Chapter 10 #2
“The only solution that might hold color longer would be something that’s called mauveine,” Seth said.
“It was invented back in the fifties by chemist William Henry Perkin, who was searching for a malaria treatment.” He gave his clean-shaven jaw a rub.
“It might dye your hair purple, though, so it might be best to just continue on with your berry solution, or you could always use carrot juice if you want to add a bit of an orange effect.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, although I’m relatively certain that students would spend more time gawking at my orange- or purple-tinted hair than any lesson I might be trying to teach them, which suggests I’ll just continue on with the berries and avoid being dunked in water.”
“Or you could simply make sure to wear a hat at all times.”
“A very practical solution,” Seraphina said right as a bell rang and she winced.
“I’m late for my next class, but thank you, Seth.
I’ll be sure to use your adhesive the first chance I get, and nice to discover you’re not nearly as much an unobservant mad-inventor type as I thought you were since, clearly, you’re aware of my ruse. ”
After dipping into a graceful curtsy, which was at complete odds with the almost gangly spinster character she’d adopted, Seraphina strode out of the sitting room, leaving Annaliese alone with Seth, who was looking at her rather intently, something that had the immediate effect of leaving her cheeks heated and her pulse jittery.
“Are you trying to decipher if I’ve added a few moles to my face?” she finally asked when he continued staring at her.
He blinked, then blinked again. “Forgive me, Annaliese. I fear I have once again allowed myself to become distracted from the conversation at hand because of the symmetry of your face, which is quite extraordinary.”
“My symmetry is extraordinary?” she asked.
“Quite, although to be perfectly honest, everything about your face is exceptional.”
Her pulse went from jittery to galloping in the span of a heartbeat.
“That’s, ah, very kind of you to say,” she managed to get out of a mouth that had turned rather dry. “Thank you.”
Seth took a step closer, something that allowed her to get a delicious whiff of his cologne, which was definitely sandalwood, but mixed with something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
“Forgive me again, Annaliese, as I didn’t mean to fluster you. I was merely pointing out a truth about your extraordinary face.”
“It was a lovely truth to point out,” she said, unable to help but smile, because she’d never actually had a gentleman extend her any type of compliment before, let alone one where her face was called extraordinary.
Seth’s gaze drifted to her lips, and his eyes turned distant like they did whenever he was about to get lost in thought, but then he gave himself a shake and returned her smile.
“Forgive me as I fear I’m allowing myself to become distracted from the purpose of my visit,” he said. “Clearly, your time is limited right now, but I remembered you telling me you have a free period before lunch, hence the reason I’m here.”
“You remembered that?”
“Of course, although don’t ask me what I ate for breakfast this morning as I was completing plans for a personal safety device for Norma Jean. I freely admit that there’s only so many things I can remember when I’m planning.”
“You’re inventing a personal safety device for your sister?”
“Indeed, and I’ve already made quite a few prototypes since I thought it might be a good idea to provide these devices to every student here, but I don’t want to say anything more just yet as I haven’t had an opportunity to test the effectiveness of this device, but .
. .” He smiled. “No need to fret that it’s dangerous since there are no bullets, flames, or any explosives involved. ”
“Good to know, although I will need you to demonstrate this safety device before you hand any of them out to the students, just to be on the safe side.”
“And here you seem to believe you’re an abject failure in your role here at the academy, but that was something I bet only a very effective instructor—or headmistress, as the case is right now—would request.”
“Co-headmistress,” Annaliese corrected. “Drusilla agreed, but only after I agreed to not turn in my resignation, to have Seraphina partner with me to run the academy while my sister’s gone.”
“So you’re not considering tendering your resignation anymore?”
“For the moment, although Drusilla and I are going to sit down and have a heart-to-heart talk once she returns. I think it’s obvious to both of us, though, that daily involvement with the academy might not be for me.”
“And what would be for you?” Seth asked.
