InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Beside You in Time ❯ 1598: London ( Chapter 3 )

A/N: I foolishly forgot to mention this with my last update, but "The Once and Future Taiyoukai" won Best Romance and Best Canon over at Dokuga for the 3rd quarter! Yay! Thank you so much, everyone! Someone asked awhile ago if I plan to post this story on Dokuga, now that SingleSpark is out of commission. Frankly, I don't know. Should I? Opinions requested! If there's a huge call for it, I would be happy to do just that.

In addition to Dokuga, the IYFG's awards for the 2nd quarter have come out. "The Once and Future Taiyoukai" won 3rd place for Best Characterization (Sesshoumaru) and Best Drama, and it won 2nd place for Best Romance: Other! Yay! Thank you to all the voters/readers/nominators there too!

And last but not least, in news not TOaFT-related, the wonderful Ijin wrote a delightful little one-shot that fits in between the previous chapter and this one. It's called "London, 1597", and it's darling - everyone should read and review it! Here is the link (without the spaces):

http ://www.fanfiction. net/s/4518310/1/

Thank you to Ijin for the tribute - I hope this story can live up to it! :D

Have I forgotten anything? Probably. Sorry for the lengthy wait - it's been a hellish month. Be forgiving with typos, as I'm suffering from severe sleep deprivation. Anyway, read and review!

Kagome yawned and rolled her shoulders. "This is getting ridiculous," she said, as another chamber maid jerked awake with a soft cry. "Everyone can go to bed, except Thomas. Sorry, Thomas, but someone has to take in the horse. I can't do that too."

The groom straightened in his chair and nodded. "Yes, miss. Of course I'll stay awake. But what about the steward? He told us all to remain awake for the master's return."

The four other servants exchanged looks of discomfort, and Kagome sighed. The chief steward was the manager of the household, and they were supposed to all listen to his orders. In any other manor, Kagome would have been dismissed long ago for the liberties she took in defying him, both as a woman and as a servant of inferior rank. It was a source of great speculation why she was allowed to remain. "If he gets to go to sleep, so should we. If he has a problem with it, he can speak to me in the morning," Kagome replied, her mouth set into a hard little line.

The maids got to their feet and curtsied at the foreign woman, whispering amongst themselves as they left. Kagome watched them leave along with the glow of one of the candles. She shouldn't let them waste the tallows, but it was a moonless night, and she would prefer a few melted candles to a broken ankle. She sighed again and shifted her weight, drumming her nails on the table. "Did he say he would be so late, Thomas?"

"No, miss," the groom replied, rubbing at his face to stay awake. "But then, the master rarely speaks to me." His eyes moved to look at her face immediately, to watch for a reaction, but she didn't pause in her fidgeting.

"Soon, he can put his own horse in the barn and prepare his own bed," she muttered.

Thomas smiled and tugged down on his doublet where it was riding up on his waist. "I doubt that, miss," he said. "They never can do much for themselves, can they?"

Kagome laughed softly in spite of herself. Getting to her feet, she threw another log on the dying fire, more for Thomas's sake than her own. It was getting draftier at night as they moved towards winter. This place had once been a monastery - one of the many properties taken by Henry VIII when he broke with Rome decades earlier. Sesshoumaru had masons and carpenters around all the time to fix up the medieval stone structures, but there was only so much that could be done without proper, more modern tools. "You'd know better than me, Thomas," she said. His family, she knew, had served the nobility in this area for as long as even they could remember. Thomas had come a long way from the tenant shepherds in his ancestry to become the chief groom of the residing lord.

"Lord Spenser is more capable than most," he conceded. He looked at her carefully. "Do they have lords and ladies where you're from, miss?"

The priestess smiled. "Yes, they do. It's actually quite similar, except that my country just united a short time ago. We didn't have one leader for a long time but many, and they fought against one another for years and years."

"Sounds dangerous, miss."

She nodded. "Yes, it was," she replied softly, looking into the fire. She took a breath and brightened. "But I'm here now."

Thomas smiled. He had never traveled farther than London and probably never would. The idea of any one person, especially a lone woman, traveling across the world was beyond imagination. He had been there when she first arrived at the manor - she barely spoke English, and she was nervous around everyone. It was a far cry from the articulate, confident woman that she was now. Of course, no one was precisely sure of her place here - her only official duty seemed to be a few hours in the master's company a week, when an eavesdropper would say that they spoke in strange tongues - but it was certainly was a place of favor. It had been fantastically fun to watch as she grew in power and challenged the generally hated chief steward. In the end, although she was odd and foreign, she had won the rest of the staff's loyalty with her kindness and willingness to use her favor with the master of the house to benefit the rest of them. There wasn't a chore that she wouldn't help with - not even the laundry, which usually reduced a woman's hands to red, blistering mess. His eyes rested briefly on her smooth, pale skin as she swept the crumbs from the servants' supper off the table.

