Page 7 of A Lesson in Propriety (Merriweather Academy for Young Ladies #1)
Seven
Mr. Rhenick Whittenbecker was a man who was accustomed to being surrounded by members of the feminine set.
Being the only son, as well as the eldest of the Whittenbecker family, which consisted of his parents, Franklin and Wilhelmine, and four younger sisters—Tilda, Eloise, Grace, and Coraline—he’d grown up immersed in a world filled with petticoats, ribbons, various shades of pink, and cute little bunnies his sisters simply couldn’t live without.
He was also the only male cousin until recently to be born into any of the other Whittenbecker families, as well as the Akerman branches, his mother’s side, which made him somewhat of a novelty in his female cousins’ eyes and was exactly why those cousins had always clamored for his attention during every family gathering.
That clamoring usually resulted in the girls going to unusual lengths to garner his notice, which was exactly why he was more than proficient with rescuing girls from trees, tending to skinned knees and elbows, and then, once the girls began turning into young ladies, providing a sympathetic shoulder for them to cry on after they suffered what they believed were end-of-the-world problems, all of which normally involved young men who didn’t return their affections or, worse yet, unfortunate hairstyles.
His familiarity with everything feminine was why, after he’d seen Ottilie’s front gate open, he’d decided to drop by in the hopes that his dear friend had finally returned home because he was concerned that, as a lady living without the benefit of a gentleman’s presence, her welfare might very well be in jeopardy, as there’d been some disturbing situations pertaining to her castle while she’d been away.
He’d not even made it to the castle entrance, though, before he’d spotted a young lady with red hair dashing down the drive, shouting something about mad goats. His first inclination had been to leap from Sweet Pea, a stallion his youngest sister had named because he’d made the mistake of bringing his new horse home on Coraline’s birthday, which had made it impossible for him to refuse her request to name it, and race to the redhead’s assistance.
That inclination had disappeared in a trice, though, when something furry materialized from the collar of the lady’s cloak, something he’d first assumed was a fur wrap that had come loose due to all the dashing—until that bit of fur scrambled to the lady’s shoulder, leapt to the ground, and then scurried off toward a grove of trees, leaving the young lady changing directions to charge after it.
Even with all his feminine experience, he’d never once witnessed a lady wearing what had appeared to be a ferret, but before he could contemplate the matter further or help her recapture a most unusual fashion accessory, a cloaked figure came rushing down the steps—gripping a lance, no less—one she evidently wasn’t comfortable using against any of the numerous goats that were chasing her.
To his astonishment, that figure, clearly a woman, bolted for a stone wall that bordered the castle, tossed the lance over it, then made an impressive leap and disappeared over the wall, leaving the goats scrambling about as they tried to figure out how to continue chasing her.
Deciding the cloaked woman was probably safe for now, Rhenick nudged Sweet Pea in the direction the ferret-chasing lady had gone, reining his horse to a stop again when Norbert Tweed, Ottilie’s longtime groundskeeper, came barreling into view, brandishing a rifle. A blink of an eye later, Norbert disappeared into the castle, and a second after that, additional goats came charging through the front door.
What a herd of goats was doing in the castle was a little puzzling, but considering they were heading directly for Sweet Pea and his horse was now tossing its head in an agitated state, which normally proceeded an attempt to unseat his rider, Rhenick abandoned the urge to puzzle out the goat situation or the ferret one, and swung from the saddle instead. His feet barely hit the gravel before Sweet Pea bolted away, leaving Rhenick behind as the goats immediately took to scrambling after his horse.
To say it was a most unusual state of affairs was an understatement, as was the fact that, instead of taking any type of decisive action, something he was known for always doing, he found himself in a bit of a quandary, unsure of which situation he should address first.
His indecision came to a rapid end when a shot rang out from inside the castle.
Breaking into a run, Rhenick took the steps two at a time, his progress impeded when he was forced to dodge a goat that was galloping through the door, one that gave him an uncalled-for ramming of its head before it charged past him, the ramming leaving him limping his way into the castle. He was then forced to edge his way along the wall in order to avoid another goat that was trundling down the hallway.
His edging stopped once he made it beyond the two dozen or so suits of armor that Ottilie had collected over the years, his gaze darting around the great hall before settling on a most unusual scene unfolding on the opposite side of the room.
