Back in the Ratigan household, everything had become a whirl of chaos. Delia had her paws full with looking after the children while the staff prepared and helped set up interviews for any of the interested nannies that showed up. Not everyone was as thrilled as the kids were about this, especially the head maid Miss Faith Summers.
"I don't see why he can't take time off of work to spend some time with the children It's not like what he does is important." The mouse was complaining as she always did when she had to do anything. Faith was not the most helpful of creatures, and it amazed most of the staff that she even got the job in the first place. Most of them speculated that it was because Faith was a very pretty mouse with golden and white fur and warm brown eyes. One look from her could make any hot-blooded male fall under her spell, and that included Ratigan. He had a very noticeable weakness for all that was beautiful.
"His job is quite demanding, Miss Faith." Delia said as she rapped a seeking paw with her wooden spoon (Thomas squeaked and sucked the rapped paw). "He works very hard to see clients, and they aren't very understanding about the whole situation at times." Faith shrugged her dainty shoulders.
"Why doesn't he quit and do something else? It's what I would do." Delia lifted a curious Nettie away from one of her best cook pots with her tail.
"You're a mouse, Miss Faith. You would get another job somehow. Our Professor is a rat, and the best job he would be able to get is mudlarking." Faith raised an eyebrow.
"That's no outlook to have, Delia. He's no rat, he hardly acts like those uncivilized brutes." Delia sighed as she pulled Nettie from the cupboards again.
"You see? That's why he can't quit his job. That mindset right there." Faith just shrugged and flounced off to do something else to help ready the house while Delia just shook her head. "Why he hired her as head maid, I'll never know." The old mouse said to Nettie. Nettie only grabbed her muzzle and grinned.
Meanwhile, on the second floor of the house, the other children were watching the nannies pile in one by one from the stairwell.
"Ooh, what about her? I'll bet she'd be lots of fun!" Lucy said as she pointed at one of the mice. Thomas shook his head.
"She'd probably quit after one days of dealing with us. What about that one?" Michael made a face.
"She has a mole on her chin!" Lucy rapped him on the nose.
"Physical appearance does not make the rodent," she said. "At least that's what Miss Faith always says." Thomas rolled his eyes.
"Sure, after she starts criticizing everyone else about how they look." Lucy couldn't help but agree with that. A few moments of silent scanning later, they all heard the jingle of a bell. Miss Dinah Hawkins had appeared at the stairwell, smiling at them.
"Hello Thomas, Michael, Lucy," she nodded at each of them. "What brings you three to the top of the stairs?"
"Hello, Miss Dinah!" Lucy chirped. "We're just watching the nannies and waiting for Uncle James to pick the best one. So far, there hasn't been any good ones." Dinah sat down with them and watched the nannies too.
"There's an awful lot of mice down there," she mused. The children nodded.
"Yeah, and a few of them leave as soon as they get here," Thomas added with a slight scowl. "They don't even give Uncle James a chance to talk. They just leave as soon as they see him." Michael tugged on Dinah's tail.
"It's cause he's a rat, right Miss Dinah?" The gerbil nodded, sighing.
"Yes, I'm afraid that's why, Michael. It's unfair, you know. Your godfather is a hardworking, honest rat. He wouldn't hurt anyone, I really don't understand why everyone's so afraid of him." Lucy's eyes widened.
"They're AFRAID of Uncle James? But he's not scary! He's just big!" Dinah smiled sadly over at Lucy.
"Sometimes people are so afraid of what's different that they don't give them a chance." She looked back at the nannies. "They just can't understand that." Michael tugged on her skirts.
"Are people afraid of you, Miss Dinah?" The gerbil laughed.
"No, they just think I'm a strange looking mouse with a bell on her tail. They aren't afraid of me at all." Before the children could say anything more, Delia had appeared with her roller in tow.
"Dinah, I thought I asked you to help me downstairs in the kitchen." The gerbil's ears perked and she hopped to her feet.
"Oh, I'm sorry Delia. I was just-" the mouse help up a paw.
"Save it for later, sugar. We've got work to do." Dinah nodded and headed downstairs with a small smile at the children.
"Duty calls, I'll be back later." Delia in the meantime, handed baby Nettie over to Lucy.
"This little rascal is getting into everything. Can you keep an eye on her for me, honey?" Lucy nodded.
"Okay, Miss Delia." The mouse smiled and ruffled the girl's hair.
"Thanks darlin'. Your godfather should be done real soon, all right?" The children nodded and Delia headed back down to the kitchen, giving orders as she went.