It was still unfortunate though, because Thomas knew she would never find a husband here. As much as the servants had come to like the misplaced girl, none of them would ever consider bringing a foreigner into their families. "Will you go back?" he asked.

She blinked. "Oh, I don't know," she said. "I hope I will someday, but I'm needed here for the time being."

There was a sharp creak of a carriage outside and an unfamiliar shout for a groom. Thomas got to his feet. "A carriage? But the master didn't take one," he murmured, going to the door. Kagome followed.

Sesshoumaru dismounted his enormous roan steed as soon as Thomas appeared, handing over the reins without so much as a glance. The carriage stood farther off, deeper in the dark, but she could see two figures against the sky. The priestess stepped forward with a frown. To come back with company at this late of an hour! She could just strangle him! But she forced herself to keep her mouth shut. Sesshoumaru never paid the slightest attention to her when she was supposed to be acting as his servant anyway. He tossed his short cloak into her arms without a glance and reached up to help the other rider off of her perch. It was always such a surprise to her to see graceful nobility in what these Elizabethans called 'carriages'. It was little better than a wagon, really - they were a long way off from the delicate gilt coaches of the future.

As the figure stepped down onto the ground, Kagome's senses sharpened, and she realized that she could feel not one but two demonic auras colliding with her own. She tipped her head up to see the youkai that was giving off an aura that almost matched that of Sesshoumaru. The demoness looked entirely human, except for perhaps the unusual brightness of her red hair. The miko was sure that anyone else would think it was dyed with a cumin and saffron mixture in honor of the Queen's red locks. But she could tell that this demoness could care less about the fashions that honored anyone else but herself. Her gown was something that Kagome had only dreamed of - only duchesses, countesses and the like could wear gold in these times, by order of Good Queen Bess, and this woman was swathed in it. The embroidered gold silk with a lace ruff tucked into the squared neck line framed her heart-shaped face with her high cheekbones and full lips - there was no doubt that she was a beauty, and Kagome felt a strange, sharp pain in her heart.

Thomas caught Kagome's gaze and raised his brow before he disappeared into the night, leading Sesshoumaru's horse and the noblewoman's coach to the barn. She knew what he thought of this woman - what indecency to ride about after dark with a single man of such inferior rank! But Kagome understood. Youkai had a difficult time with following rules of decorum, even if they had perfected their physical disguises. She could almost sympathize, she thought, with a tug on her cap to keep her hair hidden.

"Priestess," greeted the youkai with a smile that did not reach her shining, brown eyes. She turned immediately to her companion. "So it's true that you keep her in your very house." She spoke in Japanese, but it was heavily accented. Kagome had heard enough tourists in modern day Tokyo to know that the demoness was not English, but German.

Sesshoumaru looked at the miko, as if noticing her for the very first time, but spoke to the demoness. "Yes. We have an agreement of sorts," he replied. He focused on Kagome. "Bring some ale to the study and then prepare a room for the countess."

The miko curtsied again, but they were already brushing past her and into the candlelit entryway. She walked towards the kitchen and gathered the necessary items, placing it all onto a pewter tray, letting it balance precariously on her hip as she made her way towards the study. Once she got there, she saw that Sesshoumaru had already lit a fire himself and was settling behind his desk. The countess was arranging her skirts so that she could sit on the other side, finishing up as Kagome came close. In the firelight, the miko could see the demoness's delicate features and the way her hair glittered with tiny ruby ornaments. Sesshoumaru had undone the top clasps of his doublet in a rare display of relaxation, which made him look more rugged and dangerous.

She considered the countess silently as she set out the two cups and the pitcher of ale. She was very beautiful, Kagome reaffirmed. Sitting so close to Sesshoumaru only enhanced her beauty - despite the trappings of their finery, they both exuded a panther-like grace that was rather terrifying and thrilling at once.

"So, what is her name?"

The miko was jerked out of her musings by the amused lilt in the countess's voice. "My name is Kagome," she said in English, ignoring Sesshoumaru's annoyed glance.

The demoness's lips curled into a wide smile, and she obligingly switched to English along with the servant. "And I am Gisela, Countess von Triberg-Todtnau. Lord Sesshoumaru tells me that you've known each other for some time."

Kagome looked at the taiyoukai with no small amount of surprise. No one in London knew his real name - the few demons that had visited over the past two years addressed themselves to 'Lord Spenser'. But if Sesshoumaru wasn't the one to tell the countess his real name, he didn't seem particularly disturbed to hear it from her mouth. "I am a friend of his half-brother's," Kagome replied reluctantly.

"And now, here you are, with Lord Sesshoumaru," the countess continued, as if Kagome hadn't spoken. "Tell me, do you enjoy living in England? There aren't many demons here. Not a place that really needs a miko and certainly not a place where you can exercise your powers."

