Page 8 of A Lesson in Propriety (Merriweather Academy for Young Ladies #1)
Eight
Deciding that the first order of business was to discern if the lady truly was the owner of the castle, although he had a feeling she was, as she didn’t strike him as a lady prone to careless disregard for the truth, Rhenick cleared his throat, which resulted in him finding himself on the wrong end of Norbert’s rifle.
He didn’t hesitate to raise his hands in the air. “There’s no need to shoot me, Norbert. I’m just here because I saw the gate open and thought Ottilie had returned. With that said, though, I don’t get the impression this lady is here to harm anyone, so what say you set aside the rifle before someone gets hurt?”
“I’m not setting it aside until I see proof that she’s Miss Ottilie’s niece.”
“Oh for heaven’s sake,” the lady said before she began fiddling with the cuff of her gown, stilling when Norbert directed the rifle her way again. “If you’re considering shooting me because you’re afraid I’m soon to whip a pistol out of my sleeve, know that it would be beyond ridiculous to stash a pistol in a sleeve that has a tailored cuff since it wouldn’t be readily accessible. Besides, I don’t even own a pistol, let alone know how to operate one.”
“Then why are you acting all suspicious with your sleeve?” Norbert asked.
“You said you needed proof that I’m Ottilie’s niece.” She extracted a bracelet that had charms hanging from it. After flipping through the charms, she held one of them aloft. “There. It’s a miniature of Aunt Ottilie, and since I doubt anyone who isn’t related to her would attach her face to a bracelet, I’m sure you’ll agree that this charm can be used as evidence that Ottilie is, indeed, my aunt. As further proof, my name is Drusilla Merriweather—Merriweather being a surname I share with Ottilie.”
It was rather curious when a glimmer of satisfaction took that moment to sweep over Rhenick, undoubtedly because it seemed Drusilla wasn’t married, as she’d not introduced herself as Mrs. Merriweather. Before he could contemplate the matter further, though, Norbert began peering at the charm Drusilla was dangling in front of him.
“Sure seems like it’s a likeness of Miss Ottilie, but...” He nodded to Rhenick. “What do you think?”
Rhenick stepped closer and settled his gaze on the wrist Drusilla immediately thrust his way, getting a delicious whiff of lemon verbena in the process. Trying to ignore that the scent was tugging him straight back into discombobulated territory, Rhenick forced his attention on the miniature dangling in front of him. He lifted his head a second later and caught Drusilla’s eye. “It would seem you are indeed Ottilie’s niece.”
“Of course I am,” she said briskly, tucking her charm bracelet away before she glanced between him and Norbert. “With my identity now settled, who, pray tell, are both of you?”
After Norbert muttered his name and added that he was Ottilie’s groundskeeper, Drusilla arched a brow Rhenick’s way, which he responded to by presenting her with a bow.
“I’m Mr. Rhenick Whittenbecker,” he began, anything else he might have wanted to add forgotten when his attention was captured by the unusual sight of a goose’s backside trying to wiggle out from underneath Drusilla’s hem.
He was in motion a heartbeat later, lunging forward with the intent of grabbing the goose. Regrettably, it quickly became evident that the whole lunging business was not going to work to his advantage after he tripped over his own feet in the process, causing him to slam into Drusilla and knocking her straight to the floor, with him tumbling directly after her.
If knocking a lady to the ground wasn’t bad enough, instead of rolling to where he’d cushion her fall, he landed directly on top of her, the sharp intake of breath she immediately took suggesting he’d not exactly been successful with saving the lady as it seemed he’d injured her instead.
“In case this has escaped your notice,” she said somewhat breathlessly, “I’m in very real danger of being squished—and by you, if that’s in question.”
The back of his neck took to heating because of course he was squishing her. He was at least twice her size, a good foot taller than she was, and...
“Still squishing me,” she wheezed.
“Right,” he muttered as he rolled to his left and landed on his back. Before he could extend her a well-deserved apology, though, his vision was obscured by a wet nose, one that turned out to belong to the goat that had been hovering next to Drusilla and was now snuffling its way across Rhenick’s face.
