Chapter 6 #2
It was difficult to refuse a sigh. “If you must know, I was hoping to give the girls a driving lesson on the way home today because they’ve been rather persistent with asking me to include some classes pertaining to horses and driving.
” She nodded to Moe and Dolly. “I thought it would be safer to begin a driving lesson with donkeys, but it turns out the girls’ interest isn’t because they’re anxious to become stellar equestrians, but because of my . . .”
“Because of your . . . what?” Seth pressed when Annaliese simply stopped speaking.
“I’m not supposed to tell you as it would be breaching a lady code.”
“I’m going to have to do some research into these lady codes.”
She smiled. “As am I, but what I can tell you is that harnessing Moe and Dolly together was yet another mistake of mine today because it seems as if Dolly, who I only acquired a few weeks ago, isn’t fond of Moe, and Moe, given his increased level of orneriness today, seems to have realized that, hence the reason we’ve run over every rut in the road. ”
“Perhaps Moe’s trying to impress Dolly with his antics, hoping to change that lack of fondness business.”
“Which would be an unusual tactic to be sure, and one that’s certainly not working since Dolly is no longer even looking at him.”
Seth returned her smile, then returned the reins to her, and after giving them a snap, Moe and Dolly trudged into motion again, Moe lurching over another rut in the road and earning a rather exaggerated toss of a mane from Dolly.
“Perhaps she’s not avoiding him as much as we think,” Seth murmured. “However, interesting donkey antics aside, and know that this is a complete change of subject, but because you spend your days surrounded by the adolescent feminine set, would you be willing to give me some advice?”
“You want to take advice from a lady who lost two adolescent members of the feminine set just today?”
“Since, again, what happened today could have happened to any decorum instructor, yes, and . . .” Seth held up his hand when she opened her mouth.
“Before you argue that point, know that the only other member of the feminine set I have available to me to ask any questions is my mother. If you didn’t notice, when we delivered Norma Jean home after dropping off all the other girls, my mother was still in her robe and slippers. ”
“As your mother made a point of apologizing to me more than once over what she called her ‘unfit state to receive callers,’ of course I noticed, but what does that have to do with anything?”
“Mother usually resorts to remaining in her robe when she’s in the midst of one of her illnesses or thinks she’s about ready to catch another one.
That means she might barricade herself in her rooms for the foreseeable future, making it next to impossible for me to seek any advice from her, unless I want to shout through the door.
That would undoubtedly leave any advice she shouts back null and void since Norma Jean would most assuredly be making a point to listen to all the shouting. ”
“Don’t you have two other sisters?” Annaliese asked.
“I do, but Hester and Betsy are both married and no longer live in this state, and before you suggest I ask my father for advice, he understands the feminine set about as well as I do. Besides that, he’s off on a long business trip to California.”
“You could always ask Rhenick. He’s one of your good friends, and he definitely understands members of the feminine persuasion.”
“True, but he just got married, and to your sister no less, and a newly married gentleman who is preparing to depart on a wedding holiday has limited time available to dole out advice.”
“A fair point.”
“So you’ll give me some advice?”
“I will, but I’m not promising how good it’ll be.”
“Duly noted.” Seth leaned closer. “With all that settled, how do you think I should approach the matter of retrieving any additional smoke grenades Norma Jean probably stuffed into that reticule of hers, without her noticing, which would undoubtedly leave her tossing said grenades at me?”
Annaliese blinked. “You think she might have taken more than one of your grenades?”
“Did you not hear her tell me, when I broached the topic of stealing still being stealing even though I’m her brother, that she responded by telling me she’d asked me for a few grenades and I’d sent her a nod?”
“I think I may have missed that pesky little few word.”
“It was undoubtedly a slip of the tongue on Norma Jean’s part, one I’m sure she thinks I missed, but, as I’m now determined to be a more responsible older brother, I’m going to have to reclaim any grenades she has in her possession.”
“You might just want to ask her to fork them over.”
“Any chance you have advice that’s a little less demanding? My sister, if you haven’t noticed, seems to have a problem with demands in general.”
“She’s thirteen, Seth. Girls of that age often balk at demands, but while she’ll probably turn surly, in this particular instance, you’re just going to have to deal with that surliness as percussive grenades pose a danger to, not only Norma Jean, but anyone around her.”
“And what would be the best way to deal with that surliness?”
“You might simply have to wait it out. Drusilla, being the consummate student at the Sherwood Academy for Young Ladies, often turned demanding with me, her less than enthusiastic younger sister when it came to etiquette assignments. She would always insist I redo assignments she felt I’d done in a lackadaisical fashion, and yes, I’d turn surly, although I eventually gave in to her demands because she was my older sister. ”
“How long did it take you to get over the surliness?”
“A good day or so, one time a week, but Drusilla would always, after she allowed me to stew a bit, take the first step to reconcile, usually bringing me a bug, something that always took care of my surliness because I readily admit that bugs are one of my passions and I’ve been collecting and studying them for years. ”
“You collect bugs?”
“I know. It’s a peculiar hobby for a lady to have, and is just one of a myriad of reasons society proclaimed me odd from almost the moment I made my debut.”
Seth frowned. “Studying bugs doesn’t make you peculiar, Annaliese. It merely makes you curious about the world around you.”
“My mother is convinced that my curiosity will be responsible for me remaining a spinster, destined to eventually surround myself not with cats, but with ferrets, spiders, and . . .” She glanced back at the monkey. “Now a monkey.”
“I’ve never heard of a lady who’s one of those Diamonds of the First Water remaining a spinster.”
“Why would you think I’m a Diamond of the First Water?”
