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"Get ready, Ruskin." Charles Augustus Milverton told his secretary. "We are going out to..."
A sneeze suddenly cut his speech away, not letting him say the ominous word out loud - blackmail. Mr. Milverton reached for a tissue to blow his nose. Ruskin, instead of doing what his employer ordered him to do, gave a serious look to the man who was sitting in the bed, with tissues everywhere on the floor and who was clearly not in the state to go to public.
"I don't think that this is a good idea, sir." Ruskin noted when Mr. Milverton dropped the tissue to the other ones. "You should stay in bed and rest. You are too sick to blackmail."
"I am never too sick to blackmail!" Mr. Milverton immediately opposed the statement and his golden eyes showed up - but not in a powerful light, more from the fever. "Doing something evil will strengthen me up. Believe me, I will heal as soon as I tortured an innocent until they begged me in tears."
Ruskin sighed. It was so hard to convince Mr. Milverton. If he got something into his stubborn mind, he went through with his plan. But Ruskin was determined to stop him this time. If his employer was just eccentric, that was fine - but when his health was on the line, Ruskin was persistent and attached to his opinion like a rock.
"I'm afraid that illnesses don't work that way." Ruskin shook his head, trying to bring some sense to Mr. Milverton's craziness. "Evil is good for your soul, but your body needs rest and medicine to get cured."
"No..." Mr. Milverton was about to start, but the sneeze didn't let him finish this time either. He raised his hand, clearly wanting to point out something, but now, it was this sudden cough what made it impossible for him. Ruskin picked up the mug filled with water and waited until the cough eased. Then he handed it to his employer.
"Can I say something honest, sir?" He spoke with a quiet but vehement voice while Mr. Milverton was drinking. "You are currently not reminding me of the fearful King of Blackmail. More of a sick kitten."
To that, Mr. Milverton froze. He wanted to deny it immediately, but for once again, he needed to sneeze.
"But I am still terrifying!" He stated but he was more whiny than harsh. "I can make my threat real - and I will!"
He was so upset that Ruskin felt even more sorry for him. He put his hand down on his employer's shoulder and calmly reassured him.
"I know that you are. But in your victim's eyes, you will come across different if you approach them while you are ill. Wait until you recover from the cold, sir." He patted the man's back. "You will cause them even more suffering, even more terror if you blackmail them in your full strength."
Ruskin saw that Mr. Milverton thought through what he said. He hoped that he would realize that he was right. Then the man leaned back in the bed and closed his eyes, showing that he doesn't insist on going anymore.
"If you really think so." He murmured and he peeked up at Ruskin. "But if I need to miss out on the delicious blackmail, you will compensate me for it."
"What do you want, sir?" Ruskin asked with a faint smile at the corner of his mouth. After the danger of the blackmail negotiation passed away, he was ready to do anything for his employer.
"A little from your strawberry pie." Mr. Milverton made his wish. Ruskin's smile widened. He expected him to ask for something like this.
And he was happy to fulfill this wish.