Bah Humbug

[Angus Kirkby]

"Should've let her kill him," Angus muttered under his breath as he returned the butcher's knife to it's hook on the kitchen wall. He couldn't lie: this was how he felt. He knew that there would have been repurcussions, but he couldn't ignore the feeling that maybe those consequences would be better than any further "visits" from Davide Roquefort.

He sighed heavily and slumped his head and arms down on the counter for a moment as if he were just too irritated to even put in the effort of holding up his own body. "Some fucking Yule this is turning out to be. Poor ladies will be sore for a week or more after what he's done to them."

He lifted his head and looked shrewdly at his brother. "Was she lyin? Or did she really mean she'd see him dead?"

Darragh Kirkby

[Darragh Kirkby]

Darragh had followed his brother into the kitchen after cleaning up the blood and mess from their unwanted guest. After sending Alise up to help the ladies get ready for what he hoped could be a salvaged Yule, he ran his hand through his short lightbrown curls.

He was pacing the kitchen, Gretchen having gone out to take care of the shopping earlier. "And where would she be if we let her do that?" He asked at his brother's statement. He hadn't liked it one bit. The moment the man had barged into his Lady's home, Darragh wanted to personally see him out. His fists had been itching to punch the man since the first day he met him. Since the first time he'd seen how he treated those sweet Ladies. But he had to remember his place. And for whatever reason, Lady Helene refused to let him and Angus do anything to him. One of these day's if Davide Roqufort wasn't careful, Darragh was going to ignor those orders and see to the man personally. No one touched Lady Helene. Not after her husband.

He felt guilty, and his pace was growing more panicked. Him and Angus had silently promised her that she would never have a another man lay a hand on her in such a way, and yet that is exactly what happened this morning. He'd seen the pain on her face. Her lie falling easily from her lips. She was NOT okay, and Darragh was getting real sick and tired of it. He ran a hand down the front of his face while his anxious energy continued. At Angus's question, he came to a halt, and sighed.

Staring his brother in the eye a grim expression crossed his face. Lady Helene was liar. But a liar who only lied for the benefit and safety of others. Not wanting them to worry about her. She was too busy taking care of everyone else. She was selfless, and Darragh respected her incredibly for it. The look on her face as she'd spoke to her father, those words...She hadn't been lying. She was promising. If her father so much as laid a finger on her sister again...She would kill him. "No." He said quietly. Darragh had a sinking feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. "She wasn't lying." Lady Helene a murderess? He...he couldn't bare the thought of that sweet woman being pushed so far that she'd do such a thing. He ran another hand down his face and let a puff of air out as his head tilted back to look up at the ceiling. "And neither was he." He said quietly. His blue eyes settling back on his brother.

[Angus Kirkby]

A heavy sigh was Angus's only answer to that as he set his head back down on the countertop to think. How in the hell were they going to make sure that the women were safe if it was their own father doing the terrorizing? For all intents and purposes, they belonged to him just as much as he claimed. It was insane, looking at it from the inside, knowing the way Davide treated his daughters, but to an outsider the law was clear. But then, since when had he and Darragh given two fucks about the law?

He raised his head back off the counter to look at Darragh again. "What about the court? 'S there some way we can turn that to our advantage? The man's a gambler and a bad one at that."

Lady Helene and her sister might not be able to take the man out, but if he could find an excuse to do it himself he'd be more than happy to have the blood on his own hands if it meant saving their lives instead. And failing that, they might be able to convince someone else to do the deed for them, if they moved the right pieces. They might only be rooks themselves, but the court looked out for their own. It wouldn't be impossible to call in a few favors...

But then, how would that tie into everything else? Something was going on with the lady and her in-laws, and he was sure they were just as bad as Davide, even if they weren't physical. That might even be worse, in some ways, because they had no recompense. She just had to live with their fake polite nonsense. It made him nauseous just to think about it. It was a good thing they never talked directly to Darragh, or he'd probably have thrown up at their feet.

"We can't do nothing...so we'll have to find a way. If he shows up again and lays a hand on them...I might use that knife for real."

