LONDON CALLING

Khaat and Robert apparated home, Khaat's session with Reginald getting interrupted by some kids that had come to the cemetery to cause mischief. It had disturbed Khaat and Reginald, and Reginald had gone. Frustrated, Khaat had no choice but to give up, and she and Robert apparated back to the main house.

Robert came in, took off his jacket and poured two cups of coffee for him and Khaat to warm themselves with.

"There was a pretty fierce wind up at the cemetery," Robert told them. "It got pretty cold. I told Khaat some coffee might warm us up. Well, Khaat, what did you learn from Reginald, anything?"

"Well, he said he found Suzanne, and she was with Gelding, just where Angus had said she would be. He said some sorceress there tried to drive him off, but he believes that both Suzanne and the sorceress lied to him about just about every question he asked. I was able to get him to consider that if Angus was willing to provide for the boys, sight unseen, and adopted them, and took care of Reginald's last effects, then perhaps Angus doesn't really have an axe to grind with him. Reginald is willing to consider that perhaps Angus might have told him the truth, but he wants proof. His energies were getting really weak. It does take a new spirit like his massive energies to move the physical objects he did and to have the conversation with me that he did. He's going to have to rest before we hear from him again. But--I think it would be worth our time to have Angus dig up some paperwork, some proof for Reginald, so that when we see him again, we can show him irrefutable proof that Angus is telling him the truth. I think that will go a long way towards making peace. Its not a guaranteed resolution but I do think that perhaps it will turn down some of Reginald's rage at Angus. As for his rage at Suzanne and Gelding, that's not our problem. I say we leave them to him to deal with."

"Agreed," Robert said.

"I very much doubt we hear from Reginald anymore for the next 24-48 hours. He doesn't have that much strength yet," Khaat said.

"Well, I don't know if I can give you a firm answer on that straight away, much as I know you want an answer as soon as possible," Robert said. Ruby's anxiety about sleeping with Angus seemed to be a significant thing. As a married man, Robert understood how nice it was to sleep with one's spouse, but for some reason, Ruby seemed to see it as a need and not just as a nice thing that she enjoyed. Robert did rather wish that Ruby could learn how to get a bit of a handle on the anxiety that seemed to give her so much trouble.

"There is a lot of pieces to try to work out. First of all, I certainly don't want Angus awake all night," Robert continued. "He's doing too well with his recovery to buggar anything up by staying awake. And, I do want him to have Gabe's amulet as soon as Gabe can finish it. Edward and Simone are out someplace getting some things, but I'm not sure what all they're gathering up, but I know, if I know him at all, he's gathering up some brick dust, some salt, some sage and sweetgrass, and some other things to try to seal off the house at least temporarily. If worse comes to worse, you could give us one night. I won't leave him alone regardless. Marcus intends to stay with him tonight so that Angus can sleep. Marcus will keep him safe overnight. I suppose you could maybe stay but that gives Marcus two of you to guard instead of one, and that could get dangerous for all of you if he has to suddenly m uproot you both out of a dead sleep and move you in a matter of seconds. Let us see how much we get done before bedtime, but I won't make you any promises."

Abbey came into the kitchen bringing a picture she'd drawn with her crayons, and she took it to Robert.

"Papa, lookie! I drawed a picher!" she told him. Robert picked Abbey up and put her on his lap. He could see it was a person with brown hair, a tan jacket, and dark brown trousers. And he could see there were green trees on either side of him.

"Oh very nice," he told her. "Your drawing is getting better and better. Good job."

Then Ruby asked if someone was here, saying she thought she saw someone.

"Who, Dear?" Kate asked. "Reginald? Doubtful. when someone passes recently, they don't have the energy to endlessly manifest. And moving solid objects takes massive amounts of energy. For him to throw all the objects he did today and then to manifest enough to see Suzanne and then to have a conversation with Khaat, he isn't going to have enough energy left to come and manifest for us anymore today. Its going to take him some time to rest before he can make contact again."

"Abbey, did you see someone that looks like this?" Robert asked Abbey about her drawing. She nodded.

"ReeRee! He come'd to see us because Mama see'd him."

"Oh. ReeRee was here?" Robert asked. Abbey nodded. "How long ago?"

"He here. He say he go outside," Abbey nodded.

"Sounds like you might have seen a glimpse of my brother," Robert told Ruby. "He would not like some strange spirit visiting and causing trouble, so it would be entirely like him to come and check on things."

"Absolutely," Robert said. "Remus was always a fierce protector of the ones he loved. Remember back when he was alive, anyone that had lycanthropy was not welcomed at all like they are now. People were terrified of them, and they drove them out of town or tried to kill them outright. He spent a lot of his time on the run when he was alive. He valued the people he loved more than his own life, and when he was living with us, he almost entirely raised Khaat because they were so alike in those years. Someday I'll tell you the rest of that story, but, yes. it isnt at all unusual for him to show up if he thinks there is some legitimate danger here that he can be of any help at all with. I honestly don't know what makes him so close to Abbey, but he's been around her almost from day one."

"Its because Abbey is Khaat's child. In a way, its like a granddaughter to him. And she sees him just like Khaat does," Kate said. "Abbey doesn't have one cell in her body that is afraid of Remus, and they get on together like he and Khaat did when she was that age. So, yes, if there is a ghost here that thinks they can come here and make trouble, there is a zero percent chance that Remus would ignore it. He would come, ready to do whatever it took to protect those that he loves. He might not be interested in driving Reginald off if Reginald isn't making trouble, but if he starts that throwing knives stuff again, Reginald will have more trouble on his hands than he knows how to handle. remember, Remus has decades more experience in how things work beyond the veil, so he far outmatches Reginald at this point."

"Are we going to eat these Cumberland pies or just look at them?" Robert scowled. He was hungry, and the pies smelled great. He had a general idea of where Michael had probably gotten them, and if he was right, then the pies would indeed be very tasty.

"You all tuck in," Kate said. "I'll take supper to Angus and Marcus and then I'll come and get a plate for myself."

Kate packaged up supper for Angus and Marcus and delivered it over to them. Marcus answered the door, and he showed Kate the finds that they had discovered in Reginald's hiding places.

"That is quite a haul," Kate said, stunned. "That has to be worth a king's ransom."

"Oh, very definitely," Marcus said.

"What are you going to do with it?" Kate asked Angus.

"Well, I have to do the right thing," Angus said. "I'll put the muggle money with the muggle money that's in the missions funds. That will, in the long run, go to save kids. And, since muggle money isn't worth nearly as much as our own, it looks like quite a sum, but if we were to convert it, I don't think it would be worth much. It has a lot more value to us so we don't have to try to go get some money converted for undercover missions. As far as the jewels go, I'll probably try to get the best price for it all that I can, cash it out, and split the money between Ruby and Jessie and the boys. I'll probably put the boys' shares in their trust funds. I don't know about the deeds yet. I'll want to see what it all goes to, how much its really worth, and if no one wants it, i'll put it out on the market, sell it, and maybe replace some of my expenses in Reginald's funeral. I don't care if you tell Robert, but an we not spread this news all around until I've had a chance to talk to Ruby about it? She deserves to know next, and then we'll discuss what the best thing is for all of it."

"Sounds sensible to me. Well, I'll leave you two to your supper. Enjoy," Kate smiled. She returned to the main building, dished up her own plate and joined the others at the table.