The next day was quiet. The capital woke up as usual; the rich enjoyed the soft morning sun; the poor got to work early. It was, if anything, the most peaceful morning of all time. But life bears a smirk of irony on its lips. The Mclears delivered their last batch of gold last night to an empty barn in the Townsdale land. All hell had broken loose in the Mclears mansion.
An almost bald round man paced around his study dressed in his night garment. He occasionally robbed the bald spot on his head every few steps and sometimes threw a glare at the nicely dressed woman and the two mid-aged men bearing slight resemblances to him, who sat before him. On other days, he would dote on them at the slight appearance of their shadow, today, he felt as though he should strangle them. He had called for a family meeting for one reason alone; they had lost a huge chunk of their fortune.
"Please sit dear, your blood pressure," the woman in purple satin tried to calm the raging husband before her. Her graceful manner and slightly aged face showed the level of her calm.
"Pressure? I should just die then!" the man exploded.
"Father..." one of the young men by the corner started to say.
"Shut it! This is the result of your carelessness," he raged.
"Your voice, dear; we need not let this stray to unwanted ears," she reminded him.
More than any household, she knew how dangerous hers was. She married a man who loved to keep lovers in his marital home. Though she tried to make sure only ugly maids worked in her household, her disgusting husband enjoyed bringing in prostitutes, which he always expected her to take care of. She knew that rumours of her husband making a harem in his household were already talk of many ladies' tea rooms. She had tried everything to keep it hidden, so that she could not only hold her head high amongst her peers but also that it may only remain a thing of rumour, unable to be proven or else, The Religion would have them all executed. A man can have but one wife. She, on the other hand, ran a household full of concubines; the last thing she wanted was for any of the mistresses her husband kept to get wind of this.
"I'm dead. How do I tell the queen?" the man rubbed his bald head as he paced.
"The queen? Father, what are you talking about?"
"The royal gold. The royal gold was part of the ...No... This is not happening," Mr Mclears trembled as he paced. He had started to sweat, more from the pressure he now felt from losing such money, than the fact that this was probably the most exercise he has had his entire life.
"What royal gold? What are you talking about?" Mrs Mclears paled. Though it was a huge blow to lose all that money, as long as they kept silent and pretended it never happened, the sales for the quarter in their several business ventures would finally make up for it. They would pretend, cut down and soon, though hard, but surely, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. The words 'royal gold' made her almost weep. She aged ten years at the thoughts that ran through her head.
"The queen asked me to keep some gold from the royal treasury for her. I...I...Since I was sure of the Townsdale land, I sent it there," he said and the woman stood up abruptly.
"What happened to our vaults or the one in this very study? No one comes here but you? Why would you take such a risk?" she said fumed. Seeing him tremble harder, she soon found herself joining him to pace.
"The queen prepared people to sneak out the gold. The way it was all arranged I knew that it was better if found, it would have no relation to us. This is the kingdom's money, we are talking about. What if it was found in our home?" Mr Mclears explained.
"Tam and I will investigate. For today, let's do nothing. Let's use today to search for it. At least till we have the upper hand in this situation," one of the young men said.
"But, I have tea with the queen today. What if she asks?" Mr Mclears shivered in fright.
"You say everything is fine," the other man said.
"Lie? To the queen? Our lives...It's treason...I..." Mr Mclears started to stutter.
Mrs Mclears' face dropped to that of pure disgust. She had always known her husband was a coward, but she had hoped for the family, he would show a little bit more backbone. Dropping her dutiful wife persona, she grabbed him by the collar.
"You listen to me, now. You will say nothing about this incident when you meet the queen. Understood? You may be small of a man, but I will not sacrifice my children's lives because you can't stop shaking. You better return from the palace with your mouth shut or you will die by my hands," she threatened.