Marriage is Murder

Brian finished his cigarette. "Perhaps you're right," he said, considering that Fenrir might well want to reel James in just a bit. "Either that or he might back James's cause. It is a cause he has always believed in himself."

"True, but he's an old man now," Edward said. "He most likely does not need or want that sort of drama in his life anymore. And as crazy as Grayback is, James brings a whole new insanity to this business that is probably hard for even Grayback to entirely support. I think if we stay out of Fenrir's way, he's not going to go looking for us."

"Perhaps," Brian said, "But we cannot hide in Hawaii forever. My children will be born English. In England. Not Americans. We need to soon go home."

"Is it that or are you more afraid of that new nursery you haven't finished?" Edward laughed.

"There is that," Brian said, standing up. He groaned, reaching back to where his back muscles felt rather battered. "I need to go talk to Robert. I want the kids born back home, and Khaat is insistant that she wants Robert to deliver them."

"Well, that will be decidedly more difficult if he has to avoid touching her at all costs," Edward frowned. "But you'll find him and Michael sucking down a bottle of Macallan in his old office in the basement."

"Where's Khaat?" Brian asked. Edward looked through the house and saw Khaat was apparently dozing in a lounge chair by the pool, and Marcus was sitting at the table by the pool. He had disassembled his pistol and was cleaning it.

"Looks like she's sleeping, and Belby's bored," Edward laughed. "And if he's bored, she must be safe enough for the moment."

"I think I will," Brian said. He took his glass inside and set it on an end table before going outside. Khaat looked, to him, like she was tired. Really tired.

"Is she alright, Marcus?" Brian asked.

"Nothing that being done with carrying twins won't cure," Marcus smiled at him. "She amazes me, you know."

"How's that?" Brian asked.

"My wife carried on and moaned all nine months in all three of her pregnancies, and got a whole diva complex going. Lord. I had to go out and get sorbet--not just ice cream--bloody freaking sorbet at 2:45 in the morning. She wanted silk to draw her a milk bath nightly because she said the babies were making her skin dry out. And I'm not even going to tell you how many hours I lost in giving her massages and foot robs because, apparently, I made her unforgiveably lose her girlish figure."

"God," Brian said. "Khaat's never done one of those things."

"The worst problem you have with her is getting her to behave as if she is pregnant," Marcus laughed. "I give her props for that. Evelyn treated being pregnant with our twins as if it were terminal. Khaat seems to barely notice. Its a different sort of grace that I'm not used to. And I'm definitely not used to being bored. Or rather--I was used to it until I started working for her. Now I'm out of touch."

"We had noticed you didn't quite know what to do with yourself."

"Let me know when you're tired of your back being miserable. I know an old survivor's trick for that. Seems to work for me."

"Do tell," Brian said, interested.

"Spot me for a moment?" Marcus asked.

"Gladly," Brian said, sitting down at the table to take over for Marcus. Marcus got up and went into the kitchen, opened up the tea cabinet and got out several tea bags from different but specific blends. He cut open the tea bags, crushed up the leaves and wrapped them in cheesecloth. He took a bowl of steaming hot water and dropped the cheesecloth in the water, took a clean dishcloth, and took the whole works out to the table by the pool.

"Here," he said, "try this. Let it steep a moment." After a moment, he soaked the dishcloth in the tea mixture and applied it to the sore spot on Brian's back. "Its going to bruise, you know."

"Yeah, I'm used to that." He frowned. "Its taking away some of the ache."

"Yes. It will. It will reduce the swelling and stop some of the pain. Can't take away the bruising though. I'm afraid you're stuck with that."

"I thought I understood healing tactics," Brian said.

"Ah, well, this isn't so much a technique as an old wives tale that happens to work," Marcus said. "I don't think its in any of your healers' texts."

"My understanding is that he was making the fish that he bought this morning," Brian said.  "Michael said something about doing the prep work on the vegetables already.  I'm not sure where he went.  I sort of had some troubles of my own and I lost track of him."

"I wasn't looking for him either," Marcus said. "But I do know he and Michael were planning on seafood for dinner.  I didn't know there was a proper pie to go with fish. I figured dessert was simply dessert.  And as quick as this group eats every dessert, I think any pie would work."

Michael came back upstairs finally, alone. He had had a significant amount of scotch but was amazingly sober.

"Is he alright?" Kate asked quietly.

"He's fine," Michael said. "How's Khaat?"

"Presumably she's fine. Marcus is still with her."

"And Brian?"

"He's still outside. He seems to be okay but he's been doing a lot of deep thinking. She seems to want to go hunting Fenrir."

"That would be just stupid," Michael sighed.

"I think Marcus is working on that. Jess is apparently hunting Angus for some reason. Was he down there?"

"Uh, only briefly," Michael said. "I think he was cleaning and working in Khaat's room in particular. Clean sheets and such. And there was a mountain of laundry again. What's the emergency?"

"I have no idea," Kate said.

"Okay. Well, he's been busy, I believe," Michael said.

"I don't think its going to be another full month," Marcus said. "She's starting today to feel a huge amount of fatigue. I think when we see that shift, we'll need to be more alert. I don't think the babies are as ready for this to be overwith as she is. I'm just letting her rest. I do want to get her out of the sun and the heat soon and get her into the shade with something cold to drink. Too much sun isn't good either, and she's been out here most of the afternoon. Give me a few minutes and I'll wake her and bring her in."

Michael headed to the kitchen and started work on the evening meal. He knew the menu. The prep work was done. It just needed to be cooked now.

Angus finally finished his work in Khaat's room and headed out to join Michael in the kitchen."

"Debone that fish, would you?" Michael asked him.

"On it,' Angus said.