Page 33 of A Lesson in Propriety (Merriweather Academy for Young Ladies #1)
Thirty-Three
Twenty minutes later, Rhenick found himself back in his carriage, with Drusilla by his side, as Seraphina drove them toward the city after stating in that no-nonsense way of hers that she was probably more lethal with a weapon than anyone present, including Rhenick. Because of that, she’d proclaimed that it was in everyone’s best interest for her to travel to Umberto’s house as well, and then added that it wasn’t up for debate.
Because Seraphina had already been carrying her blunderbuss, had a rapier attached to her side, and seemed to have what appeared to be two sticks of dynamite shoved into a bag—even though he’d pointed out that dynamite was rather unstable, which had simply earned him a roll of the eyes from Seraphina, as if she knew exactly how volatile dynamite was but was capable of handling it properly—he and Drusilla had agreed that of course Seraphina would be more than welcome to join them.
It really hadn’t come as much of a surprise when Seraphina had then insisted on driving them to Umberto’s house on South Michigan Avenue, saying in an offhand manner that she was beyond proficient with handling the reins, as well as being quite capable of employing evasive maneuvers, although where she’d learned those was anyone’s guess.
Considering that Seraphina had truly not appeared to be in the mood to debate the matter, and he was perfectly familiar with members of the feminine set who weren’t in favorable moods, she was now sitting on the coachman’s seat, while his somewhat puzzled coachman and groomsmen had been sent off to patrol the castle grounds. That had left Annaliese and her ferrets free to keep an eye on Sneaky Pete, who was now secured in one of the dungeons.
“I appreciate you deciding to accompany us, especially after Seraphina turned all bossy, which most men wouldn’t have appreciated in the least,” Drusilla said as she clutched the strap attached to the coach’s ceiling, the strap getting more use than it ever had before as it wasn’t a usual occurrence for one of the Whittenbecker family carriages to be traveling along at what amounted to breakneck speed.
“There’s nothing to appreciate, as I certainly wasn’t going to stay behind while you and Seraphina went off to chat with Umberto, nor was I bothered by Seraphina’s bossiness, as I’m quite accustomed to bossy ladies, given the family I grew up in.” Rhenick smiled. “I mean, granted, Seraphina seems quite capable of protecting you, especially as she’s armed with dynamite, which will definitely put an interesting twist on the evening if she brings that out at any point. But even though I know she’ll keep you safe, Umberto and I work in the same industry. We’ve always maintained a rather cordial attitude with each other, a cordiality that may help us get a few answers tonight.”
“That cordiality might be a thing of the past considering you and Umberto were engaged in a rousing bout of fisticuffs recently.”
“An excellent point, although I’m sure Umberto has realized by now that he acted completely beyond the pale when he cast aspersions on your appearance. I’m sure he’s also realized that I was completely justified in my response of slugging him, as he’d bestowed a grave insult on a lady I hold very dear to my heart, something I’m sure Umberto, as well as the other developers, have realized by now.”
Drusilla’s eyes, oddly enough, began to twinkle in the lantern light. “Given what Umberto was implying last week, I don’t believe any of the developers think you’re in my company as often as you are because I’m very dear to your heart. Instead, they, as I was guilty of at first, believe this is a plot to get your hands on the castle. With that said, though, know that my tender feminine sensibilities were not injured when Umberto remarked on my plain appearance, as I’m rather accustomed to people mentioning my less-than-beautiful features. I’m happy to report that I’ve grown immune to those types of slights over the years.”
Something heavy settled in the pit of his stomach. “Anyone who has ever had the audacity to call you plain clearly has something wrong with their eyesight, as you are a remarkably beautiful woman and, in fact, are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.”
For the span of a few heartbeats, Drusilla considered him, but then her lips curved into a smile that left his mind going curiously numb.
“I find myself unable to conjure up anything clever to say in response to what was a truly lovely thing to say to me,” she said, her voice no louder than a whisper. “With that said, I’ll simply say thank you and leave it at that, although ... this might be one of those moments in a friendship where those hugs I’ve seen you often bestowing on your sisters might be in order.”
The sound of the carriage wheels rumbling against the cobblestones faded straightaway as he found himself captured by Drusilla’s eyes, eyes that were still twinkling in a compelling fashion, although they were now holding a hint of warmth in them as well.
What that warmth meant, he couldn’t say for certain, but what he could say was this—ever since he’d first set eyes on Drusilla, he’d felt the most compelling urge to take her in his arms and hold her tight. Quite honestly, though, he’d also wanted to be given an opportunity to kiss her, to be able to take her face between his hands and then lower his lips to hers.
That she was asking him to give her a hug, something he got the distinct impression she was not overly familiar with receiving, was promising to the say the least, and...
The carriage took that moment to make a sharp turn to the left, sending him careening off the seat and to the floor, but before he could so much as pull himself back onto his seat, or lament the loss of hugging Drusilla since it seemed as if the moment had come and gone, the carriage pulled to a smart stop. The rapidity of the stop had him sprawling to the floor again, which was why his first sight when the door swung open was of the blunderbuss Seraphina had jammed in a holster slung low on her hip, followed by her face looming in front of his when she stuck her head into the carriage.
