The warm summer day had turned into a nighttime summer storm by the time the last guest had arrived. Elizabeth was watching closely from behind a pillar as a family she had never seen before entered the Manor. The patriarch stood maybe under six feet tall. A tan man with dark features and a bald spot. He surveyed the room and greeting people he knew with a nod of his head. Behind him was his wife presumably. A frail looking woman with black hair that was beginning to go grey. The only color to her face was the dark rouge she had patted onto her cheeks. She shuffled behind him like a lame dog. The final piece to their family was a young woman. Their daughter who was maybe a few years younger than Elizabeth. Her copper eyes pierced through the crowd as if she were searching for someone. Her long chestnut hair fell below her shoulder blades in a silky wave and her dark skin reflected clay tones under the chandelier. Elizabeth noted the new arrivals before making her way to the top of the stairs. She picked up the hem of her magenta dress and took her time entering the crowd of people. She finally spotted the top of her fiancé's head through a crowd of old men and made her way over to him.

"Gentlemen this is my fiancé Lady Elizabeth Midford." The men parted ways to let her through as she took her place under Ciel's arm.

"Now, Earl Phantomhive what are your plans for expanding the Funtom company into other countries? I hear the land is going very cheap in Italy." The oldest gentlemen who used a cane to balance himself spoke up first.

"Yes, well tonight honors my expansion into France, Lord Martin. I bought an old factory from Madame Salesang. She unfortunately could not travel this far because of her declining health but she sends us her best." Ciel had become skilled at hiding his boredom among stale conversation. Elizabeth watched him as if he were performing a play.

"Who's this?" Lord Martin gestured to Elizabeth who bit her lips in an effort to conceal her entertainment in his senile ways. Also she wanted to watch Ciel put on more of his charming show.

"My fiancé, Lord Martin." Ciel was practically yelling so the old man could hear and Elizabeth had to turn her head into his chest to let out a giggled breath.

"Your what?" The old man held his hand up to his ear and Ciel seethed through his plastered on smile.

"If you'll excuse me, gentlemen." He wheeled the two of them around and they headed for a corner of the room, "Someone needs to put that poor bastard down." He muttered and smacked him on the chest.

"Ciel, he can't help that he's old."

"So what happened to you torturing me?" She was caught off guard with his abrupt subject change. Elizabeth narrowed her eyebrows and shook herself out from under his arm.

"It's barely been an hour since I said that I think I still have time." She was beginning to doubt her own words and new she had to come up with something quick. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted her mother talking to a young man. Before Ciel could say anything else she made her way over to them and stood up tall, pushing her chest out and smiling.

"Oliver, this is my daughter Elizabeth. She is Lord Phantomhive's fiancé." Francis put a hand on Elizabeth's cheek with pride.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Lady Elizabeth," The tall blonde man took her hand and gave it a light kiss before returning to his full height. She smiled at him and lit a fire behind her eyes.

"The pleasure is all mine Oliver. Do you care to dance?" She could feel her mother stiffen next to her but ignored it. Elizabeth was going to follow through with her plan and would not take as much effort as she had previously thought.

"Your… fiancé won't mind?" Oliver's grey eyes gleamed in uncertainty until Elizabeth took his hand and began leading him toward the crowd of dancing couples.

"He doesn't like to dance and I know he wants me to have a wonderful time." She pulled him toward her and they began to waltz around the floor in time with the music. As he turned her she looked over his shoulder and saw Ciel with eyes still pinned on her. His one weakness was jealousy in all things. He hated when people took what was his. His butler. His money. His fiancé. Anything that he felt he owned would be his forever.

"You look lovely Lady Elizabeth." Oliver spun her around and brought her back with ease. She gripped his arm and watched Ciel's expression out of the corner of her eye.

"Thank you Oliver, but please just call me Elizabeth." She clicked her tongue as she watched Ciel playing with his pocketwatch. He was snapping open and closed in an annoyed manor but his face remained unchanged. The music slowed down and Elizabeth squeezed his arm tighter as they fell in line with the other couples turning in time to the piano. As they made their way around the floor again they came to a halt as a hand tapped Oliver on the shoulder.

"You don't mind if I dance with my fiancé, do you Oliver?" Ciel's voice was coated in venom but a charming smile showed broadly on his face. Oliver let Elizabeth go immediately and bowed out of the dance floor as Ciel pulled her in close of the small of her back, "I would hardly call making me jealous over dancing with a buffoon torture, my darling." He hissed but his face still showed his charm. Elizabeth laughed and he twirled her around letting her skirt fan out around her.

"Well if it's making you angry than I must be doing something right." Elizabeth felt herself being brought to an abrupt stop and her arm being wrapped around his. He walked them down behind the stair case and to the lower hallway. They continued walking and she thought she was going to trip with how fast he was walking, "Ciel stop being a child." She tried to pull him back but he was stronger and then continued down the winding hallways until he finally jerked them backwards and through a side door. They were in a pantry and the only light was coming through a small circular window high above their heads. He was staring at her impassively, "What?" She almost let her voice turn into a whine but held back.

"This is a terrible display of making me squirm Elizabeth, I'm honestly dissapointed." He looked like he was going to laugh at her but instead leaned in very close, "If you had wanted to really wind me up you would have stayed with me," He whispered and began to close in on her, "instead of trying to make me jealous from across the room." His voice was growing lower and she backed herself away but smacked into some shelves.

