Before The Beginning

Chapter 16: Preparing for the Ball

Begin!

~Karen's POV

The next day I had to confide in Bea after hearing the news about Ernest. I knew she would understand and she was as shocked as I was. And once I told her, she brought Dewey and I straight to the Duchess. Bea seemed on edge hearing about Olaf possibly working with my cousin. I suppose she had every right to think that since she was there when Olaf went off the deep end. She would know the danger of the situation better than I would.

"We have reason to believe, ma'am, that my brother Ernest Denouement is conspiring with Count Olaf," Dewey explained.

R gave us a shocked look. "That's a very serious accusation, Dewey. Do you have proof?"

Dewey presented the evidence he had stolen from Ernest's office. R read over the documents without speaking for several moments as we waited for her verdict. Once she was done she slid them over to Jacqueline for her to view as well. We watched as R sighed heavily and sat down in her desk chair, looking desperately like she needed a strong drink.

"As if we didn't have enough problems..." She mumbled. "You weren't able to verify where he is going?"

"Unfortunately not."

"I should have guessed. I don't mean that as a slur against you Dewey, you did the best you could. I am grateful that you managed to obtain these. Take them back to where you found them quickly. We can't risk Ernest noticing their disappearance."

Dewey nodded and took back the documents before leaving the room.

"I'm sorry that we had to bring such terrible news," I said.

"No Karen you are better off bringing this to my attention than hiding it."

We watched as R stood and paced around the room for several moments before adding, "This schism will be the death of me."

"Mother! Don't say that," Jacqueline shouted. We had never seen her lose control in front of her mother before.

"Jacqueline, quiet." R commanded, "You know as well as I do that with each loss of a member of our group, the closer we get to losing everything we worked to achieve. If we're not careful you might have to take up my position sooner than you anticipated. I ask you to prepare yourself for that outcome no matter when it arrives."

Jacqueline shut her mouth and didn't protest any more. R then remembered that Bea and I were still in the room.

"Beatrice, do you have any idea what Olaf might be planning? Any guesses are better than none."

"Oh... um... well you sent Lemony into hiding for now but I doubt that's going to stop Olaf from trying to find him later. I think he's going to come after me though."

The question of why Olaf would choose to go after Bea instead of Lemony crossed my mind for a moment but then I remembered the answer before Bea even stated it for R.

"Why do you think that is?"

"Because Olaf doesn't need to kill Lemony if he's already killed me," Bea said, "My death would hurt Lemony far more than his own. And I don't doubt that this is still true even after we've been apart for some time now."

R considered this guess carefully. "If you are certain then I recommend caution. You are a very capable volunteer Beatrice, you handled the Dr. Orwell situation with ease despite her eluding capture. And you brought the issue of Gregor to my attention without hesitation, regardless of your own bloodline. You've done much for this organization for your years of dedicated service; losing you would be a terrible thing for more reasons than one. And you Karen, you have performed your job exceptionally as well. Thank you for bringing me news of your cousin. This situation needs a delicate approach. Ernest assists in the running of Hotel Denouement; he knows how valuable it is to us and we can't afford to lose it now or ever."