Ravi'en was again stuck behind his desk doing work. He'd gotten an hour of training that morning but that was it. His office which had once seemed unnecessarily large now felt far too small. He'd gotten a lot done and even added a second desk in the secretary's office where a comfortable sitting area had been so he could put his guards to work seeing as any guest would have to go past them anyway.
What he needed was an actual trusted aid, and there were several applications for the position on the corner of his desk. The problem was that he didn't trust them; they all seemed to have close ties with his eldest uncle who was vying for his spot.
Some days he felt like handing it over, but the thought of giving that man more power and of what would befall the people he was responsible for kept him from simply giving up. It was worrying enough that he had to at least make some effort to prevent that from happening. If only his father were still around.
A knock sounded at his door and one of the guards announced "Your mother is here to see you."
"Send her in" he called back.
His mother entered his little sister in tow with tea and cookies.
"If you need more people to have Tea with, why don't you invite some of the ladies from nearby territories," he commented.
"You don't have to have any if you don't want to, but your sister and I would like to enjoy everything while it's still hot and fresh. However, I just received news I thought you might be interested in."
"Fine," he said looking up expectantly.
"News arrived that the Acting Earl and a full escort arrived to bring Kassidy's aunt home but that lady Kassidy herself hasn't been spotted since the attempted poisoning and her family hasn't said anything on the matter."
"That's because she's not there, she's back at her Earldom."
"How do you know?" his mother asked clearly peeved her information was outdated.
"I sent a few guards to check on her and help protect her, but she didn't take too kindly to their presence," he said a hand unconsciously covering the pocket her tiny note sat in.
He must have read it at least a dozen times and each time feeling something different. He was overjoyed she was still willing to work with him, he felt guilty about that and worried too. He felt annoyed with himself for not planning better as she scolded him for his poor judgment and undoubtedly bad manners for sending people to spy on her.
Of course, she had plenty of people to protect her. Her father had commanded one of the most well-known and feared military units on the battlefield. She'd caught his men right off, he wasn't sure if he should be disappointed at them, impressed by her, or embarrassed at his poorly made impulsive decision.
The other two reports he had from his men following that incident sat in his pocket too. They'd said, she was wild and dressed like a man and acted more like a commanding officer than a lady. She held dinners with the staff and soldiers and was as unrefined as they came. Yet she was well-loved and respected by her people. But other than the initial excitement things had been boring as no one had come or gone from the estate.
"What's with that lost expression on your face?" his mother asked. "Was she greatly upset? Did she turn you down?"
"No, not exactly… she expressed her disapproval but stated she was still willing to work with me. My men sent me a message stating they have been banned from the manner grounds and that if I want them there I'll have to get her approval first or there will be bloodshed… She may have sworn a life debt but she's apparently no pushover…"
"Well that's good, it sounds like you still have a chance and that she's smarter than she first appeared." his sister said, she'd obviously been talking with Gilbert… he wasn't sure how he felt about that.
"As Father would say, a smart person is a dangerous person, whether they are smart and cunning or smart yet foolish. She seems to have traits of both which make her unpredictable and doubly dangerous," he said defending her in a roundabout way while trying to explain his hesitation.
"Be that as it may, with great risk often comes great reward." his mother said encouragingly.
"Ah, but it wouldn't be a great risk if a great reward was the probable outcome," he said playing the realist.
"We could talk in parables all day, but when it comes to problems of the heart, it's better to follow your heart than your head. Romance is one area reason is twisted to obscurity or completely tossed aside." his mother argued.
"You want it to be romance, I want a secret weapon against my uncle. A reliable and professional weapon, not one that might blow up in my face if emotions go astray. And who knows what she wants."
"I'm not so sure you know what you want, because your emotions are already going astray, and referring to a woman as an object is the easiest way to make things really blow up in your face even in a professional relationship." his mother advised with a disapproving frown.
"If that's all the news and advice you have to share right now, then why don't you pack up your tea party and let me get back to focusing on work." he didn't like that she was right, that he was already acting irrational, and his emotions were already running wild whenever people brought up the topic of her.
He shouldn't have said that, it wasn't nice and he knew she was just trying to help because she cared, but… the job of duke was hard enough, he really couldn't handle more right now. This whole Idea had been a mistake. He should just cancel his outrageous plans and forget about her.
"Fine, but I thought you might want to know, that the Clemens' are having their annual Frost Moon Ball in just three weeks time. That would be a good place to have your second public appearance with your 'secret weapon'. Although, you should have at least one more private meeting beforehand if you want it to look like you decided to court her. You should also have a meeting with her guardians or write them at the very least. If you really want to make it look real you should go on at least one outing and then formally invite her to something." his mother informed him.
"As you know, the Clemens' land is situated between our lands and hers, so you won't have to miss as much time sitting alone in your office," she said storming out with the tea tray in hand.
His sister grabbed the cookies and turned to leave but then turned back and handed him one. "The chocolate ones always make me feel better when I'm upset, and they're not as sweet as others…" she said holding out her offered cookie with sad eyes.
Not knowing what else to do and not wanting her to feel worse after he'd snapped at their mom in front of her and kicked them out, he accepted the cookie with a thank you. She smiled and ran off to catch up to their mother; who'd watched the exchange threw the doorway before she turned and left just as he'd asked making him feel horrible for doing so.