Sarah stood outside the house with her papers neatly pressed and held together in her gloved paws. She had put on her best gown and made sure every bit of her was perfect and demure the way a woman was seen these days. Though she outright refused Kitty's idea to wear a corset ("Have you any idea what these things do to your insides?!") as was required of proper Mousetorian ladies, she'd still put on a bustier and she was a tad uncomfortable. She headed into the house among the other ladies applying for the job, watching as a few of them left looking ashen. She didn't wish to dwell on the idea that her potential employer might be a bit more intimidating than Kitty had told her, so she did her best to push it from her mind. She sat in the parlor room with a few other ladies (mostly mice, she noticed) and a few eyes locked on her. She supposed she looked a tad out of place. These ladies looked as if they were dressed for church, while she looked like she was ready to go out for a Sunday stroll. Perhaps she had gone too extravagant again? Looking around here, it certainly seemed so and the lady had a sudden urge to bolt until a light-furred rat showed up, collecting resumes.
Sarah handed hers to him with a confidence that was born with her years on the stage and the fair-colored rat smiled back and winked at her.
"Thanks so much for applying, ladies." He said as he straightened up. "Now, a few things before we begin again. I don't want any surprises here, so I'll come right out and say it. You will be working for a rat and among other species besides mice if you're hired. Now, is there anyone here who has a problem with that? If there is, I ask you to leave now." A few ladies stood and headed out the door, but Sarah and only two others staid where they were. The fair-furred rat gave each of them a winning smile. "Now, that's more like it. I'll call your name, and Miss Summers here will escort you to the study and you'll be interviewed by the Professor himself. Each interview should only take about fifteen to twenty minutes. In the meantime, we have some refreshments and a few books to read, if you'd like. I very much look forward to working with you." He gave a significant nod in Sarah's direction, and the lady rat smiled back at him. All she had to do was wait until her name was called, and that would be when the real test would begin.
She hoped that he wouldn't ask her too many questions about her profession. She had to lie quite a bit on her resume (she was certain that he wouldn't want a showgirl around his children, rat or not). Almost everything right down to her name was fake on the piece of paper the fair-furred rat was holding. She figured that if this rat was so respected in mouse society, that it wouldn't do to tell him who she was, what she did, or even where she was from. She'd made that mistake before and she'd had the worst time getting hired. So, lies it would be. She could only hope that she'd done a good job of it, otherwise she'd be in a lot of trouble.
"Miss Caultry? Miss Sarah Caultry?" The fair-furred rat asked. Sarah nearly jumped not realizing that time had just flown by without her knowing, and the lady rat stood up.
"Yes, that's me." She said in her best imitation of an English accent. The rat smiled at her and held out his paw.
"It's nice to meet you, Miss Caultry. I'm Jonathan Langley. This is Miss Faith Summers and she'll be taking you to the study." Sarah glanced at the mouse in question and smiled, but she did not get a smile back. The mouse merely sniffed and strolled away.
"Follow me, please." She said plainly. Sarah nodded and headed after her with a look back at Jonathan. The rat smiled and walked with her a bit.
"Now, don't you worry about this. The Professor may look intimidating, but he won't hurt you. He's not nearly as scary as people would have you believe." Sarah shrugged.
"Thank you for the reassurance, but I have worked for a few rats in my time. I'm not a frightened little mouse if you'll pardon the expression." Jonathan nodded and grinned.
"Good, you'll fit right in then." Faith shot him a look.
"Mr. Langley, don't you have some flowers that need tending to?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. The rat shrugged.
"I guess, I just thought I'd make her feel welcome." The mouse shook her head.
"She doesn't need that or your advice. Go tend to the garden, and I'll take care of this." Jonathan sighed and rolled his eyes when she wasn't looking.
"Try not to scare this one off either, will you?" The rat called back as he headed outside. Sarah in the meantime, said nothing and kept following after the mouse.
"I trust you know what to expect of the children?" Faith asked suddenly.
"Not really, I haven't met them yet." The rat answered as best she could. Faith shrugged.
"That may be, but do you have any experience in dealing with children?" The mouse pressed, looking at the rat expectantly. Sarah smiled.
"Certainly. If you've seen my resume, you'll know I'm highly qualified to be caring for those adorable little mice." Faith clicked her tongue.
"Of course you would think that, but how am I to know unless I know?" Sarah wrinkled her nose.
"Beg pardon?"
"Rats have excellent hearing, I'm sure you heard what I said." The mouse retorted. Sarah's ears pinned back against her skull.
"Oh I heard you just fine," she said with a tight edge to her voice. "I just didn't understand what you meant." Faith smiled at her as if she were a petulant child.
"Of course you didn't. But no matter, I'm sure you'll fit in here just fine. Especially with all of your..." she looked her up and down then. "...qualifications." Sarah had to take several deep breaths to keep herself from teaching the snooty little mousette a lesson in manners. And before she knew it, she was standing before a giant wooden door and Faith turned to smile rather coldly at her. "I'd wish you well, but I'm sure you won't need it. He knows a sour tart when he sees one." Sarah was about to unleash a string of every colorful curse she knew (and even some she made up) when the door opened and a very large shadow fell over both of them, and Sarah felt her ears prick down as she looked up. She considered herself to be a tall rat, but this gentleman had a good head or two on her. He smiled down at her, displaying a set of fine sharp teeth before dismissing the snooty mouse maid that brought her down here.
