~CHAPTER ONE~



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“Good to know you think so kindly of me, brother.” Lady Moustache countered. He glided his way to the heart of the study where Mr. Capgras and his guest were seated. The stranger on the prohibitive Parisian couch while Mr. Capgras prim-ly sat in his leather armchair.

“Good morning, Lady Moustache.” the foreign stranger said, standing up to greet him while Mr. Capgras stayed seated. They shook hands, Lady Moustache with a rather limp wrist and the stranger with an uncomfortably tight and rigid grip.

“So, what is an American doing in Monaco?” Urged Lady Moustache, more so to his brother than the American in question.

“This is that oversea friend that father was telling us about earlier, little brother.” Mr. Capgras said. Seeming like he wants to say more, but is unable.

“Yes, your father had called for me. Coincidentally, it was while I was visiting Nice. He wanted a consultation.” The stranger said with a pride to him. The brothers inquisitively peek at each other, before returning their attention to him.

They knew this was no coincidence.
“I’m a lawyer.” he told them in a real and serious tone. The brothers found this rather strange and wondered if their concern was pertinent.

Lady Moustache nodded, looking at him as he joined the lawyer on the couch opposite Mr. Capgras. The main study was a needlessly large room, but it wasn’t the biggest room in the manor. The massive dark oak bookshelves ran almost higher than the ceiling. The books looked as if they were about to burst from their shelves.

Albeit, the air wasn’t musty but the room still had a film of dust floating aimlessly that only the light coming through the windows is able to reveal. The uncurtained panes loomed perfectly behind Mr. Capgras, giving him an enigmatic silhouette as he sat still as a picture.

The stranger on the other hand was facing the windows, and heavily looked to be struggling to see anything at all.

“Is there a name, or a pseudonym that you go by?” Lady Moustache wondered. He gently rested one arm on the armrest and the other on his cane, his right leg now crossed over the other.

The man looked between the brothers.
Mr. Capgras filled the silence. “I hadn’t introduced you as anything, as I myself had never gotten an introduction.”

The lawyer almost looked embarrassed. “I apologize, I thought I had… I don’t have a pseudonym, but you can call me Anthony.” he said with a smile, hoping he hadn’t already made a bad impression.

He squirmed in his seat as the two brothers sat in silence, impassively staring blank faced for an uncomfortable and inhumane amount of time to Anthony. Unknown to him, this is a show of dominance that their father has instilled in them seemingly since before they could walk. As if to answer Anthony’s prayers, Lady Moustache finally spoke again.

“So Anthony, is your visit purely social, or are you here for business? I -presume- you’re here to see our father this morning.”

Lady Moustache would usually be making eye contact as he speaks, but he found his cane to be more interesting. He spun it around a couple of times before looking at his brother.

His brother didn’t look back, Mr. Capgras kept his eyes on Anthony.

“Like I’ve told Anthony, our father has been out since last night. He has yet to return.” Mr. Capgras said to no one in particular, both men were already well aware of this fact.

“Well, your father had arranged to meet me this morning, he had said it was about a rather urgent subject. It’s a matter of ‘maintaining my family’s inheritance and livelihood’… or so he stated.” Claimed Anthony with a rather serious look and tone to him, one that Mr. Capgras has deduced to be the reason their father would even consider consulting with Anthony. When it comes down to it, Anthony is a damned good lawyer. The man *knows his onions. This is something Mr. Capgras will grow to observe and just about- respect.

Anthony, being a lanky man, has an awkward look to him. Mostly for his thick moustache and his dark bug-like eyes, but his baggy and untailored tartan suit didn’t help his case...