Kagome felt her cheeks growing warm. "Miko don't just go around killing demons," she said. "I don't have a problem with all of them. They're only a problem when they try to kill people."

"People? As in humans?"

"Yes, and any demon that's trying to live peacefully," Kagome replied firmly. "I don't discriminate."

"Well then, you are a rare gem," said the countess, still smiling her catlike smile, as if it were permanently fixed to her face. Her eyes flickered towards Sesshoumaru and something passed between them, unspoken.

"You are dismissed, miko," said the taiyoukai. "Go prepare the Rose Room for our guest."

The girl blinked. "What?" She had always attended meetings between Sesshoumaru and other demons - it was so much easier than having the laconic taiyoukai repeat the conversations later. Of course, such meetings were usually boring reports about Sesshoumaru's home territory or even more tedious reports from spies that could not find any sign of the monkey demons they sought. "Don't you..."

"This is none of your concern," Sesshoumaru interrupted. His concealment spell was beginning to fade, as it sometimes did when he was particularly annoyed, and her heart leaped into her throat to see the golden eyes turned upon her again. "Leave."

There wasn't anything she could do - she left. It wasn't until she was half-way to the linen closet that she remembered Sesshoumaru's request - to make up the Rose Room. Her heart leapt into her throat. Normally, guests slept in the White Room, on the opposite end of the house from Sesshoumaru's own apartments. The White Room was spacious and had the loveliest view of the Thames - it had been the room where the monks had once laboriously copied their books. It still smelled of vellum and ink, and was Kagome's favorite room.

The Rose Room, on the other hand, was small and dark. It had a stained glass rose window, for which the room was named, but it had been used as a private chapel for the abbot of the monastery. The large bed and cabinet filled the space, and although it connected to another, larger living room, it was not entirely comfortable.

It was also right next to Sesshoumaru's apartments.

So it was with considerable contemplation that Kagome took the linens into the Rose Room and began making the bed. The mattress was stuffed with straw - only Sesshoumaru had one of feathers - and she had to shake it to get the more obvious lumps out of it. As she tucked the quilt around the edges of the four-poster frame, however, she couldn't help but wonder if this was all for show. Would the countess really be sleeping in this bed?

She finished as quickly as possible and walked into the other room to open the heavy velvet drapes. Already, the hazy gray of early dawn touched the horizon, and she comforted herself with the thought that soon enough, the servants would be awake, and Sesshoumaru would be expected at the breakfast table. He never missed breakfast, unless he was in London or elsewhere for the night. He didn't want to appear slothful, he had told her once, when she had teased him about it.

"Oh, this is silly," she chided herself quietly. Who cared if Sesshoumaru decided to sleep with the German countess? It certainly wasn't her concern - he could sleep (could have already slept!) with dozens of women, both demon and human. She wasn't his keeper and certainly not his wife. She was here to take advantage of their alliance and nothing more.

Rolling her eyes, she left the room and walked the short distance to Sesshoumaru's apartments. He had three whole rooms for his private use, but she only had to turn down the bed and make sure the chamber maids had remembered to leave everything the way he wanted it. Sesshoumaru could be particular about the way his bed hangings were tied back, where his books were replaced on the shelf and the thoroughness of the maids' dusting. He was rather a prima donna, now that Kagome thought on it. Remembering the scathing comments he had uttered the last time a maid had forgotten to leave fresh jug of water at his bedside, the miko suddenly hoped he would sleep with the countess. Maybe she would mellow the uptight idiot out a bit.

She turned into his room and promptly ran into said "uptight idiot". "What are you doing here?" he asked, looking down at the top of her head.

Kagome rubbed at her nose, where it had smacked into Sesshoumaru's chest. "Think your bed turns down itself?"

He side-stepped her and went into the hallway. "Leave it," he said. "The sun is rising, and you have other tasks. I am not sleeping tonight."

"You could at least get a couple hours," Kagome said. "You like to appear normal, remember? Well, normal humans need sleep."

"You do not," he commented.

She shrugged. Another side effect of being immortal, but it was true that she didn't need to sleep. She liked to, though. For her, it wasn't about appearing normal, but feeling normal. "And tonight, I won't. But you should. What's so important that you have to talk to the countess at this ungodly hour?"

"That does not concern you," he said, and for the first time, she noticed that he held a sheaf of papers in his hand. Maps, she identified. "You do not care for her."

Kagome blinked, thinking she had been caught staring. "What? Oh, the countess." She shrugged. "She's fine. She reminds me a lot of you, so what's not to like?" she asked, her voice rising with sarcasm.

"Hn." He turned away. "Do not disturb us until breakfast. We will take both breakfast and lunch in the study."