"That will be all Miss Faith. Thank you." The mouse nodded and headed back into the parlor room. He nodded at Sarah, still smiling. "You may come in, dear. There's no need to be so nervous." The lady rat smiled back at him, grateful for his friendliness and headed into his study. It was a cozy room with a wall of books and a fireplace along with a walnut desk and two armchairs. The curtains were drawn, and the room was quite dark.
"Are you some sort of fantastical creature out of Poe's works?" Sarah asked without thinking. The rat raised an eyebrow.
"I'm...sorry?" She looked around the room.
"You've drawn the curtains, and the fire isn't lit. It reminds me of one of his stories where the villain or whatever he was had heightened senses." He chuckled.
"You might have to be more specific, my dear. Poe wrote those kinds of characters quite often. Are you a fan of his works, by any chance?" She shrugged, and gave him her best demure expression.
"Being a woman, I'm not expected to be learned." She gave him an impish smile, then. "But honestly, I get the shivers when I hear anyone speak his work. He has a lovely prose." He sat her down first and then sat across from her, shaking his head.
"It's a foolish thing to keep a woman from being educated because of her gender. Really, what harm could it do?" Sarah looked down at the desk, wondering how to respond. This was new.
"Perhaps men would realize how foolish they are in comparison?" She said, again without thinking and she wished she'd kept quiet. Fortunately for her, the professor laughed.
"Perhaps so!" He replied. "Now, I suppose we should get on with it, yes?" She nodded. "Your resume is quite impressive." The rat said, fishing in his jacket for something. He pulled out a pair of half moon spectacles and smiled at her apologetically. "They usually say the mind is the first thing to go, but in my case it seems to be eyesight. Oh, the perks of getting older, hmm?" Sarah didn't trust herself to respond correctly and she kept silent. He read through her resume and his eyes widened a little. "So, Miss Caultry you're originally from Canterbury?" He asked with a smile. She nodded.
"Born and raised," she replied, smiling back. He tilted his head, his ears perking forward.
"How very strange, your accent sounds different." If she was fazed, she hoped to whatever deity she still had faith left in that it didn't show.
"How so?" She asked, folding her paws in her lap so he wouldn't see them shake. His ears turned and twitched around.
"You have a peculiar way of enunciating. It almost sounds French instead of English, along with something...perhaps a bit more Nordic. Hungary, perhaps?"
'Close, but no cigar,' Sarah thought to herself. "My grandmother on my mother's side was French, and I did spend a bit of time in Paris when I was traveling abroad, so I guess I could have picked it up there." She answered. He nodded, looking thoughtful.
"I suppose so too. Language is a fascinating thing, is it not? I spent most of my younger life in Dublin and yet after a few months here, I had no trace of an Irish accent at all." He chuckled. "Dialects are quite influential. I often wonder if that's how language is spread so far." He sighed then. "But I am getting off topic. I do apologize Miss Caultry. I have a terrible habit of rambling when discussing a subject I'm interested in." Sarah smiled at him.
"Oh, that's all right. Are you an English professor?" He shook his head.
"Oh no, I teach music. But I consider them to be nearly one in the same. Both are expressed using voice and tone, one is just expressed in music instead of the spoken word." He frowned. "Terribly sorry, I'm getting off subject again. Now, where were we? Ah yes, now your resume is very impressive, and I would like to get to know you a bit more." He blushed. "Of course not in the way you interpret it, I mean you probably don't interpret it that way, but others might and often do and I am really quite terrible at this, aren't I?" He ran a paw over his face. "To be honest, I'm surprised you didn't run out as soon as you met me. I guess you could say you're the only one who stayed long enough to really be interviewed." Sarah did her best to either hide her giggles or smother them so she wouldn't embarrass the poor thing. It was obvious he was new at this and his shyness and awkward glances was making it difficult to maintain a professional image. They went over her qualifications, and he asked about her life and why she wanted/needed the job. Though she wasn't being honest with him, she felt as if she could speak openly with him and that sort of freedom was nearly empowering for her. She'd have to remember to thank Kitty later. "When can you start?" He asked after a while. Sarah lifted an eyebrow.
"You mean...you mean I have the job?" He smiled at her.
"Seeing as you're the only one who showed up for the actual interview, I'd say so." Professional image be damned, she was up out of her seat and hugging him.
"Oh thank you! Thank you so much!" He looked rather confused and she let him go with a small cough after realizing she'd thrown her arms around him. "Anyways, I can't work Tuesdays or Fridays, but I can work every other day of the week." She smiled. He nodded and smiled.
"Dinah could take over those days, so that isn't a problem. Now, all we really have to do is show you around. Oh, and meet the children of course. And thank you again for doing this. It is greatly appreciated." Sarah gave him a wide smile.
"I can't wait to get started."
Sweet Walt's mustache, this is a LONG chapter. O_O I apologize for that, and there won't be many wall o' texts down the fanfic road, so...enjoy. ^^ And thanks for the reviews, guys. Be sure to keep leaving me feedback! :D