Page 22 of A Lesson in Propriety (Merriweather Academy for Young Ladies #1)

Twenty-Two

During the week that had passed since Drusilla had found the facsimile of a ghost and decided on the spot to accept the Whittenbeckers’ offer of assistance to get the academy up and running, she’d come to realize a few things.

For one—she was possessed of a bit of a temper, something she’d never considered before the whole fiasco she’d endured with Elbert, but a temper that was directly responsible for her now steadfast determination to maintain ownership of the castle.

Secondly—while Wilhelmine had implied that the reason she and Rhenick were offering up the services of Whittenbecker and Company Construction at no cost was to assure that the Whittenbecker sisters received a more-than-adequate education when it came to all matters of proprieties, that wasn’t exactly true. Instead, and after inadvertently overhearing a conversation Rhenick had been having with his mother while he’d been finishing up what had turned out to be a delicious lunch the day of the ghost debacle, it seemed as if Rhenick believed that if the academy could be opened quickly and filled with the daughters of wealthy Chicago families, the danger from overzealous developers would diminish quite substantially.

He’d then gone on to tell Wilhelmine that Chicago developers made more than half their income from members of the newly rich set, which suggested they’d be remarkably hesitant to be responsible for Drusilla’s academy failing, especially when the newly rich had been longing for just such an academy for years.

Given that Rhenick hadn’t broached the matter of a marriage between them again, and Wilhelmine had made a point of telling her that the last thing Whittenbecker and Company needed was more business, as they had their hands full with the contracts they already had, Drusilla had come to the realization that she might have been wrong about Rhenick and that he wasn’t a cad after all but simply a gentleman possessed of an unexpectedly kind nature.

He also seemed to be a considerate man, because he’d made a point to stop by Aunt Ottilie’s bank to get the direction of William Baumgartner, and while the bank manager wouldn’t turn over William’s address to Rhenick, he had agreed to send William a message, asking him to contact Drusilla at his earliest convenience.

“Not that I want to alarm you, Drusilla, but if you’re confronted with danger at some point in time, you’re not going to have over a minute to consider exactly where you should aim that pistol in your hands because ... you’ll be dead by then.”

All thoughts of how Rhenick was not turning out to be a cad disappeared in a trice as Drusilla turned her head and settled her attention on Seraphina, who was sitting on a tree stump in a meadow that was well-removed from the vicinity of the castle—a meadow Seraphina had decided would be sufficient to use as a training ground for all the weapons she’d uncovered so far.

“Forgive me, Seraphina. You’re quite right, and of course I realize I can’t dither before every shot,” Drusilla admitted. “It’s just that I’ve not hit the target once this morning, and I would like to return to my other tasks after being able to say I at least improved my shooting abilities somewhat today.”

“You just need to get the target in your sights and pull the trigger. You’re overthinking it.” Seraphina considered the target in question before she nodded. “Let’s try something new. I’ll count to three, and once I reach three, you shoot. Ready? One ... two ... three.”

Refusing to give in to the urge to study the target as she’d been doing during the three days she’d been practicing, Drusilla set her sights on the tree she’d been trying to hit and squeezed the trigger, a bit of a yelp escaping her as a boom immediately rang out and she stumbled a good foot backward from the recoil.

“Did I hit it?” she asked after she found her balance, glancing back to Seraphina, who was now peering through a pair of opera glasses she’d found in a room Aunt Ottilie had been storing gowns and accessories in, some of the fashions dating back at least forty years.

Seraphina lowered the glasses. “I’m afraid not. And here I thought your progress would improve after Rhenick left us to see if his niece and nephew had arrived yet. I was apparently wrong about that.”

“Why would you think my progress would improve without Rhenick being here? He’s the one who showed me how to properly hold my pistol because you were doing the same with Annaliese.”

“He distracts you.”

“He does not.”

“He also makes you nervous,” Seraphina added, not bothering to argue her first point. “That nervousness is why I thought, mistakenly so, that your aim would improve without him around.”

Drusilla swallowed the argument she longed to make when she realized that Seraphina wasn’t exactly wrong because ... Rhenick did make her nervous, or perhaps it wasn’t nervous ness she felt when she was around him, but more along the lines of awareness.

She always knew exactly when he entered a room even if she wasn’t facing the door, quite as if there was something in him that was attuned with something in her, whether she wanted it to be or not, a feeling that was, in all honesty, rather unsettling.

“Want to try a few more times before we call it a day and head back to the castle?”

Drusilla glanced at the watch encircling her wrist and shook her head. “I told Annaliese I’d meet her at ten to finish tidying up what used to be the mummy room. It’s about quarter till, and I know she’ll come looking for me if I’m late, bringing Rhenick’s sisters with her since they seem to love Annaliese and stick beside her anytime they visit the castle.”

“And you don’t want to see the Whittenbecker girls today because ... ?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to see them—it’s that I don’t want to see them out here, where I’m putting on a completely lackluster show with my pistol.”

