That Butler, New Face

That Butler, Activated

*Fwump! *

Chêne dropped a large stack of mail on Ciel's desk. The postman had come just as Chêne had finished preventing Finni from decapitating all the roses, so she had collected it while she was out there.

"You've got another magnificent wad of mail today, too," Chêne declared, hopping up and sitting on Ciel's desk as Sebastian untied the string that was holding the stack of letters together. They had both given up on correcting Chêne's 'unladylike' behavior when it was just the three of them together, and, in return, Chêne did her best to 'behave herself' in front of guests and in public. Sebastian noticed that most of the letters seemed to be from people who were known for holding numerous parties this time of the year.

"Young Master, yet more invitations for you have arrived today," Sebastian said, handing the letters to Ciel, and giving the young earl his trademark shit-eating grin. He knew how much receiving such invitations annoyed his young master.

"The Season is nearly over, damned idlers. Yet they're all in search of guests for their silly balls... Nothing good ever happens in London," Ciel grumbled, fed up with all the 'junk mail,' as Chêne had so adequately described it, that he had been receiving lately. He had no interest in wasting time with those fools. Chêne sweat-dropped. Ciel was only twelve, and he already sounded like a grumpy old man.

"Lighten up a little, Ciel. You should have fun while you still can. It wouldn't kill you to take a vacation, you know," Chêne said, smiling wryly.

"Earl Warwick, Baron Bath, Countess Gartland..." Ciel said, ignoring Chêne, as he flipped through the letters and read the names out loud so Sebastian could make a list of the declined invitations. Chêne sweat-dropped. Sometimes, she wondered if she was invisible or something. Ciel paused when he saw the seal on one particular letter. It was the royal seal. "This is..." Ciel said, slightly surprised.

=†=†=†=†=

{The city of London}

'The England summer is so short... at least compared to the long, hot, and humid summers of Louisiana. May through August, when the weather is at its best, is known as 'The Season'...' Chêne thought, smiling, as she gazed out the carriage window as they passed through the streets of London. It was always exciting for Chêne to visit the city. The countryside was nice, but Chêne had been born and raised a city girl, and she occasionally missed the presence of other people around her, instead of just being isolated to socializing with everyone in the manor. Chêne liked being with all of them, but it got a little boring sometimes, repeating the same routine over and over and over again. Variety is the spice of life!

The carriage came to a halt as Sebastian pulled up in front of the Phantomhive townhouse. Sebastian lowered the collapsible steps on the side of the carriage, but Ciel and Chêne were so short, they still needed a little extra help getting down... Well, actually, Chêne had no problem with jumping down, but after her skirt accidentally flew up one time, and she ended up flashing her petticoats to them (oh, the shame!)... Ciel had forbidden her from jumping from the carriage ever again. Chêne didn't really see what the big deal was, since the underwear of the Victorian era was pretty much just white pants with lace on the edges, but apparently it was a huge scandal for a young lady to let any man other than her husband see them. Naturally, Sebastian had found that little episode rather amusing since he got a free show, and Ciel's scandalized face was priceless. They had also been fortunate enough that no one else had been around at the time to witness Chêne's less than graceful descent.

"It has been a while since Young Master last came to the townhouse," Sebastian said, smirking as he opened the carriage door for them, and helped them down.

"Thanks," Chêne said as she took Sebastian's hand. "But I don't really need help getting down... that last incident was probably just a fluke," she told Ciel. Ciel frowned at her in disapproval.

"You really have no shame, do you?" Ciel said, raising an eyebrow at her.

"You try having a mother who practically made it her life's mission to embarrass you in creative new ways every other day. You'd become desensitized too," Chêne said, ruffling his hair as revenge for his sass. Ciel swatted her hand away and placed his top hat back on his head. Ciel huffed indignantly as Chêne giggled and ran ahead towards the house. Chêne really liked Ciel's townhouse. It was like a larger version of her grandmother's 19th century home in New Orleans' Garden District, and it always gave her a nice sense of nostalgia the few times they visited.

"I wouldn't be here if not for 'that letter'... There are so many people, you can't even walk properly," Ciel grumbled.

"Haha! You call this crowded? I visited my cousins in New York one time, and it was so crowded, that everyone was constantly bumping into each other. My uncle joked that you could tell who was a tourist by watching to see if they actually bothered to apologize or not, since the locals are so used to it, that they don't even bother," Chêne said, laughing. Ciel grimaced at the thought of so many people being packed together in one place. It sounded like huge a nuisance. "Besides, it's good to have a change of pace every now and then!" Chêne said, grinning, as she waited for Sebastian to unlock the front door.

"Yes, it may prove a nice respite for you to leave the manor sometimes," Sebastian agreed as they all entered the townhouse. "Those four are nowhere to be found here, so you may spend your days in peace," Sebastian said, also grinning at the pouting Ciel. 'Those four,' of course, referred to the other servants. The 'three stooges' and Mister Tanaka had been left back at the manor as the 'house sitting team.' Chêne felt a little sorry for them, being left out like that, but she had promised to bring them back a souvenir, and they immediately cheered up.

"Sebastian has a point, Ciel. Your number of 'headaches' has been significantly decreased for you," Chêne teased him as Sebastian opened the door to the sitting room. The three of them froze in the doorway when they saw what awaited them. Three uninvited visitors were ransacking the room. There was a woman in red pulling books off one of the bookshelves, a Chinese man peering into a vase, and a meek looking man who was wearing glasses and dressed in a butler's uniform. Chêne recognized the lady in red and the Chinaman. They were Madam Red and Lau... and they were obviously the cause of the 'hurricane' that had swept through the sitting room.

"Good heavens, where do they keep the tea in this house?" Madam Red said as she tossed another book onto the floor.

"I don't see it anywhere," Lau said as he continued to stare into the vase.

"You're not going to find it in there, ahahaha!" Madam Red told Lau, laughing, as Ciel, Sebastian, and Chêne stared at them. Sebastian's smile was frozen in place, Chêne had face-palmed, and poor Ciel had turned slightly blue with shock at the damage that had already been inflicted on his property. So much for being able to spend their days in peace... how did they even manage to get in?

"Now, now! You never know!" Lau said playfully.

"Madam Red!? Lau!? What are you doing here...!?" Ciel shouted incredulously.

"Oh! You got here rather quickly," Madam Red said innocently as their three 'guests' all turned to look at them.