01-04-2019, 11:48 AM
My mind drifted back to the idea that Lucinda had something evil planned for them and my difficulty with the concept of a human being capable of having anything evil in mind regarding these two. That thought begat another. I looked back down at the twins. We don't think it would work on them, and we all swore to never even try it on the kids before they were born.
"Everything I'm about to say," I told them. "None of it is to you, ok? Ok." I looked at the four nannies in the room and made certain myself that what I was about to do was absolutely directed at them and not the boys.
"Raise your hand if anyone's recording." I commanded them in Italian. None of them did.
I didn't just make Lucinda tell me what she's up to because I suspected there was a reason that Helen just doesn't do that all the time. The Thing doesn't transmit digitally, so we can't give someone a command over the phone or on a video call. After the stuff that happened to us last year when someone figured that out, my suspicion was that Lucinda might be creepy and paranoid enough to constantly record herself and all her interactions with Helen; then have someone watch it to see if Helen did anything and made her forget. Or, as was the case that other time, she might only suspect that Helen has strange powers, and her goal is to get it on tape. (A problem that Helen's encountered in the past is that someone who believes in demons and witchcraft will take the sort of precautions AGAINST demons and witchcraft that, unfortunately ALSO work pretty well against mind control that has nothing to do with demons or witchcraft.) Helen's enemies always want to prove or disprove the legends before anything else.
I had to think a second on how to phrase my next command. An important part of this is understanding, yourself, what you're trying to convey. It's why, if Troy commands someone to "give him a hand," that person's not going to applaud or chop off their hand and give it to Troy, they're going to help him. Asking if they're spying for Lucinda would be the wrong question, because that would be much more subject to interpretation. Lucinda might get information from them in less direct ways. Likewise, asking if she's paying any of them would be the wrong question, because she may reward them in other ways than money. There was no doubt in my mind that she was one of those "my thoughts and prayers go out to the poor victims" people. A kind word at a funeral, a promise to pray for someone a while back might be payment enough to tell their "good friend Lucinda" about what it's like working with the twins; and oh, by the way, how's La Contessa dealing with them all by herself?
"Raise your hand if you think of Lucinda de San Finzione as more than a casual acquaintance. Beyond simply bumping into her as you go about the castle, I mean." One hand raised. The woman it belonged to was named Estella. I'd gotten to know the nannies that well at least in the past month.
"Estella, come out to the hall with me." I told her. "The rest of you, forget we had this conversation and go about your duties."
Estella walked out with me while the others saw to the boys.
* * *
"Everything I'm about to say," I told them. "None of it is to you, ok? Ok." I looked at the four nannies in the room and made certain myself that what I was about to do was absolutely directed at them and not the boys.
"Raise your hand if anyone's recording." I commanded them in Italian. None of them did.
I didn't just make Lucinda tell me what she's up to because I suspected there was a reason that Helen just doesn't do that all the time. The Thing doesn't transmit digitally, so we can't give someone a command over the phone or on a video call. After the stuff that happened to us last year when someone figured that out, my suspicion was that Lucinda might be creepy and paranoid enough to constantly record herself and all her interactions with Helen; then have someone watch it to see if Helen did anything and made her forget. Or, as was the case that other time, she might only suspect that Helen has strange powers, and her goal is to get it on tape. (A problem that Helen's encountered in the past is that someone who believes in demons and witchcraft will take the sort of precautions AGAINST demons and witchcraft that, unfortunately ALSO work pretty well against mind control that has nothing to do with demons or witchcraft.) Helen's enemies always want to prove or disprove the legends before anything else.
I had to think a second on how to phrase my next command. An important part of this is understanding, yourself, what you're trying to convey. It's why, if Troy commands someone to "give him a hand," that person's not going to applaud or chop off their hand and give it to Troy, they're going to help him. Asking if they're spying for Lucinda would be the wrong question, because that would be much more subject to interpretation. Lucinda might get information from them in less direct ways. Likewise, asking if she's paying any of them would be the wrong question, because she may reward them in other ways than money. There was no doubt in my mind that she was one of those "my thoughts and prayers go out to the poor victims" people. A kind word at a funeral, a promise to pray for someone a while back might be payment enough to tell their "good friend Lucinda" about what it's like working with the twins; and oh, by the way, how's La Contessa dealing with them all by herself?
"Raise your hand if you think of Lucinda de San Finzione as more than a casual acquaintance. Beyond simply bumping into her as you go about the castle, I mean." One hand raised. The woman it belonged to was named Estella. I'd gotten to know the nannies that well at least in the past month.
"Estella, come out to the hall with me." I told her. "The rest of you, forget we had this conversation and go about your duties."
Estella walked out with me while the others saw to the boys.
* * *
Like, Comment and Give Rating.
![[+]](https://xossipy.com/themes/sharepoint/collapse_collapsed.png)