“Sweet dreams, young master.”
Sebastian gently tucked Ciel into bed, carefully fluffing his pillows and smoothing out the blankets. Ciel nodded, rolling over and wriggling a bit to get comfortable.
“So, how did it go with our guest today?” he wanted to know.
Sebastian smiled widely, his eyes glinting. “Oh, it went very well indeed, my lord,” he replied. “Mr. Marshwold was quite impressed with our hospitality.”
Ciel raised an eyebrow. “Our hospitality? Sebastian, I told you to show him the full Phantomhive hospitality.”
“Yes, and that’s exactly what I did.” Sebastian shrugged innocently. “I made him a lovely cup of tea, served him some biscuits, and we had a delightful conversation about the weather.”
Ciel frowned. “And then what happened?”
“Well, then we went for a stroll in the garden, and we had a nice chat about his favorite hobbies. Did you know he collects stamps?”
“Please tell me you’re joking, Sebastian.”
Sebastian bowed. “Not at all, young master. And then, I took him to the opera. He seemed to enjoy it, so I thought I’d give him a little tour of London. We saw all the sights and even visited Buckingham Palace.”
“Sebastian, that’s not what I meant when I said to show him the full Phantomhive hospitality.”
Sebastian looked puzzled. “It isn’t, my lord? But I thought you wanted me to show him a good time.”
Ciel sighed. “No, Sebastian. I wanted you to kill him.”
“Oh!” Sebastian’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment before adding, almost as an afterthought, “Oh, right. In that case-”
He smiled once more before putting out the candle.
“You’ll be pleased to hear that the last activity on our itinerary was a refreshing swim in the Thames. I don’t believe he’s resurfaced yet.”