Page 19 of A Lesson in Propriety (Merriweather Academy for Young Ladies #1)

Nineteen

A hundred questions swirled through Drusilla’s mind over what was certainly an unexpected and potentially Merriweather-saving development, but before she could get a single word out of her mouth, such as discussing if they’d even be able to handle fifty-seven and counting potential students, Wilhelmine took hold of Drusilla’s chin, turned her head to the left, then to the right, and frowned.

“My dear, you have a few wounds that are stubbornly refusing to cease bleeding, no matter how many times I dab them, which means further talk of my business proposal will need to wait until after we get you into your room and properly attend to those wounds once and for all.”

Wilhelmine sent a nod Rhenick’s way. “I believe now is the moment for you to address the raven situation, but do go about the matter carefully as it’s obvious the ravens are an aggressive lot, but also try to hurry, dear. We don’t want to keep Drusilla lingering out here.”

Before Rhenick could respond to that, Norbert stepped forward. “Miss Drusilla won’t need to linger outside until the castle is raven-free,” he said. “She can just use one of the back servant stairs to reach her room.”

“We have back servant stairs?” Drusilla asked.

“Two sets of them,” Norbert said.

“Why two?”

“I suppose that would be on account of Captain Thurgood Harvey. He’s the one who built the castle years ago and wanted a way for his men to be able to come and go without anyone detecting them.”

“Why would Captain Harvey’s men need to be able to do that?”

“I’m afraid I can’t disclose that because Captain Harvey made me swear on the Bible when he hired me—he was a rather suspicious sort—that I would never tell a soul about anything I might see while in his employ.”

“But you’re no longer in his employ.”

“Doesn’t matter. I swore to never tell a soul—something I took to mean meant forever.”

“Weren’t you wary about accepting employment from a man who made such a peculiar demand?”

“Not when I was offered a job that paid me a handsome salary and allowed me to stay out of the mines and factories. It was worth it to keep my mouth shut when I saw some rather dubious things going on here—and no, I won’t be disclosing those dubious things to you.”

“Did he make everyone who worked for him swear to never divulge his secrets?”

“Sure did, although I always got the impression his men were loyal to a fault, most of them moving with the captain when he took off for Florida because he was tired of the cold winters here and wanted to seek out a warmer shore. The only one who stayed behind besides me was Sneaky Pete Smythe, who accepted employment with the new owner, that being Miss Ottilie, on account that he had a sister living in the area and didn’t think she’d be keen to move down to Florida with a bunch of his old sea mates.”

Drusilla’s brow furrowed. “His name wasn’t really Sneaky Pete, was it?”

“It was, but all the captain’s men had names like that. There was One-Legged Tom, another was Stinking Stanley, and there was even a Dreadful Delbert.” Norbert gave his nose a rub. “But talk of additional names should probably wait since I’m sure Rhenick’s going to need help with those ravens. That means I need to show you where the servant staircase is sooner than later.”

Before she could ask the burning question of what position a man named Sneaky Pete could have possibly taken on for her aunt, Drusilla found herself being helped to her feet by Wilhelmine, who made sure Drusilla was steady before turning to Rhenick.

“After you finish with the ravens,” Wilhelmine began, “you’ll need to have our footmen unload the baskets from my carriage. You might then want to start on lunch preparations since I’m sure everyone, after the morning they’ve experienced, would enjoy a hot meal.” With that, Wilhelmine gestured Norbert toward the castle, then took a firm grip on Drusilla’s arm, quite as if she believed Drusilla might still be a bit wobbly on her feet.

Irma immediately took hold of Drusilla’s other arm, leaving Drusilla with the distinct impression that her mother had taken issue with Wilhelmine hovering over her daughter. Frankly, given that Irma was now considering Drusilla in what could only be described as a concerned manner, it almost seemed as if her mother wanted Wilhelmine to believe that it was an everyday occurrence for her to look after her daughter’s welfare, something her mother had never done in Drusilla’s life.

Drusilla leveled an arch of a brow on Irma, earning an innocent look from her mother in the process, then returned her attention to Wilhelmine. “Perhaps we can use the time it takes to get me up those mysterious servant stairs to speak further about this business deal of yours.”

Wilhelmine waved that aside. “There’ll be plenty of time to address that once we attend to your head, and after, or perhaps during, lunch. Considering you just suffered an assault by birds no less, I’m sure you must be famished, although...” Wilhelmine frowned. “I recently read in one of my etiquette books, which I’ve been trying to read more diligently ever since Tilda told me about her uncomfortable dinner at the Vanderbilts, that proper ladies shouldn’t admit they’re hungry, as it’s considered by the upper crust to be a grave faux pas.”

“Unfortunately, that is true, and most ladies would like everyone to believe they’re capable of surviving on a tiny cucumber sandwich. However...” Drusilla smiled. “I’m not a lady who can exist on a meager diet, and willingly admit that I would be perfectly content to spend the rest of my life eating whatever I like—within reason, of course—something I’m fairly sure I’ll be able to do since I’ve vowed to never marry and have absolutely no need to make certain my waist is capable of being squeezed into a gown with a twenty-something-inch waistline.”

