Morag smiled. 'Good enough,' she announced. 'And if Antonin doesn't behave, he knows I can take him in a fight. Might have to wait until I'm not pregnant, though,' she said with a confident grin.
She was the look in Vaisey's eyes and laughed. 'Kidding! Kidding... It would likely be a draw,' she admitted.
'No, this is my project,' she told Cass. 'Antonin has his business empire and he likes dealing with all that goes with that. I let him play with that side of things. I prefer people and politics.'
She went on. 'Just so you know, all of the elves that work for us are free employees, and many have been with Antonin for years. Most of them served on one of his ships, so they're a bit military in discipline. But several are quite good at intelligence, and I get a report every day. I'll see that you get one, too, once you start work.'
She smiled much like a cat who'd found the cream. 'You'd be surprised at what house-elves hear and see. And while many families insist that the elves keep their secrets from other wizards, they don't realize their elves gossip with the elves from another household. Most people don't pay attention to their elves, but ours listen for such gossip.'
'Of course, not everyone's elves gossip. Not if they feel affection and allegiance for their family.' She made a face of disgust. 'Or they're too terrified to talk to each other. Scuttlebutt has it that house-elves around the Lestranges don't have a very long life expectancy.'
She commented, 'Percy doesn't trust easily. I suspect he may think he needs to keep an eye on me, now that Tibby is gone. But just so you know, I'm not ever going to be a stay-at-home kind of girl. Oh, and by the way, I told Percy I would teach him to sail once the war is over. You, too. Can't have Percy off on a boat with just you and have no one to help if something comes up.' Which meant if Percy learned, Cass learned, too, whether he wanted to or not.