Drusilla smiled. “And while it’s lovely to learn there are so many people willing to lend me their assistance, we haven’t been paid a visit from a single developer after that dreadful day, so I’m hoping developers in general have decided to leave me alone from this point forward.”
“A valid hope, and one that may come to fruition as Norbert told me that he heard down at the Mead and Vittles that word on the street is that the Merriweather castle is now filled with ladies who aren’t afraid to defend their property, even if their abilities with weapons are somewhat questionable.”
“Seraphina’s an expert shot.”
“True, but I don’t think anyone took note of the shots she fired to purposefully chase men away. All anyone really noticed was Annaliese firing a less-than-accurate Frankenau purse at will, and you shooting Giacomo Caggianni’s right-hand man when you realized he was heading your way.”
“I was aiming for over his head.”
“Which clearly suggests you might want to consider acquiring a pair of spectacles, but at least you didn’t permanently maim that man. Norbert told me Caggianni’s man only suffered a superficial flesh wound and barely needed any stitches to set him to rights.”
Drusilla’s eyes widened. “He needed stitches?”
Rhenick leaned closer to her. “If you’re feeling guilty about that, allow me to remind you that the man was encouraging the driver to run you over.”
“I suppose he was at that, so I’ll desist with the guilt and concentrate instead on the unexpected positive outcomes of that particular day, one of which was, of course...” She sent a discreet nod to where Irma and Wilhelmine were sitting in the first pew, their heads bent closely together as they whispered back and forth, something they’d taken to doing ever since the attempted siege of the castle.
It was curious, the friendship that had sprung up between Irma and Wilhelmine, who’d taken to enjoying hours in each other’s company, something that seemed to be a novel experience for Irma, who’d always surrounded herself with ladies of the Four Hundred but had never seemed to relish the time she spent with them.
It was also curious that Irma was now fully supportive of the academy idea and had even volunteered to teach a few classes, in addition to the lessons she’d agreed to give to Wilhelmine. She’d also taken to embracing a very unexpected motherly protective stance ever since the gate incident, as everyone was referring to it, a stance that seemingly required her to carry a pistol with her at all times, which was somewhat unnerving as she was experiencing as much success with her aim as Drusilla was.
“Why do you think our mothers keep turning around and smiling at us?” Rhenick asked, drawing Drusilla from her thoughts.
“Since you’ve been surrounded by the feminine set ever since you were born, I’m sure you know exactly why they’re doing that.” She lowered her voice. “They’ve got marriage on their minds—more specifically, a marriage between the two of us.”
“I wasn’t sure if you’d picked up on that.”
She waved that aside. “Please. My mother has had marriage in mind between the two of us ever since you told me I needed to marry you. And, if I’m not mistaken, your mother has had marriage in mind ever since you told her you’d met an extraordinary woman.”
He shifted on the bench. “If you believe that, you must also believe that my mother wasn’t completely upfront with you regarding why she was offering you the assistance of Whittenbecker and Company.”
“I don’t think she was being dishonest,” Drusilla countered. “Wilhelmine definitely wants me to open the academy, as that will benefit your sisters. Nevertheless, she’s a mother with an eligible son, so the very idea that you met a woman you found interesting wasn’t going to simply slip out of her mind. To give her credit, though, she’s shown a lot of restraint for a marriage-minded mother, as she’s not even broached the topic of marriage with me since the day we first met.”
“I wouldn’t let your guard down,” Rhenick muttered.
“My guard is firmly in place because our mothers are obviously in cahoots. That idea was solidified earlier because after I offered to take Wilhelmine’s place today on the organ, both she and my mother immediately took to objecting with the most nonsensical excuses, done so because they obviously want me to remain sitting by your side throughout the service.”
She sent her mother, who was once again beaming a smile at her, a slight wrinkling of her nose before she squared her shoulders. “They’ll eventually accustom themselves to the idea that we’re simply meant to be good friends, especially when I’ve gotten the distinct impression, as you’ve not blundered about with me at all during the past month, that you realized I was right when I told you that you’d misinterpreted who I was during our very first encounter and that I’m not extraordinary in the least but merely ordinary.”
His brows drew together. “Not that I want to argue with you, but I feel compelled to point out that you’re certainly not ordinary. What ordinary lady wouldn’t have suffered a fit of the vapors when under attack from some of the most dangerous men in Chicago?”
“I would have been run over for certain if I’d indulged in some vapors during that troubling event, which suggests my refusal to faint dead away was more an act of necessity than extraordinariness.”
“Just because you reacted out of necessity doesn’t mean you’re an ordinary woman—far from it.”
Heat immediately took to crawling up Drusilla’s neck to settle on her face because she was not a lady accustomed to receiving compliments. Rhenick, however, seemed to find ways to compliment her on an almost hourly basis, and his compliments weren’t of the practiced variety, like she’d heard Elbert extend to every woman except her, but the genuine kind that he simply threw into conversations as if they were of little consequence.
To her, they were of great consequence indeed.
He once told her that her hair reminded him of warm and rich chestnuts that were roasting over the fire. He’d then mentioned another time that he’d never seen eyes as lovely as hers, and then told her the very next day that while he knew it was rather untoward to ever mention a lady’s figure, he liked how she’d abandoned the hourglass look most ladies were sporting, preferring her natural shape instead.
In all honesty, she’d come to believe that Rhenick Whittenbecker had the soul of a poet and ... she’d come to realize that he wasn’t using descriptive phrases or outlandish compliments because he wanted to get his hands on her property but simply because he seemed to genuinely like her and also seemed to genuinely get pleasure out of making her smile—or blush, as was frequently the case.
It was odd to discover she was even a lady prone to blushing, as she’d never made a point of blushing before, probably because she’d never been a lady who drew anyone’s notice—until she’d met Rhenick.
He seemed to notice everything about her, and, if she were honest with herself, she’d begun noticing quite a lot about him as well—such as the fact that he was a sincerely caring man who was wonderful with his mother and who genuinely seemed to enjoy spending time with his many sisters, who clamored for his attention, something that never seemed to bother him, even if his sisters were interrupting his work.
“While I’m sure you’re aware that I adore my youngest sister, Coraline,” Rhenick suddenly said, leaning so close to her that his shoulder brushed against hers, “in the spirit of preparing you for the opening of your academy, I feel compelled to direct your attention to where Coraline and her somewhat motley band of friends are not exactly comporting themselves as young ladies should.”
