That Butler, New Face

That Butler, Substituted

{Ciel's Townhouse...}

SHHHHH.

The rain was pouring down in London, too.

"Prince Somaaa! Agni called. "Your meal is ready—" He opened the door to his princes' room and found him sitting in the window seat, staring quietly out at the gray sky. "... Prince Soma?"

"It certainly is pouring," Soma remarked. "It doesn't rain like this in Bengal even during the rainy season."

"You are right," Agni agreed.

"Surya—the sun—hasn't deigned to show his face either. The divine protection of Vishnu will be weakened thus... I feel a gloomy foreboding," Soma said solemnly. "We were put out because guests were coming, but... I'm worried about Ciel." For a moment, Agni seemed surprised, but then he smiled warmly at his prince's kind concern for his friend.

"All will be well. Lord Ciel has Mister Sebastian and Missus Chêne at his side," Agni reassured him. "There is nothing to worry about—"

     =†=†=†=†=†=

 {Phantomhive Manor...}

"What on earth is going on in this manor!?" Grimsby shouted. "Two people have been murdered in the  space of one night!!" A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Arthur's face as he continued to examine Sebastian's body. Everyone was glancing around the room at each other with varying degrees of suspicion.     

 "A-And he was killed in such a..." Irene said, paling more and moving closer to Grimsby.

"Tell me about it. Runnin' him through with a fireplace poker... was just too much, man," Bard     said, holding his head.

 "!" Arthur gasped.

"What is it, Professor?" Chêne     asked, taking a step closer to him and her husband's body. Ciel     was in good hands with Finni and Mei-Rin.

"Uh... I'm not sure you should see     this, Miss..." Arthur said hesitantly, shifting a little to block     her view. She was already white as a sheet.

"I want to help. I want to catch my     husband's killer," she stated firmly, managing to sound a lot     calmer than she felt.  Arthur's eyes widened in surprise.     

"Husband?" Irene asked, also     surprised.

'So she was married... and to the butler!?' Arthur thought. So much for his tale of thwarted     romance. They clearly had their master's full blessing.

 "Yeah. They just married this December," Bard explained helpfully. "Go ahead," he told     Arthur. "Chêne's tougher than she looks."     

"Well, if you're sure..." Arthur     said reluctantly. He moved out of the way, revealing a nasty wound     on the back of Sebastian's head, which he was holding a little bit     above the floor with his hands. She covered her mouth when she saw     it, but she stood her ground. "There are signs of trauma to the     head. He may have been struck from behind while stoking the fire."

"And 'cos that didn't do him in, they finished him off with another blow to the chest, huh?" Bard     said, furrowing his brow.

"Or maybe they didn't wait to see if  he was dead and instead attacked him twice in quick succession..."     Grey suggested. "Rather than a single attack, two attacks would have been sure to kill him."     

 "If that were the case, then wouldn't both attacks have come from behind?" Chêne asked. Grey almost looked surprised for a moment, but then he furrowed his brow.