“I’ve always told people that you’re capable of an eighteen-inch waist,” Irma contradicted.

“My waist hasn’t been capable of being squeezed to eighteen inches since I was sixteen,” Drusilla countered. “In all honesty, having my former lady’s maid get it to twenty-five inches was a feat in and of itself and forced my poor maid to have to resort to brute strength while tightening the laces of my corset so that she could then stuff me into my gowns.”

“Twenty ... five?” Irma all but sputtered.

Drusilla gave her mother’s arm a pat. “My waistline, or lack thereof, is not the end of the world, Mother, and before you ask how it came to be that you were unaware of my less-than-waiflike figure, you’ve been in mourning for over two years, that state rendering you not nearly as observant as you used to be.”

“I think you have a lovely figure,” Wilhelmine said. “And I’m ever so pleased to learn you enjoy a good meal since Rhenick will soon be cooking up a storm.” She leaned closer. “He’s a genius in the kitchen.”

Drusilla frowned. “I thought when you told him to start on lunch preparations that you meant he should unpack the supplies you brought with you and get everything ready for our cook to prepare the meal.”

“It would hardly be a proper welcome to Chicago from the Whittenbecker family if we simply brought food and expected your cook to make everything,” Wilhelmine countered. “And normally I wouldn’t be so presumptuous as to include myself with eating any meal I brought a family, but given that we do still have matters to discuss, I hope you’ll forgive what might come across as impertinence on my part.”

“Sharing a meal with us that your son is going to prepare is hardly an impertinence,” Drusilla said as they rounded the corner of one of the turrets, having to veer to the left to avoid Billy the Goat and a few of his friends who were chomping their way through high weeds, which was a benefit of having a herd of goats she’d not actually considered until just that moment.

After sending a nod to Norbert, who was standing a good ten feet in front of them and was evidently waiting to make certain they were still following, Drusilla glanced back to Wilhelmine. “Since it appears as if we might have a ways to go before we reach this mysterious staircase, tell me this, how long has Rhenick been cooking?”

“He learned his way around the kitchen when he was about twelve,” Wilhelmine said. “That was back in the days when Franklin, my husband, was really starting to get his construction company up and running, and right around the time I gave birth to my third child, Eloise.” She smiled. “Franklin and I didn’t think we could have more children after we had Tilda, who’s four years younger than Rhenick, but then Eloise came along, followed in quick succession by Grace and Coraline. Before I knew it, I was overwhelmed, because while our business was beginning to turn profitable, we didn’t have much in the way of extra funds to hire on much staff. That’s why Rhenick began taking over meal preparation as well as walking the floor with babies who didn’t want to stop crying, or mending Eloise’s many scrapes and bruises because, let me tell you, she was a handful from the moment she started walking.”

“It sounds as if Rhenick might have a way with children.”

Wilhelmine smiled. “That he does, my dear, and when you pair that with the idea that the food he prepares would give any chef a run for their money, it’s little wonder the ladies of Chicago have had him in their sights for years.”

“Your son does seem to be quite the catch,” Irma proclaimed, leaving Drusilla with the distinct, and yet hardly proper, urge to roll her eyes.

Before she could give in to the urge to do exactly that, Norbert released a whistle, then sent them a wave right before he stepped behind a row of tall shrubs, sticking his head out of the shrubbery a second later.

“The door’s behind here,” he said before he disappeared again.

“Is it just me, or does it seem somewhat ominous that there’s a doorway hidden behind shrubs?” Drusilla asked, earning nods from Wilhelmine and Irma before she slipped between the shrubs and the castle wall and edged to where Norbert was waiting, having to push aside bits of shrubbery to reach him.

“Lucky for all of you, someone left the candle and matches the captain’s men always used right inside the door on the table,” Norbert said. “After you get the candle lit, just go up the set of stairs that’s about ten feet past this entranceway, but only go up to the first level. Once you reach that landing, turn right, then go all the way to the end of that hallway. There’ll be a door there. I think it’s green, but I’m not positive about that since it’s been a few years since I’ve used this staircase. You should find yourself in a linen closet once you walk through that door, and then after you walk out of that closet, you’ll find yourself on the second floor. After that, all you need to do is turn to the right, then turn left once you reach the main second-floor hallway. You should recognize your surroundings from there.” After sending her a nod, he disappeared into the shrubbery again, right as Wilhelmine and Irma stumbled up to join her.

“From the sounds of things, it seems as if we might need a map to navigate this staircase,” Irma muttered, brushing a few leaves from her hair.

“I’m sure Norbert made it sound more difficult than it really is,” Drusilla said. “Although it might not be a bad idea to start making a few maps when we get some spare time because clearly this castle has more than a few secrets.”

“I shudder to think what those might be,” Irma said before she glanced through the doorway. “Seems rather menacing in there, what with how dark it is.”

“Norbert said there’s a candle.” Drusilla shoved aside the trepidation that was causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand at attention and stepped into the gloom. Striking a match she located on a small table inside the door, she lit the candle that was next to it.

“Shall we?” she asked before she drew in a breath and began moving down a hallway that truly did seem as if it might have a few ghosts and ghouls wafting about.