That right there was why Drusilla had not married Elbert the minute her one year of mourning was over, what with howher mother had retreated to her bed at the mere thought of missing her eldest daughter’s wedding or, worse yet, not being able to host a wedding the Four Hundred would have deemed the wedding of the Season. Irma had only abandoned her bed after Drusilla assured her they’d postpone the nuptials—a delay that had allowed Sanford more than enough time to plan and execute the liquidation of the Merriweather fortune.
“You really are going to have to get out of the hack, Mother,” Drusilla finally said, which earned her another sniffle before Irma narrowed red-rimmed eyes on her.
“I’m not getting out. This is a horrid place Ottilie gave you and Annaliese, and I won’t step foot into a home that has bats circling around it or ghosts wandering the hallways, especially if one of those ghosts is Ottilie.” Irma gathered her cloak tightly against her. “There are probably rats roaming around inside as well, along with a variety of other less-than-pleasant creatures.”
“I once read that some bats are carnivorous, so perhaps these bats are of that variety and have taken care of any rats that may have tried to live in the castle.”
Irma’s mouth dropped open. “If those bats are carnivorous, what would stop them from trying to eat us, especially if they’ve found a way to access the interior of the castle?”
“That was probably not a well thought out answer on my part.”
“Well thought out or not, you said it, which means I’m definitely not getting out of this hack now.”
“What if I told you, now that I think about it, that I’m almost positive those carnivorous bats only live in tropical areas? Clearly Chicago is not a tropical paradise.”
Irma pursed her lips. “I suppose that’s somewhat reassuring, but if the bats aren’t eating the rats, then there’s undoubtedly an infestation of them in the castle. I imagine they’ll be coming out in hordes at night with the sole intention of nibbling on our toes.”
“Except that Annaliese’s ferrets will take care of any bats or rats, which is what I should have said in the first place.”
Irma frowned. “Annaliese has more than one ferret?”
“She has three—Pippin, Wiggles, and Fidget—but you probably thought there was only one because the ferrets look remarkably similar.”
“Do all three of them ride around on her shoulder, taking it in turns?”
“Only Pippin does that. Wiggles and Fidget are more on the standoffish side.”
Irma’s gaze sharpened on Drusilla. “She doesn’t have any other unusual animals that I don’t know about, does she?”
“She used to have a colony of beavers, but since we had no idea what our housing situation was going to be like here, she decided not to bring them.” Drusilla smiled. “They’re currently living in the backyard of one of Annaliese’s fellow animal activists, but I imagine Annaliese will send for them at some point.”
“She’ll never find herself a husband if she continues with her peculiar ways.”
“Unless she happens upon a gentleman who loves animals as much as she does. But Annaliese’s future husband prospects aside”—Drusilla caught her mother’s eye—“the driver would like to get on his way, which means you’re going to have to exit this hack, and before you argue with that, you need to remember that you have nowhere else to go.”
Irma crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s not true. We can always repair to the Palmer House. I’ve heard that it’s quite delightful there.”
“The Palmer House is a luxury hotel that we can no longer afford.”
“Of course we can afford it because I know, given all the bellowing Elbert was doing regarding you holding the Herrington gems for ransom, that you managed to extract far more money from him than he wanted to give you.”
“I wasn’t holding the diamonds for ransom. I was simply making what I considered a sound business deal.”
“It must have been some deal, given all that bellowing, although I do feel compelled to state yet again that it’s very unbecoming for a lady to immerse herself in any type of business in the first place.”
“Then you should start preparing yourself for additional unbecoming behavior from me since I’ve done a lot of contemplating about my life over the past few months, and I’ve decided that I will never again allow myself to depend on a man to take care of me, which means...”
“You’ve decided to remain a spinster?” Irma gasped before Drusilla could finish her thought.
“Indeed.”
Irma raised a hand to her throat. “But marriage is the only way we members of the feminine set can enjoy financial stability.”
“That way of thinking doesn’t seem to have worked out well for either of us, Mother, which is why I say it’s past time we Merriweather women figure out how to secure some financial stability on our own.”
Two red splotches of color took up residence on Irma’s pale cheeks. “Do not let anyone else hear you speak of such a thing, because with radical ideas like that, we’ll never see ourselves returned to the fold of the New York Four Hundred.”
“The Four Hundred turned their backs on us the moment they learned we were penniless. And not that I want to make you weep again, but you should probably prepare yourself for the fact that the upper echelons of New York society will undoubtedly continue giving us the cut direct if I follow through with an idea I was just discussing with Annaliese and Seraphina.”