Annaliese worried her lip. “I’m not certain, but I have been missing the time I used to devote to my insects, as well as the time I spent protesting plume hunters and fur traders.”
“Perhaps you could stay on and teach decorum lessons a day or two a week and then concentrate on your other interests the rest of the time.” Seth held out his arm to her.
“But speaking of your insects, that’s why I’m here.
And since I’m sure Mr. Grimsby has already had your footmen deliver what I made for you to the dungeons, shall we go see what I’ve brought for you? ”
Annaliese took hold of his arm. “What did you bring me?”
A grin was Seth’s first response to that, one that left her pulse galloping madly about again. “You’ll simply have to wait and see.”
Returning the grin, Annaliese walked with Seth out of the sitting room, down the hallway, down another hallway, through the kitchen, and then to the door that led to the dungeon.
Gas sconces on the wall had already been lit, their flames leaving flickering shadows on the rough-hewn walls as they climbed down curving steps, reaching the dungeon a moment later.
Walking into the large room she’d taken over for her insects and spiders, Annaliese couldn’t help but smile when she caught sight of Pippin, Wiggles, and Fidget, scurrying around the feet of the footmen who were . . .
Her breath caught in her throat as her gaze settled on a large glass container that had rich, dark soil covering the bottom of it and was filled with bark and moss. She turned to Seth. “Is that a vivarium?”
“It is, and I made you three of them, along with three terrariums for your bugs that live in humid environments, and an aquarium that has a filter I designed that should keep the water relatively clean, in case you needed an aquatic environment for any bugs that live in water.”
“I’ve never been able to keep water bugs for long as I didn’t want them to die due to stagnant water.”
Seth smiled. “Now you won’t need to worry about that.”
For the briefest of moments, Annaliese’s vision turned blurry because she’d never, not once, had a gentleman even inquire about her bugs, let alone take the time to build her so many marvelous habitats for her to use.
“It must have taken you hours to build these,” she finally said.
“Only twenty or so, but it was time well spent as I’ve never studied insects and spiders before and had to delve into their world in order to create suitable environments.
” His brows drew together. “I never realized bugs were quite so interesting, but now that I have, I’m sure I’ll soon be pestering you with all the questions I’ve already amassed, such as why a female praying mantis often eats her mate. ”
Annaliese grinned. “A question I’m going to encourage you to never broach when you’re within earshot of the students.
Mothers wouldn’t want their daughters to think it’s acceptable to do away with one’s mate.
But to answer your question, from what I’ve observed, praying mantises are opportunistic, meaning they’ll eat whatever’s close by, and unfortunately, that can often be their mates. ”
“For what purpose?”
“No one knows for sure, but I think it probably has something to do with egg production, paired with a voracious appetite.”
“I had no idea. What else do you know?”
It suddenly felt as if Christmas had come early as she’d never had anyone actually press her for details regarding her insect knowledge.
“I have a lot of notes I’ve taken on insects over the years, along with my observations and theories.” She caught Seth’s eye. “Would you care to see those?”
“I would indeed,” he didn’t hesitate to say.
The next hour passed far too quickly as Annaliese, after pulling out ten of the hundred or so journals she’d kept over the years, showed Seth her work, the minutes flying by as he read page after page.
He then took to studying the drawings she’d made to go with her research, her cheeks warming and her stomach feeling quite fluttery when he asked question after question—and actually listened to her answers, something not even her family had ever done as they tended to turn a little glassy-eyed when she got too detailed about a certain insect.
“You do realize that you have a more-than-impressive collection of information here, don’t you?” Seth asked as he lifted his head from a drawing she’d done of a caterpillar. “I never had the least little idea that caterpillars have twelve eyes.”
“I had to use a really strong magnifying glass to count all of them, and I studied a good fifty or so caterpillars before I made the determination that all of them have twelve eyes.”
“You’ll have to show me that magnifying glass because I might be able to make you something that could make your observations easier.”
