The Ambassador's Daughter

Chapter 21

The next morning, as Louise slept in, Brandt went over his financial books. He looked carefully at each date and how much money was spent and where the money was going. Brandt usually did this at the end of each month, just to check his budget. But now he was searching for hints as to why his daughter seemed to be so familiar with Barnes.

Brandt noticed that Gordon was taking the town car out a lot more than just to take the family to events. Brandt's eyes narrowed as he flipped back a few months, paying special attention to Gordon's excursions in the town car.

"William?" Brandt looked up. His wife stood in the doorway of his study, her face scrunched up in a look he knew well: a mix between concern and disapproval. Brandt flipped his books closed and pushed away from his desk a bit.

"Yes, Elise?" Brandt asked. Elise moved into the study and pulled the door closed behind her.

"We need to talk about Louise." Brandt raised an eyebrow. "I don't like her spending time with that Barnes fellow. What do we know about him? He's a trained killer. I saw the footage from Washington, when SHIELD fell. He nearly killed Captain America! What could he do to our daughter is unthinkable."

Brandt stood up and moved around his desk. He put his arms around his wife and held her tightly. "I will not let Bucky Barnes harm our daughter." He promised.

"And what is your plan?" Elise asked sharply, pulling away from him. "You know you can't just lock her in the house. She won't stay here. She had become very adept at sneaking out of windows."

"I know." Brandt said drily, glancing at the books stacked on his desk. Keeping her away from Barnes would be a problem. She certainly seemed determined to be near him. And he seemed just as determined to keep her near him.

"I didn't like the way he watched her at the ball last night." Elise said, glaring darkly at the floor, as if it had somehow offended her. The look in Barnes's eyes had been a little too far beyond friendly interest for Brandt's comfort. There was a reason he had home schooled his daughter and made her take her post-secondary education through distance. He wanted to have more control over the type and caliber of men she met. Ex-super soldiers didn't meet the standard Brandt expected for his daughter. Not that an ex-super soldier wouldn't come in handy. Particularly one that was so controllable.

"Never mind, my dear, I will take care of everything."

Elise glanced up at her husband, clearly wanting to ask what his plan was, again, but she knew better than to push her him too much on that point. If he wanted to share it with her, he would. If not, she would simply have to be patient and hope she saw it when he put it into action. The whole situation with Bucky Barnes was very unsettling to her. She loved her daughter and didn't want to see her in serious danger. In Elise's mind, Bucky Barnes was serious danger. The idea of locking Louise in her room was very appealing to Elise, but she knew that there was no way to keep Louise in there. She always managed to get around every one of her parents' rules and curfews. Elise was beginning to regret smuggling Louise her phone back. Elise sighed and pulled away from William. She opened her mouth to say something, decided against it and left the room, trusting her husband to take care of it like he'd promised.