#cloudia phantomhive

[ us, forever ]

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Is this man clinging to every religion he can? Did he have clerical aspirations at some point in his life? Did he just think matching a cassock with tight high boots would slap (it does)?

Or is he just KINKY? DID HE AND CLOUDIA HAVE A FLEABAG THING GOING ON?

Many questions.

The guy who plays Prospero on stage kisses her hand and hesitates but then calls her by "countess" instead of "your majesty". Then she finally "recognizes" our earl... claiming she didn't recognize him at first in that suit.

Our earl doesn't believe a word of it, that it's a coincidence, and neither do I. She hadn't visited the place in over 40 years. Why now, if it's not to confront him and his butler?

Our earl decides to play along, to see where this all goes. Meanwhile, the actor and the benefactor whisper about John Brown.

They know that the Master of Horses is still technically just a stable hand, which is a low status position. They've heard and read the rumors and mockery surrounding the perceived scandal, the common belief that she took John Brown as a lover after Albert died -- the suspicion that she might have even secretly married him. The way she was buried, in 1901, shows evidence that they might have been right.

A scandal, indeed. But now we switch over to Sebastian and John acknowledging each other. John must know what Sebastian is, but what does Sebastian realize about John? Does he realize John also isn't human? Either way, Sebastian chooses to ask about the lack of other attendants, such as her two butlers... but John insists it's not just him in attendance at the hotel.

That "favorite" white horse has his own room/suite and, as per hotel policy, also gets to enjoy his "freedom". The reader gets a glimpse of what that probably means; the horse is shown in a bed and munching on carrots 🥕, which are piled on a platter.

The "countess" walks over to take a turn at the wheel, and Modri, still oblivious to her identity, insists he was next... to which the actor whispers, frantically, that she's actually the queen. The unspoken meaning is she can do as she pleases, including joining the game late and cutting in line for a turn.

She spins, and it lands on death, which would be number 13, of course. 😒

That's where it ends. Which death does she end up talking about? Considering this walk down memory lane about her late husband, she might talk about his death, which is just 5 years before Claudia/Cloudia's death. Maybe we get some clues that suggest she blames her watchdog for causing his death... perhaps simply by not preventing it?

There're also the deaths of Vincent, Rachel, and others at Phantomhive Manor.... 🤔