The Female of the Species
Chapter 5Goudbollen held out his hand, and Narcissa shook it, trying not to grimace at the slimy feel of both his flesh and his worn fingerless gloves, and to hide her surprise that he knew at once who she was. Of course, the Malfoys were one of the leading wizard families. Their social events were reported in Witch Weekly, and their fortunes followed by The Daily Prophet. It was inevitable that Narcissa Malfoy's distinctive blonde head would be recognised.
"What can I do for you, Mrs Malfoy?" Goudbollen gestured to a chair by the counter, in front of which was a low table, presumably for customers to show him their wares. Narcissa sat down gingerly on the rickety frame, and Goudbollen drew up an even less stable-looking chair for himself, giving Mrs Malfoy a gap-toothed smile.
However, Goudbollen's appearance belied his keen business brain. He knew the value of everything and the price of everything. He, like Ruby, knew that Narcissa needed to sell immediately, and this meant he could offer her less for her pledges. On the other hand, he saw immediately that Mrs Malfoy had indeed brought him a wealth of treasures such as he had never seen before all together at one time. His greasy palms itched to own them. She had not told him how much Ruby Argent had offered for the jewellery, merely that she would deal with the higher bidder. Of course, the advantage of dealing with Goudbollen would be the possibility of redeeming her treasures. He wondered how straitened were her circumstances, and whether this last was a realistic possibility? Silently he made his calculations, as he examined each piece closely with a lens, lips moving soundlessly. Finally, Goudbollen scrawled a figure on a torn piece of parchment, and pushed it towards Mrs Malfoy.
Narcissa was a mistress of hiding her true feelings: if wizards had played poker, she would have been an expert bluffer. She offered Goudbollen a tight smile, and murmured that his was a very good offer, but Ruby Argent's was better. However, she wanted to deal with him because she hoped to be able to regain possession of some or all of her jewellery. Could he see his way to upping the offer slightly?
Fifteen minutes later, Narcissa Malfoy had left Goudbollen's accompanied by the satisfying clink of gold coins in her tapestry bag. She had successfully fooled the pawnbroker into offering her more than he had intended. His initial offer had already been more than Ruby's. But she had kept a straight face until she was well out of sight of the narrow wynd, and then allowed herself to smile somewhat ruefully before heading back to Scotland.
Now, gazing at the glowing sky over Ben Foy, Narcissa realised that the worries of the day had created physical symptoms: she could feel the muscles taut under her skin if she gripped her own shoulders. She wished she could afford the luxury of time spent with the house elf Fingers: he lived at Malfoy Manor, and was so named because he was a genius at massage. He was such an expert at pummelling and smoothing out all one's tensions that Narcissa's female friends were prepared to repay her generously in favours for his services. But there was no time for such non-essentials now. Taking one last look at the blood-red loch, and shivering slightly as she felt an autumnal nip in the air, Narcissa turned her back on the glories of nature, and walked into the castle.
Once divested of her cloak, handed to the house elf who magically appeared to greet her, Narcissa went immediately to Lucius' bedroom to see if he had improved. She found Lucius asleep, with Cho sat quietly beside him, sewing an emerald green ball gown by the light of the oil lamps. Narcissa almost chided her for straining her eyes, and then remembered that she was supposed to hate Cho Chang. She wondered to herself, Did she indeed hate Miss Chang? She thought not. She felt resentful and jealous, yes, but how could she blame any woman for wanting Lucius when she wanted him so much herself? If Lucius paid them any attention at all, they would almost all settle for the little he was prepared to give them, that was the effect he had on most females.
Cho turned round as she heard Narcissa enter the room. Narcissa said to her, "I see Lucius is asleep at the moment. How has he been?"
"He was the same as when you left. He's been half awake, tossing and turning, and talking most of the time. Occasionally, he's been in real agony."
"Has he said anything that made sense?"
"No, not really." Narcissa saw Cho blush at this, and wondered what further endearments he had spoken to her. Ignoring this, she asked, "So you didn't learn any more about what attacked him?" Cho shook her head.
"I need to ask you something, Miss Chang. Please come into the drawing room with me while Lucius is sleeping. One of the house elves can sit with him, and let us know if he wakes."
The two women went downstairs into the large drawing room, where dark green velvet curtains were drawn against the cool night air, and the soft glow of lamps illuminated the antique Flemish tapestries lining the wood panelled walls. Narcissa rang for a house elf, and after ordering a buffet meal to be served by the flickering log fire burning cheerfully in the grate, she indicated that Cho should sit in one of the armchairs beside the sheepskin hearth rug. She poured them each some wine from the decanter on the oak sideboard, and, handing a pewter goblet to Cho, she sat on the edge of the armchair opposite her.
"Miss Chang, I understand that Mark Chang of Chang Jade Holdings is your brother?" she said.
Cho nodded, looking confused at the sudden introduction of this topic. "Yes, well he's actually my half brother."
"Are you close?" asked Narcissa.
Cho looked even more puzzled. "No, not really. He's so much older than me. His mother died quite a long time before my parents married. By the time I was born, he'd already started working for Grandad and left home. I don't see him very often. Why do you ask?"
Narcissa sighed involuntarily. Should she tell Cho Chang her tale of woe? She would lose so much face by letting her husband's mistress know that she had not been told about Lucius' business affairs. She wondered if Cho knew anything herself, given that Lucius had likely been dealing with her grandfather. She decided to ask.
"Was Lucius involved in some kind of business deal with your grandfather?"
"Yes," replied Cho immediately, "But I don't know what it was. Lucius wouldn't tell me when I asked him, and made it very clear that I was not to ask again."
Narcissa nodded. That sounded just like Lucius. "He bought a large quantity of jade. A very large quantity."
