{"sf1_id":1998176,"sf2_id":"Vm2LOq31","title":"Chapter 14: Timothy and Suzie","author":"HeatherOBunn","words":9820,"posted_at":"2023-06-06T18:04:00.000Z","tags":["Bore","Chapter","Condescending","Ferret","Fox","Mice","Murder","Novel","Rage","Thriller","Tod","Vixen","nightmare","serial killer","snob"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1998176-chapter-14-timothy-and-suzie","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/Vm2LOq31","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/2f/1d/2f1d5dbc-c09c-401b-83fa-29ff486bee05","description":"#14 of The Murderess of Maplesburg: Disappearing like Rabbits\n\nIn this chapter, the serial killer vixen baby-sits some little mice, and an annoying tod visits to aggravate her.","content":"Chapter 14: Timothy and Suzie  \nAround four in the afternoon, Rita went to check on the mice and found they had awoken  \nfrom their nap. She carried them back down to the conservatory and set them on top of the  \ngrand piano. She retrieved a booklet of J.S. Bach's sheet music for keyboard and flipped to the  \nEnglish Suite No. 3.  \n\"I thought I'd play piano for you,\" she explained.  \nShe briefly studied the first few lines of music and then began to play. Rita hadn't played  \nthe piece in quite some time, so it was far from a stellar performance. However, the mice didn't  \nseem to notice, probably having never heard the piece before, and leapt up to clap their tiny  \nhands together when she had finished. Rita beamed; it was nice to have such an enthusiastic  \naudience. She heard a deeper slow clap start up behind her and turned to see Howard sitting at  \nthe card table. She had been too absorbed in playing to notice him come in.  \n\"Howard, did you get the outfits?\" she inquired.  \nThe ferret nodded curtly.  \n\"Let's see them. Bring them over.\"  \nThe ferret got up and tromped grumpily over to the piano. He gave the mice a sour look  \nas he placed the small articles of clothing beside them. For Timothy, there was a dark blue  \njacket and tie with a white dress shirt, and for Suzie, there was a full-length lavender dress with  \nshort sleeves and several layers of ruffles at the bottom.  \nRita nodded, satisfied, \"Very good.\" She turned to the mice. \"These are your clothes for  \nmeeting Count Dubois tomorrow,\" she explained.  \n\"It's so pretty!\" Suzie squeaked excitedly. She smiled up at Howard. \"Thank you, Mr.  \nHoward.\"  \nThe ferret looked at her coldly. His behavior was beginning to annoy Rita. Whether or  \nnot he liked her decisions was irrelevant; he should accept them and behave accordingly.  \n\"You can play piano, can't you, Howard?\"  \n\"Yes,\" he answered tersely.  \n\"Why don't you play some Mozart for us then? How about the Piano Sonata Number  \nSixteen?\"  \nHoward replaced the booklet of Bach's sheet music and retrieved the relevant booklet of  \nMozart's. He flipped to the piece, sat down at the piano, and began to play. Rita lifted the mice,  \none per hand, and began to gently twirl them about the room to the music, her long, bushy tail  \nsweeping out behind her. The mice grinned gleefully and occasionally let out a squeak of  \nexcitement as they sailed around the room in Rita's hands.  \nRita found their joy at the simple pleasure dancing to be infectious and was soon also  \ngrinning at the lighthearted fun. She was feeling so jovial in fact that, when she noticed Edgar  \npeering furtively around the door to the living room, she waved for the pine marten to join her.  \nShe transferred the mice to her shoulders as he slunk nervously across the room. Then she  \nstepped forward and took his left hand in her right while placing her left hand on his shoulder.  \nHowever, he seemed reluctant to place his right hand on her waist, so she seized it in her left  \nhand and pressed it against her side. She looked down at the pine marten, whose head only  \ncame to her shoulder.  \n\"Like this, Edgar,\" she instructed.  \nHe nodded, still looking nervous.  \nShe returned her left hand to his right shoulder. \"I'll lead.\"  \nThey began to dance around the room. Edgar's short legs made it a bit awkward, but  \nRita was in too good a mood to care. Suzie and Timothy continued to rejoice at the fun, and  \neven the gloomy Edgar seemed to catch a bit of their enthusiasm, smiling slightly. At length,  \nHoward finished the piece. Rita stopped dancing and mimed a curtsy to Edgar. He bowed low  \nbefore scurrying out of the room. Rita smirked after him. She turned to Howard who was looking  \nat her grumpily with arms crossed.  \nRita frowned. \"That's enough, Howard. You're free to go sulk about the impropriety of it  \nall by yourself.\"  \nHe tromped out of the room. Rita lifted Suzie and Timothy back off of her shoulders.  \n\"Let's put away your new clothes then wash up for dinner.\"  \nRita collected the mice's clothes and carried them and Timothy and Suzie up to their  \nbedroom to put the clothes away. Afterward, she took the mice to the bathroom and filled the  \nbottom of the sink with warm water, so Timothy and Suzie could take a bath. Rita watched  \namusedly as the mice splashed around in the sink. When they were done playing, she put a  \ndrop of lilac-scented shampoo on top of each of them so that they could lather up, and she  \nfinished their bath by turning the faucet on at a trickle to allow them to rinse in the stream of  \nwater. She then lifted the mice from the sink and retrieved a towel from the bathroom cabinet,  \nplacing it and the mice on the floor, so they could dry off whilst she washed her own hands.  \nOnce they were all clean and dry, Rita took the mice to the dining room.  \nAt dinner, Gustav had prepared macaroni and cheddar cheese along with pea soup for  \nthe mice and, for Rita, had also prepared a baked chicken fillet seasoned with a mixture of  \nmayonnaise and thyme. Rita sat Suzie on her left and Timothy on her right at one end of the  \nlong table. Once they had finished eating, Rita took the mice to the living room and set them on  \nthe dark cream carpet while she went to the conservatory to dig one of her childhood board  \ngames out of the bottom of the bookshelf.  \nThe game was called Hunt: it was a fairly simple board with a ring of fifty white spaces  \nand red, blue, green, yellow, and magenta safe zones or burrows spaced evenly around the  \nring. In the center, there was a black circle with the depiction of a rabbit's skull. The black circle  \nor den attached to the white ring at the same five points as the colored burrows. The game  \naccommodated up to six players with five rabbits starting in the burrows and one fox starting in  \nthe den. The roll of a single die determined the clockwise movement of the players around the  \nring. The object of the game for the rabbits was to circle the board and land exactly back in front  \nof their burrow; overshooting meant they had to circle the board again. The first rabbit to return  \nto its burrow won the game. The object of the fox was to land exactly on top of the rabbits thus  \ncatching them. Being caught once sent the rabbit back to their burrow where they had to start  \nover, and being caught a second time sent the rabbit to the den where they were devoured. The  \nfox won if they collected all of the rabbits in their den. The rabbits could leave their dens with  \nany roll, a roll of one placing them on the space just outside. The first roll of the fox determined  \nwhere on the board they began with 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 corresponding to the entry points of the  \nred, blue, green, yellow, and magenta burrows, respectively, and a roll of six allowing the fox to  \nenter at any space, even on top of a rabbit. If a rabbit landed on top of another rabbit, they  \nmoved forward one space, and if they landed on the fox, they had the option of moving one  \nspace forward or returning to their burrow to start over. Finally, if the fox landed on one of the  \nentry spaces, they had the option of returning to the den to exit again with the next roll.  \nRita blew the dust off of the box and took it back to the living room, setting it on the  \ncarpet next to Timothy and Suzie before sitting down on the floor herself. After Rita explained  \nthe rules to the mice, she picked up the fox piece, which was a metal statuette of a fox with her  \nteeth bared and her arms reaching out to grab her prey.  \n\"I'm the fox, of course,\" she stated, placing the piece in the black circle. \"What colors do  \nyou two want to be?\"  \n\"Green!\" piped Suzie.  \n\"No fair! I wanted green!\" Timothy protested.  \n\"You can be green next time,\" Rita promised. \"Why don't you take red this time?\" The  \nboard was big enough for the mice to act as their own pieces, so Rita placed the two of them in  \ntheir respective burrows. \"Red goes first, and the fox goes last,\" Rita explained. \"I'll roll the die  \nfor you since it will be too heavy for you to roll well.\" She rolled a five for Timothy and a one for  \nSuzie.  \nTimothy strutted around the board confidently. \"I'm going to catch you!\" he gloated to  \nSuzie as she stepped out of her burrow.  \nRita rolled a six. She smirked. \"Oh dear, it looks like I get to catch one of you bunnies. I  \nsupposed I would be prudent to catch the bunny that's furthest along.\"  \nShe reached for Timothy, and his eyes went wide. He started to dash away, and she  \nquickly snatched him up.  \n\"Now, now, running away isn't part of the rules,\" she chided. \"Back to your burrow,  \nbunny.\" She placed him back in the red burrow and placed her piece on the spot where he had  \nbeen.  \nThey continued to play. Rita caught Suzie when she was approximately halfway around  \nthe board and then was able to return to the den when she landed at the red entry point.  \nSubsequently rolling a two placed her behind both mice.  \n\"Next time I catch you, I get to gobble you up,\" Rita teased.  \nTimothy and Suzie looked worriedly at the fierce fox statuette behind them. Catching the  \nmice a second time proved to be more difficult than the first time. At first, Rita was unable to  \ncatch up with the mice, but after returning to her den and rolling a five, she was able to place  \nher piece between them. She narrowly overshot Timothy, and then a roll of six placed him within  \na roll of his burrow.  \n\"I'm going to win!\" he squeaked excitedly.  \n\"Don't forget you need an exact roll,\" Rita reminded him.  \nOn his next roll, he got another six and overshot his burrow.  \n\"Noooo!\" he wailed. \"Now I have to go around again!\"  \nSuzie snickered.  \n\"That's the way the game goes,\" Rita replied sympathetically.  \nHer own roll landed her in front of his burrow, just two spaces behind him. He looked at  \nthe hungry statuette fearfully as it loomed over him. After a few more rolls where it looked like  \nTimothy might pull ahead out of Rita's reach, Rita rolled a six, landing her in his space.  \n\"Bad luck, Tim,\" she stated apologetically as she reached for him. She picked him up  \nand placed him in the den.  \n\"Gobble him up! Gobble him up!\" Suzie cheered.  \nRita looked at her quizzically, \"Do you think I should, Suzie? He might be tasty, you  \nknow.\" She plucked Timothy back up by his tail and dangled him over her open mouth.  \nHe squeaked in surprise and fear.  \n\"Alright, here I go, Suzie. Anything you want to say to your brother before he's in my  \ntummy?\"  \n\"Can I have your stuff?\" Suzie jeered.  \n\"N-no!\" Timothy yelled in reply.  \n\"Not a very touching final exchange between siblings,\" Rita noted. She dropped Timothy  \ninto her mouth and snapped her jaws shut.  \nSuzie's eyes bulged. \"I-I was just joking,\" she whimpered.  \nRita dropped Timothy back into her cupped hands and, holding him gently, nuzzled him  \non the head. \"I know you were, Suzie. I hope you aren't any worse for wear after my little joke,  \nTim.\"  \n\"I-I'm okay,\" he replied shakily.  \nRita placed him back in the black circle.  \n\"That's good. Let's see if I can add your sister to my cache.\"  \nAfter a few more rolls, Suzie landed on top of Rita and chose to move forward one space  \nas she was close to getting back to her burrow.  \n\"That's a bold move, Suzie,\" Rita complimented. \"Let's see whether our brazen bunny is  \nrewarded or punished for that move.\"  \nThey shifted positions the next couple moves, and then Rita rolled a three and landed on  \ntop of Suzie.  \n\"Looks like caution would have been the better strategy,\" Rita remarked. She plucked  \nSuzie up and put her in the den. \"Two little bunnies in the fox's den!\" Rita trilled. She felt a wave  \nof possessive affection for her young guests, and she snatched them both up and nuzzled them  \non top of their heads.  \n\"Can we play again, Miss Rita?\" asked Suzie.  \n\"Of course we can, Suzie, but henceforth, I want the two of you to address me as Auntie  \nRita. You're both dear to me, and I want you to think of me as part of your family.\"  \n\"Yes, Miss-er-Auntie Rita,\" Suzie responded.  \nTimothy seemed to like the idea, \"I have a fox for an aunt! That's so cool!\"  \nThey played the game a couple more times: Timothy won the second time, and Rita won  \nagain the third time. Afterward, Rita returned the board game to the conservatory and took the  \nmice upstairs to tuck them in and read them a bedtime story. This time she selected The Lamb  \nWho Cried 'Wolf', the story of a lamb who repeatedly told his parents a wolf was trying to get  \ninto their house so that he wouldn't have to go to bed early. The story ended with a wolf actually  \nbreaking into the house and gobbling up the lamb and his whole family.  \n\"Which is why you shouldn't lie,\" Rita concluded.  \nAfter she put the mice to bed, she proceeded to the bathroom to brush her teeth and  \nshower. Once she was done, she called Boots to finish drying her with the blow drier. Rita could  \ntell from his inquisitive expression that he wanted to ask her something but didn't feel  \ncomfortable doing so.  \n\"Go ahead and spit it out, Boots,\" she commanded.  \nBoots shifted his boots nervously, \"How was your day today, Mistress?\"  \n\"Lovely, but I know you want to know more than that,\" she answered pointedly.  \nBoots swallowed and took a deep breath. \"You, uh, spent most of it playing with the  \nyoung mice.\"  \n\"Our guests, yes,\" Rita answered even though he hadn't phrased it as a question. \"Get  \nto the point, Boots.