“Given that we’re about to move into a moldy old castle, I have a feeling you’re soon going to find yourself fascinated with a variety of unusual creatures.”
“There might be some perks to moving into a haunted abode after all,” Annaliese said before her attention drifted to the belfry, or more specifically to what now seemed to be an entire colony of bats whizzing about. It wasn’t exactly surprising when excitement began flickering through Annaliese’s eyes.
“Before you get any wild thoughts in that head of yours,” Drusilla began, “I’m going to encourage you to resist the urge to capture a bat to study because I’m relatively certain they bite.”
“I could always wear gloves.”
“Or you could study them from afar and leave it at that since it’s not as if we have expendable money to pay a physician to treat you for some dastardly disease you might pick up from a bat bite.”
“An excellent point, although speaking of funds...” Annaliese gestured to the castle. “Not that I’m an expert on financialmatters, since it wasn’t as if we ever needed to count our coins before Sanford stole our fortune, but I’m relatively certain a castle is going to be expensive to maintain. Coal to heat the place will probably be astronomical, and I can’t see Mother refraining from complaining incessantly once it begins getting colder if every room she steps foot in isn’t at a comfortable temperature.”
“Mother has proven herself to be rather adept at complaining over the past year,” Drusilla said before she took a long moment to peruse her new home, stilling when an unexpected thought took that moment to fling to mind.
“You’ve got the most peculiar look on your face,” Annaliese said, pulling Drusilla from her perusal.
“I’m sure I do because I might have just come up with an idea that could very well help us secure a more financially stable future.” She took a few steps toward the castle, eyed it for another long moment, then turned. “Remember how that school for wayward girls had an ominous air to it?”
“It would be difficult to forget how spooky that school was considering it looked as if it had leapt off the pages of Jane Austen’sNorthanger Abbey. I haven’t forgotten how relieved I was when, no matter how much Father offered to pay, I was denied entrance into that school because they had a two-year waitlist.”
“And that a spooky old school didn’t have any openings suggests that an ominous air isn’t detrimental to the success of an academy for young girls or ladies.”
Annaliese immediately took to shaking her head, freezing on the spot when Pippin began chirping up a storm.
After giving Pippin another soothing pat, Annaliese returned her attention to Drusilla. “If you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking, you’ve clearly taken leave of your senses. Not that I want to come across as a Doubting Delia, but we know nothing about running a school for wayward girls. Frankly, I’ve never even been acquainted with a wayward girl, and I know you haven’t, so opening an academy for them is completely out of the question.”
“There have been more than a few people who’ve thought you’re a wayward girl over the years, which is why Father was determined to get you enrolled in that particular school.”
“I would have never fit in at that school because holding an interest in studying bugs or wanting to ensure entire animal species don’t go extinct due to the fur and plume trade doesn’t make a girl wayward. It merely makes her curious, as well as compassionate, unlike truly wayward girls who enjoy creating chaos on purpose.”
“A fair point,” Drusilla conceded. “But I’m not saying I thought my idea was well formulated yet, although...” She cocked her head to the side. “There were men of the nouveau riche set in New York who were willing to marry me simply to enhance their social status. It might be worthy of consideration to explore the possibility of offering young ladies from the nouveau riche set an opportunity to secure a proper decorum education from ladies who are verified members of the New York Four Hundred.”
“I’m not sure we’re still verified, given our new unfashionable penniless status,” Annaliese argued. “Besides that, what might truly stand in our way of opening any type of real academy is this—we’re not businesswomen.”
“And to that I must disagree. If you’ll recall, I did take it upon myself to set up a meeting with the Pinkertons after they sent us notice they were abandoning our case due to the fact we could no longer pay their fee. I then negotiated a new contract with them, one that keeps them pursuing Sanford on a contingency basis, with their exorbitant fee only paid once they capture that repugnant man.”
“Thatwasa brilliant move on your part.”
“Thank you, and finding success with the Pinkerton negotiations lends credence to the idea that you and I are capable of things we’ve never even dreamed about yet, and—”
A loud chorus of caws interrupted Drusilla, as well as causedthe hair on the nape of her neck to rise when the ravens suddenly soared off the turrets and began swooping in their direction.
Pippin took one look at the advancing ravens and disappeared under the collar of Annaliese’s cloak, causing Annaliese to squirm ever so slightly, undoubtedly because having a ferret under one’s cloak probably wasn’t all that comfortable.
After unbuttoning the top button of her cloak, Annaliese glanced back to the castle. “While I’ll admit your academy idea may have merit, I’m afraid we’re going to have a difficult time convincing anyone they’re yearning to obtain lessons in propriety in a castle that might not only be haunted but truly may have more than a few skeletons lingering about.”
“Oh, there’s more than a few skeletons in that house, and everyone knows it’s haunted.”
Turning, Drusilla discovered the driver of one of the hacks they’d hired, who’d told her his name was Gus, setting down one of her large portmanteaus before he straightened.
“Why do you say it’s haunted?” she asked.
“Because Norbert Tweed—that’s Ottilie Merriweather’s groundskeeper—and I often enjoy having an ale together down at the Mead and Vittles. He’s told me all about the peculiar things that’ve been happening here. According to Norbert, this castle is one of the most haunted places in Chicago—and haunted by none other than Miss Ottilie Merriweather.”
Drusilla blinked. “Are you telling me that Ottilie is dead?”
Gus blinked right back at her. “You didn’t know that?”
“I haven’t heard a word from Aunt Ottilie or even about her since she left on her adventure over two years ago.”