"Sesshoumaru?"

The taiyoukai paused, which she took as a sign to continue. "Can you at least tell me if this has anything to do with going home?" she asked. "Last week you said you'd think about it. Will this little conversation with the countess help or hurt our chances of going back to Japan?"

He looked at her over his shoulder. "I do not understand this irrational desire to return to a place which you have admitted makes you so uncomfortable with your predicament. You know it is likely that your human friends are dead. It is possible that Inuyasha is dead as well, except for his irritating habit of surviving, despite any odds. The fox kit has probably left to find his own home and family."

She nodded. "I know that's all possible, but possible isn't good enough. I need to know for sure. And if they are alive, I want to see them again." She glanced around the dark hallway. "This... you said this was temporary. But we haven't found those thieves and certainly not the Jewel. Why are we staying if it doesn't do us any good?"

"Would you rather wander aimlessly on the Continent, without the guarantee of food, water and clothing?"

"I would rather get this whole thing over with," she replied, her mouth turning down at the corners.

"If you wish to leave, do so. I prefer to act with more forethought than you," Sesshoumaru said.

She sighed, her shoulders sagging. "That's not what I meant."

"If you cannot be precise, remain silent," he said. His eyes lifted to the small window at the end of the corridor and noted how the sky was slowly turning pale yellow. "I have kept the countess waiting. Get to your duties. I expect breakfast to be on time."

Kagome turned away as he went down the hall. She knew she should be angry at the taiyoukai, for his rudeness and the way he constantly dismissed her concerns. They had been here for two years, after all, and they hadn't received any reliable information about the Jewel or the thieves. And yet, she couldn't summon the energy. Sesshoumaru's reluctance to leave a position of power and comfort in favor of what would possibly be a wild goose chase around the world was understandable. And he had always been a jerk. Two years as his servant left no delusions about that.

Still, she wished that he would understand her side of the matter. England was not her home, and if she had to tarry for long periods of time, she would prefer that it was in Japan. She stepped outside into the early dawn, and the dew seeped into her long skirts and her rough leather shoes. England was so gray, she thought, as she picked her way across the muddy stable yard. Sometimes, she was happy here, during the faires and feasts and the revelry that the English seemed to immerse themselves in on every available occasion. Boxing Day was becoming a particular favorite, if only because she thought it good for Sesshoumaru's character to be generous at least once a year. Seeing him surrounded by his tenants' children as he handed out a few coins and sacks of grain to their grateful parents was one of the few times the taiyoukai seemed human.

But usually, Kagome was indifferent, if not depressed. The Portuguese were starting to make regular trips to Japan as missionaries and traders, and the English were worrying about what such foreign riches could mean for their country. Although she was not in the habit of rubbing elbows with the nobility, who fretted over such things constantly, her Asian features raised the subject even amongst the poor that she met on the street. Even those she worked with, like Thomas a few hours ago, were comfortable enough with her to ask her about Japan. Every time she spoke of her home though, she could only wonder if her memories were still accurate and if Japan was really as beautiful and dangerous as she remembered.

She walked past the stables and towards the chicken coop. The acrid smell of chicken droppings emanated from the tiny structure, despite the chill of the morning and the heavy dew. There were fresh scratch marks around the door. "Fox," she muttered, smiling despite herself. They had the most secure chicken coop in the county, thanks to Kagome's more modern ideas about security, but she had to admire the little creatures' persistence. She shot a look towards the old hound lying in the cool dirt next to the coop. "I think you don't mind them so much either, Oscar," she said, causing him to lift his head. "Do they amuse you too?"

Opening the door, she held her hand over her mouth to mask the smell and then went inside. The rooster gave her an indignant little crow as he trotted out, but the hens lay quietly in their spots. She reached under one after another to find the brown little eggs and to place them in her gathered up apron, absently wishing for a supermarket a few centuries early to materialize in the barnyard. One of her least favorite people materialized instead.

"Why did you send the servants to bed against my orders?"

She glanced at Garrick where he stood some distance from the coop. The chief steward was balding, pudgy and constantly sweating - even as she tried to stop herself from wrinkling her nose at him, Kagome marveled at his ability to have a sheen of perspiration on his brow so early on this cool morning. As Garrick glared at her, Oscar moved between him and the coop entrance, his ears pricked forward in rare attentiveness. Kagome felt a rush of warmth for the old dog. "They were falling asleep, Steward," she replied, using his title instead of his name. "Thomas and I did everything Lord Spenser required. You didn't need to keep all of us awake."

"My orders will not be ignored by a woman!" he snapped. "Especially an uneducated heathen like you."

Kagome bit her lip and turned her face away. It was too early for this, she groused silently, as she found another egg. "Look, it was late. And for some reason, you decided to assign that two-person job to every maid who is half-way competent in the morning. I decided Lord Spenser didn't want his breakfast in his lap because Gertrude couldn't keep her eyes open. Or shall we ask him?" She bent her head to frown at him.

