Chapter 3
Three
“I don’t believe the word incompetent sufficiently describes my aptitude as a decorum instructor, since a competent instructor wouldn’t have allowed herself to become so distracted by the plight of a performing monkey that she managed to misplace two of her students,” Annaliese muttered, matching Seth’s every step as they strove to keep up with Coraline, who claimed to know exactly where to find the magician, information she hadn’t hesitated to divulge after Phoebe started asking how sharp everyone thought the saw was that the magician might be using on Velma.
Seth took hold of Annaliese’s arm and tugged her out of the oncoming path of a clown who was a bit wobbly on the stilts he was using, probably because one stilt seemed to be longer than the other.
Once clear of the clown, he found himself reluctant to release his hold on her after noticing a group of men eyeing her a little too eagerly—rather as if she were a tasty bonbon they longed to devour.
Frankly, he couldn’t blame the men for their interest as Miss Annaliese Merriweather was an unusual-looking lady, possessed of a face that was oddly symmetrical, something that had fascinated him from the moment he’d laid eyes on her a few months before.
That symmetry had left him wondering long into many a night whether most ladies who drew more than their fair share of attention were also in possession of symmetrical faces, and if the rarity of that condition was what was behind humans in general proclaiming one lady possessed great beauty and allure while another lady whose face wasn’t equally proportioned was considered less alluring.
“Shall I take your silence as confirmation that you’re in full agreement about my incompetency, and that you’re now attempting to come up with a response that won’t hurt my feminine sensibilities, but will encourage me to abandon my relatively new instructor post as soon as I return to the academy? ”
Seth pushed all thoughts of symmetry aside. “I wasn’t contemplating incompetency at all, nor is there a reason for me to contemplate it as I believe you’re being much too hard on yourself.”
“I lost your sister.”
“I doubt Norma Jean considers herself lost. Besides, my sister would have been capable of slipping away from a more experienced instructor after she decided she wanted to watch Velma get sawed in half. Norma Jean would find something like that to be excellent fodder for one of those plays she’s constantly writing.
And, if you haven’t realized this yet, my sister is incredibly headstrong and is quite accustomed to doing whatever she pleases. ”
“I would have thought your mother would have put an end to the whole doing-as-she-pleases directly after Norma Jean almost got herself abducted.”
“My mother rarely exerts any effort when it comes to Norma Jean and her antics because Mother fancies herself an invalid. Because of that, she spends the majority of her time tucked away in her chambers, reading books that always seem to involve pirates, a plucky heroine, and high jinks on the rollicking seas.”
Annaliese’s forehead furrowed. “She fancies herself an invalid? That almost makes it sound as if you don’t believe your mother actually is an invalid.”
“Considering she shut herself in her suite of rooms all last month because she was convinced she’d come down with a horrible case of scurvy, forgive me for doubting the legitimacy of my mother’s fragile health.”
Annaliese’s lips began to curve, the realization striking him a second later that her lips curved in perfect unison, neither side quirking up more than the other, which truly was unusual, and . . .
“You don’t think that magician is actually capable of sawing a lady in half, do you?” she asked.
Seth forced his gaze from Annaliese’s lips. “It’s just an illusionary trick. Frankly, I doubt he’ll choose Velma as his assistant because I would think his audience prefers watching a grown lady sawed in half over a child.”
“Except you said that Norma Jean is incredibly headstrong, and she might not take his no to Velma as a firm no, quite like she did with that thief who stole the phaeton.”
“Maybe we should pick up the pace.”
Annaliese’s eyes widened before she broke into a jog.
After they drew even with Coraline, Phoebe, and Mabel, all three of whom were breathing heavily, something that suggested the Merriweather Academy for Young Ladies might want to introduce some physical exertion lessons into their schedule, they continued plowing their way through the crowd.
After dodging a man hawking brightly colored scarves, something that had all three girls slowing their pace until Annaliese sent them a look, Seth spotted a tent that had a poster of a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat positioned by the front flap.
Before he could do more than realize that the time on the poster stated the last magic act had been held over an hour before, the sound of giggles drifted to them, a sound that had Annaliese snagging hold of his hand and pulling him along behind her as she ducked into the tent.
