I've used countless women in my espionage before. This one seems easy enough to control.
I couldn't sleep much that second night. My head was still spinning from the day's events. And it was only going to get harder….
Loid was up when I left my bedroom the following morning, drinking his usual cup of coffee and reading his newspaper. He grinned as I entered the room. "Morning, Mrs. Forger. Sleep well?" "Yes," no. I haven't gotten a good night's sleep since I've moved here. Sensing I was supposed to do something, I went directly to the kitchen; Loid showed me where everything was the other day. We agreed that we'd have a traditional marriage, which meant that I'd do all the cooking. Oddly enough though, Loid didn't want me cleaning the apartment. His bedroom was particularly off-limits. It was just the cooking I was meant to do, for appearance's sake. I felt my husband side-eye me as I pulled out a frying pan and couple of eggs. His hand drifted up underneath his chin.
"I have to go out today; got some…. errands to run," I thought his pause between the "some" and "errands" was weird but didn't address it, just kept on preparing both of us some eggs for breakfast. He waited a moment to begin speaking again. "There's going to be a ladies' afternoon tea for government spouses this afternoon. I'd appreciate it if you attended." I paused here to glance back at him warily. "Oh, I don't know. I've never been to a formal afternoon tea before….." No one's ever invited me to one, but then my friends didn't really do that kind of thing. It was more a posh, upper-class affair.
Loid clasped his hands together in front of him on the table, though not in a domineering way. "You'll do fine. Just go and uh…. socialize. Lots of those ladies belong to The Garden of Eden club. The more ins we have, the better." "Are you sure about this? I don't want to embarrass you in front of your colleagues' wives," I was still hesitating; the words of the mean lady echoed through my head.
But my husband merely shut his eyes and shook his head. "You have nothing to worry about," then his eyes reopened to reach over and meet mine. The edges of his grin widened just a tad; barely noticeable, but I noticed. "I have the upmost confidence in you, Mrs. Forger," he said this, and I blushed a tad. Really? Did he really think that….? Or was he just saying that to get me to do what he wanted? Still blushing, I raised my hand up a little to my cheek. "But…. what will I wear?"
"Leave that to me. I know a tailor in town; I'll have him make up some dresses for you," he announced while standing up from his seat, his hands now on the table. "Oh. Shall I come with you this morning or…?" "No, I want you to stay home and get ready for this afternoon. I'll bring him your measurements and have him do that while I care take of some other affairs." All I heard was the word "measurements". Now blushing ten times harder, I was able to look every which way except at my husband, and he soon caught onto this. Quickly realizing what he'd just said, Loid's cheeks flushed the faintest of pink right above his eyes. His head spun away, and he cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Y-You'd better finish cooking and eat your breakfast. I'll not have my wife getting too skinny now." "But that lady said I need to….." But he cut me off with a glare. "I already told you, forget what that old crone said. We'll make this work, with or without her help." "Y-You really think so?" I gazed at him unsure. He took a single step closer to me, relaxing his arms out at his sides. His nice, gentle grin returned in full force; it still wasn't a smile, but it seemed to be getting softer each time.
"Without a doubt. Now please don't worry; you'll do great. I'll even walk you to the castle this afternoon." "You would?" He'd take time from his busy day to escort me there? Awe, that's so sweet. Wait, did he say "castle"? Where exactly is this tea party being held anyway?
She's by far the easiest one I've ever controlled.
So why do I have this sinking feeling whenever she looks at me with those eyes so eager to make me happy?