Garrick glowered back at her, and she steeled herself from visibly recoiling. It was probably the only reason he got anything accomplished as steward - everyone on the staff hated him, but he was rather intimidating, despite his fat belly and ridiculous tufts of hair over the ears. "There is no end to your cheek," he said, jabbing a sausage-like finger towards her. "You have no respect for your intended place in this world, and sooner or later, you will fall from your heights. Then you will be on the streets, no better than a flea-bitten dog."

Oscar let out a soft growl. Kagome stood in the doorway of the chicken coop with her apron gathered around the eggs. A smile began to form at the corners of her mouth - as intimidating as he was, the chief steward was no great wit. He was just one of those contrary people that one met in life every so often - someone who had some sort of inherent inability to be pleasant in the least bit. Kagome enjoyed the power she had over him, and the futile way he protested this, but she also tired of him quickly. It was time to end this unwelcome distraction. "At least dogs are useful," she commented, "which is more than I can say about you, Steward. Tell me, did you have nothing to do this morning? Is that why you've decided to interrupt my work? I will be sure to tell Lord Spenser that you need more to occupy yourself when his breakfast arrives late."

"You will tell him nothing of the kind," Garrick replied, lowering his head like a bull about to charge.

Kagome straightened at that - her relationship with Sesshoumaru was her trump card. If the steward ever got too obnoxious, she need only drop their master's name, and Garrick would make a quick exit. It was the only way life with him was bearable. He didn't understand why Sesshoumaru kept Kagome around - no one did, of course - but he at least knew enough not to push their master's favorite servant too far. "Oh?" Kagome asked, a moment too late to be truly flippant. "And why do you think you can stop me?"

Garrick was about to speak, to spill whatever poison he had come up with that gave him power over her, but another call came first. "Kagome!" Gertrude stood on the back steps of the kitchen. "Kagome, have you got the eggs?"

The miko tried to cast the steward a look of unperturbed superiority as she pushed past him with Oscar on her heels. "What are talking to him for?" Gertrude asked when Kagome came up the steps. She shooed away the hound that tried to follow them inside the warm kitchen. "Not you, Oscar! Out!"

"Be nice to him," Kagome said quietly, her confident expression melting away. She went to the wooden table and began unloading the eggs into a bowl, where they clinked together with dull thuds. "He was trying to protect me."

"From him?" Gertrude asked. She lifted her prominent chin and tossed a nasty look at the door, as if Garrick would come through any moment. He wouldn't, of course - he knew better than to stray into the kitchen unless he was on an express errand. It was like walking into the lions' den for all the hatred held against him there. "All you need with that one is some salt!"

Kagome smiled gently at the oft-used comparison of Garrick to a slug. "He was... he was just acting oddly. Which isn't so odd, for him, I suppose." She shrugged as she put a kettle over the fire. She really didn't want to talk about the steward. He had rattled her too easily, and all the miko wanted was to get her bearings back.

"Not jus' old women, 'e's botherin' now, then?"

Kagome turned to Susannah, the seamstress, who was sitting in her usual seat by the fire with her hands full of the mending. Kagome knew that the seamstress was arthritic and the warmth made the work go faster and easier and had ensured that she had this permanent place. "What do you mean, Susannah?" the priestess asked, raising her voice so the ancient woman could hear her.

Susannah glanced at the miko with her watery blue eyes as she made quick work of a tear in one of the chambermaids' chemise. Old, deaf and arthritic she might be, but the crone still had her wits, and Kagome had learned to listen when she spoke. "'e was pokin' about in 'ere too," she said.

"Garrick? When?" Anna, one of the other kitchen maids, asked.

"This mornin'," Susannah replied with an exasperated glance at the young woman. "Think I would 'ave kept that quiet?"

"No, Susannah," Kagome replied for the maid, who was blushing deeply. "We're just surprised. He never comes into the kitchen if he can help it."

The old woman shrugged, and they could almost hear her joints creaking. "Was early mornin', wasn't it? Nobody was 'ere, 'cept me an' the cat." She nodded at the fat, orange tabby lying underneath one of the cupboards. Kagome remembered the fight she had had with Sesshoumaru about the feline - he hadn't wanted to replace the tom that had stayed in the kitchen. Unnatural, he had said, that a cat would prefer a kitchen over its proper place in the barn. Kagome had put the cat out for a few days, but the day after she had handed the taiyoukai some bread nibbled on by mice, the cat had been found inside once again.

"What did that rat want?" Gertrude asked. Although Anna was crowned with golden curls, Gertrude was, in some ways, lovelier. Prominent chin aside, her green eyes and auburn hair had done a lot to attract Garrick's unwanted attention. In return, he had gained a particular enemy in Gertrude.

