pusillanimous- Violet Baudelaire x fem! reader

Chapter Six

We followed Mr. Poe to the kitchen. I told him Josephine had a grocery list from yesterday that we could compare the note to. I took the list out of the shopping bag and set it beside the suicide note. We gathered around the table and Mr. Poe began speaking.

"Look at the V in 'several gallons of vinegar' and how it matches the V in 'Violet' she wrote in the note," he said.

He continued to point out letters in the grocery list and the note. They were completely identical. I furrowed my brows. My heart broke a little bit more with every similarity he pointed out.

Then, I remembered something. An image popped into my head of Josephine. She had told the Baudelaires and I about making codes with mine and the Baudelaires parents. My eyes widened.

"Why would this Captain Sham go through so much trouble to put you into his care after all?" I heard Mr. Poe say, jolting me back to reality.

"We've already told you, Captain Sham is Count Olaf in disguise," Klaus replied.

"Now, I know you Baudelaires have had some terrible experiences, but do not let your imaginations get the best of you. Remember when you were staying with Uncle Monty? You were convinced that his assistant, Stefano, was actually Count Olaf in disguise."

"Stefano was Count Olaf in disguise," I spoke, recalling the newspaper I had read shortly before the Baudelaires came here.

"That's not the point, the point is that you can't just jump to conclusions," Mr. Poe began to drone on about things that added up perfectly.

Is he even listening to himself? Asking why they thought a man who swore he'd stop at nothing to get the Baudelaire parents enormous fortune was trying to get the Baudelaire parents enormous fortune?

"We can settle this matter over brunch," spoke Mr. Poe. "Captain Sham has invited us to a restaurant to talk this all over."

"We're not going to brunch with that villain," Violet stated.

"We'll stay here and examine the note," Klaus continued.

"No, children, I want to settle this matter once and for all."
...

I was seated next to Sunny, watching the nervous waiter speak quickly and worriedly. He recommended a family appetizer and Count Olaf then responded to the concerned man.

"That sounds wonderful! An extra special fun family appetizer for an extra special, fun family. Mine," he spoke.

"I'll just have a glass of water, thank you," Violet spoke.

"Same for me, and a glass of ice cubes for my baby sister please," Klaus said.

I nodded as I spoke, "Same here, thank you."

Mr. Poe attempted to ask for a coffee before Count Olaf interrupted him, telling the waiter to bring a bottle of red wine for the two to share.

"No thanks Captain Sham, I don't drink during banking hours," Mr. Poe protested.

"It's a celebratory brunch, we should toast. After all, it's not every day a man becomes a father of four children," Olaf insisted.

Mr. Poe responded by saying that us children were very disheartened, as we had just lost our aunt, family friend, and mother. Olaf then went on to claim that he had known Josephine for years and met her in cooking school.

I zoned out as the conversation continued, as I often do. However, it wasn't long before something caught my attention.

"... so make sure you look inside before you eat it," the waiter put a small, almost undetectable amount of emphasis on his words, looking at the Baudelaires and me.

"That's a wonderful idea, cheer-up cheeseburgers for everyone, Larry," Olaf spoke in disdain.

Klaus, Violet, and I looked at eachother. Something was going on here. The waiter must be trying to help us, I thought. I could tell the Baudelaires were thinking something similar.

"Odd service here," Mr. Poe stated.

"It's the off season," Olaf remarked.

I waited for the waiter to get back and attempted not to listen to the bickering of Count Olaf and Mr. Poe.

"... water and ice for the Baudelaires and Ms. Snicket!"

My eyes widened and I sat up.

"You know our names?" Violet asked.

"Of course I don't know your names!" the waiter squeaked before rushing back to the kitchen.

"I completely forgot what we were saying," Mr. Poe said as the kitchen doors closed.

"We were saying that is Count Olaf," Klaus recalled.

"The waiter? Well, he did seem quite odd," Olaf said.

"Not the waiter, you! You've done something terrible to Aunt Josephine and you're scheming to get our fortune!" Violet exclaimed frustratedly.

"Why would Captain Sham do something terrible to his closest friend?" Poe pointed out.

He continued to drone on until the waiter came back out.

The waiter handed us four our food and spoke in between Mr. Poe's sentences.

"I meant to ask, do any of you have any food allergies?" asked the waiter.

I immediately caught on. If we had allergic reactions, we could go back to Josephine's house and continue finding clues.

The waiter continued emphasizing this to make sure we understood. Violet waited for Mr. Poe to finish his sentence before talking.

"Us three are allergic to peppermints," she said.

"What a strange coincidence, me too," I looked over to her and nodded ever so slightly.

The waiter wasn't in the kitchen for long before he came back out holding a tin tray with the bill inside and four peppermints resting on top.

Violet grabbed them and passed them out under the table. I took a deep breath as I unwrapped mine before making it appear as if I was simply resting my hand on my chin while I put the candy in my mouth. It wasn't long before Violet and Sunny were breaking out in hives and Klaus' tongue was beginning to swell. I could feel my face growing hot and itchy as I, too, broke out in hives.

As soon as Mr. Poe noticed this, he began freaking out. I scratched at my face as he continued to speak about this.

"I think we should go home and rest," said Violet.

"An excellent idea," Poe replied.

As expected, Olaf protested this idea, but nonetheless, us children were soon being dropped off back at Josephine's by a taxi.