The Earl's Kitten

Chapter XXXI

January 3rd 1888, 01:30 AM

Since we had returned from the Earl Phantomhive's Manor, a little over a day and a half ago, Rose had been mostly silent. She hadn't spoken to Jackson since returning, and her conversation with our Master had been short and tense.

~~~Flashback~~~

"You have killed before, have you not? Need I remind you of Gérôme Ashcroft?" Ciel turned back to the window, and Rose shook her head.
"I shall remind you of our discussion two days later. It was Jackson who took Gérôme's life, not myself." The young Lady fiddled with the paper in her hands for a few moments before folding it up and tucking the letter down the top half of her dress. "... Must both of them die?" She muttered.
"..." For a moment, the Earl was silent. "Perhaps not the arsonist. However, the second..." Rose sighed and nodded.
"I'll figure something out." She mumbled, pressing a hand to her forehead.

~~~End Flashback~~~

From somewhere else in the Manor, I heard feet stepping carefully onto the floor, and the creak of a mattress. I blinked and looked at Thompson and Cantebury. Cantebury shrugged and pushed away from his place against the wall, walking out of the room. He was probably going to explore.

January 3rd 1888, 01:40 AM

I made my way through the manor silently, my bare feet shuffling against the carpet. I eventually came to the Parlour, where a fire was still lit.
"You should be in bed." I startled upon hearing the voice, then looked over to see Cantebury standing near the window, hidden in the shadows.
"I was unable to sleep." I moved around the sofa and sat in front of the fireplace, sighing softly at the warmth that immediately began to seep into my bones. "I'm going to have to kill a man, Cantebury." I heard the demon shift from his position and walk over to me.
"You know we will assist you, M'Lady. For now, how about I distract your mind so that you may sleep?" I looked up at him and blinked in surprise before nodding. Cantebury held his gloved hand out to me, and I took it. He helped me up and guided me through my own manor to the ball room. Standing me in the middle of the room, he went to the gramophone and set it up to play Mozart's Lacrimosa. I smiled. Lacrimosa was part of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem Mass in D Minor, and I loved listening to the piece as it was slightly dark and chilling. In the dark, the voices rose and sang, causing me to close my eyes to listen.

Footsteps echoed closer and closer to me, and I took it to be Cantebury. My hand was taken in one of his, and my other was placed on his shoulder. I felt his spare hand come around my waist, and all of a sudden we were twirling about.
"My apologies for the inappropriateness of this situation, Lady Rose." Cantebury mumbled next to my ear, "But you did need to calm down." I only hummed softly in response, focusing on the feeling of my sleeping gown swinging behind me as Cantebury twirled us around the ballroom, the tiles cold against my bare feet. Not once did he step on my feet, hurt me, or twirl me too much. Everything was just right. The voices slowly rose to a peak, and I slowly lost consciousness.

January 3rd 1888, 08:00 AM

I awoke slowly, and smiled to myself. Lately, I had been rousing myself of a morning rather than Jackson waking me – I had not allowed Jackson to come near me since the incident with the dueling. I got out of my bed and opened the curtains. There was a knock on the door, and I called out a 'come in'. I was admiring the view of the garden from my window as the door opened.
"Good morning, Lady Rose." A voice spoke quietly. I blinked, turning back to see the Triplets standing in my doorway. A smile broke out on my face and I waved.
"Good morning, boys! How are you this morning?" They all nodded.
"Very well, thank you, Rose." Timber smiled at me, and I found my cheeks burning with a blush. Cantebury pushed a tea trolley into my room, and then the door was shut. I ignored them for the time being, climbing up onto my window seat and opening my window to get some fresh air into the room.