Before Rhenick could ask how Drusilla thought any of them would be capable of solving a single mystery, let alone several, the landau began to slow as it approached the castle gate. Riley Murphy, the Merriweathers’ one and only stable boy, waved to them from the other side as he rattled a set of keys in his hand and went about unlocking the gate.
“It seems as if Norbert didn’t leave the church in such a hurry because he was anxious to return to his post,” Drusilla said as Riley swung the gate open. As he stepped aside to make room for the landau, Drusilla told Rhenick’s coachman to pull the landau over once it cleared the gate. She then hopped to the ground after it came to a stop, not bothering to wait for either of the two groomsmen to assist her—not that they’d made so much as a single move to abandon their positions, probably because both of them had only recently worked in one of the shipyards and weren’t exactly familiar with groomsmen duties in general.
After sending his groomsmen, Jimmy Stillwater and Mannie Bracken, a look, which must not have been a very telling look since neither of them made a move to assist Seraphina or Annaliese from the landau either, Rhenick stepped to the ground, offering his hand to the other ladies. He quirked a brow Jimmy and Mannie’s way, earning some winces in return as his groomsmen evidently finally realized what they’d been expected to do.
Deciding he’d have to make arrangements for Jimmy and Mannie to spend some time with Mr. Grimsby, who’d been downright militant with teaching other members of Rhenick’s staff how to adequately perform their duties, Rhenick strode over to join Drusilla, his attention settling on Riley, who was in the process of shaking his head.
“I wouldn’t say, Miss Drusilla, that Norbert originally intended on leaving the castle today, or intended on asking me to mind the gate. That was just a result of what happened after he spotted a carriage parked a ways down Lake Shore Drive. As soon as he saw it, he called over to me—I was helping him prune some roses by the gate—and told me he needed to go investigate a suspicious-looking carriage. Then he fetched his horse and off he went.”
“Did he say why he thought it was suspicious?”
“He mentioned something about it might belong to one of those developers, but he never told me what he discovered after he returned here about forty-five minutes ago.”
“Norbert’s here?” Rhenick asked.
“He was, but only to fetch Ernie as well as a large rucksack, which left me thinking he might not be coming back for quite some time.”
Twenty-Nine
“Leaving with his dog and a rucksack certainly doesn’t make Norbert look guilty at all, does it?” Seraphina muttered as they walked up the drive and headed for the castle, everyone having opted to not use the landau as the day was beautiful and there was a lovely breeze blowing in off the lake.
“I hate to jump to conclusions when Norbert has been growing on me, something that took me by surprise after our first disastrous meeting, but ... innocent people usually don’t bolt without an explanation,” Drusilla said. “I suppose we can at least be thankful, since Norbert figured out that Fenna Larkin might have told us something unfavorable about him, that we don’t have to worry about having a possible murderer roaming around the castle, unless he sneaks back onto the grounds because he’s still determined to find that trunk of maps.”
“Perhaps the goats should return to the castle, and I think I should put some bells on the ferrets as another way to at least get a heads-up if Norbert does return in a sneaky fashion,” Annaliese said right as Irma and Wilhelmine trundled past them in Wilhelmine’s phaeton, Rhenick’s mother calling over her shoulder that the girls had decided to have lunch with their father and weren’t going to join them.
“That was very sweet of your sisters to forgo an afternoon by the water in order to spend time with your father,” Drusilla said as Wilhelmine and Irma continued barreling up the drive.
“My sisters can turn somewhat hovering anytime one of our parents isn’t feeling up to snuff, even though Father assured me this morning that it was just a summer cold,” Rhenick said.
Drusilla smiled. “Summer cold or not, it speaks highly of your sisters that they’d want to spend their Sunday with their ailing father instead of seeking out a more amusing afternoon. That suggests your sisters aren’t going to give me nearly as much trouble as everyone seems to think they will once the academy opens.”
He returned the smile. “I never said they’re not exceptional young ladies, but that doesn’t mean they’re not a little too exuberant at times, and they definitely have a penchant for mischief.”
Before Drusilla could respond to that, Irma and Wilhelmine came strolling down the drive to join them, Irma waving a piece of paper in Drusilla’s direction.
“Riley forgot to give you this telegram and told me to tell you that it was delivered about an hour ago and that the telegram boy was practically beside himself because it’s a telegram from a Pinkerton agent.”
“It must be an update from Agent Pearson,” Drusilla said, taking the telegram from her mother. “He told me he’d make an effort to check in every month or so, even if there wasn’t much to report.”
Rhenick moved closer to her. “Is this Agent Pearson looking into Ottilie’s whereabouts for you?”
“He’s actually searching for the man who absconded with the Merriweather fortune. I haven’t even spoken to Agent Pearson yet about Aunt Ottilie, as I was unaware she’d actually gone missing during my last meeting with the Pinkertons before I left New York. Truth be told, I wasn’t all that concerned thatwe hadn’t heard from my aunt until we got here since she was never one to adhere to a strict schedule. With that said, though, given all the odd happenstances we’ve encountered, I think continuing to believe Aunt Ottilie simply got delayed is wishful thinking. That means I’ll ask Agent Pearson in my return telegram if he’d be willing to look into Aunt Ottilie’s disappearance as well.”
Irma’s forehead puckered. “I’m not sure why you think a Pinkerton agent would want to take on more work for us, as I didn’t think they were even still investigating Sanford and his whereabouts since we don’t have the means to pay the exorbitant fees they charge for private cases.”
“Do you not recall that I told you, before we left New York, that I’d struck a deal with the Pinkertons and that they agreed to stay on our case on a contingency basis?” Drusilla asked.
“I don’t recall that, although I readily admit I was in a rather depressed state for a year or two, but...” Irma frowned. “You struck a deal with the Pinkertons?”
“I wasn’t very well going to simply walk away and forget what Sanford had done to our family merely because we weren’t capable of paying the going Pinkerton rate,” Drusilla said. “And before you ask, I offered to pay double the Pinkertons’ normal fee, but only if Agent Pearson found Sanford, or more importantly, our money. Since the Pinkertons are well aware that Sanford made off with millions, they didn’t hesitate to agree to my terms.”
Drusilla smiled. “I imagine Agent Pearson will be agreeable to another contingency case, especially when Aunt Ottilie’s also worth millions, having inherited half of the Merriweather fortune from her parents with Father inheriting the other half. It might be difficult, though, to uncover answers, as it appears that Norbert, who I’ve been told might have had something to do with Aunt Ottilie’s disappearance, could have intentionally disappeared, as well.”
“Norbert’s disappeared?” Irma asked.
“It appears so, but before we delve into the particulars of yet another peculiar afternoon, what say all of us get a little more comfortable?” Drusilla suggested before she urged everyone into the house, then rang for Mrs. O’Sullivan and asked for a coffee and tea cart after she reached the sitting room.
A sliver of warmth crept through her when Rhenick sat down beside her after she’d taken a seat on a settee, but before she could contemplate exactly why she was suddenly feeling a bit flustered, Irma sat down on the other side of her and shifted around in an obvious attempt to get more comfortable, her shifting leaving Drusilla with no choice but to scoot closer to Rhenick, which did nothing for her flustered state as she was now practically pressed up against the man.
