Marriage is Murder

Robert wasn't going to discuss business in front of the kids. Abbey jumped down from her seat and dashed to him, shouting for him. "Papa! Papa!" she reached both arms high up to him. He swept her off her feet, greeting her with a smile and kissing her.

"Did you miss me?" he laughed. She nodded, kissing his cheek. "Well, I missed you too. What's for dinner?" he asked her.

"Meat," she said.

"That's all? Just meat?" he laughed. She nodded.

"Then we better go get some before its all gone. Did you eat?" he asked. She nodded. "You want to sit with me then?" She nodded. He took his seat at the table and put her on his lap.

"Can you manage like that, Captain?" one of the servers asked him as they put plates in front of him and Michael.

"I think we'll do just fine," Robert said. "Did Abbey finish?"

"Yes, Sir," the server said. "She was a clean plater. Did very well. Had seconds on berries."

"Just seconds?" he laughed, looking at Abbey.

"Can I have a cookie?" she asked Robert.

"Yes," he said, kissing her. "When we get to that point. Yes, you can." Kate put a bowl of fresh raspberries from the side board in front of Abbey.

"Papa?" she asked. "Who scare Mama?"

"What do you mean, Sweetie?" Robert asked.

"Mama see people. They scare her."

"When?" he frowned.

"Dinnertime. Daddy no believe her. I see her."

"Where did you see her?" Kate asked. "In your head?"

"No," she said, looking at Kate like she was absurd. "I see Mama in the fishy bowl in the toy room."

"What?" Kate frowned.

"Wait," Robert said. "Abbey, were you watching the fishy?" She nodded. "And while you were watching the fishy, you saw Mama?" She nodded. He looked at Kate. "Not enough information. I'll deal with it after dinner."

"What if they're in Venice?" Kate asked.

"I fully expect that they might be. And Brian knows the risks. Let's not panic. We'll discuss it in our meeting after the kids are in bed. I promise."

After dinner, Robert had the children taken for baths and for bedtime stories and bed. He told the staff he was taking his household to the drawing room for a household meeting. He called Kate, Michael, Jim, Angus, Jack, Cassidy, Steven, and Jess and took them to the smaller drawing room. He closed the doors.

"Sit, All of you," he said to them quietly. "First, Brian is as completely up to date as I can make him. He has chosen to stay in Venice a bit longer. I will support that. If he has something to report to me, he will. Michael, your report, please."

"Yes," Michael said, settling into his chair. "After today's events, I went to my friends in the underground in mainland Europe and in England. Gelding did pay a rather exhorbitant amount of money from a combination of banks--Gringotts, the bank in France, and a bank in Switzerland. I dont' think he had enough in any one account to make up the total amount of money. So the contractors are well funded.

"My sources state they believe it is a group. They also state that there has been three massive farms have been purchased. One in England, one in France, and one in Italy. Protection grids and unplottable spells were laid around them, supposedly. And here is the interesting bit. All three of these farms were solely for the raising of sheep, cattle, and poultry. No crops involved."

"Meat producers, then," Robert said.

"Yes. Definitely," Michael said, "And Gelding has cleaned off any child age 14 or older off his trafficking lists suddenly, listing them as being placed and no longer available."

"What?" Robert frowned. The rosters for the teens were usually flooded because muggles wanted smaller children to mold. Not teens. For the lists of teens to be empty was almost completely unprecidented. "So they're very well funded, they have a food supply of meat--exclusively, and they're recruiting teens?"

"Yes," Michael said slowly, not wanting to quickly reveal what he believed was going on. "And one more piece? The four main suppliers of magical herbs for potions in England have had their farms completely destroyed by arson in the last 24 hours." Robert was silent. He didn't like the sounds of that at all.

"We are very self sufficient," Robert said. "Both here and in England. You won't have to worry about your wolfsbane,..."

"But maybe that is exactly the point," Angus said slowly, thinking.

"You're reading my mind, Son," Michael said.

"What do you mean?" Kate asked.

"If you believed humans were a mere subspecies," Angus said, "and that being a werewolf was superior, what herb would you need to try to eliminate?"

"Wolfsbane does not prevent lycanthropy," Robert said.

"No," Angus agreed. "It does not keep you from being infected. But it sure does stop the transformation once you are infected. Without it, your only choice is to follow in Fenrir's belief system and try to master the monster within."

"So you're thinking its Fenrir?" Kate asked.

"No," Michael said. "I don't. I think that since Gelding knew how to involve James before, he knew how to contact him again. And I think their leader has upped the price and he's digging the pack in for a long, well thought out strategic fight against us, using Gelding's resources. I think they've teamed up again."

"Oh God," Kate sighed.

"And that would be precisely why Brian is not afraid, then," Robert said. "He's come to the same conclusion and sees them as being very defeatable. Its why he hasn't come here from Venice. He's not going to run from this. That makes sense."

"I can talk to my grandfather," Angus said. "But I know what he'd tell you to do first."

"What's that?" Michael said.

"You have the maps locating where the farms are before the unplottables took over. So go destroy them," Angus said. "Take out the food supply. Immediately."

"Track the money," Michael said. "You're the minister. If the money is in England, stop it. Take it."

"And if I do that, they're going to go on a killing rampage to draw me out," Robert said.

"And when we get that far, we'll use you as bait. Or Khaat."

"You'll offer me. Not her," Robert said.

"If you do that, I presume you have calculated whether or not we can sufficiently protect you?" Kate was angry at him now.

"With my daughter's life," Robert replied quietly. The truth was he trusted them with more than his own life. He trusted them with Khaat's life, and with the lives of his grandchildren. Yes, he trusted them. "What do you think? Take out the food and the money? And call Edward for help?"

"Jim," Robert said, "you and Steven go take out the farms. I don't want Jack that close to the smell of that much fresh meat. Lets do this wisely. Angus, go send for Edward. Michael, you follow the money." He looked at Jess and Kate and Cassidy. "I haven't forgotten you. I may well need you. If I need to try to reach Remus, I may well need your help to do that. I don't know what I want to ask him yet but if I need to try to find him, I will need you. I can't do that myself, and I know Khaat could find him if she had her memory. Right now, she doesn't know him except as the man in the talking portrait. And for the moment, I need Brian to keep her safe...."

As he was speaking the double doors to the drawing room opened and Abbey came in sleepily, in her pajamas, rubbing her eyes, and went over to Robert.

"What on earth are you doing up, Sweetheart?" he picked her up. "Why arent' you sleeping? Did you have a bad dream?" She shook her head no. "Well, why are you up, then?"

"Teeth, Papa," she said sleepily, curled into his chest, sucking on her thumb. He cuddled her.

"What teeth, Precious?" he asked softly, soothing her.

"Under my bed. Teeth, Papa," she insisted.

"Jack, might you go looking for the teeth under a little girl's bed, please?" Robert asked gently.