Chapter 24

Aldebaran Shipley knew that he was not in a good mood. In fact, it wasn't just the fact that he was going to have to hire a new assistant soon that was upsetting him. It was hard to focus on work when his mind was partially occupied by family concerns. It wasn't even the annoying owls that he got every morning from Angelica's mother about her latest idea for the increasingly expensive wedding that really had him pacing the floors. It was Dolly and her damned husband, that manky werewolf who had ruined his favourite cousin's life, that had Aldebaran angrily turning the small porcelain statue of a jurisconsultary wizard that Angelica had given him into a progressively disturbing succession of strange beasts.

The first time around he had forced himself not to interfere with the marriage. He had detested the idea of Edwina being tied for life to a man that could never hope to deserve her. However, despite Aunt Carina's impassioned diatribe in favour of killing the werewolf, which Aldebaran thought wouldn't be such a bad idea if it could be managed without repercussions, Aldebaran knew he would never really have acted on the plan. No matter what was really in Edwina's best interests, Aldebaran simply couldn't bear to see her upset. And there was no doubt in his mind that his cousin would have gone mad with grief if her dirty werewolf died.

But this time Aldebaran had been convinced by Wilfred Leighton, who Aldebaran was fully aware had other motives than pure altruism, to interfere. Leighton had convinced him not to visit her in hospital and to stay out of the picture, so Edwina would be driven away from the werewolf and back to her family when she saw that the family was unanimous in reviling the marriage. Aldebaran had not really expected the plan to work, but hated the idea that his Dolly was still trapped in a marriage to the werewolf when she no longer even loved the man. Therefore he had grudgingly given Leighton two weeks for the plan to work all the while hating knowing how crushed Edwina surely was that he hadn't gone to see her. Yet Aldebaran had been quite pleased when she had fled the relationship, even if she had fled to a Leighton.

Aldebaran, who had quite seriously been working the finer details of how best to rid the world of a very annoying werewolf before his cousin changed her mind, had therefore been helpless with rage when he heard that she had gone back to the half-blooded bastard. Even Angelica, who was far more beautiful than she was intelligent, had understood that she ought to keep her distance for a while. And now she fancied herself in love with him again, so he needed to make a final decision about what to do. The werewolf had managed to get her pregnant into the bargain, so if Aldebaran killed the filthy beast this still left Edwina with an encumbrance.

"Aldebaran! Aldebaran, let me in!"

Aldebaran lunged for the door and opened it to allow his cousin to enter his office. Edwina was shivering as she clutched her cloak to herself and spoke with an abnormally high-pitched voice, "I know you hate to be disturbed when you are at work, but I had to see you."

Aldebaran cast an immediate warming charm on Edwina as he led her to the large chair behind the desk. "You can always come to me, Dolly, you know that. What has he done?"

"Hm? Oh it isn't Remus, Aldebaran. It's Father."

Aldebaran, who had his own reasons for suspecting that her father was far from dead, paused for a brief moment before he finished handing Edwina the cup of steaming tea that he had conjured for her. He asked harshly, "What do you mean, Dolly?"

Edwina took the cup and winced at Aldebaran's tone. "We just found out. Remus was obliviated, too. That's why he didn't remember…why things didn't seem right."

Aldebaran frowned. She meant, of course, why the idiot werewolf had thought she had cheated on him. This accusation alone had been enough for Aldebaran to long for a chance for a good torture session with Edwina's husband, but if the fool had been obliviated, as well, that was interesting. Interesting indeed.

As much as Aldebaran hated Remus Lupin, and there was no doubt in anyone's mind, including Edwina's, that hatred was the only way to describe Aldebaran's feelings toward Lupin, he knew the man did love her. Remus Lupin worshipped Edwina to a degree that even Aldebaran found surprising. If it had not been jealousy, but a genuine lack of memory that had caused Lupin to make the ridiculous accusation...

Aldebaran, who had already worked out that it would probably take at least two decent wizards to take down the werewolf, thought rapidly as Edwina explained about Lupin's theory. Wolfred Leighton would not be foolish enough to have attacked Lupin by himself. Aldebaran thought back to his own conversation with Wilfred Leighton when Edwina was in hospital and realised that he already knew at least one answer to the puzzle. Wilfred Leighton had been involved, as well.

After Edwina's statement that she was sure her husband would work to find answers, Aldebaran responded shortly, "Lupin won't have much luck with that, I think."