\"  \n\"Did, did you ever consider, you know, killing them?\"  \nRita gave the human a stern look. \"Certainly not. I told their parents I'd take good care of  \nthem, and you know how I feel about lying.\"  \n\"But that's what you do with prey, Mistress! You never let them go, and you always kill  \nthem eventually,\" Boot blurted. \"Not that I disagree with what you're doing,\" he added nervously.  \nRita frowned. \"What is this, Boots? Have you been talking with Howard more? Do you  \nthink I might actually be going soft?\"  \n\"N-no, Mistress, I don't think you're going soft!\"  \n\"You're no carnivore, Boots. Do you ever wonder at the fact that I haven't cut you up?\"  \nBoots' face twisted in confusion. \"I, uh; do I, uh? N-no, I've, I've never wondered-\"  \n\"Exactly. There are some people I prefer to have alive, Boots, carnivores or not.\"  \nBoots nodded fervently, \"I-I see, Mistress. Thank you.\" Boots finished drying her and put  \naway the blow drier. He bowed low, \"Goodnight, Mistress.\"  \n\"Goodnight, Boots.\"  \nHe clomped out of the room somewhat faster than usual. Rita wondered whether the  \nhuman would have nightmares about her cutting him into little pieces. That would serve him  \nright! She wasn't used to having her staff question her behavior, least of all the obedient Boots.  \nThey simply didn't understand that there was more than one way to amuse oneself with prey.  \nSure, there was one way she usually preferred, but that didn't mean she didn't ever want to try  \nsomething different. Rita let out an exasperated sigh: she'd have to reassure the staff by really  \ngoing all out on her next victim.  \nShe tiptoed back to her bedroom to avoid waking the mice, assuming Boots' stomping  \nhadn't already done that. As she made her way through the dark room to her bed, she felt her  \nfoot kick something small, something that squeaked in pain. Rita froze and let her eyes adjust.  \nAfter a few moments, she saw the silhouettes of Suzie and Timothy against the carpet by her  \nbed. She bent down and picked them up.  \n\"Are you both okay?\" she asked worriedly. \"Who did I kick?\"  \n\"Me,\" squeaked Timothy. \"But I'm okay.\"  \n\"What were you thinking lurking in the dark like that?\" Rita scolded. \"I nearly stepped on  \nyou! You might have been horribly injured!\"  \n\"We're sorry, Auntie Rita,\" Suzie answered. \"We were scared. We wanted to sleep with  \nyou.\"  \nA surge of sympathy and even guilt churned Rita's stomach. Of course they were afraid  \nby themselves in that big, dark room. She snuggled them gently to her chest.  \n\"Of course you can sleep with me; I shouldn't have left you alone in this big, scary house  \nto start with.\"  \nRita placed the mice on one of the pillows at the head of the bed, pulled back the sheets,  \nand climbed in herself. She lay on her side and nestled Timothy and Suzie against her soft  \nbelly, curling around them protectively and tucking her tail around in front of her to cover them.  \nFinally, she pulled the blankets up to cover the three of them. She sighed contentedly as she felt  \nthe two warm, little bodies snuggle themselves into her soft fur. Closing her eyes, Rita let herself  \nslip into peaceful sleep.  \n\\* \\* \\*  \nRita ran down the long upstairs hallway, opening one door after the other to look inside.  \nWhere are Timothy and Suzie? She continued down the never-ending hall searching for the  \nmice. She flung open the door to her study; Boots was dusting her books with the blow drier.  \n\"Boots! Have you seen Timothy and Suzie? I can't find them anywhere!\"  \nBoots gave her a funny look, and his eyes trailed down to her belly. Rita felt a small kick  \nfrom inside her stomach. What? How? There wasn't time to wonder: she shoved her right index  \nfinger down her throat. She gagged and retched, but nothing came up. She shoved her hand in  \nfarther until nearly the entire thing was down her throat. She gagged. She felt her stomach  \nheave and the mice inside scramble, but she couldn't throw them up.  \n\"Boots! Help me! I can't get them out!\"  \n\"It's alright, Mistress. It will all be over soon,\" he assured her calmly. He went back to  \nblowing the books.  \nRita raced out of the study. She had to find something to make her throw up. She flung  \nopen another door: the kitchen, maybe there would be something in here. She ran to the  \nrefrigerator and yanked it open: it was full of jars of pickles, but near the back, she saw a jug of  \nmilk and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. She dug through the jars of pickles, throwing them out to  \nshatter around her on the floor. The kitchen staff could clean up later. Finally, she reached the  \nmilk and peroxide. She could feel the mice's struggles getting weaker: there was no time to lose  \nlooking for a glass. She dumped out one of the jars of pickles and mixed the milk and peroxide  \ninside. She chugged the fizzy concoction and waited. Seconds crawled by and then a minute.  \nNothing.  \n\"Please work!\" Rita pleaded, staring at her stomach desperately.  \nFinally, she felt something happening. She opened her mouth and let out a loud burp.  \nHer stomach gurgled and the mice inside began to move more frantically. No! Rita tried shoving  \nher finger down her throat again to no avail. She felt a few more weak kicks, and then the  \nmovement stopped. Her stomach gurgled discordantly, and she burped again. The sour flavor of  \nthe digesting milk was tainted with a second gamey flavor.  \n\"Timothy, Suzie, I'm so, so sorry,\" she whispered.  \nFeelings of loss and sorrow swept over her, and she began to weep silently, tears  \nstreaming down her face while her shoulders shook. Her tears plopped into the pickle juice that  \ncovered the floor.  \n\"What have you done?!\" a horrified squeak came from across the room.  \nRita turned to see Jacob and Diane standing at the edge of the puddle of pickle juice.  \n\"You said you'd take good care of them!\" Diane wailed. She burst into tears, and Jacob  \nwrapped his arms around her.  \n\"I-I don't know what happened!\" Rita tried to explain. \"I didn't want to. I tried to save  \nthem!\"  \n\"You ate them!\" Jacob rebutted furiously.  \n\"I didn't mean to!\"  \n\"You monster!\"  \n\"No!\"  \nRita sucked in a deep breath, and her eyes shot open. She was lying in her bed, and the  \nearly morning sunlight was beginning to filter in through the bedroom window. She hurriedly ran  \nher hand down her front and was relieved to find the mice still nestled against the outside of her  \nbelly. What a horrible dream! She was reluctant to go back to sleep, but she didn't want to wake  \nTimothy and Suzie yet. So she lay feeling the reassuring warmth of their tiny bodies pressed  \nagainst hers.  \nShe must have dozed off again because she was awoken by Boots tromping into the  \nroom with her morning coffee. Rita pushed down the blankets and stroked her hand over the  \nmice until they uncurled and opened their eyes sleepily.  \n\"Good morning, Sweethearts,\" Rita crooned.  \n\"Good morning, Auntie Rita,\" Suzie replied.  \nRita sat up and moved the mice to her lap before she accepted the coffee from Boots,  \nwho was waiting silently. As she took the coffee, Rita noticed his expression was one of forced  \nstoicism. He adjusted the pillow behind her.  \n\"Anything else, Mistress?\"  \n\"I assume Gustav will be serving breakfast in the dining room again.\"  \n\"Yes, Mistress.\"  \n\"Then that's all, Boots.\"  \nBoots bowed and clomped back out of the room.  \nRita sipped her coffee and looked down at the mice. \"Did the two of you sleep well?\"  \nThey both nodded.  \n\"That's good.\" She took another sip of coffee.  \n\"What's for breakfast? I'm hungry!\" squeaked Timothy.  \nRita smirked. \"I don't know. Let's find out what Gustav has made for us.\" Holding the  \ncoffee in one hand, she transferred the mice to her right shoulder then slid out of bed, holding  \nthe coffee in both hands. She thusly transported mice and coffee safely to the kitchen.  \nGustav greeted her upon her arrival, \"Good morning, Your Grace. I'll bring breakfast to  \nthe dining room in just a moment.\"  \n\"What is it?\" squeaked Timothy.  \n\"Pancakes for your sister and yourself with the addition of sausage links for Her Grace.\"  \n\"Thank you, Gustav. I'm sure we'll enjoy your cooking as always,\" Rita replied.  \nRita continued to the dining room, placed her coffee at one end and then the mice to  \neither side. As Gustav promised, breakfast consisted of pancakes with butter and maple syrup  \nfor the mice and a small pancake and several pork sausage links for her. Timothy and Suzie  \nenjoyed their pancakes but got very sticky with maple syrup in the eating of them. Once they  \nhad finished breakfast, Rita gingerly picked up the sticky mice.  \n\"Now it's time to get you ready for Count Dubois' arrival,\" she explained.  \nRita carried them up to the bathroom to wash in the sink again. Whilst the mice splashed  \naround in the sink, Rita called in Boots to brush out her fur. She kept an eye on the mice and  \nlifted her arms, legs, or tail as necessary while Boots smoothed her fur with the soft brush. Rita  \nnoticed that Boots was still doing his best to stay detached from the situation at hand.  \nWhen he had finished brushing, she looked up at him. \"Thank you, Bootsy. You may  \nexamine your work with a few pets if you like,\" she offered.  \nBoots' eyes went wide in surprise, and then he grinned eagerly. Rita rarely let him pet  \nher even though she knew he enjoyed the feeling of her soft fur: allowing her servants to fondle  \nher constantly wouldn't have been the least bit appropriate. He stroked his giant right hand  \ndown her back and out her tail. Rita let him repeat the action three more times before spinning  \naround and catching his hand as he raised it for another pet.  \n\"That's enough, Bootsy. Go make sure everything's ready for Old Dullbois' visit.\"  \n\"Yes, Mistress.\" Boots stood up and tromped out of the room.  \nRita was pleased to see he wore a more cheerful expression as he left than when he'd  \ncome in. She didn't like her staff to be unhappy even if there wasn't much she could do for the  \ngloomy Edgar or surly Howard.  \nOnce the mice were clean and dry, Rita took them to their room to get dressed. It was a  \nbit tricky putting the clothes on the small mice, and Rita found she wasn't able to button  \nTimothy's buttons at all. However, with Suzie's help they got the buttons in all of the right holes.  \nWhen they were both dressed, Suzie twirled around, examining the flowing lavender ruffles.  \n\"You look lovely, Suzie,\" Rita complimented. \"And you look like quite the dapper little  \ngentleman, Timothy.\"  \nTimothy pulled at his tie. \"It's too tight,\" he complained.  \nRita readjusted it to the way it was. \"I'm sorry, Tim. Fancy clothes can be uncomfortable,  \nbut you need to look presentable for Count Dubois.\"  \nRita took the mice to her room where she dressed in a light, full-length, sleeveless red  \ndress with wide pleats at the bottom. She also clipped on a gold necklace with a gold and onyx  \noval pendant.  \n\"You're so pretty, Auntie Rita!\" Suzie squeaked.  \n\"Thank you, Sweetie.\"  \nRita took the mice to the sitting room to await the arrival of Count Dubois. Rita hoped the  \npresence of the mice would make his visit at least somewhat more tolerable. Count Dubois  \ninsisted on bothering the other nobility with incessant visits where he did little but blather on  \nabout golf or some salacious gossip he'd picked up. Rita wasn't sure which was worse: she had  \nno interest in golf or the affairs of other nobles, who she also despised. Maybe he'd be so busy  \ntrying to plumb the mice for gossip on her that he'd hardly talk to her at all.  \nCount Dubois was late as usual, but finally, Johann popped into the room to announce  \nhis arrival. Rita left the mice on one of the light blue armchairs and sauntered out into the entry  \nhall. Count Dubois was standing just in front of the door. Like Rita and the rest of the nobility  \nand royals, he was a red fox. Unlike Rita, he was of normal height and stood a little over a head  \ntaller than her. As usual, he was wearing his dress army jacket, which was black with orange  \naccents inside the collar and cuffs and, in Dubois' case, was decorated with golden bars  \nindicating the rank of general and several medals for valor. Rita had a hard time believing any of  \nthem had been earned.  \n\"Rita, My Dear, you're looking as stunning as ever!\" he declared. He hurried across the  \nroom, seized her right hand, and kissed it.  \nRita put on a smile that she hoped covered her distaste. \"How are you, Philip? Why, it's  \nbeen nearly two months since you paid me a visit. Any longer and I might have begun to think  \nyou'd forgotten all about me.\" One could only hope at least.  \n\"Never, my dear! I'd never forget a lady so beautiful. If I were away a million years, your  \nimage would be as clear in my mind as the last moment I saw you.\"  \nAnother thing Rita disliked about Dubois was his obviously exaggerated and insincere  \nattempts at flattery.  \n\"Let's go have a seat,\" she suggested and led him toward the living room.  \nHe insisted on looping his right arm through her left for the walk even though it was only  \na few steps. When they entered the room, he paused to gawk at the mice.  \n\"I say, My Dear, it seems as though you have yourself a bit of a rodent infestation!\"  \n\"These are my guests, Timothy and Suzie,\" Rita corrected. \"Say hello to Count Dubois,  \nchildren.\"  \nThe mice stood on the chair, and Suzie curtsied while Timothy bowed.  \n\"Charming,\" Dubois responded dryly.  \nRita slipped her arm out of Dubois' and went to sit with Timothy and Suzie. She picked  \nthem up so that she could sit down then set them on her lap. She gestured to the remaining light  \nblue armchair and sofas.  \n\"Please sit where you like, Philip.\"  \nDubois gave her a funny look before sitting on the sofa to Rita's right. \"So have you been  \nentertaining these rodents long?\"  \n\"Just a couple days now. The rest of their family went home yesterday morning, and I'm  \ngoing to return them after a few days.\"  \nDubois chuckled patronizingly, \"Huhuhuh, this reminds me of the time Lady Roche took  \na shine to three little goslings, carried them everywhere. ...