An unusual urge to laugh immediately struck when he caught sight of Velma Chickering’s head sticking out of a box that was sitting on top of a small table. To add to his amusement, there was another box separated from Velma’s box by a good three feet that had a pair of feet wiggling out of it.
“Mrs. Chickering is not going to be happy if that magician can’t put Velma back together again,” Mabel breathed, earning nods from Coraline and Phoebe as all three girls shuffled closer to the makeshift stage.
“I fear Mrs. Chickering is going to be far more upset over the fact that I was negligent with keeping track of her daughter over her being sawed in half, especially when those aren’t Velma’s feet in the other box,” Annaliese said before she lifted her chin and marched forward.
“Why doesn’t Miss Merriweather think those are Velma’s feet?” Mabel asked.
Before Seth could explain to the girls that Velma was squished into the top part of the first box while Norma Jean was stuffed into the bottom of the second one, his attention snapped back to Annaliese, who’d just made a sound like one would hear coming out of an angry cat—or ferret, in her case.
The reason for the sound was obviously because her path to the stage was now being blocked by a huge brute of a man with bulging muscles and a face that looked quite as if it had been carved from stone.
“Why do you think the strongman won’t let Miss Merriweather by?” Phoebe asked.
“How do you know that’s the strongman?” Seth asked.
Phoebe wrinkled her nose. “I would think his muscles would give that away, but we saw him earlier standing by a sign that said Strongest Man East of the Rockies.”
“I wonder how he decided he’s the strongest man east of the Rockies?” Mabel asked.
“I don’t think we’re going to have an opportunity to ask him,” Coraline said, sending a nod Annaliese’s way. “If you didn’t notice, he just said something to Miss Merriweather that she evidently didn’t appreciate because she’s glaring at the man and . . . Pippin’s waking up from her nap.”
Having seen firsthand what could happen if any of Annaliese’s ferrets thought someone was upsetting the person they considered their mother, Seth jolted into motion. “You three stay put, and I mean that,” he tossed over his shoulder.
“As if we’re going to sneak away knowing how much trouble Velma and Norma Jean are already in,” he heard Coraline grumble as he strode to join Annaliese, who was now exchanging heated words with the strongman.
“And while I appreciate that you’ve been watching over the girls, Mr. . . . ?”
“Flick,” the man supplied as he crossed his arms and seemed determined to hold his ground even though Annaliese was bristling with temper and Pippin was making rather concerning chirping sounds, something that usually preceded an attack.
“As I was saying, Mr. Flick,” Annaliese continued, “it’s truly commendable how you’ve—”
“It’s just Flick, not Mr. Flick,” the strongman interrupted.
“Duly noted,” Annaliese said. “And with that out of the way, Flick, if you’d be so kind as to move aside, I need to get my students out of those boxes.”
It was less than reassuring when Flick shook his head. “No can do.”
Annaliese drew herself up as Pippin began chirping faster than ever. “Why not?”
Flick flexed his impressive muscles, which didn’t leave Annaliese retreating a single inch. “Maybe they had a reason for running off. Maybe you’re one of those mean instructors they needed to get away from, one who’s now going to punish them for giving you the slip.”
“That’s ridiculous. I don’t make it a habit to punish students, especially when it’s my fault they gave me the slip.”
“But I bet you’ll blame them once you get back to your school and find out your position is in jeopardy.”
Deciding an intervention was in order before Pippin went airborne or Annaliese decided to use the fist she’d balled up at her side, Seth stepped forward, drawing Flick’s attention.
“Miss Merriweather has no need to worry about her position as she’s one of the owners of the academy she teaches at,” he said, earning a frown from Flick before the strongman shot a look to Velma, who immediately sent him a brilliant smile paired with a nod, which sent hair that had escaped Velma’s bows straggling over her forehead, something she certainly couldn’t address as her arms were nowhere in sight.
“Miss Merriweather really is an owner of the Merriweather Academy,” Velma said in a downright chipper voice. “And there’s no need for you to worry that she’ll be overly stern with us regarding the whole wandering off business as she’s a delightful lady whom all the students adore.”
“I second that,” Norma Jean called in a muffled voice from her box, pairing her seconding with a vigorous wiggle of her feet as if to add credence to exactly how delightful she found Annaliese.