Chapter Ten: The Threat
Baron had to restrain his anger fiercely, as he approached Sai's front door and rang the bell twice. To distract him from his nerves, he rubbed the polished cane at his side with one thumb, idly wondering if it was time for a new one. This one had seen him through five years, and there were a great many, though very slight, dents in it.
The door opened, making the orange and cream feline look up at the lavender one.
The maid gasped softly, but bowed low. "Would you care to come in, my lord?"
"I would, actually," Baron said, stepping into the overly styled home. "Is there a way that I can speak with the Countess? There's a rather urgent business that I would like to discuss with her."
The maid smiled, and a giggle escaped her throat as she bowed once more and scampered off to retrieve her mistress.
Baron looked around the parlor, barely able to keep his expression to be anything but blank. The Countess's sense of style had always been to echo the latest fashions, and as prone fashion is to change, she currently had a group of workers changing the wallpaper on one wall as another cat made tally marks in his pocketbook, muttering to himself the whole time. This particular cat had a rather ashy sort of black fur and grey eyes, marking him as one of the lord's targets.
"Baron, darling! How nice of you to drop by!"
The feline lord bit back a groan, and turned to face Sai. She was wearing dark green today, with a long rope of emeralds wrapped around her graceful neck. She was smiling beatifically, though he could see the slight trace of a smirk.
That was all Baron needed to see, but he was determined to get the last laugh. He bowed grandly for her, catching the black cat quietly order the other cats out of the room in the corner of his eye. "It is, of course, always a pleasure to speak with you, dear Countess."
"Please call me Sai," she pleaded, her large black eyes glowing with triumph. "We've been friends for too long for all the formalities."
Baron bit back a grin, and moved in for the kill. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I had posted a nanny ad in the newspapers some time ago. The one I eventually picked out turned out to be a nuisance."
"You don't say!" she said sympathetically, another smirk crossing her red lips.
Baron nodded, and smiled grimly. "You wouldn't believe some of the things she's been up to. First she steals my kittens' affections, takes over my kitchen, and cleans the house until it becomes impossible to find a single speck of filth anywhere. Then on top of everything else…" Baron paused dramatically.
Sai held her breath, and leaned in a bit. "Yes?" she whispered.
"She flat out refuses to lie to me. Some things she just refuses to talk about, but she doesn't hide the important things from me. I'm particularly distressed by her stories of Jai stalking her."
Sai's heart froze solid. "She was probably-"
"I'm not finished, Sai," Baron said firmly. "I tracked down some of the nannies I had rejected, and they all had gold with your scent or Jai's on them. Furthermore, I am not amused in the least that you have been involving yourself in my domestic affairs." He took a step closer to her, his green eyes filled with a fiery rage. The Countess took a few steps back, having never seen the Baron angry before, let alone at such an impressive level.
"I'm only going to say this once, Sai, and it will be your last warning," the tawny lord said in that low dangerous tone. "Stay away from my property, my children, and my nanny. If I ever catch even a hint that you're sticking your paw in my business again, not only will I drag you in front of the royal court for your conduct, I will pull enough strings to make you lose your rank."
"You wouldn't dare!" the red feline shrieked fearfully at him.
But he didn't even blink in surprise or reluctance. "Try me. And my warning is extended to all under your service. Stay away from me, and you can continue with your frivolous little amusements. I don't have the time or the patience to deal with yet another fool." Baron tipped his hat stiffly, and walked out the front door.
"It's been a pleasure having that little chat with you, Countess, and I encourage you not to forget about it, if you want to keep your current lifestyle."
Clearly, even as he passed the white fence surrounding Sai's estate, Baron could hear the shattering of crockery accompanied by banshee-like screams. He bit back a chuckle of amusement and relief before heading back home.
The tawny lord had no intention of missing out on one of Haru's meals.
ooOoo
"Okay, are you ready?" Haru calmly asked as her little brother twitched nervously, wringing the rag in his hands anxiously.
"Do we really have to do it like this?" he begged as she picked him up. "I could fall, you know."
"You won't," she crooned, easing half of him out of the open window. "Have I ever dropped you?"
"You came close once," Hashi wheezed as he curled around the glass window with a wet rag, and started cleaning the outside of it at a furious pace so that his sister would pull him back in sooner.
"There's a difference between close and actually happening, dear brother," Haru said. When Hashi was done with the window, she expertly pulled him back inside, and wrapped him up in a hug as he clung to her fearfully.
"Besides, do you really think I'd let anything happen to you?" she whispered lovingly while kissing his dark brown hair, which matched her own.
"I guess not," he mumbled into one arm, squeezing her like he was still a small child.
They stood there for a full minute, soaking in each other's presence. They had been close when they had lived in the bookstore with their parents, but the time since then had only drawn them closer.
Idly, Haru wondered if she had ever thought 'I' instead of 'we'.
The taller brunette sighed a bit, and ruffled her brother's hair. "All right, Hashi. That's enough of a break. I think we have enough time to wash the eggplants for dinner before picking up the kittens from school."
Hashi nodded, but still clung to his beloved sister as they walked as one down the staircase to the first floor. "Haru?" the boy asked as the tall brunette started rummaging through the cabinet she had hidden the eggplants in.
"Yes?" she asked over her shoulder as he found a bowl for the washing.
"I like it here," he said simply, pumping a bit of water into the bowl. "The Baron's a good master, and the work's not too bad."
"The pay's nothing to complain about either," Haru added with a giggle, looking at her brother's new attire from the corner of her glasses.
Although it hadn't really been necessary, Baron had insisted that they got new clothes, since their brown ones were a little worn. What's more, they were made at an actual store! Imagine!
Haru had never minded sewing her clothes as well as her brother's, since she had done so ever since they were orphaned, but she was forced to admit that the serviceable blue-grey dress, complete with a white apron for housework, she was now in not only felt better, but was actually tougher than the homespun she had normally worn. Her brother was in a similar uniform, but minus the skirt and apron.
"Do… you think," Hashi stammered, "… we could stay here for longer than a few months? Since Baron likes our work so much and everything?"
Haru looked over at him, her own heart aching. She drew him close for one more embrace after dumping the eggplants in his water-filled bowl.
"I fully plan on our staying here as long as the Baron wants us to."