Thirty-Eight
To say that Irma’s rescue attempt was not going smoothly wasn’t an exaggeration since a mere moment after Seth’s flamethrower literally blew up, Sanford snatched hold of Irma, flung her over his shoulder, and sprinted after Sneaky Pete, who was racing full tilt toward a dinghy that was pulled ashore right on the edge of the water.
Rhenick’s gaze darted around the beach and landed on Drusilla, who was struggling with Sneaky Pete’s accomplice, an accomplice who looked remarkably like Fenna Larkin. Before he could take a single step toward her, though, Seraphina came charging to her aid, pulling the woman off Drusilla a second later.
Glancing to his right, he found Annaliese running into the water after Irma, Seth splashing behind her, his face completely black and his hair standing on end—at least the parts that hadn’t been singed right off his head after the flamethrower exploded.
Deciding Drusilla and Seraphina had matters with the woman well in hand, Rhenick ran for the lake, diving under the water before he surfaced and struck out to intercept Sanford and Sneaky Pete, who had managed to get Irma thrown into the dinghy and were trying to drag it into deeper water.
He made it to within feet of them before a shot rent the air, followed by another, and then another, and then a loud voice that sounded as if it were coming out of a large horn wafted over the water.
“Raise your hands in the air, drop your weapons, and wait for one of our Pinkerton agents to escort you back to shore.”
“Agent Pearson!” Drusilla suddenly called out. “What are you doing here?”
“Miss Merriweather! Thank goodness you’re alright, and I’m here trying to do my job, but it appears as if you’ve gotten the jump on me.”
As Drusilla took to grinning, Rhenick put his hands in the air and turned, noticing that the ship Seth had pointed out earlier had pulled alongside theRevengeand that there were already numerous dinghies in the water, all of them filled with what Rhenick assumed were Pinkerton agents.
Before he knew it, he was being escorted by one of those Pinkertons back to the beach, where Miss Sally, the owner of the cove shack, was waiting for everyone, that woman having had the good sense to throw water on Seth’s questionable flamethrower. As soon as everyone began wading out of the water, Sally bellowed that she was off to the refreshment counter, letting everyone know she was open for business, quite as if her little cove hadn’t just witnessed a troubling attack but simply the arrival of potential customers.
After Drusilla called to the Pinkerton agent who’d taken hold of Rhenick’s arm that he was with her, the agent released him and went off to help other Pinkertons go about the business of securing Sanford, Sneaky Pete, and a woman who did turn out to be Fenna Larkin.
Slogging out of the water, Rhenick moved to join Drusilla, who immediately introduced him, as well as Seth and Seraphina, to Agent Pearson.
“I cannot tell you how relieved I am to see you, AgentPearson,” Drusilla exclaimed after introductions had been completed. “It’s been quite the wild morning to say the least, and given that we lost the use of our boat after it caught on fire, and then seemed to be losing the fight to prevent Sanford from making off with my mother again, your appearance certainly saved the day. With that said, I find I’m now brimming with curiosity to hear how you managed to find us, or what you’re doing here in the first place?”
Agent Pearson, a man who looked to be in his early fifties and had a face that was lined with enough wrinkles to suggest he’d seen more than his fair share of life, smiled. “We’re here because of that lead we received about Sanford being spotted in the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately, by the time I got to the port where he’d been spotted, he was no longer there. I had no idea where he might have gone until another agent had the good sense to pull out a map and we realized he could sail his yacht up the Mississippi and eventually land in Lake Michigan. Knowing that’s where your family had gone, I decided that Sanford had learned that as well, so here I am, although a bit late to the party.”
He gave a rueful shake of his head. “We arrived at the castle after you’d already left this morning, but Mrs. O’Sullivan got us up to speed on what had happened, and then Mr. Grimsby told us you were heading north on the lake, so that’s the direction we headed.”
Agent Pearson nodded to where Sanford, Sneaky Pete, and Fenna were now sitting, their hands tied behind their backs and looking quite as if they’d rather be anywhere else. “Do you know who those two are with Sanford?”
“Sneaky Pete Smythe and Fenna Larkin,” Drusilla said. “They weren’t directly involved with Sanford until last night—well, not that I know of, but I’m sure we’ll uncover a few of their secrets now that they’re in custody. Those secrets will need to wait to be revealed, though, as I believe I want to start withquestioning Sanford first, as he is the man who upended my entire world. In all honesty, though, I’ve begun wondering if that upending might have been a blessing in disguise.”
Five minutes later, and sipping iced tea that Sally had brought him from her snack shack, charging him a hefty fee for it in the process, Rhenick watched as Drusilla, after she’d given Irma a long hug, settled herself on a piece of driftwood that put her within feet of Sanford, unable to help but wonder what she’d meant when she’d said that the upending of her world might have been a blessing in disguise.
There was the possibility that she’d said it because the loss of the Merriweather fortune had allowed her to escape a future being married to a man who sounded like a complete cad. However, she could have also been referring to the opening of her academy as a blessing, since it was clear she thrived on challenges and probably hadn’t been faced with many when she’d been an heiress.
Either of those two possibilities would perfectly explain her statement, except for the fact that Drusilla had glanced his way directly after uttering the wordblessing, which left him thinking, or rather hoping, that she looked at becoming acquainted with him as a blessing, which might suggest she was becoming somewhat fond of him, that idea reinforced given that they’d shared a more-than-delightful kiss only the night before.
Considering everything that had happened since, he’d not had much time to ponder the matter of their kiss in general, but the one thing he did know was this—Drusilla had seemed to enjoy it. That right there suggested shewassomewhat fond of him, or maybe, since she might find him a blessing in her life, could be more than somewhat fond of him, although how much more remained to be seen.
“I don’t think there’s any reason for me to be anything but direct,” Drusilla said, pulling Rhenick from his thoughts as she settled her gaze on Sanford. “With that said, I’d like for you, a man I once called Uncle Sanford, to explain to me how you could have, even if you’d been annoyed with my mother, stolen everything from us, going so far as to leave us without a roof over our heads. Well, except for the one Aunt Ottilie thankfully gave me and Annaliese, although I’m not certain you even knew about the castle.”
Sanford’s brow furrowed. “Of course I didn’t know about the castle. Your father, contrary to what everyone believes, didn’t tell me everything. Regardless, you should know that I never meant to leave you without a roof over your head because I assumed Elbert Herrington would step in and save the house on Washington Square. I had no inkling that dreadful man would break off your engagement, but know that after I learned he’d done exactly that, I immediately made plans to leave Scotland, where I’d been letting a house.”
Drusilla frowned. “You would have me believe that you raced across the ocean to save us from a situation you were responsible for?”
“Too right I did, as you’re my family.” He sent a nod Agent Pearson’s way. “I knew the Pinkertons would have been put on the case, as I did make off with a great deal of money, which is why I couldn’t risk docking on the east coast and taking a train to Chicago. Luckily, the Mississippi turned into a viable option, so here I am.”
“But you didn’t exactly swoop in and save us,” Drusilla pointed out. “You swooped in and made off with my mother.”
“I thought it would benefit your mother and me as a future couple if we were able to talk out our differences in private.”
Drusilla began rubbing her temple. “I have no idea what I can even say to that.”
“Then allow me to take over the conversation from here,”Irma said, moving to join Drusilla on her piece of driftwood, where she promptly settled eyes that were flashing on Sanford. “We, if you haven’t figured this out, are never going to be a future couple, and not simply because you’re soon going to find yourself behind bars, although...” She tilted her head. “Given what is clearly a delusional frame of mind on your part, you may find that the courts will sentence you to a very long stay in an insane asylum.”