Seraphina frowned. “I have no idea why you’d be concerned about that as you’ve only just started learning how to operate a weapon, and it’s not unusual to lack proficiency with weaponry at first.”

“I’m soon to be the headmistress of the Merriweather Academy for Young Ladies. I can’t very well let future students see me being anything less than proficient with everything because, as you should very well know, having spent eons of time in a boarding school, headmistresses are held to a certain standard. I’d lose all respect from the students if it got around that I can’t figure out how to aim and shoot a pistol, especially when I’m relatively certain there are going to be a lot of our young ladies who’ve been shooting a variety of weapons since the time they could walk.”

“Coraline told me that her friend Norma Jean knows how to operate a cannon because her brother is some kind of mad inventor and seems to have a great interest in gadgets that blow things up.”

“Perhaps we should store our cannon somewhere besides the entranceway to avoid tempting Norma Jean.”

Seraphina grinned. “I’ve already had Norbert help me get it out of the castle, where it’s waiting for him to cart to the barn just as soon as he can convince Moe, Aunt Ottilie’s somewhat ornery donkey, to cooperate and allow him to attach a harness to him.”

“I think Moe’s contrariness is exactly why he must have appealed to Aunt Ottilie, but Moe’s contradictory nature aside, I really do need to get back to the castle.”

“I’ll walk with you.”

After taking a second to add three bullets to the chamber of her five-shot pistol since both Seraphina and Rhenick had suggested she make certain she was armed and ready at all times just in case a determined developer showed up with maleficence on his mind, Drusilla slipped the pistol into her pocket and entwined her arm with Seraphina’s as they turned and headed across the meadow.

“Do you and Annaliese need some help with the mummy room?” Seraphina asked.

“I think we’ll be fine because we have Rhenick’s sisters available to help us today. Annaliese never hesitates to arm them with mops, brooms, and feather dusters.” Drusilla smiled. “All of them seem to adore my sister, although that adoration may very well change once Annaliese gets down to the business of instructing them on how to paint the perfect watercolor, or worse yet, how to play a song on the piano without missing a note, something you and I both know will require hours and hours of practice on the girls’ part.”

“I always resented my music instructors ever so slightly because of all the practice time that’s required to turn proficient, but at least Annaliese and I aren’t going to be responsible for teaching the students proper posture, which always incurs resentment given the tedious nature of it.”

Drusilla smiled. “That resentment is exactly why I volunteered to teach those lessons, as resentment goes hand in hand with being a headmistress. With that said, though, it’s not as if either you or Annaliese are getting off easy, not when we already have almost sixty girls enrolled and we’ve had to divide them into thirds since it’ll just be the three of us instructing at first. Once we make certain the academy is going to be financially solvent, we’ll hire more teachers.”

Seraphina steered them to the right when Billy the Goat suddenly appeared with Mother Goose, followed by the rest of the goats, none of whom had proven themselves to be overly friendly and made it a habit to chase anyone who got too close.

“Irma still not coming around to the idea of teaching a few classes for us?” Seraphina asked as they gave the goats a wide berth.

“Mother hasn’t outright refused, but she hasn’t said yes either, probably because I think there’s a part of her that’s still hoping I’ll come to my senses, take Rhenick up on what wasn’t exactly a marriage proposal, and then allow him to whisk all of us away to a house in the city after vows are exchanged, where she can put all memories of the time spent in a supposedly haunted castle behind her.”

“It might be rather difficult to take Rhenick up on that offer of his since you told me earlier that he’s not mentioned the word marriage again, obviously determined to honor your demand of him never broaching that particular topic again.”

A whisper of what felt like disappointment slid over her, disappointment she wouldn’t allow herself to consider too closely because it was absolutely ludicrous to feel any type of disappointment over the fact that Rhenick was abiding by a demand she’d made and avoiding the subject of marriage like the plague.

“Speaking of Rhenick, he’s heading our way, and look, the twins are with him,” Seraphina said, snapping Drusilla out of all thoughts of disappointment as she turned her attention to where Rhenick was rounding the castle.

Her heart took that moment to give a bit of a lurch, which she staunchly tried to ignore, albeit with little success, because Rhenick was carrying his niece, Hattie, who was looking remarkably grumpy, while Edwin walked at Rhenick’s side, his hands gesturing wildly about as if he were presenting some type of argument, perhaps one that was behind why his twin was looking less than happy.

Seeing a gentleman so completely comfortable in the company of small children was an unusual sight to be sure, and that Rhenick seemed to be trying his hardest to stifle a grin, something that suggested he didn’t want to offend the twins, well, it was little wonder her heart was acting a tad peculiar.

She drew in a breath in the hopes of alleviating the peculiarity and summoned up a smile when Rhenick drew to a stop once he reached her and Seraphina.

“Looks as if there might be some trouble in twin-ville” was all she could think to say, which wasn’t exactly a riveting opening for a conversation, something Seraphina clearly picked up on because she took to looking at Drusilla quite as if she’d lost her mind.