Susannah rocked back a bit in her chair. "Mostly wanted to know 'bout the master," she said. "I'm close to the only one that can remember 'is father."

"His father?" Kagome straightened up and looked at the others.

Anna nodded, her locks bouncing around her cheeks. "He left years ago for Italy with his new wife. Even my mother wasn't born yet." Anna was the youngest of seven living children in one of those lucky families that had had more births than deaths. "The steward back then got some money and instructions every once in awhile, but we didn't hear anything until we found out about the plague."

Gertrude and Susannah crossed themselves, and Kagome felt her blood run cold. It had been awhile since the plague presented itself with any force in London - quarantines kept true danger at bay. But she had traveled Europe and the East before coming here, and that had taken her through more than her fair share of plague-ridden towns. The stench of rotting bodies seemed to fill her nose as imaginary flies buzzed around her head. "So he died in the outbreak?" she asked.

"They all did," Gertrude supplied with a soft voice. "The son too, we thought, until Lord Spenser showed up to claim his birthright. His cousin was right mad about that, I can tell you. Although if I were him, I'd be glad to leave the house to Lord Spenser. Bad luck follows you, even from Italy."

"Especially from Italy," Anna corrected. It was the unbending anti-Roman Catholic sentiment of the younger generations.

Kagome wasn't listening any longer. Sesshoumaru, as a thief! It was hardly something to skate over without consideration. And not just a thief of a loaf of bread or even jewels, but an entire barony! She had always assumed - and never asked - that Sesshoumaru had gained his land and his home on his own merits. That seemed rather silly to her now, of course - he might have been knighted if he had done something particularly fantastic in the name of the throne, but the English were quite possessive of their inherited titles. Why had this never occurred to her before?

"Well, no bad luck followed Lord Spenser," Gertrude was saying. "Twenty years and he still looks like a youth, although he must be getting on towards forty."

The miko's eyes widened. "T-twenty? Forty?"

Anna went on, heedless of her friend's shock. "Doesn't gamble or go carousing late at night. All that coin that he doesn't waste. Fine furniture and finer figure." She sighed. "And those gorgeous gray eyes. A perfect man!"

"Perfect enough for some things anyway!" Gertrude added, making the pair collapse in a fit of laughter.

Susannah - a Puritan at her most liberal moments - huffed quietly and looked towards Kagome. The miko nodded and clapped her hands once, trying to ignore they way they were shaking. "Okay, okay. Enough standing about and enough gossip," she said, her voice barely loud enough to hear over the beating of her own heart. "We have to make breakfast for two quite quickly."

The rest of the servants began to trickle into the kitchen from their beds or early morning chores, and Kagome was soon swept up into helping the cook with Sesshoumaru's breakfast and setting the agenda for the day. It was almost winter and there was a lot to do before the first snowfall of the season. She directed some of the men to patch the stable's roof and the women to wash the linens for the last time that year, and she calmed down as the kitchen swelled with activity. As servants took mouthfuls of some thin oatmeal prepared by Anna, she slipped out and walked the short, covered path to the main house.

"You're late," Sesshoumaru said, not lifting his head as she entered the study.

"By a couple minutes," Kagome replied, placing the tray on his desk and setting out the plates. "Good morning, countess," she murmured with a slight bend of the knee, addressing the woman that watched her so carefully.

Gisela was dressed less extravagantly this morning, in green velvet trimmed in silver. With her red hair, she looked rather like a Christmas ornament, but beautiful nonetheless. Somehow, she was more daunting in the less formal gown - the air of relaxation about her made Kagome inexplicably nervous for a moment. But as Sesshoumaru took his plate from her hands, Kagome remembered precisely why she was so on edge, and that it had nothing to do with the countess. "How long have you been here in England?" she asked in Japanese.

The taiyoukai glanced up and frowned. "I am in the middle of something, miko. This will wait."

"No," she said, drawing out the vowel, "I don't think it can, actually."

Sesshoumaru and the countess exchanged a look, and Kagome let out a short, exasperated sigh. What power did this woman have over the taiyoukai? "Why do you say that?" the dog demon asked.

"Will you answer my question first?" she replied, familiar with the way Sesshoumaru gleaned information without giving any out himself. "How long have you been in England?"

He frowned, leaning against one arm of his chair with his fingers over his lips. "You already know," he deduced. "I am surprised it took you so long to ask, miko."

"I didn't. The girls were talking about it," Kagome replied. "I trusted that you wouldn't do anything so foolish as this! Twenty years, Sesshoumaru? It's ridiculous. How did you possibly think this would work?"

The dog demon shrugged lightly, seemingly unaffected by any of her insults. "It will be rectified." He cast another glance towards Gisela.

