Author's Disclaimer: I took my time today and have written the last four chapters of The Catastrophic Casino, I'll post them as you guys read'em. Hope you enjoy! ^^
Chapter Ten
In that afternoon, after Esmé dismissed the Baudelaires and the rest of the helpers, and went with Geraldine to her room - according to Geraldine, to do some girl talk, an expression which here means 'foolish nonsense talked about in two females' spare time' - the four Baudelaires siblings were allowed to return to their respective quarters, accompanied by Tommy and Vinny, the two identical bodyguards. Being followed so closely by the two, Violet could not share the theories that brewed inside her head with her siblings. After all, it proved useful, because by the time they arrived at Violet's room, and Tommy and Vinny stayed put outside, Violet's theories had become more solid, and she could share it with her siblings in a more satisfactory fashion.
'Wait, are you saying Esmé hid the sugarbowl...at the
tea party table?' Klaus asked. He didn't mean to offend Violet, but that idea did not make much sense to him. If the sugarbowl was so crucial, wouldn't it be safer to store it in a safe?
'Klaus, you have to understand how Esmé's mind works. She is all surface, most of the time. It wouldn't have been typical of her to underestimate everyone else around her to think they wouldn't figure it out? She
is condescending like that.' Violet said. Perhaps because Violet was now a woman, she understood Esmé, in a way. During the time of the Baudelaires' disastrous stay at 667 Dark Avenue, when they lived with Jerome and Esmé Squalor, Violet
almost liked Esmé, until she realized all Esmé truly cared about was fashion, money and crime, which didn't take her long to realize.
'Cliché' said the little Beatrice, and Sunny translated it to her siblings. 'Beatrice is saying she thinks it's a tad too obvious to hide the sugarbowl at the table, even if it is so full, we will never be able to look for it without someone noticing and telling Esmé.'
'Yes, but we don't
have to necessarily look for it around the table. We have someone with us whose skills might come handy now.' Violet said. She then removed her hair ribbon from her pocket and tied up her hair. Violet wasn't about to invent a physical object but she was in the midst of inventing a
plan, a plan that could prove to be very successful. She walked to the door and opened it. Tommy and Vinny were just outside. Violet then dis something completely unexpected.
'Do you think you guys could go get Cindry Fulfillment for a moment?' said Violet in a way that made her sound what one would deem as 'cute' or 'dumb', or maybe both, and the three Baudelaires had to contain themselves to not laugh, as it was just so funny seeing Violet
acting. Violet rolled a finger on her hair, moving it in circles and curling it, a trait that most people seem to topple over for - an expression that here means 'that makes people fall in love with one who does it' -
'Oh, of course we can.' Said Vinny, but Tommy said 'Contrariwise, we can't. In fact, we won't.' Vinny then contested it 'But we can, brother, look at her!' Tommy then said ' Maybe we can, but what do we get in return?' with a funny look on his face, a look that suggested
other things. Vinny, however, replied, 'Stop it, you, let's just go get the girl, if Carlo hears about what you just said...' Tommy gave his brother an angry look, 'What, will you tell?' to which Vinny replied, 'Maybe, I will.' and then the two broke in laughter. After they stopped laughing, both said at the same time 'We'll get the girl, you stay pretty here.' And the two identical, foolish bodyguards walked away towards the opposite end of the corridor. Violet felt relieved. She didn't take kindly to what Tommy had suggested. 'The nerve. Hmpf.' She uttered, retreating back into the room.
'Oh come on, you guys. I
had to do it.' Violet said, after seeing Klaus, Sunny and Beatrice break in laughter about the whole scene. Of course, they worried for a moment or two, but after the dim-witted bodyguards had disappeared, they saw no point in holding back their laughter.
'Sorry, Violet. But that
was hilarious.' Klaus said, even if he was greatly disturbed by Tommy's suggestion, being Violet's only
brother.
'What do you want with Cindry anyway?' Sunny asked, as she saw no way in which Klaus' sweetheart could effectively help them, despite the fact that Cindry
had in fact, helped the Baudelaires a few times in their new chain of unfortunate events. Once, Cindry used her dish-breaking talent to help stop a conveyor belt at Funeral Factory Fulfillment Ltd. and other time she used information she had overheard to help Violet at Montague Manor, and not too long ago, Cindry used the wind to carry a letter to the Baudelaires with Esmé's next destination at the Anwhistle Aquatics. Despite her eccentricities and odd behaviour, Cindry could in fact be very helpful whenever necessary, a mark of the true volunteer.
'You see, we don't
have to look around the table for the sugarbowl. We'll have Cindry create a
distraction so that everyone looks at
her while we find the bowl.'
'What kind of distraction?' Klaus asked, but he was interrupted when Cindry Fulfillment opened the doors to Violet's room. This time, Cindry wore a red, fluffy dress, and stripped red and white stockings to go with her red shoes. She had also a red beret on her head, with a large heart on it. She was pretty, even if she had the mark of the Casanovas all over her.
'Hi, everyone. The two twins said you wanted to see me. I was so glad, because I was so nervous I had no choice but to break the dishes they sent my afternoon tea in.' Cindry said as she trotted gleefully to Klaus' side, and wrapped her arms around him and gave him a small kiss on the jawline.
'Cindry, we need your help with a plan Violet has come up with. And it has to be during the tea party, later today.' Klaus said to his sweetheart.
'Sure, tell me and I'll help you. I owe you guys my
life.' Cindry said, with a smile, and then kissed Klaus again.
'Cindry, you know how there are loads and loads of table wares, teapots, cups, plates, everything at the tea party table down at the courtyard, right?' Violet asked. 'Yes. It shocked me. They go around the table as the dishes get dirty, yet they manage to never use the same cup twice.'
'Turns out the sugarbowl is hidden between that insane ammount of porcelain dishes. We need you to break
everything at the table. The one that doesn't break...That is the
sugarbowl. I know, because it's made of a very resistant material.'
Cindry's eyes shone with the perspective of a dish-breaking rampage, something she hadn't done ever since her days at Prufrock Prep. 'Count me in! I can't
wait to do it!'
Violet didn't want to encourage Cindry's obsession, but there are times in life when it is the little obsessions that end up saving the day, such as my own personal obsession with having all my books organized has proven critical when I need a piece of information I had hidden between the pages of one of my most beloved books.
'You have to wait for our signal. When I say, out loud, "May I please have some more oolong tea, sir?" you climb on top of the table, and work your magic. Understand?' Violet told Cindry, who nodded in confirmation. 'This is going to be
so much fun!' Cindry said, breaking in laughter at the expectation of a heavy session of her favorite pass-time.
'But what about the bodyguards, the Casanovas, what if they harm her?' Klaus asked. The last thing he wanted was for Cindry to be in more of a jam than she already was. 'Oh, I think the shock will stop them from acting, at least in the beginning. Cindry, you have to run fast on the table, and you have to break as much table wares as you can. Do you think you can do it?'
'Are you kidding? This is exactly how I got expelled from Prufrock Prep!' She said, with a devilishly cute smile.
The tea party was not slated to begin at least until 4 o'clock that afternoon, but now Violet, Klaus, Sunny and Beatrice Baudelaire had a plan, and this made them hope they would be able to escape the Casino, and Luck Island by extension. It was going to be a raving,
mad tea party.