Thankfully, Rhenick didn’t seem to notice Seraphina’s look as he opened his mouth to respond, but before he could get a single word out, Hattie brushed dark curls out of her eyes and leaned forward.

“Fidget’s gone missing,” Hattie said. “She slipped into a vent, and she might be lost forever.”

“Fidget slips away all the time, but she always shows up again,” Drusilla said.

Edwin turned a scowl on her. “That’s what Miss Annaliese told us, but me and Hattie heard the aunts say that Fidget was heading down a vent that leads to the dungeons.” His eyes turned wide. “Aunt Coraline said there are mummies down there now, and poor Fidget won’t stand a chance against mummies. But no one would let me and Hattie go down there to help find her, so now she’s gonna be dead, just like the mummies.” He shuddered. “She’ll be turned into a mummy ferret, and then Mama won’t let me and Hattie play with her ever again.”

Drusilla knelt down in front of Edwin. “Fidget’s not going to be turned into a mummy, nor are the mummies that are stored in the dungeons wandering about the castle.”

Edwin’s eyes grew wider than ever. “Do you think Fidget will turn into a ghost, then—like the ghost we heard our aunts say is haunting the castle and is the reason we’re not allowed to explore the turrets?”

“Your aunts told you there’s a ghost haunting the turrets?”

“We heard Aunt Coraline and Aunt Grace talking about how they heard tales from their friends about the ghost.”

“And the turret?” Drusilla pressed.

“Mother told us we couldn’t go up there because it was too dangerous,” Hattie said. “She wouldn’t say why it was dangerous, but me and Edwin know it’s because of a ghost since she wouldn’t let us go up there even when Aunt Coraline said she’d watch over us.”

Drusilla resisted a sigh because, clearly, the twins were too intelligent for their own good.

In all honesty, it wasn’t that the turrets were too dangerous. It was simply that after she’d found the ghostly rag doll the week before, she’d decided to return it to exactly where and how she’d found it, believing it could very well be used to trap whomever had been attempting to scare everyone away from the castle.

She’d not even told Norbert about what she’d found on the turret, knowing full well the groundskeeper was a little loose-lipped, especially when he went to the Mead and Vittles, where he evidently regaled all the patrons with the odd happenstances he observed on the castle grounds.

Her less-than-forthcoming attitude had most assuredly confused Norbert, especially when she questioned him about how a person would be able to enter the castle if they didn’t have a key. But when she didn’t expand on why she wanted to know that, she earned herself a rather long, very considering look from Norbert in the process.

It had been clear the man had known she was being deliberately sketchy, but after a full minute had passed with him considering her, he’d finally told her that entrance without a key could only be gained through a window, but that a window entry was highly unlikely as he made a point to keep all the windows locked, at least the ones on the floors with easy access from outside the castle walls.

Norbert had then been highly offended when Drusilla, with Rhenick in tow, had gone off to inspect the windows, his attitude coming to a rapid end when Rhenick found three unlocked windows on the ground floor, ones that had been conveniently located behind shrubs.

To say Norbert had been appalled over what he considered dereliction of his most important duty—protecting the castle—was an understatement, and he’d taken to checking the grounds every night instead of once or twice a week, as well as making certain no windows were ever left unlocked again.

Pulling herself from her thoughts when she realized little Hattie was undoubtedly waiting for her to commiserate over the fact the twins weren’t allowed to visit the turrets or the dungeon, Drusilla was spared some type of flimsy explanation regarding the turret situation when Norbert came striding into view, his ever-present rifle resting against his shoulder.

“Got a situation down at the gate” were the first words out of his mouth.

“A situation?” Drusilla repeated.

“Umberto Zambarello is here again. It’s his fourth dropping by this week, and this time he demanded that I tell you he’s willing to double any offer Whittenbecker and Company has made you, and also tell you that he’s not leaving until he gets an opportunity to speak to you in person.” Norbert shook his head. “Seemed to me he’s serious about that since he had one of his footmen pull out a chair, small table, and even a picnic basket.”

Drusilla frowned. “Is Mr. Zambarello the scariest of crime bosses, or is he the one who’s going legitimate?”

“Legitimate, but don’t think that just because he’s not dealing in gambling anymore means he’s any less relentless. As you’ve been told, he has those five overly rambunctious and less than ladylike daughters on his hands. He also recently let it be known that he’s increasing the dowry on his oldest girl, who’s set to turn seventeen next year, to over a hundred thousand, which means he’s going to have to build a lot of mansions and sell them to cover dowries like that in the coming years.”

“I would think so, but unfortunately for Mr. Zambarello, he’s not going to be able to plump up his bank account if he believes I’m going to be swayed with whatever it is he wants to offer me and turn over the castle and property to him.” Drusilla squared her shoulders. “Nevertheless, since dear Mr. Zambarello seems to be a relentless sort, and since I have vowed to retain ownership of my property no matter what, I suppose I have no choice but to have a face-to-face chat with the man and set him straight once and for all.”