"I don't know how they do it all the time," Lacey said as she collapsed into her seat. "I'm exhausted, and it was only a few hours."

"You'll get used to it," Madeline said, starting to drive them back. "It may take a while, but you will."

"I hope so," Lacey said. She sighed. "It went well enough until the Lady's son paid a bit of attention to me. It got a bit tense after that."

"Sesshomaru paid attention to you?" Madeline blinked. "That is... unusual." She shook her head. Well, well. Things could get very interesting.

"Yeah, I guess I caught his attention for a bit somehow," Lacey said. She could hear the surprise in Madeline's voice. "It surprised me too. He seemed... Distant."

"Oh, yes. He is very, very distant. He doesn't take an interest in people. Ever." She shook her head.

"Interesting," Lacey mused as she tried to relax a bit in her seat.

"This will be interesting indeed," Madeline murmured. "I know he has recently been under some pressure to find a mate."

That made Lacey pause.

"Think he's trying to rile up the other women, then?" she asked. "Pay attention to me to make them fight amongst themselves for his attention? I mean, I wouldn't be in the running at all, so that's the only explanation I can think of."

"Maybe," Madeline said. "It's possible. It's also possible that he was genuinely interested."

"Interested?" Lacey asked, blinking. "In me? Why?"

"I don't even pretend to know his mind," Madeline said, shaking her head. "I'd have to talk to Hisoka. One of Sesshomaru's retainers and an old friend of mine."

"I can't even imagine why he'd be interested in me," Lacey said, shaking her head. "Especially if he's looking for a mate."

"He must have something that he's looking for," Madeline reasoned. "I'll see what I can find out next time I talk to Hisoka."

"Let me know if you find out anything interesting," Lacey said. She wasn't going to order Madeline to investigate, but she knew the feline well enough by now that she could benefit from the curiosity.

Madeline nodded and fell silent for the rest of the trip back home. She parked and opened the door for Lacey automatically.

Lacey got out of the car and stretched a bit. At least she didn't take her shoes off this time; she'd managed to keep them on all day, and she could get into the house now without them hurting too much.

Madeline escorted her inside before leaving her to her own devices for a while. There was time before dinner for her to do other things, and Madeline intended to use that time to do some thinking and gardening.

Lacey went inside to bathe and get comfortable. The manor seemed just as big and empty as ever, and she found herself wandering around for some company once she was clean and changed.

Madeline was out in the green house taking care of some things and trimming things out there. She could hear Lacey wandering around, but she figured she was just looking around.

Lacey ended up wandering out to the garden, padding out in bare feet. She didn't say anything when she found Madeline; instead just watching. The quiet was nice now that she wasn't alone.

Madeline glanced over at her but, when she didn't get any orders, she went back to pruning. She was already planning what she could plant for summer.

Lacey just settled in to watch for a while.

"Why does it need pruning so often?" she asked softly after a moment.

"This particular plant has a tendency to explode every spring," Madeline said. "I left it alone for a few years, just let it grow through spring and did the fall pruning. It took over three rows." She smiled faintly. "So now it gets pruned all through spring."

"Wow," Lacey said. "That's impressive."