A Birth day

Ruby stood and listened to Angus from the kitchen as she finished cleaning it from when she had started to make breakfast. she could hear Edward and Angus both talking she was glad he was talking to Angus , trying to get him to understand he needed a break badly she could see it on his face that he was run down.

Aria chuckled watching Marcus fix a bag for Angus sitting on the fresh made bed as she watched him. " He really needs this but why is he being resistant?" she asked " I understand about threats and such but the big ones are in jail, there not going to do anything for at least a few days, is he always like this after a fight or is this one different because of what happened?" she asked wanting t understand Angus's thinking.

"I honestly think that it's the combination of events," Marcus said. "James has come onto the propery but we've always kept him from getting in the main house. This time, with no warning, he was inside the house, took Abbey and was on the way out before we heard a damned alarm at all. Not to mention the close call he had when James tossed him off the cliff. That was just yesterday morning, after all. Not to mention going to Gelding's house and finding that not only is Priscilla loose again but that Suzanne has set up a new torture chamber, along with keeping his casket? I think he feels like the Geldings are miles ahead of us this time, and he has to be on a sort of emergency alert status 24/7 right now. That's not practical, of course, but he doesn't know where or when the next attempt is going to come from, and it makes him feel like he doesn't dare let his guard down. I can't blame him, of course, but give me a little time. I'll try to get him to share the responsibility of it with the rest of us. I'm hoping that a change of scenery gets him to relax just a wee bit. He isn't always like this, but he doesn't feel like he can even defend himself, much less defend his family.

Evan took Angus to the billiards room and pulled two proper pints of the new ale he'd stocked, handing one to Angus.

"Cheers," he toasted and took a swig. "Mighty tasty," Evan grinned. Angus smelled it, and he did like the malt smell he got from it. He tasted it and nodded.

"That's nice," he told Evan. "Good call."

"Its a local brew from a couple of our own employees. They've just been making small batches, using barley and grains from our fields. I'd like to talk to Edward about letting us try to see if we can add a small craft brewery to brew some local beers like this," Evan said.

"I think he'd let you try it," Angus said. "Can you send him a couple growlers to see how he likes it?"

"Sure. I could do that," Evan nodded. "I know Marcus drinks beer, but do the girls?"

"Ruby does from time to time. Not sure about Aria, but probably. You want them to try it?"

"Yeah at some point, but right now while they're enjoying the tea Rosaria made, the ale probably is not the proper thing," Evan said. "Anything in particular that you want to do this weekend?"

"Not really," Angus shrugged.

"You were sent, weren't you? This trip wasn't your idea" Evan laughed.

"They think I'm on the brink," Angus sighed. "Makes me nuts. I'm fine."

"Well, when you start to look fine, they might believe it. To me you just look tired. Maybe they think they see more to it."

"Maybe," Angus replied.

Aria heard Marcus as they walked to the main house and inside she listened and nodded humming in agreement to his words " but why does he want that coffin monstrosity?" she asked " I would burn it to ash if it was you or me" Ruby walked with Angus till they met up with Even and she chuckled smiling a he saw Tara moving she hugged her

"Thank you for having us at short notice" she said placing down her bag beside her. " he's tired" she said simply " needs recharging and relaxing" she added as she could se Marcus talking to Aria as they entered together. " also this was his idea too" she added with a chuckle.

"I don't know yet," Marcus said. "He told Edward he wanted it so he could be rid of it once and for all, so he seems to have a purpose in mind for it. I'm hoping he tells me about that too."

"It's great to have you here again," Tara told them. "Rosaria made an assortment of Italian cookies and she set up a tea for us in Caprice's sitting room. It was where she used to go and knit or sew or just to drink a cup of tea and relax." She motioned to them to follow her to the pink sitting room.

