Chapter Eight

(Meg and Luke hide in a closet.)

Meg:Thanks Luke. Just thanks.

Luke: You know, for someone who's forced me to join this story, I think you're being awfully ungrateful!

Meg: Why did you tell Ratigan that you probably did it before you even knew what it was?

Luke: 'Cause I'm usually the cause of trouble anywhere!

Meg: (sarcastically) You have great confidence in yourself.

Working for the Boss was a strange and unnerving experience. Rose reported to work at seven in the morning to a usually deserted sewer and set about her tasks. Ratigan habitually left his private chambers around eight and gave her a list of things that she needed to do for the day. He did not talk to her much after that; he either withdrew to his study to work on something or left for the day. Rose never knew where he went or what he did. She decided that it would be safer for her not to know too much about this man's personal habits.

Sometimes in the afternoon a thug or two would appear to see the Professor. On a few occasions Ratigan called the thugs to meetings where he revealed some diabolical plan to them, even while Rose was doing something in the throne room.

The first plan she ever heard burned itself into her memory until her dying day. Ratigan plotted to blackmail an old widow of noble birth for everything she was worth to keep hidden something her late husband had done years before. The thugs loved the idea. Rose wanted to vomit.

How could this man do such a thing to an old, innocent lady?

She wanted to go to the police and stop this deviltry before it was too late. But then, at that same meeting, Ratigan had accused one of his henchmen of betraying part of a former plan that had failed to Basil of Baker Street. The mouse denied it.

Then Ratigan pulled out the bell.

Rose quickly learned that disobedience and betrayal could result in a meeting with Felicia.

She debated the issue. She knew that Ratigan was a criminal mastermind; she had done her homework and found out as much about the former professor as she could. He was a genius, but a genius with a dark side that hungered for crime and all its complexities. She knew that she would probably be killed if she ever revealed anything to the police. But was it right to let him continue with his crimes, especially since she was now in a position to give information about them and possibly stop them?

She constantly fought with herself, trying to choose between her life and her morals. But then she found out that the widow had given in to Ratigan's demands. After that, an enemy of the Professor's was found in the Thames with a hole in his head. Then one of the members of Parliament mysteriously disappeared. A ship carrying a hold filled with goods from Siam entered London with half its cargo missing.

All these incidents reached Rose through the newspapers. But they were not news to her. They were only confirmations of the fact that she was involved with evil people, people from whom there was no escape, not unless she did not value her own life.

Strangely enough, the first two months in the employ of Professor Ratigan were much better than her first two months working as a barmaid at The Rat Trap had been. Giovanni was liberal with smacking his barmaids when they made mistakes or when he was just in a bad mood, not to mention that he was a crook to boot, stealing wages from his barmaids.

On the contrary, working for Professor Ratigan was fairly easy. Most of the cleaning only had to be done once a week, as did washing laundry. Laundry was a whole week affair anyway, with waiting for clothes to dry and then having to iron them, but Rose still had plenty of spare time between those tasks and cooking the meals to do whatever she wanted. She read A Tale of Two Cities twice through, but was bored after the second reading. She began to eye the large collection of books in the study. Most of them were scientific, mathematical books or technological books, but when she pulled one of them off the shelf one day, she discovered a second row of books behind the first row, most of them novels. She had made sure no one was looking before slipping a copy of Jane Eyre into her pocket. She would return it of course. Besides, how would anyone notice that one measly book was missing?

Ratigan barely acknowledged Rose's presence, which relieved Rose. The less contact she had with him, the better. His contact, though, had provided a bed for her to sleep in, food to eat, and finally some money that she used to buy herself some new clothes and toiletries.

She often noted the irony of this evil man who had done so much to improve her quality of life.

(Emma opens the closet door, causing Meg and Luke to scream.)

Emma: What are you two doing?

Luke: Hiding. Ratigan wants to kill us. Who threw egg yolks on him anyway?

Emma: I don't know. But Meg, Ratigan sort of trashed your room.

Meg: WHAT?

Emma: Yeah, he ripped up your copy of Jane Eyre, The Phantom of the Opera, and The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, your pictures of Basil, your stories, and stole your Disney figurines and your CDs.

Meg: WHAT? What does he want with those things?

Emma: Don't ask me.