Given that one of Seraphina’s imitation moles looked to be coming undone from the adhesive she’d used to attach it to her face, it was clear that she might need to watch how fast she drove a carriage in the future, as adhesives might not be up for the task of keeping moles in place when she was racing against the wind at excessive speeds.
“What happened to you?” were the first words out of Seraphina’s mouth.
“Your driving,” he muttered, earning a grin from Seraphina before she lent him a hand from the carriage, Drusilla stepping out behind him a second later. She settled her gaze on a very large house that had numerous fountains tinkling away on the front lawn, along with statues of cherubs and angels lining the front walk.
“It’s, ah, difficult to describe,” Drusilla finally said.
“Rhenick told me to look for a fussy house once I reached South Michigan and Thirty-Third Street,” Seraphina said, her gaze settling on one of the pillars flanking the front porch that looked to have some sort of vine motif carved into the marble. “I have to say this one stood out right away, as the rest of the houses on this street are more on the tasteful side, although...” She tilted her head. “That seems to be a lovely stained-glass panel in the front door. I would hate to have to blow it up if no one answers that door.” With that, Seraphina strode into motion, leaving Drusilla and Rhenick behind.
“She’s rather terrifying,” Rhenick said, earning a quirk of the lips from Drusilla before she took hold of his arm and pulled him after Seraphina, who was already standing in front of the door, eyeing a door knocker that was shaped in the form of a cherub.
“Everyone ready?” Seraphina asked.
“Quite,” Drusilla said, which left Seraphina sending her a nod before she gave the knocker a few raps, then returned her attention to Drusilla. “We probably should have discussed a strategy before I knocked on the door, but I’m thinking you should be the lead interrogator because you didn’t have an issue with speaking your mind to Umberto before.” Seraphina nodded to Rhenick. “You’ll be the muscle in the background.”
“I thought you were the muscle,” he argued.
Seraphina’s lips curved. “I’ll be the surprise muscle, but we’ll only use me if Umberto doesn’t cooperate.” She reached up to give the knocker another rap, pausing mid-reach when the door swung open and a man wearing a dark formal jacket thrown over his nightclothes took to looking down his very long nose at them.
“It’s the middle of the night,” he said in a clipped voice that held a distinct British accent.
Drusilla stepped forward. “And we apologize for the inappropriateness of the hour, but we have a matter of some urgency to discuss with Mr. Umberto Zambarello. You may tell him that Miss Drusilla Merriweather has come to call.”
The butler blinked. “Good heavens, you’re Miss Ottilie’s niece, aren’t you?” He presented her with a bow. “I’m Bentley, miss, your aunt’s former butler, but ... what are you doing in Chicago? Or better yet, what are you doing here and at this late hour?”
“I’ll be more than happy to have that conversation with you later, but for now, Bentley, if you could fetch Mr. Zambarello, I’d be much obliged, as I need to speak to him about another one of his employees.”
Before Bentley could do more than frown, the sound of slipper-clad feet came flip-flopping down the hall, Umberto coming into view a second later. He faltered ever so slightly as he caught sight of them, but then he was flip-flopping their way a second later, stopping directly in front of Drusilla.
“While I realize we parted on less-than-amicable terms the last time we spoke, Miss Merriweather, arriving on my doorstep in the middle of the night is an impertinence that’s inexcusable, especially when I’m sure whatever it is you want to speak with me about could have waited until tomorrow.”
“Of course it’s an impertinence, but one I was willing to make given the impertinence you directed my way when you sent your man to my castle tonight with the express purpose of trying to scare me back to New York.”
Umberto scowled. “What in the world are you talking about?”
“I really don’t have the patience to deal with you pleading ignorance, Mr. Zambarello. You know full well I’m speaking about Sneaky Pete.”
“Who?”
Drusilla crossed her arms over her chest, but before she could get another word out of her mouth, the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps drew everyone’s attention, and then a lady wearing a mobcap and a robe embellished with feathers came bursting into view. She stopped dead in her tracks, glanced to Drusilla, then to Rhenick, and finally to Seraphina, her gaze lingering on the blunderbuss in Seraphina’s hand before she marched over to stand directly beside Umberto.
“Do not tell me that you’ve been running numbers again and these miscreants have arrived in the middle of the night because they just finished a job for you, or are here to tell you that the job went horribly wrong,” the woman said through teeth that had taken to clenching.
“Now, angel,” Umberto began, “you know I’ve left gambling behind. I’m a completely legitimate man of business these days.”
Drusilla, to Rhenick’s surprise, released a bit of a snort. “Completely legitimate unless you take into account that you sent Sneaky Pete to my home tonight with the express purpose of breaking into it and then masquerading as a ghostly knight. Since you clearly did that to frighten me into leaving town, if you ask me, you’re not exactly finding complete success as a legitimate man of business. In fact, you might want to consider telling people instead that you’re an occasionally legitimate businessman. You might also want to extend the lady you just called angel an apology, as I’m relatively certain you’ve been telling her some rather large fibs of late about your business dealings in general.”