\"  \nDubois proceeded to tell a long-winded and boring story about Lady Roche. Rita might  \nhave been offended by the comparison to the eccentric lady had she not tuned him out in favor  \nof trying to decide whether he had something stuck between his front teeth. As usual with  \nDubois, one dull story led to another until Rita was sure he'd been rambling on for several  \nhours.  \nAt last, Gustav brought in a bottle of wine and a pair of glasses for their pre-dinner  \ncocktail.  \nDubois took the bottle from the stoat to examine it. \"Ah, yes, an excellent year for this  \nmerlot.\"  \nHe handed the bottle back to the stoat, and Gustav poured the dark red liquid into their  \nglasses.  \nGustav bowed to Rita. \"I'll be back with juice for the children, Your Grace.\"  \nRita bobbed her head in acknowledgement. \"Thank you, Gustav.\"  \nShe looked back to Dubois, who was holding his glass up to the light of the silver  \nchandelier and studying it with one eye.  \n\"Nice rich color,\" he concluded. He swirled the wine and sniffed it. \"Hmm, interesting  \nbouquet: I detect roses and thyme and.\" He sniffed again. \"Yes, and just a hint of cardamom.\"  \nRita rolled her eyes and took a sip of hers. She suspected that she could serve Dubois  \nvinegar mixed with urine, and he'd compliment the bouquet as long as it came in an expensive  \nbottle.  \nDubois also took a sip and swished it around in his mouth before swallowing with a  \nsatisfied sigh. \"Ahh, not too fruity, just right. Now where were we, My Dear? Ah, yes, I was  \ntelling you about Lord Morel's foray into pumpkin farming, quite the disastrous venture. You  \nwouldn't believe the problems he's had with stink bugs. ...\"  \nDubois continued to yammer on until Gustav informed them that dinner was ready. Rita  \nnoticed Suzie and Timothy were sleeping and roused them before carrying them to the dining  \nroom. Rita sat at the end of the table as usual, and Dubois was at her left. She set Suzie and  \nTimothy on the table to her right, placing them across from Dubois. The kitchen staff brought out  \nthe first course, which was a creamy potato soup and fresh rolls. Dubois eyed Timothy and  \nSuzie as they struggled to handle the oversized slices of roll that they had been served.  \n\"So how are you two rodents finding life amongst the nobility?\" he inquired.  \n\"It's fun!\" answered Timothy.  \n\"Yes, Auntie Rita has been playing lots of games with us,\" Suzie agreed.  \nDubois' mouth dropped open, and he stared at the mice a moment, apparently  \nflabbergasted, before erupting into a throaty chortle, \"Ohohohoho, Auntie?! Ohoho, oh dear me.  \nOhohohoho!\" After laughing for at least two minutes, he wiped his eyes with his napkin and  \nsniffed.  \n\"Are you quite finished?\" Rita asked tartly.  \n\"I'm sorry, Your Grace, but the idea of you as an auntie, to rodents nonetheless, was just  \ntoo much.\" He turned back to Timothy and Suzie. \"Tell me, rodents. What else have you been  \ndoing with your, heheh, auntie these last two days? Does she tuck you in and give you a kiss  \ngoodnight perhaps?\"  \n\"No, but she reads us a bedtime story, and she lets us sleep with her,\" Suzie answered.  \nDubois peered at Rita sidelong with a smirk before addressing the mice again, \"Sounds  \ncozy.\"  \n\"It is. Auntie Rita's fur is soft,\" Suzie assured earnestly.  \nDubois' smirk spread into a wide grin. \"Indeed! Then I take it you meant she actually lets  \nyou sleep in physical contact with her. Does she hold you like her favorite stuffed animal  \nperhaps? Or maybe-\"  \n\"I don't think that's really any of your business, Philip,\" Rita cut in sharply. She hadn't  \nthought it possible, but Dubois was even more obnoxious when he was trying to satisfy his thirst  \nfor fresh gossip than when he was divulging what he already had.  \nDubois put on an obviously insincere look of contrition. \"I'm sorry, Your Grace. I didn't  \nrealize the topic was embarrassing you.\"  \n\"It isn't,\" she growled quietly.  \nDubois smiled slyly, \"Then you won't mind filling in the details, hmm?\"  \nRita glared at the loathsome fox. \"If you must know, I tucked Suzie under my chin the  \nfirst night and put both of them against my stomach last night.\"  \n\"How intimate. Is there anything else I should know?\"  \n\"I don't know. We played cards. We danced. We played Hunt, and I washed them in the  \nsink,\" Rita answered tersely. \"I assume that satisfies your curiosity.\"  \nDubois smiled condescendingly. \"Thank you, Your Grace. That's quite satisfactory. I'm  \nglad you've found an outlet for your more motherly instincts.\"  \nIf you weren't nobility, you'd be finding out how tenderly I can wield a scalpel. As it was,  \nRita tried to content herself with imagining the screams he'd make as she cut him into little  \npieces.  \nApparently satisfied that he'd gotten enough out of the mice, Dubois spent the rest of the  \nmeal expounding on the latest golf tournaments. Rita tried to ignore him and focus on Gustav's  \ncooking, which was delicious as always. The main course for Rita and Dubois was roast beef  \nwith carrots and celery. For the mice, the beef was replaced with marinated portabella. Finally,  \ndessert was Boston cream pie.  \nWhen they had finished eating, Rita turned to Dubois. \"Well, Philip, I assume you're in a  \nhurry to get back home. Let me escort you to the door.\"  \n\"There's no rush at all,\" he corrected. \"There's nothing I-\"  \n\"No no, I mustn't detain you any longer.\" Rita jumped up and seized him by the right arm  \nwith both hands, pulling him to his feet and out the door through the kitchen.  \n\"Really, I can stay longer,\" he protested.  \nRita shook her head, \"You need to get home for an early bed. All of this traveling and  \nconversation must be exhausting.\"  \nShe nodded to Johann, who was stationed by the front door, and he pulled it open. Rita  \npulled Dubois through to the front step.  \n\"Have a safe trip home, Philip.\"  \n\"Have a good evening, My Dear, and don't worry: I won't breathe a word about your,  \nahem, niece and nephew to anyone.\"  \nRita was certain it would be the first thing he'd tell the next person he visited. \"Tell who  \nyou like!\" she rejoined sharply.  \nShe stepped back inside, grabbed the door from Johann, and slammed it in Dubois'  \nface. She waited, and after a couple minutes, she heard Dubois' car start and drive away.  \nWorthless sod! Dubois always annoyed Rita, but this time she was also angry that she'd let him  \nget to her. His opinion was beneath her concern, and yet she'd allowed herself to be  \nembarrassed by his prying into her relationship with Timothy and Suzie. She stomped back to  \nthe dining room, her mind full of deliciously gruesome images of what she'd do with Dubois if  \nshe had him in her dungeon. But Dubois was gone, and even if he were here, she didn't dare to  \nmurder a noble. If the occasional missing peasant didn't arouse the King's notice, a missing  \nnoble certainly would.  \nAs Rita entered the dining room, her eyes fell on the mice, still eating their dessert.  \nRita's fingers twitched. There was the rest of their family to worry about, of course, but she had  \ntheir address: they could be dealt with. Rita quickly traversed the remainder of the distance to  \nthe table.  \nShe grinned at the mice toothily. \"I see you're still enjoying your dessert. You must be  \ngetting full. We wouldn't want you to get a bellyache.\" She picked up Timothy and poked the  \nclaw of her thumb against his swollen belly. \"You look fit to pop!\" She slowly pressed her claw in  \nharder.  \n\"Auntie Rita! That hurts!\" he squeaked.  \nWhat am I doing?! Horrified, Rita set the mouse back on the table. She looked around  \nfor someone to help and spotted Edgar sulking through the door to the conservatory.  \n\"Edgar, get in here!\" she called urgently.  \nThe pine marten scurried into the room. \"Yes, Your Grace?\"  \nRita motioned to the mice with a wave of her arm. \"Take them up to their room and close  \nyourself in with them until Boots or I say you can come out,\" she instructed.  \nEdgar blinked. \"W-why?\"  \n\"Now, Edgar!\" she commanded.  \nEdgar snatched up the mice and hurried toward the door to the kitchen.  \n\"Are we in trouble?\" Timothy yelled.  \n\"No, Sweetie, just be good for Edgar, and I'll see you in a little bit,\" Rita called back.  \nRita raced from the dining room to the front door, pulled it open, and dashed out into the  \nfront yard. The sun was approaching the tops of the trees that surrounded the yard, lengthening  \ntheir shadows so that they darkened the West end of the yard. The sky promised a pleasant  \nsummer evening, but Rita was too anxious to appreciate the prospect. Her only concern was to  \nsatiate the bloodlust that had nearly caused her to murder her murine guests. She might find  \nsomeone alone if she ventured out into the woods. The estate's residents weren't supposed to  \nstray within a hundred yards of the manor, but she assumed individuals often broke the rules.  \nShe could always go farther if she needed to. Her right eye caught movement near the dark  \nedge of the woods, and she turned her head to see a female pheasant poking through the  \nunderbrush just a few layers of trees into the woods. Perfect.  \nRita put on her best friendly smile and struck up a cheerful tone. \"Hello there, Madame!\"  \nshe called.  \nThe pheasant looked up at her.  \nRita waved. \"Hi, I'm Rita Belmont. Are you lost? Can I help you with something?\"  \nThe pheasant tilted her head to the side. \"Lost? No, I'm fine. Why do you ask?\"  \nRita struggled to keep the excitement out of her voice and speak in a calm and friendly  \ntone. \"It's just, heehee, that I don't usually allow people this close to my manor.\"  \n\"Oh! This is your house and woods?\" The pheasant sounded concerned. \"I saw other  \npeople living in the woods, and I didn't realize there were rules about where we could be.\"  \n\"It's no matter. Why don't you come inside for a little visit? It's been a while since I've  \nhad such a, heehee, pleasant looking guest.\"  \nThe pheasant looked behind her worriedly. \"I need to be getting back soon,\" she fretted.  \n\"Just a few minutes then. I won't keep you long.\"  \nThe pheasant nodded, \"Just a few minutes.\" She strutted out of the woods and up to the  \nhouse until she was standing a couple arm lengths from Rita. \"I'm really sorry about coming so  \nclose to your house without permission.\"  \n\"Think nothing more of it. What did you say your name is, Dear?\"  \n\"My name's Sharon.\"  \n\"I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate this, Sharon,\" Rita told her  \nsincerely.  \nConfused, \"Appreciate what?\"  \nRita leapt to grab the pheasant and caught the pheasant's neck in her jaws. She  \nclamped her jaws shut and jerked her head viciously to rip open the pheasant's throat. Hot  \nblood sprayed out of the ragged wound covering Rita's face and chest. The pheasant jerked a  \nfew times then fell limp. Rita dropped the carcass to the ground. The pheasant had been  \nconcerned about something in the woods. Rita hurried into the woods to investigate the area.  \nAfter around ten minutes of searching, Rita spotted a nest with a pair of pheasant eggs. She  \nhurried over to the nest and picked the eggs out of it.  \n\"We can't let you get cold, can we?\"  \nShe took the eggs back to the manor. On the way through the entry hall, she met Boots.  \n\"Mistress! You're covered in blood!\" he yelped.  \n\"None of it's mine, Boots, but there is a dead pheasant out in the yard that you need to  \ntake care of.\"  \nBoots hurried outside, and Rita took the eggs to the kitchen. She filled a pot with water,  \nput the eggs inside, and placed the pot on the stove over one of the gas burners, which she set  \nto HIGH. She waited nonchalantly by the stove, picking at the drying blood on her dress, until  \nthe water came to a boil and then turned down the flame so that it wouldn't boil over. After the  \neggs had boiled ten minutes, Rita turned off the burner and went to get washed up. Someone  \nelse could dispose of the cooked eggs.  \nRita left her dress on the floor of the bathroom and took a shower, being careful to wash  \nall of the blood out of her fur. Timothy and Suzie didn't need to worry about what she'd been  \ndoing the past hour. After wiping herself with the towel, she blow-dried herself, assuming Boots  \nwas still dealing with the body. When she was dry, she trotted back down the hall and knocked  \non the mice's door.  \n\"Who's there?\" called Edgar.  \n\"It's me! You can come out now,\" Rita trilled.  \nEdgar opened the door warily, and Rita gave him a reassuring smile.  \n\"How are Timothy and Suzie?\" she asked.  \nEdgar nodded to the bed, \"Fine.\"  \nThe mice had removed their dress clothes and were sitting on the bed.  \nRita rushed over, swept them up, and nuzzled them on top of their heads. \"I'm so glad  \nyou're okay!\" she exclaimed.  \n\"Why wouldn't we be?\" Suzie asked, confused.  \n\"No reason. I just missed you.\"  \n\"Why did we have to stay in our room? Did we do something wrong?\"  \n\"No, Sweetie. I just had to take care of some grown-up things. You wouldn't have  \nunderstood. I didn't want to trouble you with them. What do you want to do now?\"  \n\"Can we dance again?\"  \n\"Of course, Suzie. Let's go find Howard.\"  \nRita located Howard in his quarters, which were in the back part of the basement like  \nthose of the rest of the staff. She danced with Timothy and Suzie while he played Mozart's  \neleventh piano sonata. Afterwards, they played Go Fish with Edgar in the conservatory, and  \nthen Rita took the mice to get ready for bed. The three of them brushed their teeth; although,  \nthe mice didn't have toothbrushes and were obliged to rub their teeth with the minty toothpaste  \nusing the edge of one of Rita's handkerchiefs. Then Rita took them to her study and read them  \nThe Gingerbread Man, which ends with the animated cookie being tricked and eaten by a fox.  \n\"Not much of a moral to that one, except not to be a cookie,\" Rita concluded.  \nAfter putting away the book, Rita took them to her bedroom.  \n\"I assume you'd rather sleep with me again,\" she stated.  \nTimothy and Suzie nodded. Rita placed them on a pillow, pulled back the blankets, and  \nclimbed into bed with them, tucking them against her belly so that she could curl around them  \nas before.  \n\"You smell different today, Auntie Rita,\" Suzie commented.  \n\"Do I? What do I smell like, Suzie?\"  \nThe mouse sniffed Rita's fur, seeming to try to decide, and then frowned. \"Are you okay,  \nAuntie Rita?\" she asked worriedly. \"You smell like blood.\"  \n\"I'm fine, Sweetie,\" Rita assured her. \"It's nothing you need to be concerned about.\"  \nSeeming reassured, Suzie snuggled into Rita's fur like Timothy. Rita stroked the mice  \nwith her finger as they fell asleep then pulled up the blankets and lay her own head down to drift  \nto sleep.  \n\\* \\* \\*  \nRita was in the dining room having breakfast with Timothy and Suzie. She was drinking  \nher coffee, and they were eating toast with grape jelly whilst Gustav prepared the rest of their  \nbreakfast. The stoat brought in a tray of eggs.  \n\"Hard boiled eggs, Your Grace,\" he explained as he set the tray on the table.  \n\"Thank you, Gustav.\"  \nRita picked up one of the eggs to crack it on the side of her plate. It looked a bit odd, a  \nbit small. She tapped the shell on her plate, and it disintegrated. The half-formed fetus of a  \npheasant spilled out onto her plate. Rita's mouth gaped in shock as she looked at the gruesome  \nbody on her plate. Her eyes were forced away by a shrill scream from beside her; Timothy and  \nSuzie were looking at the bird in horror.  \n\"It-it's a baby bird!\" Suzie shrieked.  \nTimothy covered his eyes with his hands.  \n\"I don't understand,\" Gustav muttered, confused. \"These are the eggs you brought us  \nlast night, Your Grace.\"  \nTimothy and Suzie turned to look fearfully at Rita.  \n\"A-auntie Rita? Y-you killed the baby bird?\" Suzie stammered.  \nRita dropped her napkin over the body. \"This is all just a terrible mistake, Sweetie.\"  \nSuzie shook her head, seeming uncertain. \"You smelled like blood last night. What were  \nyou doing while we were in our room?\"  \n\"I told you: nothing you need to worry about, Suzie,\" Rita tried to reassure her. She  \nreached out to draw the mice close so that she could comfort them, but they shied away.  \n\"Don't be afraid,\" Rita implored them. \"I'd never harm you.\"  \n\"But you killed the baby birds,\" Suzie accused.  \n\"And you almost ate me!\" Timothy added.  \nRita looked from one mouse to the other desperately. \"That was a joke, Timothy. You  \nknow it was a joke!\"  \n\"It was scary inside your mouth,\" Timothy rebutted.  \n\"It scared me too!\" Suzie agreed.  \n\"Then it wasn't a funny joke; I'm sorry. But I never meant you any harm.\"  \n\"What makes us different from the baby birds?\" Suzie squeaked angrily.  \n\"You two are dear to me, Suzie. I, I only killed the birds to protect you!\"  \nTimothy's and Suzie's eyes went wide. \"H-how did it protect us?\" Suzie asked.  \nRita shifted uncomfortably in her seat. \"I, I was angry. I wanted, I needed to kill  \nsomething. You were there, but I couldn't hurt you! I had to find someone else.\"  \nThe mice looked at Rita in fear and horror. \"You killed them so that you wouldn't kill us?\"  \nSuzie whispered.  \n\"Yes! I know you don't understand, but you're dear to me! I won't ever harm you, either  \nof you!\"  \n\"You're a murderer. Why would we want anything to do with you?\" Suzie asked coldly.  \nRita felt as if the ground had fallen out from under her. She gasped, and her eyes shot  \nopen: she was lying in bed with the mice still nestled against her belly. Another horrible dream!  \nRita tried to take comfort from the warm bodies snuggled against hers. But what if they did find  \nout? How long could she keep Timothy and Suzie in the dark? Suzie had smelled the blood last  \nnight. Surely, she would get suspicious if Rita kept coming back smelling like blood, but what  \nwould Rita do if she had another episode like yesterday evening? Trying to ignore the urge to  \nkill would pose a horrible risk for her vulnerable guests. But I never planned to keep them more  \nthan a few days. Perhaps the time had come to take them home. Rita gently stroked the mice;  \nshe was going to miss them. Rita's petting woke them, and they uncurled and crawled out from  \nunder the blankets to blink sleepily in the pale dawn sunlight.  \n\"Is it time to get up?\" Suzie asked.  \n\"It's a little early, but let's go see what Gustav can prepare for us anyway.\"  \nRita climbed out of bed and carried the mice to the kitchen. Gustav was surprised to see  \nthem.  \n\"Good morning, Your Grace. Getting an early start this morning, I see. I'll see what I can  \ndo about breakfast.\"  \n\"Just prepare us something light and simple, Gustav, and then I'd like you to prepare a  \npicnic lunch for us. Let Wolfgang and Johann know if you would too, please.\"  \nGustav bobbed his head. \"I'll see to it, Your Grace.\"  \nRita took the mice to the dining room, and after a few minutes, they were served toast as  \nwell as slices of fresh cantaloupe and strawberries. Rita's coffee took a bit longer. Once they  \nwere done eating, Rita took Timothy and Suzie to the bathroom to wash off the fruit juice and  \nthen to their room to put on the t-shirts they had arrived in, which Boots had laundered. While  \nthey were getting dressed, Rita collected their dress clothes and the scrap of paper with their  \naddress, which she had placed in her bedroom dresser. She donned a light pink short-sleeved  \ndress with narrow pleats at the bottom that extended nearly to her knees and a wide brimmed  \nwhite paper straw hat with a yellow ribbon. She folded the scrap of paper and dress clothes  \ninside her handkerchief and tucked it into the bosom of her dress. Then she went to collect the  \nmice and carry them down to the entry hall. Wolfgang was waiting with the picnic basket, and he  \nopened the door for Rita.  \nThe sun was just climbing above the trees on the East side of the yard, and the summer  \nmorning was still fairly cool. Johann had the black sedan waiting, and Wolfgang opened its back  \ndoor for Rita. She climbed in to sit behind Johann, holding the mice on her lap, and Wolfgang  \nslid the basket in next to them. They drove down the private drive until Rita stopped Johann  \nroughly where they had started from the other day. Few of the estate's residents had emerged  \nfrom their homes, and most of the houses had the smoke of cooking fires rising from their  \nchimneys. Rita politely returned the greetings of the few they met while she carried the mice,  \none in each hand. When they exited the woods into the meadow, Rita angled them toward the  \nhill they had picnicked on before. Some of the long grass was still a bit dewy; Rita held the mice  \nabove it so that they wouldn't get wet as they strolled through the meadow. When they reached  \nthe top of the hill with the sugar maple, Rita indicated for Wolfgang and Johann to spread out  \nthe picnic. She stood holding the mice and gazing out over her estate.  \n\"Do you remember this place?\" Rita inquired. \"This is where we first met. It was only a  \nfew days ago, but it seems like so long ago now.\"  \nTimothy and Suzie looked around. \"I remember the tree,\" Suzie answered. \"Daddy said it  \nwas a good tree to eat under.\" She paused. \"I miss Mommy and Daddy,\" she murmured sadly.  \nHer comment seemed to trigger Timothy's homesickness as well. He sniffed, \"Me too.\"  \n\"I know,\" Rita replied understandingly. \"Two days is a long time to be away from your  \nparents at your age. That's why I've brought your things, so we can return you home after our  \npicnic. However, I want you to promise me one thing.\"  \n\"What's that?\" Suzie asked.  \n\"Promise me that you'll come visit me again someday.\"  \n\"I promise,\" Suzie replied earnestly.  \n\"Me too,\" added Timothy.  \nRita nuzzled them on top of their heads. \"Thank you. I'm going to miss you, and that  \nmeans a lot to me.\"  \n\"I'll miss you too, Auntie Rita,\" Suzie told her.  \n\"Not as much as I will!\" Timothy claimed.  \nRita smiled. \"Let's see what Gustav packed us for lunch.\"  \nGustav had prepared Swiss cheese, ham and Swiss cheese, and egg salad sandwiches.  \nAfter her dream, Rita wasn't much in the mood for eggs and left the egg salad for Wolfgang and  \nJohann whilst she selected the ham and cheese. She gave cheese sandwiches to the mice.  \nGustav had also packed blueberries, ice water, and sparkling apple juice. Rita served the mice  \nand herself, and they enjoyed their lunch under the warm morning sun.  \nAfter they had finished eating, they sat for a while, just enjoying the beautiful day. Rita  \ntook in the warmth of the sun while also basking in the warmth of her affection for her diminutive  \nguests, sitting beside her. Eventually, it started to get hot out, and they packed up and returned  \nto the car. Once they were back in the car, Rita retrieved the address from the paper in her  \nhandkerchief and handed it to Johann.  \n\"It's time to take our young guests home,\" she explained.  \nJohann pulled the GPS out of the middle console and punched in the address. \"It's a  \nfour hour drive,\" he noted. \"Would you like me to take you back to the manor first, Your Grace?\"  \n\"No, I'll come along,\" Rita answered. \"I want to see our guests safely home.\"  \nJohann nodded and started the car, continuing up the private drive to the road and from  \nthe road to the highway. Rita held the mice on her lap, and they slept most of the way as the car  \nsped down the highway, lulled to sleep by the hum of the engine and road noise. Rita watched  \nthem sleep, so innocent curled up on her lap with her hands protectively wrapped around them.  \nShe knew they could never understand the full truth of her affection for them, the balance  \nbetween genuine tenderness and the need to possess, to control. She hoped they would  \nremember her like a kind aunt and keep their promise to visit again in the future, but they were  \nvery young: the memory of the extended weekend might soon fade until it was little more than a  \nhalf-remembered dream, a fantastic experience from another world, another life.  \nFinally, the car pulled up outside of a small house with yellow vinyl siding and teal  \nfixtures in a residential area composed mostly of other mouse-sized homes. The small yard was  \nneatly kept with mossy shrubs in front of the house and a gravel driveway containing a mouse-  \nsized silver minivan. Rita stroked her finger over the mice to rouse them, and they uncurled and  \nopened their eyes.  \n\"We're here,\" she told them.  \nWolfgang opened the door for them, and Rita stepped out. The teal door opened, and  \nDiane stepped out.  \n\"Your Grace!\" she squeaked in surprise. \"I didn't expect you to bring them yourself! I  \nhope they weren't too much trouble.\"  \n\"They were perfectly behaved,\" Rita assured her.  \nShe set Timothy and Suzie on the ground, and they raced to their mother to hug her.  \nDiane crouched down to wrap her arms around them. Diane looked them over.  \n\"Did you have a good time with the Duchess?\"  \n\"It was fun!\" Timothy replied.  \n\"Auntie Rita played lots of games with us,\" Suzie agreed.  \n\"Auntie?\" Diane murmured. She stood and looked up at Rita. \"Thank you for taking good  \ncare of my children. It sounds like they had a good time.\"  \n\"It was a pleasure to have them,\" Rita assured her. \"Anytime you want to send them to  \nstay with me again, I'll be delighted to have their company, and that goes for you and the rest of  \nyour family as well.\"  \nDiane nodded, \"Thank you, Your Grace. That's very kind.\" She looked down at Timothy  \nand Suzie. \"Do you want to say goodbye to the Duchess before she leaves?\"  \nTimothy and Suzie let go of their mother and scurried back over to Rita. Rita bent down  \nto pick them up and nuzzled them on top of their heads.  \n\"I expect you to grow up into respectable young mice and to remember your promise to  \nme.\"  \n\"We will,\" Suzie promised.  \nRita set them back on the ground. \"Then it's goodbye for now, but we'll see each other  \nagain someday.\"  \n\"Goodbye, Auntie Rita,\" they said in unison.  \nRita turned to the open car door but, remembering their dress clothes, turned back and  \npulled out her handkerchief to retrieve them. She carefully stepped into the yard and leaned  \ndown to hand them to Diane.  \n\"These are the clothes I bought them for meeting Count Dubois. You may as well take  \nthem since they'll be too small by the time I see them again.\"  \n\"Th-thank you, that's very generous,\" Diane replied as she looked at the expensive  \nclothes.  \nRita stood, turned, and stepped back to the car. After Wolfgang closed the door after  \nher, she rolled down the window to give a final wave. The three mice waved back.  \n\"Take care!\" Rita called.  \nJohann started the car and pulled it away, the little yellow house soon disappearing from  \nview. Rita rolled up the window and sighed wistfully.  \n\"You really care for them, don't you, Your Grace?\" Wolfgang remarked.  \n\"As much as one can care for prey, Wolfgang,\" Rita answered tersely.  \nWolfgang nodded slowly. \"I understand, Your Grace.\"  \nRita spent the rest of the long ride home looking out the window. Entertaining the mice  \nhad been a pleasant diversion, a wonderful diversion even, but now, she would be back to her  \nnormal routine. And she needed to reassure the staff that she was still as fearsome and  \ndangerous as ever. Rita smiled at the prospect: she was going to enjoy thinking of ways to  \ntorture her next victim that would allay her staff's doubts.  \nAt length, they pulled up outside of the manor. Wolfgang took the basket from the car,  \nand Rita climbed across the seat to the door.  \nBefore she got out of the car, she addressed her bodyguards, \"I want you to find me  \nsomeone really nasty for tomorrow night, a real degenerate.\"  \nWolfgang nodded, \"Of course, Your Grace.\"  \nRita hopped out of the car, and Wolfgang hurried to get the front door for her. Rita  \nproceeded to the stairs and took them down to the dungeon. She needed to make sure  \neverything was ready to entertain her new guest tomorrow evening. She rubbed her hands  \ntogether in anticipation.\n\n  \n  \n\n","series":{"name":"The Murderess of Maplesburg: Disappearing like Rabbits","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1998140-chapter-13-of-dogs-and-rabbits.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1998322-chapter-15-love-and-justice.json"}}