"Angus is right, though," Tara continued. "It does have the most comfortable furniture in the house. Come sit and relax a little, and we'll let Evan and Angus have a little brother time. Carlo will take the bags upstairs while you settle in a bit. The girls wanted to come but its just about noon here. They're just finishing an early lunch, and then they have some heavy duty classes this afternoon. And Evan has been very firm on them doing their homework before they do anything else. He wants them to do those assignments before they head home, actually, and that isn't a bad habit for them. He figures they'll get all caught up with Sam and Victor and they'll miss doing assignments if he doesn't really hold them to some good habits, and I suppose he's right. Our girls have a couple of Beauxbaton's lads they're fond of, but he has the same rules for them too. And the farther they get into winter term, the harder the assignments are going to be. if their assignments are tough, we'll probably not see them until supper time."

Aria heard Marcus and nodded " yeah agreed" she said as she watched Ruby with Tara and smiled . Ruby relaxed with Tara and smiled at the mention of the sitting room " sounds exactly what is needed" she said following her to the room that was bright and open to the sun but cosy too. Ruby smiled a she sat down in one of the chairs and relaxed more " now this is comfortable" she said before she pored two cups of tea one for her and one for Tara.

Aria picked up Ruby's bag and smiled " I'll take the bags to the rooms" she said picking up Angus and heading up to the stairs and into the rooms where she unpacked making sure Angus's and Ruby's were neat and where they could find what they needed since it was just the necessities they had brought.

"I admit I don't know Angus nearly as well as the rests of you do," Tara said, "but I have learned that, generally, the Donohue men tend to all rather look the same when they've been working entirely too hard. He looks like he's overworked or something. Evan knows him really well, and I presume Marcus does too. And, I can tell you one thing for sure--if there really were a cause to worry, Edward would have come along. That's just who Edward is. Since he's not here, I think its probably safe to relax just a wee bit. "

"Besides, Evan has a surprise for Angus," Tara smiled. "A couple of the young guys who work the fields and the stables have been tinkering with trying to make some craft beers, and they have a brand new ale that Evan really, really likes. It's a dark ale, but it has a lot of malt flavor and, actually, some black treacle and muscovado in it to give it a really deep, rich flavor. I don't drink a lot of beer, but even I like this one. They haven't named it yet, but Evan is thinking that maybe we need to diversify into building a small craft brewery and letting these lads make some small batch craft beers to sell. I mean, they're buying our grains to make the ales, so it might be worth some thought."

"But, that's for the boys. Do you and Aria have anything you'd like to do this weekend? There's a winter market that's going to open in the morning in the village tomorrow. There's an old church that has been de-sanctified--or whatever it is they do--and its being used for village indoor social events. So this market is going to be there, with crafters of all kinds, weavers, potters, bakers, jam and honey producers, quilters--you name it, they're going to be there. We could go check that out if you like. Maybe we could take the new Akhal-Teke horses and ride, if you like. If we buy a lot, we might want to take one of the cars, though."

Ruby listened to Tara and she made perfect sense as she spoke " yeah he was the one who persuaded him to come, he wasn't wanting at all" she said and sat back in the chair " we had a breach before we came, Blood again and the witch who buried him too, so yeah wore out is the right term." she said softly she smiled at the mention of the beers and nodded " oh I'd love to try that too" she said and hearing about a winter market she nodded " that sounds fun I may find somethings to take back" she added .

Hearing about the new horses she nodded " I heard you had some of those , I have never seen those before , nor rode them, it should be amazing" she said smiling as she sipped her tea " teas very relaxing too" she added sipping it with a smile as she looked at the plants around where she sat. Aria finished putting the last item away and tucked the bags into a closet. Heading down she paused a she spotted Marcus still stood close to Angus.

"They still talking?" she asked and stood next to him " its good he talks to others, it'll help him unwind" she said leaning on Marcus " you know I heard Tara mention a winter market and a new beer some boys are making, its supposed to be really good, Dark, really deep flavour, the dark and deep reminds me of some one. Oh right you." she said and teased him a little. " sounds like its good though, think we'll get time to try it?"