Edwina was surprised and it showed in the way that she bit her lip as she asked, "Oh. Why not?"

"Because of what he is. I certainly wouldn't tell him any Shipley family secrets, Edwina."

"But this is important, Aldebaran. I have to know."

Aldebaran nodded and said in a softer tone, "I know, Dolly. And you will. I will investigate this."

Edwina flushed with pleasure, but after a moment said plaintively, "You're so busy, Aldebaran. You and Angelica are getting married in two months and you have your law practise and…"

"And my cousin needs my help. I'm not doing it for your pet wolf, Dolly, but for you." Aldebaran pointedly handed her a handkerchief and thought through the contents of the office tea cupboard before he conjured up several biscuits from it for Edwina to eat. "You look very thin, Dolly. Does he have enough food for you?"

Edwina nodded and said only, "For now."

Aldebaran held out his wand towards his Quick Memo Parchment and gestured roughly with the point until the memo was written out and then vanished it onto his assistant's desk. That should take care of another few weeks worth of supplies for the Lupin larder until he could have a talk with the werewolf about how a wizard cares for his wife.

"Eat that up and then I'll take you to lunch somewhere. Sound good?"

"Yes, that sounds wonderful. I'm supposed to see Great-Aunt for tea later."

Aldebaran thought grimly that this was one more good meal she was assured. Perhaps he had better contact the probate panel for Aunt Carina's will again. He wasn't the jurisconsultary wizard handling the probate, but he had carefully manoeuvred connexions with several of the panel judges in order to assist his cousin's inheritance in coming.

"So did you lose all your plants when you were gone, Dolly?"

He knew that would keep her busy for several minutes, but since he didn't really need to know the answer he could think. He wanted to work through what he needed to do next.

Before he confronted Wilfred Leighton, he needed to gather more facts. Jonathon Whorley had already told him that Wolfred Leighton had taken several interesting objects from the Leighton home before he left. From what Jozef Esterhazy had told him, Aunt Carina's suicide had looked clean but smelt foul. There hadn't been any evidence to the contrary, but for Aunt Carina to take her own life had been hard to believe. A more narcissistic, power-hungry woman Aldebaran had hardly known. Even his own mother, who Aldebaran thought with pride could out manoeuvre half of England with her machinations, had found her sister Carina objectionable.

It had been Aldebaran's contention from the beginning, as well as his mother's and older sister's, that Wolfred Leighton had murdered Aunt Carina. The marriage had been unhappy and abusive on every level. Both Edwina's parents hated each other with their only tempering influence being their daughter. Aldebaran thought it conceivable that Aunt Carina had found a lover and Uncle Wolfred had killed her out of spite. But even more likely Aunt Carina had picked another fight and Uncle Wolfred had finally killed her to shut her up.

All of this speculation wasn't getting him anywhere and Edwina was almost finished her happy warble about Simplex and Epidex level plants. He had to quickly marshal his thoughts and figure out what he needed to do that afternoon. Etienne had a lead on two English wizards hiding in Brittany. Therefore he should call Fabian and arrange for the three of them to go over to Renne the next day. Today he would go to Gringott's and speak with his firm's goblin representative as well as the Shipley's banking goblin and settle some funds for Angelica to use for whatever silly frilly thing she needed to purchase for yet another dress or cake and take out enough for the series of bribes Aldebaran could foresee he would need to make.

Then he would pay a visit to Aldred Warrington and begin this investigation properly. Aldebaran turned to Edwina and said after she popped the last mouthful of biscuit into her mouth, "Angelica, who I'm afraid has no tact my dear, is concerned that you might need a second fitting for your dress robes."

Edwina narrowed her eyes and spoke with some heat to Aldebaran's sheer satisfaction, "Well if her robesmaker cannot make the necessary adjustments for me when I'll only be five months anyway, I would not be surprised. Honestly, dress robes in puce! What robesmaker with any dignity would even offer such a thing when they must know that all brides are positively demented when selecting gowns for bridesmaids?"

Aldebaran laughed with pure delight and said, "I thought I would be the dutiful fiancé for a change and pass her concern on."

"No you didn't. You knew what I'd say. You're despicable, Aldebaran." Edwina was smiling widely and kissed his cheek as he wrapped her up in his spare beaver fur cloak.

"That I am, my dear, but don't you love me anyway?"

Edwina snorted and walked toward the door with Aldebaran's hand on her shoulder.