVER

 

April scanned the rest of the article, raising her eyes at a familiar name. “Justine Duffy?”

“The next girl on your list,” said Ciel. “She was drowned in the Thames. But I can’t make any connections.”

“Her favorite story was The Pied Piper,” said April slowly. “In the end of the story, the piper lured the children out of the village with his hypnotic song and drowned them in rat-infested waters, because the village people refused to pay him for exterminating the vermin from their streets.”

“You think the killer lured Justine to the Thames with a song?” said Ciel.

“It sounds plausible through our theory,” she said. “And we haven’t been wrong so far.”

The boy sighed and leaned back further in his chair. “Now I have a legitimate reason for visiting him.” He shivered and shook his head, looking up at the ceiling.

“Who, may I ask?”

Ciel’s eye swiveled to her. “He is called The Undertaker. He examines the bodies of the deceased and lets us know if he’s heard anything in the Underworld. I don’t like visiting him much, though… I had to when I was solving the Jack the Ripper case.”

“Oh…” said April.

“If you come along with us, you may have the pleasure of meeting him yourself.”

She nodded. “Of course, my master.”

“Very good. Return to your work now. We will take departure later this afternoon.”