After getting ready for school, Irene went down to the kitchen to make breakfast for Yin. He didn't trust anybody in the entire mansion to prepare his food except her.
It was glaring that if anybody wanted him dead, it'd be Irene who could easily slip poison into his meal but he knew that she wouldn't.
Irene surveyed her handiwork with grim satisfaction. Before her lay what could generously be called a meal; scrambled eggs swimming in enough garlic to ward off every vampire in Valcoria, toast liberally buttered and then sprinkled with even more garlic powder, and meat she'd marinated in garlic infused oil.
"Right," she muttered to herself, as she arranged the offensive feast on fine china, "if he wants a dutiful wife who cooks his breakfast, he's definitely going to get one."
She'd spent the better part of an hour in the kitchen, much to the cook's horror, insisting on preparing this particular meal herself. The poor woman had fled the room when Irene began adding garlic to the morning tea.
Yin entered the dining roomprecisely at eight, as was his habit, already dressed for the day in an impeccably tailored dark suit that made him look much better than his old medieval dressing.
"Morning, husband," Irene said sweetly, her hand gesturing toward his place. "I took the liberty of preparing your breakfast myself. I do hope you'll find it... nourishing."
Yin's nostrils flared slightly as he took in the overwhelming scent of garlic that permeated the air. His dark eyes moved from the plate to his wife's innocent expression, noting the way her hand made those familiar flicking gestures—a tell he was beginning to recognize as a sign of her plotting something.
"How thoughtful," he replied in that maddeningly neutral tone, taking his seat without visible reaction. "What do I owe this sudden interest in domestic duties?"
"Oh, you know how it is," Irene said airily, settling into her own chair and watching with undisguised anticipation as he lifted his fork. "I just wanted to make sure my dear husband gets all the nutrients necessary for good health."
"Really?" He scoffed. "I suppose killing me is also part of this good health or yours?"
"No no dear husband." She shook her head. "Garlic is excellent for the complexion, or so I've read. Clears the blood, strengthens the constitution, that sort of thing."
Irene leaned closer. "Plus, I heard it keeps away all sorts of... undesirable creatures."
Yin took a deliberate bite of the eggs, his expression never changing despite what must have been an assault on his vampire senses. He chewed thoughtfully, swallowed, and reached for his tea.
"Fascinating," he said after taking a sip of the garlic-infused brew. "I wasn't aware you could make tea taste so...good."
Irene's smile faltered slightly. Did the cook swap her food or what? She narrowed her eyes at him, hoping for some sort of reaction.
She'd expected anger, disgust, some sort of dramatic reaction that would give her the satisfaction of knowing she'd gotten under his skin. Instead, he continued eating with the same cold look on his face as if consuming enough garlic to kill a normal person was simply another item on his daily agenda.
"Well," she said, her hand gesturing more frantically now, "you pick up all sorts of useful information in your studies. Speaking of which, I really should be heading to university soon. Lots of fascinating lectures to attend, research to conduct..."
"Indeed." Yin set down his teacup with deliberate care and he lifted up his eyes to look at her. "I trust you'll find your educational pursuits... enriching."
Something in his tone made her stomach flutter with unease, but she maintained her bright smile as she rose from the table. "I'm sure I will. Knowledge is such a wonderful thing, don't you think? So liberating."
After she left for her classes, Yin gagged on the food and he spat the rest onto the plate. He retreated to his study, where he found Ervin already waiting with the morning gossip and a cup of coffee that thankfully contained no trace of garlic.
"My lord," Ervin said, barely suppressing a grin as he noted the lingering aroma that clung to his employer, "I take it breakfast was... eventful?"
Yin settled behind his massive desk with a slight grimace, the taste of garlic still coating his tongue like particularly unpleasant medicine. "My wife seems to have developed an interest in culinary experimentation. I trust it'll pass."
"Of course, my lord." Ervin cleared his throat diplomatically. "Speaking of things that might pass, I've been hearing some interesting rumors from our contacts in the city. Seems Lord Lucian has been rather... active in certain social circles lately."
"Define active."
"Well, he's been hosting dinner parties for some of our former associates, the ones who weren't exactly thrilled with your rise to power. Nothing out of the ordinary tho."
Yin leaned back in his chair. "And you think this means he's planning a coup?"
"I think it means he's laying groundwork for potential future action," Ervin said carefully. "Lucian was always smart, my lord. Too smart to move openly against you without serious support and careful preparation."
A dark smile crossed Yin's features. "Lucian is many things, but he's not stupid enough to challenge me directly. He knows what failure would cost him."
"Erhmm.. prevention is better than cure. It's best to uproot the problem before it escalates."
"No, if he's planning something, it'll be far more subtle than open rebellion."
"Even so, my lord, maybe we should consider strengthening our position? Expanding our influence beyond the immediate vampire community?"
"An interesting suggestion." Yin turned to gaze out the window at the bustling Valcoria street below. "I have been studying the humans and their way of life."
"Business ventures, you mean?"
"Among other things." Yin replied. "I see that money has become a weapon of power and those who wield it now have the upper hand."
Their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the study door. A footman entered, looking somewhat bewildered.
"Begging your pardon, my lord, but there's a gentleman here to see Lady Irene. Says he's her new instructor from the Pemberton Academy for Young Ladies?"
Yin and Ervin exchanged glances. "I wasn't aware my wife had enrolled in any academy," Yin said slowly. "You may send him away."
"Neither was I, my lord. The gentleman seems quite enthusiastic about beginning Lady Irene's lessons in... flower arranging and proper conversation."
The silence that followed was broken by Ervin's barely contained snort of laughter. "Flower arranging, my lord?"
Lady Irene would rather have books all around her than tend to flowers, that he was sure of.
Yin's smile was sharp as a blade. "It seems my dear wife is about to discover that two can play at the game of domestic improvement. Show the gentleman to the morning room and inform him that Lady Irene will be available for instruction immediately upon her return from university."
"My lord, don't you think you're being to childish?" A glare from Yin was enough to make Ervin clamp his mouth shut.
"I'll check on the guest," Ervin slightly bowed and hurried out of the room.