"Why are you so anxious about this now?" asked the countess. Her tone was kind, but there was a sharpness in her gaze that made the miko uncomfortable.

"Garrick, the chief steward, has been asking about Sesshoumaru. And about the human that died in Italy that was the original Lord Spenser and Sesshoumaru's supposed father," she said.

Gisela turned to Sesshoumaru. "In that case, I must insist," she said to him.

"Insist on what? What's happening?" Kagome asked, before the taiyoukai could respond. She bit her lip. "You have stayed too long, haven't you? And people are starting to figure it out."

The taiyoukai leaned back in his chair. "Your human minds are so limited," he muttered.

"Whatever," Kagome said with a huff. She looked at Gisela. "Tell me I'm wrong."

The countess tapped her long nails on the desk and watched the dog demon as she spoke. "There have been circumstances when a demon could live with humans without aging for quite some time. The problem is not that a human notices, but which human notices."

"And which one noticed? Besides Garrick, I'm assuming?" Kagome asked.

Gisela gave her a sidelong glance. "I'm afraid that's none of your concern," she replied, not sounding apologetic at all.

"But this is why you're here."

"Yes," the countess said. "My job is to get Sesshoumaru out of England and to ensure that when he comes back, he will not be recognized as Lord Spenser."

The miko nodded. "I'm going with him," she said.

"That is not part of my job," Gisela replied.

"No, but it's mine," Kagome said.

The countess frowned, but shrugged. "Perhaps it will be to our benefit," she murmured. "Very well. I will arrange passage for you too, miko. You will be sailing a fortnight after St. Crispin's for the Continent. From there, you may go where you wish, but I advise Europe for some time."

Kagome met the taiyoukai's stare. "And where are we going?" she asked softly.

"I thought you wished to return," he replied.

She had to work hard to suppress her smile. "I do. I just didn't think..."

"I had no reason to leave before today," Sesshoumaru interrupted. "Now that the occasion has arisen, I wish to ensure that all is going well in my kingdom. It is the logical place to go, since we are being forced from the place where we should be."

Kagome didn't comment on this cryptic remark - she had no idea how much the countess knew about the Jewel and their predicament. It was unfortunate that they had to leave though. She and Sesshoumaru had long since decided that the coincidence of running into one another and the coincidence of Kagome running into the thieves in Russia was too much to ignore. The six of them were being drawn towards each other - a side effect of the curse to stay together forever, they imagined. Unfortunately, the curse was not considerate enough to give them an exact address, and they did not know how far the pull of it extended. They had no idea if the thieves were in London, England or Europe. But the feeling that they were in the right place to wait had not yet faded, and while Kagome was willing to make the sacrifice, she knew that Sesshoumaru was loathe to leave. It would mean starting all over again.

But she hardly minded if it meant seeing her friends again. She nodded towards the pair of demons. "Well, I'll be ready," she said. "What are you going to do with the house? And the staff?"

"As far as anyone knows, Lord Spenser is taking an extended trip to the Continent," Gisela said. She leaned across the desk and touched Sesshoumaru's wrist with her long fingers. "I'm afraid he will have a tragic riding accident in the Black Forest when he visits me. As for you, we can tell the truth. You are returning home after your master's demise."

Kagome was uneasy with the way the countess let her touch linger on the taiyoukai. "Lovely."

The corner of her mouth crooked into a half-smile, and she sat back again. "Would you prefer he having a hunting accident? Or perhaps he can drown in the Rhine?"

"It's not that. It's just rather final," Kagome said. "And I know that's the point, but it's still disturbing to fake your own death."

"Think of it as starting afresh," Gisela replied. She looked down at her breakfast, now stone cold on her plate. "I believe I'll return this to you and wait until lunch. Sesshoumaru and I have much more to discuss. You may go now, priestess."

The miko collected the untouched plates, piled them on the tray and walked towards the door. Behind her, Sesshoumaru began to speak in rapid German and Gisela laughed, high and bright.

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It took some bartering to get Kagome on the ship, even if the Countess von Triberg-Todtnau had paid extra in advance. The French captain was not particularly keen on taking a single woman on board, much less one that looked so odd and spoke in a foreign tongue. Sesshoumaru, however, simply handed over a few more coins to ensure that she was given a private room. She would be sleeping in the tiny room with the spare gunpowder and, after promising that she didn't smoke, the captain even said he would lock her inside at night, for her own safety. After seeing some of the grizzled crew, she was most thankful for that. Sesshoumaru only smirked.

"And you cannot wield your powers, even to scare them," he reminded her, as they stood against the rails above deck. "They will throw you overboard for being a witch instead of just avoiding you. These are not men that have learned to live with nature, but against it."