"Well, I'm…I'm not done." Elizabeth stammered as he leaned down close to her. He slowly reached behind his head and untied his eye patch to leave both of his eyes exposed. She looked away from him but he brought his hand up to her face and made her stare into his eyes.

"If you wanted to torture me you would have come close to me," He pushed his hips into hers and brushed hips lips over her face, "and whispered in my ear," Elizabeth leaned into him and felt herself losing the fight, "how much you want me." He kissed her swiftly before stepping back and leaning against the shelves behind him, "That's just my suggestion though." Elizabeth held herself back from giving into him. She quietly inhaled a deep breath and leaned back as well.

"Well, as I said I'm not done."

"Oh I think you are." He chuckled to himself, "Elizabeth my job is to get rid of dirty underground cretins and find information in the process. I torture people weekly. I know how to find weaknesses and play on them because I've been doing that since I was a child. If anyone in my life should know that, it should be you. This is a losing game for you." He kicked the door back open, "Shall we?" He smirked and quickly tied his eye patch back on. Elizabeth rolled her eyes at him and stomped away from him. She could hear his footsteps slowly following her and it only fueled her anger. He always questioned her, he always thought he had the upper hand, but not today, Elizabeth thought. What would make him really drive him crazy? As she waited for him to enter the main ballroom with her and idea seeped into her brain. It was so obvious she was almost angry at herself. Elizabeth concealed her smirk and turned to him with a gentle smile.

"Are you ready, Ciel?" Taking his arm once again they headed into the crowd.

Four Hours Later

As the party began to wind down Elizabeth was trying to calculate whether or not her plan was working. Her, Ciel, her brother Edward, and several other guests around their age sat in the same parlor room that held the 'new' pool table. Edward swirled his drinking in his glass and continued his conversation with Ciel.

"I' not saying that I would never consider working as a representative of the company, Ciel. I just don't think I would want to deal with all that traveling." Her brother gave her a wink and she shook her head in amusement.

"Edward, I own the company. You could do whatever you want. I want to keep the business in the family." Ciel smirked back at him and waited for another retort.

"Alright, I'll think about it. Heaven knows mother would be thrilled if I took a 'safe' job." He placed his glass down before shaking Ciel's hand.

"Goodnight, my good man. I expect her in her bed in an hour." He leaned down and kissed Elizabeth's cheek, "and I expect her there alone." Although he was smiling Elizabeth could see the flash of red behind her brothers eyes and she playfully shoved him towards the door and watched him leave.

"He's right I should get to bed." She murmured in Ciel's ear.

"Very funny." Ciel took another sip of his brandy and twirled a piece of her golden hair around his finger, "Come here," He gestured for her to sit in his lap but she shook her head still smiling.

"Goodnight, my love." She kissed him on the cheek and watched his face contort into confusion as she stood up and headed out of the room. Slowly sauntering down the hallway she could feel him following her.

"Lizzie, what are you doing?" He chuckled to himself. She continued smiling and walking down the hallway.

"I told you, Ciel," She giggled the way she did when they were children, "I'm going to bed." She felt his hand wrapped around her wrist and pull her back towards him. Elizabeth turned around to face him and internally smirked when she saw the twinge of doubt in his eyes.

"Lizzie, this is what we've been waiting for." He murmured and kissed her forehead. Pulling herself back to lean on the wall she shrugged and continued her doe eyed smile.

"Waiting for what?"

"Waiting….to be alone?" He leaned close to her again and she laughed.

"Goodnight Ciel." She continued her walk to the main hall and he continued to follow her.

"Lizzie, I know what you're doing." Ciel's footsteps mimicked hers as they ascended the stairs. She slowly took the two pins out of her hair that were holding all of her curls up in a bun. She slipped off her shoes and carried them in her hand as she continued her leisurely walk to her room.

"And what is that?"

"You are playing dumb to try to drive me crazy but it won't work." They stopped outside of her bedroom door and she leaned her head against the doorframe as she watched Ciel try to talk his way out of this.

"It won't?"

"No, it won't because I know for a fact that you want me just as much as I want you right now." He was so confident it did make her want to give up her charade but she pushed on. She opened her bedroom door and he followed her in. He sat down on the love seat across from the bed and continued his rant, "You think that by playing this game it's going to make me do what? Fall down on my knees and beg you to stop?" He laughed to himself and didn't notice Elizabeth mindlessly undressing behind him. The fireplace crackled and cast a dim orange light over the room.

"I would never think of such a thing Ciel." She kissed the back of his head and let her dress drop to her feet.

"So, what do you say we stop wasting our precious time with this mindless run around and you come here." His voice was quieter now and being that he couldn't see her she smirked as she quickly undid her corset. She walked over and sat on the bed across from him and cocked her head to the side.

"I'm not giving you the run around," She watched his eyes scan her up and down, "I just simply don't know what you want."

"You know exactly what I want Elizabeth." She laughed at the seriousness in his tone. She rolled her naked form over on the king sized bed and propped herself up onto her knees.

"I don't think you've stated that." She played with her hair and watched him shift in his seat. He leaned forward on elbows and undid his tie.

"Elizabeth—"

"If you tell me maybe I could help you. You might want to hurry up thought," She tilted her chin toward the clock on the mantle, "Edward will come check on me in 30 minutes."