"That werewolf needs to meet his maker or they need to find a cell he can't scoot out of nearly as easily. And the same with the Geldings. For some reason, they are a slippery bunch, the whole lot of them. And that voodoo woman too? No wonder he's knackered. His brain never stops when there's a threat. You know him best, but maybe it's the fatigue of trying to figure out how he's going to get rid of them out of your lives. That seems like something he would do. So maybe the change of pace is just the ticket."

When Ruby said she'd never been on one of the new horses, Tara smiled.

"Those horses are gorgeous. They're rare, but the thing that impresses me is their coats. Their coats are a blonde color, and they shine and shimmer. Evan tells me they're nicknamed Golden Horses. If we take them, Carlo will go along, on one of our other stallions, and he'll guard the golden horses while we shop. Tyler says these horses can be touchy and often only let one specific person ride, but Tyler is developing a skill at being able to talk to horses, so he's been trying to form a relationship with them. Haven't talked to him lately, but we certainly can ask if we can ride them.

"I'm glad you like the tea. It's a new herbal blend I found in Switzerland over the holidays. It's actually lingonberry but it has chamomile and some other calming herbs in it. I just like the lingonberry taste. And I'm sure we can try the ale if you want. Evan put a keg in at the bar in the billiards room, so there should be plenty for all."

"He doesn't need me right now," Marcus told her quietly. "That's why I'm on the other side of the room from him. Being in the same room is enough for now. They aren't talking about anything of substance, really. Not yet. They're just catching up a bit. The ale's quite good really. I got him to pull me a pint just a few minutes ago. Taste." He handed her his not-quite-full pint to taste it. "I could like this one quite a lot. Might see if I can get us a growler or two when we go home. Evan thinks Edward should build a brewery and see if he can start producing their ales here. Apparently, the guys that are brewing them are using the grains and things grown here to do it, so it does seem like it would be a natural fit. Angus sounds open to it, and he really likes this ale. Edward is adventurous, so I bet he'd go with it."

Ruby sighed and nodded to Tara " oh I agree with that too" she said " but they have him on D wing , I think that was code for you know where" she said and chuckled hearing her talk about the tea Ruby nodded and sighed again " well from some one who was stressed out , it certainly works and tasted sweet but not overly, for me its perfect " she said then smiled hearing about the horses " they sound beautiful" and nodded when Tara spoke of having some one ride with them to protect the horses " oh defiantly" she said.

Aria heard Marcus and nodded to him seeing the glass in his hand she took it and took a sip almost not going to give him it back " wow this is good" she said taking a second and looking at him over the top of the glass in case he wanted it back . But with a second drink she handed it back and licked her lips of the white froth. " oh defiantly" she said " that is better than Guinness, that muggle drink that looks the same, but doesn't taste half as good." she said then smiled seeing Angus sat with Even. " Ruby's relaxing with Tatra in the siting room." she said glancing over for a moment. " I know this will be a no but do we get to relax too, or is it be always vigilant until he's home? "

"This place has been, traditionally, off James' radar. It's only been breeched once that I know of since I've worked for Robert, but that was because Benjamin and Eileen let in a band of werewolves. And it ended badly for them. Angus had to eliminate his own mother, and Edward had to eliminate his own son--Angus's father. It was horrendous. Bejamin and Angus were fighting, and Benjamin had knocked Angus to the floor right at his feet. He was in the mid swing to try to kill Angus, and Edward used his axe to save Angus. I felt for both of them in that moment. Benjamin's head ended up on the floor right next to Angus, and all of Benajamin's blood rolled down on Angus. It was a mess. Lesser men might have lost their minds, but Angus managed. He'll do fine with this, in the long run. He might just need a wee bit to think it through."

"I'm telling you all that to tell you that, yes, this place has been breeched, and it has gotten violent, but we have the ability to call for backup, and if there is any danger, believe me, we'll have all kinds of backup. I think, so long as I can keep Angus in eyesight, we can enjoy some time too. I do need to have him in eyesight, thought, except at night while he's sleeping. Evan knows the risks that Angus is in right now, so he'll just naturally step in to keep him covered, so, we don't need to be up Angus's butt all weekend, and that will be good for all of us."