A wet, abrasive tongue then began to scrape over Rhenick’s cheek, leaving behind a great deal of slobber before Norbert finally had the presence of mind to grab the goat by its collar and tug it away.
“Sorry about that,” Norbert said. “Billy’s just a real friendly sort, but before he starts getting fresh with Miss Merriweather, I should take him and Mother Goose back to the barn.” With that, Norbert began tugging Billy the Goat toward the hallway, Mother Goose letting out a squawk before waddling after them.
Swiping his sleeve over his slobber-covered face, Rhenick pushed himself to a sitting position and turned his attention to Drusilla, who was watching Norbert’s departure, a frown marring her lovely face.
“Is it just me, or do you think it’s odd that animals were wandering around the castle?” she asked.
“It does seem rather curious because I never noticed goats in here when Ottilie was in residence, although...” He nodded to a few bales of straw. “Given all that straw and the distinct scent of something unpleasant that’s mixed in with the straw that’s scattered on the floor, I’m thinking animals being inside has become a common occurrence these days.”
She considered the straw-strewn floor before she turned her gaze to a chandelier that was dangling cobwebs directly over their heads. “Does it also seem odd that Aunt Ottilie’s groundskeeper is still working here when her other employees probably left their positions after they decided my aunt had returned to the castle in the form of a ghost and was haunting the place?”
“You know the castle’s rumored to be haunted?”
“I was recently made aware of that when my hack driver filled me in about the peculiar events happening here.” She pulled her attention away from the chandelier and settled it on him. “You told Norbert that you’re here because you thought Ottilie had returned, which suggests you don’t believe the rumor that it’s her ghost haunting this place.”
“I’ve never put much store in rumors, and given that William Baumgartner, Ottilie’s solicitor, never shared any official information with anyone in Chicago regarding Ottilie’s death, I still have hope she’s out there somewhere—unless you’re here because William contacted you with unfortunate news regarding her demise.”
“I’ve never heard anything from Mr. Baumgartner, even though we’ve sent him numerous telegrams over the past two years, nor have I heard from my aunt after she transferred ownership of the castle to me and my sister and left the country.”
“She really gave you the castle?” Rhenick forced himself to ask.
Drusilla sat up and began dusting off the sleeve of her gown. “I’d hardly show up here with the intention of moving in unless she had, but why do I get the distinct impression you believe there’s a problem with my owning this place?”
He opened his mouth but got distracted by the sight of a spider descending from the chandelier on a gossamer thread, heading, of course, directly for Drusilla.
“What say we go out on the back courtyard to discuss this further?” he asked as he pushed himself to his feet and grabbed hold of her hand, pulling her to her feet and then hustling her to the courtyard door.
“I’m almost tempted to ask if you spotted a ghost, which could possibly explain why we’re all but sprinting across the room,” she said as he shoved aside a bolt that was locking the door, then shoved open a door that clearly hadn’t been oiled in months, given the squeaking it was doing.
“I didn’t want to alarm you, but there was a spider,” he said, frowning when he got his first glance of what had once been a charming courtyard when Ottilie had been in residence but was now filled with overgrown vines and pots filled with dead plants that had obviously been neglected for months.
“I’m not afraid of spiders because my sister enjoys collecting them, although I freely admit I don’t admire them quite as much as Annaliese does,” she said before she wandered across the courtyard, stopping once she reached a low stone wall that separated the courtyard from a cliff that led down to Lake Michigan. She took a second to admire the view before she returned her attention to him. “Now that we’re well removed from that spider, although I’m sure there are just as many spiders lurking out here, tell me—why is it a problem that my aunt gave me this castle?”
“It’s only a problem if you’re truly determined to move in instead of selling the place.”
“Because?”
He took a step closer to her. “This particular property is currently considered highly desirable, and it’s coveted by men who will do whatever it takes to gain ownership of it. That means, unless you’re willing to sell—and quickly at that, something I’m happy to admit I’m qualified to assist you with—your very life, along with the lives of everyone you’ve brought to Chicago with you, will unquestionably be in danger.”