“I overheard Norma Jean and her friends talking about Diamonds of the First Water, something all of them seem to aspire to be, except for Norma Jean, although I’m not exactly sure why that is.
” Seth gave Pippin, who’d just begun to stir on his lap, a scratch.
“I assumed, given the symmetry of your face, which I believe I mentioned to you once before, and which I’ve been dwelling on often of late, that you would, of course, be considered one of those diamonds. ”
Annaliese gave an involuntary tug on the reins, earning a bray from Moe in response before he stopped dead in his tracks. Dolly had no choice but to stop as well, where she immediately turned her head and sent Annaliese a reproachful look.
“Sorry,” Annaliese muttered as she tried to ignore the heat that was now climbing up her neck again. “Should I ask why you’ve been dwelling on the symmetry of my face?”
“It intrigues me as I’ve never seen another woman who has a symmetrical face, and has, as a result of that, left me contemplating whether symmetry is responsible for what makes a lady stand out in a crowd.”
“I don’t believe I stand out in any given crowd because of the symmetry of my face.
I normally only stand out because I walk around with a ferret wrapped around my neck.
Frankly, I’m sure that the standing out business is only going to increase if this parrot decides she has to stick close beside me like Pippin does, and then, there’s my new monkey.
” Her lips curved. “Strolling about Chicago with a monkey, and one that seems to like helping herself to other people’s belongings, will definitely leave me standing out, and again, mostly because people think I’m odd. ”
“And to that I must respectfully disagree.’
She inclined her head. “And while I’m flattered that you believe otherwise, know that I’ve never been deemed a Diamond of the First Water even if I do possess a symmetrical face.
Diamonds, if you’re unaware, are expected to not only bear a reasonable attractiveness, but possess a fashionable air along with the ability to converse with ease during any social situation. ”
“You seem fashionable enough to me, and even though we’ve not spoken at length, you appear to be perfectly at ease with me right now.”
“That’s because you haven’t spent your time with me discussing the weather.”
“Are you ill-at-ease discussing the weather?”
“Not at all. I simply don’t enjoy speaking of the weather.
That’s why, during my debut year, I’d steer the conversation away from the weather to something I thought everyone would find more stimulating, such as insects, spiders, or the number of bird species the plume hunters are decimating at an alarming rate. ”
She gave a collar that was askew due to the parrot clutching it a tug, earning a bit of a peck from the parrot in return.
“After word got around about my curious conversation skills, or lack thereof, everyone in society concluded that I was odd, a conclusion that rendered my debut a complete failure.”
Silence was Seth’s only response to that until he leaned forward and caught her eye.
“And here I would have thought you’d be bestowed the title of Diamond of the First Water the moment you broached the unusual subject of plume hunters as that would have marked you as a progressive-thinking lady whom anyone with any intelligence would have wanted to converse with. ”
“Progressive thinking isn’t something that New York high society embraces.”
“Then perhaps it was fortunate that your family was forced to move to Chicago because, if you ask me, you’re not a lady who should spend your time surrounded by people who don’t share your curiosity about subjects other than the weather and fashion.
” He smiled, the mere sight of it causing her heart to start doing the whole pitter-pattering thing again.
“Frankly, now that I think about it, you’re more of an alexandrite than a diamond, and alexandrites are far rarer than diamonds and much more original. ”
The heat that had been lingering on her face took that moment to intensify, done so because no one had ever called her an alexandrite before, most people preferring to whisper words like odd, peculiar, and abnormal whenever they bothered whispering anything about her at all.
“You can be very charming at times, can’t you?” was all she had to respond to that, something that left Seth looking rather bemused.
“No one’s ever called me charming before, but it almost sounded as if you find yourself surprised by this apparent charm.”
“But surprised in a delightful way,” she said right before Moe suddenly lurched into motion.
He then broke into an honest-to-goodness gallop, the reason for the galloping obviously being the sight of the wrought iron gate that had just come into view, and a gate that had the Merriweather Academy for Young Ladies scrolled in black iron across the top of it.
The gate swung open before they reached it, and then Norbert Tweed, the Merriweather groundskeeper, motioned them forward, holding up his hand after Annaliese steered Moe and Dolly up beside him.
“Exciting business happening inside that you’re going to want to hear about,” Norbert began, striding closer.
“Agent Pearson from the Pinkertons is here, but . . .” He stopped walking when his gaze swept over Annaliese, then settled on the parrot on her shoulder.
“Good heavens, Miss Merriweather. You’re a mess, and .
. . do you know you have a parrot perched on your shoulder? ”
“It would be difficult to have missed that, Norbert.”
“I suppose it would at that, but . . .” Norbert gave his head a scratch. “You been in another tussle with them plume hunters again?”
“Not plume hunters, more along the lines of dodgy men.”
Norbert’s gaze shifted from the parrot to the wagon bed before he moved closer, his eyes growing as wide as dinner plates. “Those dodgy men the reason why there’s a monkey in the wagon?”
“In a roundabout way.”
Norbert scratched his nose. “That must have been some roundabout, but you know your mother’s not going to be happy having a monkey in the castle when she barely tolerates the ferrets.”
“Mother’s much more tolerant of the ferrets since they’ve abandoned bringing her mice as presents.”
“Perhaps so, but I can’t see her tolerating a monkey, no matter if it avoids bringing her dead mice or not, which is why I’ll go see about finding a spot in the barn for it.
” With that, Norbert stepped away from the wagon, took a moment to close the academy gate, then strode off toward the barn, tossing a “Good luck” over his shoulder, paired with a “You’re going to need it” before he disappeared from sight.