"Well, that makes sense. Grandad is the main world trader in jade." Cho frowned. Something on the edge of her memory was trying to make itself known, but when she tried to catch it, the thought dissolved.
"Lucius made an arrangement to pay Chang Jade Holdings in instalments, but because he was unconscious for so long in the dungeons he missed a payment. Mark Chang came to Malfoy Manor demanding that I settle the account." Narcissa looked at Cho, but saw no reaction on her face. Presumably this meant that she had no knowledge of the tactics used by her grandfather's company when money was owed. "He arrived with a Mr Tan," she elaborated. Still no reaction. "Mr Tan is a very large man, and was very threatening."
Now, Cho's eyes were wide with astonishment. "What did he threaten to do?"
"Nothing definite, but it was no less a threat for that. Mark Chang gave me a copy of Lucius' account. I couldn't believe how much he had spent. I made an arrangement with Mr Chang, but it relied on my having access to Lucius' vault at Gringotts. I've been unable to find his key, and Mr Gringott will not allow me to open the vault without it. I've sent all my own money to Mr Chang, and I've just sold all my jewellery to get more, but I cannot settle the rest of the account without selling some of the family assets. I sent a note to this effect with my payment, but I wonder how amenable Mr Chang and Mr Tan are in such circumstances?
"Miss Chang, could you have a word with your brother, and explain the situation? He will be paid, but I need time."
Cho looked at Narcissa Malfoy with a small frown on her tired face. That niggling thought just beyond reach kept scratching at the surface of her brain, but all attempts to hold on to it failed. She shook her head to clear it, and replied that she would see her brother the next day.
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Two days later, Cho sat by Lucius' bed once more, still sewing the same green dress. The previous day, she had reluctantly left Glen Moy Castle, and gone to seek out her half brother at Chang Jade Holdings, bearing the proceeds from the sale of the jewellery. She had felt very uncomfortable indeed acting as Narcissa Malfoy's envoy. She hoped her brother was not going to ask her any awkward questions about why she was involved in the matter. However, Mark did not ask anything at all; but Cho had the feeling that the reason for this was that he knew all about her affair with Lucius Malfoy, even though nothing was said. She suspected that her grandfather had shared his knowledge with Mark, and this made her wonder who else knew. Neither did Mark comment on Cho's haggard appearance, of which she herself was only too well aware.
Cho's visit had been moderately successful so far as Narcissa was concerned. Mark had given her an extension for settlement of the account, but had insisted on adding high interest charges, with the warning that the rate would increase if Narcissa were to default again.
This matter having been resolved, Narcissa had left Cho alone once more at the castle with Lucius and the house elves. She had gone to France, where she had a house inherited from a French aunt. She planned to sell this beautiful property overlooking the Mediterranean at Cap Ferrat, and hoped to find a customer willing to make a quick purchase. She had a buyer in mind, a local wizard who had long admired the house, and asked for first refusal should she ever change her mind and decide she wished to sell. Luckily for Narcissa, as desperate to sell the house as the jewels, the wizard had already offered a fair price, and told her he would not pay her less than that if she sold within two years.
Cho's attention was divided between Lucius and the dress. She needed to finish the evening gown, it was for one of her best customers, and she had just begun to sew mother-of-pearl sequins all over the bodice. Lucius had more moments now when he seemed almost awake, and he spoke even more frequently, but most of the time it seemed to make little sense. Once or twice, Cho heard him say "My Lord." This made her shiver slightly, and she wondered if he was dreaming of days long ago when he still served the Dark Lord. Then the thought that had been trying to catch her attention seemed even more insistent, but once more it eluded her.
The house elves dropped in frequently to check whether Cho had need of anything, and in this way she obtained meals on a tray, and once even left Poppy to watch Lucius while she went for a brief stroll in the grounds in order to try and straighten her stiff back and relax her tense shoulders. Cho made herself walk around Loch Moy and breathe in the pure Highland air, even though every fibre of her being was screaming at her to get back to Lucius. She need not have worried. When she got back to his room, Poppy told her that he had been just the same.
As Cho watched and sewed, her eyes began to droop, and she realised how tired she was. She had slept briefly for two nights in a guest room at the castle, but had been unable to relax enough to have a real night's rest. Also, now that Narcissa was to be absent overnight, she realised how much the presence of Lucius' wife had helped to make her feel permanently on edge, as she had felt the undercurrent of resentment emanating from the older woman. In spite of her concern about Lucius, Cho could feel herself falling asleep. Then she dropped her needle, and had to crawl around on the Persian carpet, feeling carefully around and looking for it by the light of the oil lamps lit against the dull afternoon. When she finally found the needle after almost driving it into her palm, she decided to put the sequinned gown to one side and rest. Cho summoned Poppy and was about to leave the room, when suddenly two thoughts occurred to her: Narcissa would be away for at least two nights, so she need not worry about her reaction to anything Cho did; and Lucius was sleeping in a four poster bed large enough for two - the same bed she had shared with him a handful of times. If she slept beside him, she would be on hand if there was any change in his condition, and surely this would mean she would sleep more soundly?
Once clad in the nightgown Poppy had fetched from her guest room, Cho slid under the covers beside Lucius. The elf remained on watch, sitting in the gathering dark, her luminous eyes glowing slightly. House elves had excellent night vision, and so she needed no candle or lamp to see Lucius. Cho felt self-conscious at first with Poppy in the room, but she felt a friendliness towards herself from all the Malfoy elves, perhaps because she treated them as she would treat any person. The combination of this and her exhaustion caused her to fall asleep sooner than she would have believed. Even when Lucius began talking it did not wake her, and Poppy let Cho slumber on, recognising that Lucius was still asleep.