“You’ve already made me far too much, and—”
The sound of feet stomping through the dungeon cut Annaliese off mid-sentence. She turned to the door just as Norma Jean stomped through it, Seth’s sister stopping in her tracks the moment she caught sight of her brother.
“I thought for sure that Mabel was mistaken when she thought she heard Coraline and Phoebe talking about how they spotted you coming into the castle. They, of course, thought you were here because of all their plotting, but I know full well why you’re really here,” Norma Jean said as storm clouds gathered in the blue eyes she already had narrowed on her brother.
“And why do you think I’m really here?” he asked as Norma Jean continued glaring at him.
She released a huff. “Mother sent you to spy on me and make sure I’m behaving myself.”
“If I was here to spy on you, I’d hardly be down in the dungeon now, would I?”
Norma Jean’s eyes narrowed another fraction. “If you’re not here to spy on me, then why are you here? It’s not time to fetch me from school.”
“I’m not fetching you from school today, Mother is, because I won’t be available. I’m off to deliver another hearing aid to our aunt but thought I’d stop by and deliver some containers to Annaliese for her insect collection.”
Norma Jean shot a glance to where Annaliese had arranged her new habitats while Seth had been looking through her journals. She was glaring at him again a second later.
“You made Miss Merriweather all of those?”
Seth raked a hand through his hair, leaving it more delightfully tousled than ever. “Why do I get the distinct impression you’re annoyed about that?”
“Because you don’t make me anything at all, although if you’re thinking about making me something now because I’ve probably made you feel guilty, know that I wouldn’t care for a bug container.”
“Duly noted, but you should note that I don’t feel guilty in the least because I just finished making you a personal safety device, although it’s not ready to give to you quite yet as I haven’t tested it out.”
“You made me a personal safety device?” Norma Jean repeated.
“I just said I did, but again, it’s not quite ready yet.”
Norma Jean tilted her head. “But it’s mine?”
“I believe I said that as well.”
“So you did” was all Norma Jean responded to that before she lifted her chin, turned on her heel, then marched back to the door, turning once she reached it. “Are you picking me up from school tomorrow?”
“I have a meeting with one of my suppliers, so Mother will fetch you tomorrow from school as well.”
Annaliese wasn’t sure, but it almost sounded as if Norma Jean muttered “excellent” under her breath before she headed out the door.
Seth resumed raking his hand through his hair. “Did any of that seem peculiar to you?”
“It’s hard to say, but if I were to hazard a guess, I imagine Norma Jean is acting peculiarly because she’s put out with you, as well as put out with me, and clearly doesn’t want us to be friends.”
“Then she’s certain to stay in a peculiar frame of mind as I have no intention of discontinuing our association, not when I have so many questions to ask you about your insects.
” He picked up one of her journals, glanced over a few pages, and then returned his attention to her.
“Do you really believe that butterflies taste with their feet?”
“I do, just as I also believe, since this is also on that page, that ladybirds play dead to avoid predators, something I’ve witnessed firsthand.”
“Fascinating.” Seth closed the journal and set it aside.
“I now find myself anxious to resume our insect discussion and wish I had spare time this afternoon. With that said, and even though I told Norma Jean that I would not be here tomorrow to fetch her from school, I could return here tomorrow at this same time if you’d like to continue our insect discussion then. ”
Annaliese’s stomach began turning all fluttery again. “I won’t be available the hour before lunch like today, but I’ll be free at lunchtime, and then the hour after lunch.”
“Wonderful.” Seth smiled. “I’ll be here at noon, then, and do know that I’m greatly looking forward to having you regale me with all the knowledge you’ve amassed regarding ladybirds, caterpillars, and any other creatures you want to tell me about.”
It really wasn’t unexpected when Annaliese found herself wishing that tomorrow was already here, especially when, for the first time ever, she was going to sit down with a gentleman who gave new meaning to the word appealing and discuss not the weather or fashion, but bugs.