"Well, the fact that Brian keeps his account books in impeccable order does help," Robert said. "We only need to deal with the immediate problems. And Angus is putting things in order by due date. There are a lot of things that were already sent to collections in Kieran's accounts. They rolled over to Brian because he was a guaranture on most of the estate accounts. Kieran had most of them changed to himself when he decided to try to run the estate. The only problem was that he wasn't paying the bills. I'm actually surprised they haven't shut off the utilities. Fortunately, Brian does have some muggle financial accounts here in the US and that has kept this thing afloat. "
"There, " Angus said, putting a huge stack of bills in front of Robert. "Chronological order as requested. Can I help write checks and then you can just sign them?"
"No, but you could double check me and stuff and address envelopes," Robert laughed. "Saffron rice? You haven't made that in, what, maybe 3 years, Angus?"
"That's because saffron is so bloody expensive," Angus said. "Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world, Cassidy."
"Utterly delightful, though," Robert said. "They are the stigmas of a special crocus that grows, mostly, in Spain. Each little flavorful thread has to be harvested by hand. There is no other way. Three hundredths of an ounce costs almost 14 pounds, for an average quality saffron. There are higher qualities that cost much, much more."
"It is highly aromatic, though, so it doesn't take much, fortunately. And, as luck has it, I did buy a bit when we were at the supermarket. I didn't buy a lot, but I did buy a wee bit. Enough to do saffron rice. And I bought a bag of jasmine rice, fresh garlic, and some fresh scallions. Yes, I could make it, if Jess does not mind me intruding into her kitchen. It will take me about an hour to make, so all you need to do is to tell me about an hour before she wants to serve her main dish. Unless she really does want to try making the recipe herself. In which case, I will relinquish a copy of my recipe to her." Angus looked over at Khaat who, when she was finished sorting her stack of the bills, had made the mistake of leaning back against the back of the sofa and had fallen into a sound sleep. Angus motioned his fingers in a beckoning manner to an afghan that was folded on the back of a chair. He opened it and covered her. "Robert, she looks like hell," Angus said quietly.
"She's alright," Robert said. "If she weren't, I'd be doing something differently. Try not to worry."