Page 27 of A Lesson in Propriety (Merriweather Academy for Young Ladies #1)
Twenty-Seven
Drusilla allowed that disclosure to settle for a moment before she frowned. “Who took it upon themselves to deny you access to the castle?”
A bit of a sniff was Fenna’s first response to that. “I would think that’s obvious as I mentioned everyone was gone, save Norbert.”
“ Norbert wouldn’t let you through the gate?” Drusilla pressed.
“He would not.”
“Did he give you an explanation as to why you were being denied entrance?”
“He was somewhat sketchy about everything, merely saying that William Baumgartner instructed him, after Ottilie’s staff up and left, to deny anyone access to the castle from that point forward. From what little Norbert disclosed, Mr. Baumgartner thought it would be too easy, with no one around but Norbert, for someone to make off with Ottilie’s treasures.” She caught Drusilla’s eye. “Norbert then told me that I could only come in if I were to get express permission from Mr. Baumgartner. The problem with that, though, was when I went to seek out Mr. Baumgartner, I discovered, oddly enough, that he’d left town.”
“And you found that odd because...”
Fenna’s nose wrinkled. “I would think you’d find it odd as well if you consider that the majority of Ottilie’s staff had been scared from the property except Norbert. He’s the one who told me I couldn’t get into the castle unless Mr. Baumgartner gave his permission, and then Mr. Baumgartner just happened to no longer be around.”
The hair on the nape of Drusilla’s neck stood to attention. “Exactly what are you implying?”
“I’m not implying anything. I’m saying that it’s curious how Norbert was the only staff member left standing in the castle.”
Drusilla rubbed a temple that was beginning to ache. “I find myself wondering why you’ve decided to tell me this now, instead of making an appointment to speak with me directly after you learned I was in Chicago. Surely you would have assumed I’d want to hear your suspicions about a man who’s still roaming around Merriweather Castle, wouldn’t you?”
Fenna waved that aside. “I told you. I just returned to the city a few days ago so I didn’t know you were here. And while I know I mentioned that I was intending on traveling to the castle to extend my condolences, in all honesty, I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to do that, as Norbert could have very well turned me away at the gate again.”
She edged closer to Drusilla. “I certainly didn’t know you would be attending church services here today. But if you ask me, this was a fortuitous meeting if there ever was one because, now that I’ve become aware that you intend to open an academy in the very near future, I feel it’s my moral obligation to disclose some of my more worrisome suspicions about Norbert.”
“Like what?”
Fenna lowered her voice to practically a whisper. “I think Norbert had something to do with why Ottilie never returned, and I also think he might be behind why Mr. Baumgartner left town.”
“What?”
“Try to keep up with me,” Fenna muttered. “To be as clear as I possibly can, know that there’s a very real possibility that Norbert wanted the castle to himself, and knew if the staff remained, or if I would pop in now and again to work, he’d be unsuccessful finding the treasure he’d obviously learned Ottilie had hidden there.”
Drusilla blinked. “Treasure?”
“Indeed. Or rather, a map that Ottilie believed could lead to one of the largest forgotten pirate lairs ever found.”
“Aunt Ottilie had a treasure map?”
Fenna frowned. “You haven’t run across a large trunk filled with maps, ones that Ottilie spent hours of her time perusing before she left town?”
“I’ve run across a lot of trunks, but none of them had maps in them.”
“How curious, and it leaves me wondering if Norbert may have spirited that particular trunk away to his cottage, as Ottilie’s great passion in life was pursuing treasure.”
“She pursued treasure?”
“Why do you think Ottilie and I went to Egypt?”
“I would think you went there to view the pyramids.”
“Well, of course we viewed the pyramids,” Fenna scoffed. “But our main objective was to locate the final burial spot of a pharaoh that was indicated on a map she purchased from a questionable sort in Boston.”
Drusilla shot a look to Rhenick, who looked as confused as she felt, before returning her attention to Fenna. “Am I to understand that you and Ottilie found the remains of a pharaoh?”
“Of course not,” Fenna didn’t hesitate to say. “Ottilie’s never found success with any of the maps she’s acquired over the years. But to continue with my suspicions, I think Norbert might have decided that Ottilie was on to something real this time and wanted the castle to himself in order to find a copy of the map Ottilie was using on her last adventure.”