[Darragh Kirkby]

Darragh ran two fingers down around the outer part of his mouth, stroking his small goatee he had in thought. "Mmmm." He gripped his elbow, resting his hand against his mouth as he started to pace again. This was tricky. Very tricky, given the fact the Roqueforts were nobles, and Darragh and Angus were mere servants. Commoners. In terms of power, they had none. On the other hand....They were two rooks with pawns at their beck and call. Darragh didn't want to think about going to Xilas for permission to take Davide out, even if it would be the quickest option. From what Darragh knew, Davide didn't keep his money that long. "Doesn't he owe the Court money?" He asked his brother, as he turned to pace around the table slowly. 

A slow side grin eventually grew on Darragh's face as he smiled around his hand at what his brother told him. "And I might actually punch his lights out, I don't think I've ever wanted to punch someone so badly before him." He shook his head slightly, while stroking his chin. He wasn't going to put a hand on them again. At least not in the Kirkby brothers presence. He was getting tired of restraining himself. At this rate, he didn't care if Lady Helene fired him. It would prevent that bastard of a father of her's from hurting her. Darragh's feet scuffed the floor as he suddenly came to a stop, snapping his fingers as an idea occurred to him. "Helene broke his nose," He said whirling around to look at Angus. "The bastard is vain enough he won't leave his home until it's healed right?" He said looking at Angus. His blue eyes lighting up. 

"That gives us...what two? Three weeks at the most, to figure out how to get rid of him. He won't be around until it's healed, and once it is we better be ready because he was serious about getting back at the Ladies. So," A shadow passed over Darragh's face, revealing a bit of his darker side as his grin spread across his face. "We figure out what the fuck he's been up too. Same with Lady Helene's in-laws. He's smart, but-" Darragh crossed his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow at his brother. "We're smarter." He smirked. "We could pull some favor's with Mimi, see what she can find out. There's gotta be evidence or something about what he's done right? At least his gambling habits. I Don't want to talk to Xilas but...." It was one of the options they were going to have to think about. "I wish Carys was back, we could pick her brain." He grumbled. 

[Angus Kirkby]

Angus did his best not to laugh at his brother stroking his beard dramatically while he thought, which required that he cover his mouth and look away--he hoped it looked like he was just contemplating the situation too.

""Doesn't he owe the Court money?"

"Aye, and quite a bit," he answered helpfully.

"I wish Carys was back, we could pick her brain."

Angus laughed softly. "No kidding. Can you imagine what she'd do to Davide herself if she heard about all this? It'd be priceless. But alas, our fair queen is off on business of her own. I hope she's back soon, though. Things are never quite right without her to balance Xilas." He shook his head, realizing he was getting sidetracked.

"You're right, though. Two weeks should be long enough as long as we put our heads together. And using Mimi could be good; she's got ins all over the place with her sewing stuff, and her uh...male friends."

He drummed his fingers on the counter top as he thought it over. "He must have spread his debts out a little if he owes as much as I think he does. Maybe it's not all to one person, so they haven't realized how much it adds up to. Hmm... And I wonder if we can't see what the other one, Stephen, what his will really says, and what the law does. This is her house, I thought, but he didn't seem to think it'd stay that way."

[Darragh Kirkby]

Darragh grinned mischievously at his brothers laugh. The corners of his mouth going up into that crooked grin he had. "Casterate and nail  his manhood to the top of a doorway. Warning other's what happens when you cross her." He said a bit wistfully. "Or strangle him with them." He shivered a little at the thought. Darragh liked his manhood intact thank you...

"I know...It's not like her to be gone this long, what was her mission again?" He asked. He knew something the court kept secret to even their own, but if she was in trouble....Darragh wanted to help. He snickered at the mention of Mimi's "male friends." And couldn't help waggled his brows. He came over the counter and leaned against it with Angus. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure Alise was wasn't going to walk in suddenly or something and overhear them conspiring. "I think you're right. Roquefort's been at this a while, he's a sly bastard. Smart, when he's not piss drunk." He whispered. He tapped his chin and nodded along in agreement. "Those fucks want the house, that's easy to see." He spoke in agreement. "The laws probably don't help matters since she's unwed. They gotta be owned by a man." He rolled his eyes. Not fond of the laws of Tresteria. 

