“Fidget slips away all the time, but she always shows up again,” Drusilla said.
Edwin turned a scowl on her. “That’s what Miss Annaliese told us, but me and Hattie heard the aunts say that Fidget washeading down a vent that leads to the dungeons.” His eyes turned wide. “Aunt Coraline said there are mummies down there now, and poor Fidget won’t stand a chance against mummies. But no one would let me and Hattie go down there to help find her, so now she’s gonna be dead, just like the mummies.” He shuddered. “She’ll be turned into a mummy ferret, and then Mama won’t let me and Hattie play with her ever again.”
Drusilla knelt down in front of Edwin. “Fidget’s not going to be turned into a mummy, nor are the mummies that are stored in the dungeons wandering about the castle.”
Edwin’s eyes grew wider than ever. “Do you think Fidget will turn into a ghost, then—like the ghost we heard our aunts say is haunting the castle and is the reason we’re not allowed to explore the turrets?”
“Your aunts told you there’s a ghost haunting the turrets?”
“We heard Aunt Coraline and Aunt Grace talking about how they heard tales from their friends about the ghost.”
“And the turret?” Drusilla pressed.
“Mother told us we couldn’t go up there because it was too dangerous,” Hattie said. “She wouldn’t say why it was dangerous, but me and Edwin know it’s because of a ghost since she wouldn’t let us go up there even when Aunt Coraline said she’d watch over us.”
Drusilla resisted a sigh because, clearly, the twins were too intelligent for their own good.
In all honesty, it wasn’t that the turrets were too dangerous. It was simply that after she’d found the ghostly rag doll the week before, she’d decided to return it to exactly where and how she’d found it, believing it could very well be used to trap whomever had been attempting to scare everyone away from the castle.
She’d not even told Norbert about what she’d found on the turret, knowing full well the groundskeeper was a little loose-lipped, especially when he went to the Mead and Vittles, wherehe evidently regaled all the patrons with the odd happenstances he observed on the castle grounds.
Her less-than-forthcoming attitude had most assuredly confused Norbert, especially when she questioned him about how a person would be able to enter the castle if they didn’t have a key. But when she didn’t expand on why she wanted to know that, she earned herself a rather long, very considering look from Norbert in the process.
It had been clear the man had known she was being deliberately sketchy, but after a full minute had passed with him considering her, he’d finally told her that entrance without a key could only be gained through a window, but that a window entry was highly unlikely as he made a point to keep all the windows locked, at least the ones on the floors with easy access from outside the castle walls.
Norbert had then been highly offended when Drusilla, with Rhenick in tow, had gone off to inspect the windows, his attitude coming to a rapid end when Rhenick found three unlocked windows on the ground floor, ones that had been conveniently located behind shrubs.
To say Norbert had been appalled over what he considered dereliction of his most important duty—protecting the castle—was an understatement, and he’d taken to checking the grounds every night instead of once or twice a week, as well as making certain no windows were ever left unlocked again.
Pulling herself from her thoughts when she realized little Hattie was undoubtedly waiting for her to commiserate over the fact the twins weren’t allowed to visit the turrets or the dungeon, Drusilla was spared some type of flimsy explanation regarding the turret situation when Norbert came striding into view, his ever-present rifle resting against his shoulder.
“Got a situation down at the gate” were the first words out of his mouth.
“A situation?” Drusilla repeated.
“Umberto Zambarello is here again. It’s his fourth dropping by this week, and this time he demanded that I tell you he’s willing to double any offer Whittenbecker and Company has made you, and also tell you that he’s not leaving until he gets an opportunity to speak to you in person.” Norbert shook his head. “Seemed to me he’s serious about that since he had one of his footmen pull out a chair, small table, and even a picnic basket.”
Drusilla frowned. “Is Mr. Zambarello the scariest of crime bosses, or is he the one who’s going legitimate?”
“Legitimate, but don’t think that just because he’s not dealing in gambling anymore means he’s any less relentless. As you’ve been told, he has those five overly rambunctious and less than ladylike daughters on his hands. He also recently let it be known that he’s increasing the dowry on his oldest girl, who’s set to turn seventeen next year, to over a hundred thousand, which means he’s going to have to build a lot of mansions and sell them to cover dowries like that in the coming years.”
“I would think so, but unfortunately for Mr. Zambarello, he’s not going to be able to plump up his bank account if he believes I’m going to be swayed with whatever it is he wants to offer me and turn over the castle and property to him.” Drusilla squared her shoulders. “Nevertheless, since dear Mr. Zambarello seems to be a relentless sort, and since I have vowed to retain ownership of my property no matter what, I suppose I have no choice but to have a face-to-face chat with the man and set him straight once and for all.”
Twenty-Three
“I’m not certain Edwin believed, after he got a glimpse of the pistol in your pocket, that you’re not going to use said pistol on Umberto Zambarello, no matter that you assured him you weren’t a lady who usually resorted to violence,” Rhenick said after Seraphina disappeared around the side of the castle with the twins, who’d been less than thrilled they hadn’t been invited to watch the meeting with Umberto, what with how Edwin was convinced there was going to be some shooting involved.
Drusilla grinned. “I’m not sure he did either, but do you think it speaks well of my character that I was somewhat delighted by the mere idea he thought I was the type of adventurous lady who’d even consider shooting an opponent in the first place?”
“You took a shot at me not all that long ago,” Rhenick pointed out before he stopped walking. “Besides the attempted shooting of me, though, what lady but an adventurous one wouldn’t flee from a castle where shenanigans are obviously occurring, or flee when ravens that once attacked her are now making a habit of setting themselves up in a line on the turret, where they begin cawing ceaselessly the moment they spot her walking across the back courtyard?”
Drusilla shot a look to the sky to make certain there wereno ravens flying overhead before she leaned closer to Rhenick. “Annaliese told me that ravens are highly intelligent birds, and she believes the castle ravens might have memorized my appearance, which also leads her to believe they’re going to stalk me from this point forward.” The hair on the nape of her neck took to standing to attention when a chorus ofkraassuddenly rang out, quite as if the ravens knew she was currently discussing them. “I may have to resort to drastic measures, such as taking some food up to the turret and leaving it there as a peace offering.”
“Which might work, or it might simply attract more rats, something that will undoubtedly cause your mother to take to her room again, even though my mother has finally convinced her to get out and explore the castle more, which Irma seems to enjoy, but only as long as my mother is with her.”
“Perhaps I should try to lure the ravens into the forest area and leave a peace offering there.”
Rhenick smiled. “A sensible idea, but speaking of sensible, we should probably decide, before we reach the gate, how you want to proceed with Umberto. Would you like me standing directly beside you, or would you prefer me to linger in the background so that he knows you’re the one who makes the decisions pertaining to Merriweather business and won’t resort to directing questions my way when you don’t agree to give him what he wants?”