“Did you get the impression Ottilie might have been pursuing clues to a real treasure?”
“I’m always skeptical when it comes to treasure maps, but I will say, if any treasure maps were to have merit, the ones in the trunk we found waiting for us once we returned from Egypt—ones that Captain Harvey, the original owner of the castle, sent to her—were undoubtedly the closest Ottilie had ever seen to the real thing.”
She caught Drusilla’s eye. “If Ottilie never told you, Captain Harvey was a smuggler back in the day, although I’ve always thought he might have been a pirate as well. From what little Ottilie told me about the maps in the trunk, Captain Harvey purchased them from a former ‘friend,’ although I’d bet good money that friend was an old pirate. He then decided to send them to Ottilie because he and your aunt used to discuss maps all the time and your aunt had the spare time, along with the patience, to inspect every map in that trunk.”
“Why wouldn’t the captain sort through them on his own? I thought he’d retired, which suggests he would have had time to study them as well.”
“I asked Ottilie that very same question, and she told me that the captain didn’t trust his staff. He did, however, trust Ottilie, hence the reason we returned to the castle and found a trunk stuffed with maps waiting for us.”
“Did you ever get an opportunity to study these maps?”
Fenna released a sigh. “Best friend or not, Ottilie was somewhat territorial when it came to treasure maps, so I’m afraid, other than catching a peek at some roughly drawn areas with Xs marked in red, I didn’t see anything that might help determine exactly where she went, or what map she might have been perusing, although ... I think wherever she went, Captain Harvey went with her.” She gave a bob of her head. “I know for a fact that Ottilie asked Norbert to send a telegram to Captain Harvey, which means Norbert knew what that telegram said since he placed it for your aunt. And then, after Ottilie received a return telegram from the captain, she began to pack for a new adventure, but she was rather close-lipped, telling me it was a spur-of-the-moment adventure but that she wouldn’t be gone more than seven months, eight at the most.”
“And you believe that she left on this spur-of-the-moment trip because she thought she’d found a genuine treasure map?”
“Indeed.”
“And you also think Norbert knew this and wanted the castle to himself in order to find a copy of this map?”
“Indeed again, and before you ask, know that Ottilie always made copies of her maps, and would leave at least one copy behind in case something went wrong.”
“Where would my aunt have left this copy?”
“I would guess she left it in that trunk I already mentioned,” Fenna said. “I was hoping she’d given the trunk to William Baumgartner, and so I was going to ask him about it, or at least ask him if he knew where Ottilie had sailed off to, when I went to seek his permission for access to the castle. As I said, though, he’d already left town.”
“If I’m understanding correctly, you believe that Norbert’s responsible for Aunt Ottilie’s disappearance, as well as the disappearance of her solicitor, whom I’m not exactly certain is missing as Rhenick asked the manager of Ottilie’s bank to get word to him regarding my arrival in Chicago. That man, if I’m not mistaken, never gave Rhenick the impression he would be unsuccessful getting that word to Mr. Baumgartner.”
Fenna arched a brow Rhenick’s way. “I suppose the question of the hour now is whether that manager heard back from Mr. Baumgartner.”
Rhenick shook his head. “I’ve not received any word from the manager, but it’s not as if much time has elapsed.”
Fenna grabbed hold of Drusilla’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I would think the bank would have sent Mr. Baumgartner a telegram, which takes no time at all to be delivered. That he never responded to that telegram suggests that he may very well be missing since I’m sure he would have arrived back in town lickety-split if he knew you were here, or at the very least, sent you a telegram acknowledging that he’s aware you’re in Chicago.”
“A valid point.”
Fenna gave Drusilla’s hand another squeeze. “Indeed, and that means you can’t very well open your academy until you get to the bottom of this nasty business because—what if Norbert hasn’t found that trunk yet? That would mean he’s still searching the castle for it, and is undoubtedly more than annoyed that you’ve shown up because he doesn’t have unlimited access inside the castle to roam around, searching at his leisure.”
She sent Drusilla a knowing look. “Surely you’ll agree that it would be highly inappropriate to host young ladies in the Merriweather Castle knowing that you may very well have a possible murderer on the loose, and a murderer who may be responsible for the disappearance of numerous people to date.”