Norbert was standing in front of a fireplace that gave new meaning to the word gigantic , the tail of his shirt only partially tucked into trousers that were being held in place by a single suspender, the other lying limply against Norbert’s side, suggesting the man had been in a hurry to get to the castle and hadn’t bothered to get properly dressed first.
The groundskeeper didn’t seem concerned about being less-than-appropriately attired, though, as he was currently in the process of aiming his rifle at someone Rhenick couldn’t see since Norbert was obstructing his view.
Stepping to the right, Rhenick returned his attention to the person being held at rifle-point, blinking—and then blinking again—when his gaze settled on not a man, as he’d been expecting, but a woman. That woman, unexpectedly enough, instead of cowering because there was a gun being pointed her way, or looking as if she were about to suffer a fit of the vapors over having recently been shot at—the proof of that being the large chunk that was missing from the fireplace behind her—was standing with perfect posture, staring Norbert down.
Rhenick’s feet, seemingly on their own accord, began propelling him forward, the urge to protect the woman impossible to ignore, no matter if she’d done something that warranted being held in place by a rifle or not. His forward propulsion came to a rapid end, though, when he finally got an unimpeded view of the woman’s face, the mere sight of it leaving him feeling as if the floor underneath his feet had dropped straight away.
To say she was the most exquisite woman he’d ever seen was an understatement, and given all the beautiful women he’d had the pleasure of spending time with over the years, that was saying something.
In all honesty, she wasn’t what anyone would have considered a classic beauty, but there was simply something fascinating about her.
Her hair, being an intriguing shade of brown—which certainly wasn’t considered all the rage these days, at least according to his sisters—was pulled back in a simple chignon, not a strand escaping the many pins he knew were required for that particular style, something that was quite impressive given her current circumstances.
He didn’t know any lady who’d be capable of keeping every hair in place while dealing with a rifle-toting groundskeeper, but he was apparently now in the presence of a lady who gave new meaning to the word composed , as he had yet to notice her tremble even the slightest bit, nor did it appear as if her eyes were holding even a dollop of fear in them, and...
His train of thought disappeared when his attention settled more firmly on her eyes, ones that were the most compelling shade of blue he’d ever had the pleasure of seeing, and he felt he could drown in them if given half a chance, an unusual thought if there ever was one since he wasn’t a gentleman whose thoughts normally traveled in a poetic direction.
Dragging his gaze from her eyes when he realized he was all but gawking at the lady, something he’d never done in his life, Rhenick gave himself a bit of a shake in the hopes of dissipating the stupor he’d descended into.
Thankfully, his sense of discombobulation lessened ever so slightly with the shaking, which allowed him to realize that while he’d been lost in some sort of curious trancelike state, the lady had begun speaking.
It was a more than peculiar happenstance when the mere sound of her voice left an honest-to-goodness shiver sliding down his spine.
“And there is absolutely no reason for you to continue pointing that gun at me,” she said, her voice maintaining an even pitch, quite as if she wasn’t in danger of being shot at any mo ment. “You’re terrifying the poor goat that is even now trying to hide behind me, as well as a goose that has burrowed underneath my skirt. The burrowing is a circumstance I’d like to rectify as quickly as possible as I’m afraid the goose is soon going to realize she’s trapped. I can’t imagine I’ll want her directly next to me when she tries to fight her way back to freedom.”
“I’m sure you’d like me to set this down,” Norbert scoffed, “but this is private property, and you have no business walking in here as if you own the place. Since you’re a woman and all, I’ll give you the courtesy of ten seconds to remove yourself, but if you’re not out of my sight by then, don’t think I won’t shoot you.”
Instead of immediately heading for the door, the lady narrowed blue eyes that were now flashing in a rather intimidating fashion on Norbert instead.
“I have no intention of removing myself from this castle as my aunt Ottilie transferred the ownership of it to me and my sister before she left the country. That means I have every right to walk into it as if I owned the place because, to put it bluntly, I do.”
A sense of dread immediately began flowing through Rhenick’s veins, undoubtedly brought about because if the lady was telling the truth, she was soon going to be facing far more danger than being held at gunpoint by Norbert. That danger, unfortunately, involved members of Chicago’s underworld, who wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever it took to obtain possession of land that was now considered one of the most coveted pieces of property outside of Chicago, and property that the most intriguing lady he’d ever clapped eyes on now claimed to own.