Sebastian poured the dregs of the teapot into a lone cup with thoughtless grace, easing up on the stem so that the last few drops didn't splash and stain his white gloves. Across from him at the kitchen island slumped Mey-rin, despondent and hiding her head under her arms, her glasses carelessly askew. Sebastian did not have to ask what was wrong. He knew everything that happened in the manor and he knew why Mey-rin had fallen into this fit of self-pity and helpless abandonment of her duties. There was little she could hide from him.

However, one must keep up appearances.

"Here," he said sternly, pushing the teacup in her direction, "Drink up."

She took the cup with trembling hands and Sebastian turned away to rinse out the teapot and set it aside to dry. It had been leftover from Ciel's afternoon tea and hopefully the young master would be distracted for a few hours yet, giving Sebastian time to snap some sense into Mey-rin. Although, he had to admit that it would be a more difficult task than usual. Typically he only had to threaten – subtly – and perhaps raise his voice by a fraction to get his will obeyed. Well, obeyed to the best of their meager abilities. Sebastian had to often remind himself that they were not employed simply as servants.

Much as he himself was not simply a butler.

"So," he said. He remained standing, his features calm and cold. Certainly, he could sit down beside her and affect a comforting air and she would confess everything that had happened and then there'd be no working with her after that. Very little escaped Sebastian's notice. He knew how she felt.

"I'm sorry!" she wailed and Sebastian forced himself to remain calm. Gently. Gently. "I didn't know what to do!"

"Just start at the beginning," Sebastian prodded, "We had a guest this morning."

She seemed to shrink in herself and become absorbed in the teacup. He did not fear that the visitor had done anything... improper. Mey-rin could handle herself quite well. It was the state of her mind and emotions that he was currently concerned about. Bard had found her sitting on the floor of the kitchen with the china scattered about her (unbroken, mercifully) and a dazed look on her face with her glasses in her lap. She was disoriented and Bard couldn't make any sense out of what had happened. He had finally fetched Sebastian when their noble visitor left and the butler was free to deal with the situation.

"I have no idea what happened to our little lady," Bard had whispered just outside in the hall, "Maybe she slipped and hit her head?"

That was not the case. Sebastian had a suspicion that he knew what had happened, but he could not voice it here. Not to Mey-rin. To Ciel, perhaps. Later.

"Yes!" she said, seizing on that train of thought, "The Lord Cruidin o'Muirin. From Ireland."

She mispronounced it and Sebastian fought away the urge to correct her. One thing at a time.

"Did he try anything... improper?" the devil prompted. Mey-rin shook her head violently and Sebastian hooked a finger into the handle of the cup and moved it away before she sent it flying off the counter.

"No no no no. Nothing like that. He – I'm so sorry! He tried to offer me a job Sebastian!"

And she burst into tears. Sebastian pressed two fingers against his brow and gave Bard a hard glare from where he was eavesdropping in the hall. Bard just shrugged in dismay, his face a picture of terrified ignorance. He hadn't known it was something this... trivial.

"And did you refuse?"

"Of course I did!" There was a note of outrage in her voice. There. That was better. "You should know better than to even ask such a thing!"

She squeaked, suddenly realizing her daring in raising her voice to Sebastian. The maid deflated on the stool and slumped back onto the counter. Sebastian pushed the tea at her again.

"Drink some more," he urged.

"But I just got so confused," she murmured tiredly "My head hurt so terribly and he was so insistent that I just didn't know what to do. I kept trying to tell him that no, I wouldn't leave this place, and he kept insisting that I would. It was terribly rude... almost frightening. So I finally told him that I knew someone else he could hire."

Oh? This caught Sebastian's interest. He could hardly blame her for buckling under the Lord Cruidin's insistence, seeing what he was and all. But distracting him with another name? Clever.

"Who did you suggest?" he asked. Somehow, he already knew what the answer was going to be by the way the muscles in her jaw tightened and the fist she made with one hand.

"Bridget Therris," Mey-rin said.

"Of course," Sebastian murmured to himself. "Finish the tea. You did fine. I must see to our young master now."

He brushed past Bard in the hall. The cook didn't even ask for directions, just slunk into the kitchen to sit opposite Mey-rin and keep her company. The devil was angry. He was angry at this Lord Cruidin for harassing his servants. He was angry that Mey-rin's jealousy had put the detective in their path again.

For the Lord was not important enough to warrant Ciel's attention normally. The invitation to visit had a purpose.

The Lord Cruidin o'Muirin was a spy. And Ciel had been asked to find out for whom he worked.

And now the one woman that knew his master's secret – and his own secret – was going to be in his employ.

Damn it all to hell.

Author's Note: Yes. A third. Bridget Therris is back with new characters and new intrigue. I think we may see more of Ciel in this one, but as always the main focus will be on Bridget and Sebastian. It should be a good story with lots of mystery (and if you figure it out, don't say until the grand reveal! I'm sure some of you will guess what's going on before I write it) and plenty of maybe-romance between Bridget and Sebastian.

If you enjoy my writing, I highly highly encourage you to check out my deviantArt account - my username is fainting-goat there. I write a lot of original fiction, far more than I do fanfiction, and I'm better at it. So please take a look if you're bored of waiting for me between updates.

And lastly: I have a book on amazon. It's called Mortal Gods by Bonnie Quinn.