"I know." She winced as another group of sailors laughed lowly behind her. She didn't have to have the taiyoukai's impeccable hearing to know what they were discussing. "You'll know if I'm in trouble, right? And why are these men so much worse than the ones I sailed with from Egypt?"

"I will know," he said, watching as the crew continued to load the cargo from the dock. "And it is actually my presence that makes them so bold. You are an unmarried, female servant in the company of an unmarried nobleman who is leaving his own country. They believe that I have gotten you pregnant and am secreting you away to some foreign relations." He shrugged. "The story grows more outlandish with each retelling."

"Oh, well, that's just perfect. Can't you just tell them you wouldn't touch me with a ten foot pole?"

"Then they would probably view you as a challenge. Their curiosity is already piqued."

She sighed. "I think I'd prefer being a witch," she muttered. "I can't actually drown."

"They would be more likely to keelhaul you."

"That's just unpleasant," she said.

"I would imagine that is the point." He straightened as the crew began to shout to one another. Kagome looked up at him with her eyebrows raised - Sesshoumaru had learned a fair amount of French in addition to German and English since leaving Japan. "We are almost ready to leave," he translated briefly, as the crew hustled around them.

Kagome straightened. "Garrick is here," she said, nodding towards the small crowd that had gathered. It was mostly young, grubby boys or poor men that hoped to get a coin or two for helping out with the loading. In such company, Garrick's shiny, bald head and large girth stood out.

"I know. He has friends," Sesshoumaru observed, nodding towards two men on the other side of the wharf. Garrick was no spy - he kept sending them long, conspiratorial glances. As for his friends, they were trying to blend in, but their fine clothes were drawing beggar children. One of them tossed a few coins on the ground, kicking any child that came too close in the ensuing scramble of bodies.

"They don't seem very competent."

"Low-level thugs," Sesshoumaru scoffed. "They are only here to ensure that I am actually leaving. I have not attracted the attention of anyone higher up quite yet."

"Higher up in what, Sesshoumaru?"

He frowned and didn't answer, just as he had not answered any of her questions about this whole business since the countess left.

They soon cast off and began to float down the Thames, leaving Garrick and his friends behind. Kagome and Sesshoumaru watched London drift by. "So, little fortune-teller," he said, using the nickname that annoyed her so greatly, "what will happen to this city?"

She sighed and gripped the railing. "It'll burn," she murmured. "A couple times, actually. But all this? In seventy years, it will be gone." She swept her arm out, gesturing to the wooden structures that lined the banks. She pointed to the spire of Old St. Paul's. "Gone. All of it. But it'll kill the plague that's ravaging the population. And then, they'll rebuild. It'll be beautiful. It will be the center of an empire. The sun never sets on the British Empire, or so they'll say."

"You said it burned twice."

"That's another story. Three hundred more years in the future," she replied. "I don't want to tell it now. It's too much."

Sesshoumaru nodded. There were certain things that Kagome would not tell him - she didn't like the disbelief in his eyes, and he didn't like the way she used words he had never heard before. She told him what she needed or wanted to tell. It wasn't exactly what he had had in mind when they reached their agreement two years previously, but then again, he hadn't known what to expect. Kagome was more of a mystery than the future these days.

"It is unlikely that we will return before then," Sesshoumaru said.

"Where will we go after leaving Japan again? I don't know any other language, unlike you."

He folded his arms. "You will learn. Immortality gives you the advantage of time."

"Just when I learn another language, we'll need to move again," she sighed. "You can't stay anywhere for twenty years again. Neither can I."

"There are only so many languages in the world."

"Or, perhaps when everyone who could have known us here is dead, we can come back to England," Kagome said with a shrug. "We don't even have to wait that long. There are other places in England than London."

Sesshoumaru glanced at her. "I thought you did not like this cold country."

She shrugged again and did not answer. It was pointless to tell the taiyoukai that panic had been swelling inside of her for the past two months. He would hardly empathize, and would probably even give her a harsh reminder that this had been her choice. And it had been - she could hardly complain when the taiyoukai was showing unusual deference to her request to go home. But she couldn't defeat the fear that she would be just as alone in Japan as she was here in England.

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A/N: So, back to Japan! Or will they get waylaid somewhere else? :)

For those of you wondering, there was a resurgence of the plague in Venice from 1575 to 1577. There were no accurate censuses back then, so it would have been a fairly simple matter for Sesshoumaru to convince relatives of the original Lord Spenser that he was the son that no one in England had ever seen.  Who knew that Sesshoumaru would be an identity thief? Haha.

And a big thank you (again - see? I told you it would happen a lot) to Ijin, who provided me with the name of Gisela, Countess von Triberg-Todtnau. Gisela isn't a real historical figure of course, but Triberg and Todtnau are real places in the Black Forest region. Tourist attractions nowadays, actually. :) Remember to go read her story! Link is at the top.

Please review!