listening? [[At least for a little while longer!]]

a little flustered, and very, *very* nervous. "Gilbert- that- that white haired pirate- he blackmailed me into dismissing the guards,--

so he can get into the warehouse."

actually looks up from the letter he was writing to give her an icy cold look. "And you *did* it?" He thinks a mile a minute.

shrinks back, just a bit terrified. "Y-yes, he-he found out who my family was and *threatened* them." Please, *please* work ohgod.

he forgets that she has never, ever, talked about her family, other than to mention she is no longer connected to them. |D

stands and begins gathering his things, keeping composure as best as he can. "You didn't think to give the guards some signal to return?"

doing her best to shrink into the most unnoticeable form ever. "No, I- j-just came here to warn you."

finishes putting on his overcoat and fixes Elias with a detached sort of look, as if he's beneath him. Inside, of course, he's seething.

"How long ago?" he snaps.

tries to think up how long it'd take her to run from the warehouse to his house. "About ten minutes, sir. I- I ran as fast as I could."

calculates. "Where did you send them? Perhaps if I could..." He cuts off and looks at him more closely.

"Interesting. For someone who ran all the way here, you're certainly not breathing very hard." He steps closer. "Not even disheveled."

takes a minuscule step back. Her heartbeat has increased significantly. "S-sir, *please*, the man is *there* right *now*."

does not take his eyes away from Elias's for some time. If he's telling the truth, he's wasting time, and yet...

"Do you know what the consequences of *lying* to me would be, Mr. Héderváry?"

knows she's completely screwed over at this point, unless she can *really* figure out a way to lie well. "I think I know firsthand, sir." --

And by that, she means she's carried out the punishment herself. Either that, or she'd be fired. In which case, she knows both consequences.

him one last look, up and down. "Well, then. Nothing had better happen to this house while I'm away. Is that clear?" Last chance.

a firm nod. "Yessir." Annnd knows that now she's completely, definitely, for sure, SOL, in any situation, at all.

leaves without another word. He has an unguarded warehouse to attend to.

that maybe, just maybe she should have just gone with letting Gilbert tell him that she was a girl. She's just hoping that she can--

convince Gilbert to leave the God-damn piano alone.