He reached over and clamped a hand down on his brothers shoulder. "Right, so...we just gotta break into pomopous and dimwitted's place, steal the will, and see if says what it says it does. What could go wrong?" He said with a grin. A lot of things could go wrong, but Darragh was confident in his and Angus's abilities. 

[Angus Kirkby]

Angus grinned. Honestly, that sounded fantastic--he'd be more than happy to let Carys take care of Davide Thornton. The creative punishment that his brother suggested was perhaps a bit less finesse than he'd come to expect from the Rogue Queen, but he'd still love to see it. Perhaps the idea of someone's manhood nailed to the doorframe or shoved down their throat ought to bother him, but when it came to the so-called 'lord' Thornton, he'd just as happily see it burned to ashes.

He didn't answer about the mission, waiting for his brother to get to the point. Oh lovely, a break-in. Not that he wasn't fond of breaking and entering--actually, he rather was--but that seemed a bit heavy-handed when they were trying to be stealthy. Well...if all they did was read a few things, perhaps snatch a few papers, it wasn't likely to be noticed right away. They'd just have to be cautious. Although… there was another option.

"So, there are two ways of doing this. One, they never know we were there. No trace. Two, they only see what we want them to see. Say we take a bunch of valuables, trash the place, the whole nine yards. They'd be so busy trying to sort out what's missing, they might never realize what our actual goal was." He raised an eyebrow. "What do you think? We'd have to stash the stuff somewhere until the heat wears off it before we sell, but then we ought to be able to fence some of it."

It wasn't perfect, but he thought it might be a good plan, and with something to sell, it would be easier to get some backing and help from the court. So long as they didn't let on they had ulterior motives to Xilas, he might not even realize they had a personal vendetta. After all, they were always encouraged to use what information they learned in their day jobs to help out the court...

[Darragh Kirkby]

A slow, evil grin spread across Darragh Kirby’s face. He gripped Angus’s shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. “Have I ever told you I love your brain?” He asked his brother with a rise of a dark blonde eyebrow. He said it as if it was a matter of fact, and his grin only widened.

Her rubbed at his jaw in thought as he leaned against his elbow on the counter. “Whatever is fastest. I don’t want to be there any longer then we have to be.” He voiced aloud. “As much as I would love to trash the place, we run the risk of spending to much time there and getting caught.” He said voicing the downside to option B. “On the other hand, we’d have to be really fuckin’ careful with option A. We can’t leave any trace, which means,” He reached up and tugged gently on a lock of his brothers long hair. “Gonna have to tie that back.” He said in case Angus left any trace of his long hair laying around.

He pursed his lips together. “Think Mi can find out when they’ll be out of the house next? We got Clarence to worry about too. I dunno how often he’s coming and going from mummy and daddy’s.” He sighed. Rubbing his jaw again. “What would have us do?’ He asked Angus, wanting to use him as a sounding board.

[Angus Kirkby]

Angus rolled his eyes at the teasing about his hair. "Yeah, yeah, I know."

"Meems should be able to get us the intel, no problem. That girl has an in everywhere. As for Clarence, he ought to have some kind of routine too, right?" He frowned and rubbed his eyebrow, trying to slow down and think this through. "There's bound to be some event that all three will be at, right? 'Specially this time of year. If they're all busy at some dinner party or somethin' then that's our window."

Seemed logical enough. So long as they went wild making a mess as fast as they could after they found what they needed, they didn't have to hang out there too long. After all, it only had to look like someone clumsy had raided the place. They didn't actually have to do a good job of it.

[Darragh Kirkby]

Darragh nodded along in agreement as Angus voiced his thoughts. "Spring is coming, there will certainly be more parties." He grinned. Good, this was good. They'd have to work fast, however, but luckily for them, they had a plethora of connections in the underground they could go to and work with.

This would be a simple Tuesday evening for the brothers.

He clapped Angus on the shoulder once more and then stood up straighter. "For now, we lay the groundwork and we wait. I'm determined to make Lady Helene never suffer from the hands of this family again." He growled lowly under his breath. And because there was nothing else to be said on the matter, the Brothers left it at that.

[End Thread]