Tea, My Lady? (Ciel Phantomhive X Reader)

Chapter V

The carriage traveled down the dirt road and you peeked out the window to see the mansion fading in the distance. You left that morning rather abruptly after wishing the Earl farewell. You left kind regards to him, wishing him well in the future. You lived rather far from Lord Phantomhive, at the coastal city of Lowestoft to be excat.
The outside world buzzed past in a whirl wind of trees, farmland, and the occasional lake. Bored, you pulled out your journal read over your entry from the day before. Following that by reviewing the papers that was completed by the two of you for the partnership. You gazed down at the seal at the bottom of the page that made up the coat of arms for the Phantomhive name. You sighed and put your papers back into your bag. "What?" You whispered aloud feeling a mysterious item in your bag. You pulled out the rose that the Lord gave you. You chuckled a little and blushed at the events of the previous day. Digging around, you found a note in your bag:

Dear Lady (Y/N),
Your visit to my manor for the partnership for both your father's and my company was a clear success. I thank you for your presence and I hope for the very best in the future for both of them.
As absurd as it maybe, I hope to see you in the near future not only for business but for visitation.
Sincerely yours,
Earl Ciel Phantomhive

You couldn't help but smile. "The Lord wants to see me again." You thought feeling rather cheerful. You held the rose and reread the note once more before placing in behind the front cover of your journal. You eventually feel sleep awaiting for your arrival home.
Upon entering the gates to your manor, you saw your father's butler hurrying down the marble staircase. The carriage approached the stairs and stopped right next to the butler. "Lady (Y/N), Lord Belmont requests your presence in his office as soon as possible." You nodded at him and walked up the stairs. Servants rushed around inside, quickly preparing and cleaning everything. "Huh, quite odd." You thought heading down the hall to father's study. After a soft knock, you heard a faint "come in". You pushed open the door to be revealed to your father, busy at work behind his desk. He looked up as you approached and sat down across the desk from him. You pulled put the papers and placed them down on the desk. He picked them up and reviewed them, a smile growing across his face. "Wonderful work (Y/N)! Thank you once more for doing this for me." He beamed up at you. You smiled back, "Of course father."
After a small talk with each other about the business, you inquired about all the servants. "Oh, darling, you see I am expecting a guest this evening." He responded. "Who ever is it father?" You asked. "Countess Hemlow. A rather wonderful women in the fashion industry." You nodded, "I know father. I enjoy much of her line of work. Will she be visiting for business?" He shook his head, "No. I apologize for not telling you sooner dear, but I have taken quite a liking to the Countess. We have exchanged many letters and I do take frequent stops to visit her on my way to Norwich." You nodded feeling a bit shock as to who this Countess is.
Her visit came sooner than later, that evening in fact. You dressed in a simple light blue evening gown that had white lace drapped across the torso. You styled your hair into a bun and added a small hint of perfume, careful to not affect father's allergies. She arrived in a dark wooden carriage. She had a smug look on her face as if she was up to no good. Her deep red and black dress did not mix well with her semi-grey hair. You curstied as she approached to the front door were you stood next to father. "Countess Hemlow, a pleasure to finally meet you." You bowed low and tilted your head down. "George, teach this servant girl to not bow down so low." You looked up at her shocked and turned to your father. He took the Countess' hand in his and kissed her knuckles. "My dear Marie, you must be mistaken, allow me to introduce my daughter, (Y/N)." You slightly curstied once more. She scoffed at you and was led inside. The three of you enjoyed dinner and sat in the music room afterwards. Father insisited that you show off your music skills by playing a flute piece that you practiced in your spare time. You smiled and began to play but was intruppted by the Countess screeching "Stop playing! It hurts my ears!" You frowned and looked at father who motioned you to put your flute away. You kindly obeyed.

A few months passed by, your wrote to Ciel often about how the business was doing also about yourself and your activities. You were sitting at your desk one Wednesday afternoon, studying some Italian, your soon to be thrid language after English and French of course, when you heard a knock on your door. "Come in" you called. Father's butler opened the door and came in, "Lord Belmont wishes for you in his office." You nodded and set off. Knocking on his opened office door, you stepped inside. "Ah! (Y/N)! I have some news to share." You smiled warmly at your beaming father, excited to here the news that he brought. "I am going to marry the Countess Hemlow." You felt your smile slowly fading. "How wonderful." You said trying to sound enthusiastic. "My dear, it will be a wonderful chance for you to have another role model to look up too as you train to become head of the company." You nodded understanding father's motives.
The wedding came and went. It was just you from father's family and over one hundred from her's. You felt happy for father but felt a pain in your heart knowing that she will be in the same house as you.
"George!" You heard her call one evening from your spot in the sitting room. "George darling. You have to take your medicine." As time pasted, so did father's age and his declining health. The Countess and you didn't speak often but she ordered you around requesting you to do absurd things such as mending clothing or cleaning the library even though you had servants to help with all that. Reminded of you the Cinderella fairytale you read as a child. You looked up from your work to find her stepping into the room. "You." She shot an evil glance at you as she appraoched you. "Stand up. You have work do to. Did you organize the papers? What about the fireplaces?" "Yes I did madame, earlier this morning." She grabbed a chunk of your hair as you stood next to her. You let out a small yelp. "Then do it again." She stormed out of the room. Afraid of her, you began to redo the tasks again.

You hated to make comparsions but she had to be a witch, you felt it deep inside. Father passed from influenza as the winter months rolled in. You kept in touch with Lord Phantomhive, biding him well on his trip to France. The Countess sold off your dresses and jewelry. Your books were burned and she became the head of house. It was all rather quick. You were forced to work as she sent the staff away in order to "save incase of a financial burden."
"Who is this from?" She demanding holding up a letter one day which you instantly recognized as Ciel's. "Lord Phantomhive, m'lady." You bowed fearing that she would strike across the face again for not being truthful. "And why is it that a powerful Lord, none the less the queen's guard dog, contacting you?" She inquired. You stayed silent. "Big mistake" you told yourself as she pulled your ear. "Answer me you dirty brat!" She yelled out. "B-because we are friends!" You exclaimed trying to make her stop. She let go of you, "A man such as that, shouldn't be pursuing young filthy girls." She threw the letter into the fire as you tried to grab it. You never received any letter from him after that. "He must not like talking to an ugly girl such as yourself." The Countess told you everytime you asked if there was a letter from him.