Chapter 28
Twenty-Eight
Annaliese couldn’t resist a grin when she stepped through the barn door and saw Seraphina leaning her back against a tree, quite as if she’d thought she’d be lingering for more than three minutes.
“Seems like we might have had time to steal more than one little kiss,” Seth said, sending a nod to Seraphina, who responded by sending them a cheery wave before she headed toward the castle.
“I’m sure Seraphina will provide us with other opportunities at some point,” Annaliese said as she took Seth’s arm and they began following their temporary chaperone, her thoughts traveling back to what Seraphina had just recently said.
Truth be told, Seth did know her better than anyone, and better yet, he understood her need to make a difference in the lives of mistreated animals, and understood and accepted that she didn’t want to rush into a relationship with him.
The problem now, though, was that she’d realized over the past few weeks that Seth was the gentleman she knew she was supposed to spend her life with, and spend that life working together, with her devoting time to her animals, and him devoting time to his inventions, some of which would allow any animal she was lucky enough to rescue to live in a more hospitable environment.
In all honesty, she no longer carried any worry about courtship schedules, but she was worried that she might have been a little hasty declaring her desire to avoid the state of marriage because she’d been thinking about what marriage to Seth would be like often of late and .
. . she’d discovered that she was no longer opposed to it.
Seth, however, true to his word, was giving them time to simply be, which was lovely to be sure, except she was now of the opinion that she wanted to take the whole simply be business to something so much more.
Her rather rapid turnaround when it came to the subject of marriage had surprised her, but she knew with every ounce of her being that Seth wanted to experience life with her, not hold her back from her dream, which now left her with the quandary of how to let him know that.
Shaking aside her thoughts when they reached the castle drive, Annaliese began walking toward Seth’s carriage, coming to a stop when the sound of something heavy thudding up the drive drew her attention.
Before she could discern what was causing the noise, Irma came rushing down the front steps of the castle, clutching a pair of binoculars.
“Norma Jean just handed these to me and told me to look down the drive,” Irma said, thrusting the binoculars in Annaliese’s hand. “You will not believe what I just saw, although you can’t see it yet from this vantage point but just wait.”
Norma Jean, in the company of Louisa, who unsurprisingly had Pierre on her shoulder, came hurrying up to join them, Norma Jean’s eyes sparkling in a rather interesting fashion.
Following a step behind was Ottilie, dressed in a skirt since the academy was in session, although when there were no students around she normally could be found strolling around in trousers that were cut off at the knee, even though the current temperature in Chicago wasn’t exactly conducive to short trousers.
“Were you expecting a delivery, Aunt Ottilie?” Annaliese asked once her aunt reached her, having grown accustomed to having all sorts of interesting things delivered to the castle since they’d been back.
“I’m not expecting anything to be delivered until Drusilla gets back from her trip, and according to the last telegram she sent, that should be within the week.
” Ottilie smiled. “I’m sure you won’t be surprised to learn that Flick and Miranda, our newlyweds, still want to stay on my island—and yes, my solicitor has already been able to purchase that island for me.
They’re going to finish packing up the rest of the treasure the captain and I found, although according to Drusilla, there’s not much left to pack.
I’m sure, though, that Miranda and Flick are enjoying their time on a deserted island together and don’t mind seeing after the birds until I can hire permanent caretakers. ”
Annaliese returned the smile. “It really was rather remarkable that Drusilla showed up on your island not long after we left, lending credence to the notion that God certainly was answering your prayer to get home.”
“Indeed, especially when Drusilla ended up on that island after making it to the island the captain’s crew was scouring after they marooned us.
” Ottilie’s smile turned into a grin. “I’m sure the crew wasn’t expecting a yacht to pull up there, nor expecting a Pinkerton to be onboard, who made short shrift of interrogating the crew and then demanded the captain’s crew take them immediately to the island they’d left us on. ”
“I bet Miranda and Flick weren’t expecting to have anyone visit them only a few days after we departed, and only a few days after the captain married them on the high seas.”
“Let’s hope Drusilla’s captain gave a blow of the ship’s whistle because”—Ottilie shuddered—“no telling what the newlyweds might have been up to. However . . .” Her eyes crinkled at the corners.
“Having Drusilla land on my island with the Merriweather yacht certainly made my life easier as she was able to get most of the crates Flick and Miranda packed onboard, as well as all the cannons we found. And to top matters off nicely for Captain Harvey, his mutinous crew has now been taken into custody and he’ll be given his boat back, although he might be done sailing the high seas for the foreseeable future. ”
“Can’t say that I blame him for that.”
“Indeed,” Ottilie agreed. “And before you ask how he’s going to occupy his time, the captain’s decided to help me with a few projects I want to do now that I’ve returned to Chicago.”
“Projects?”
“I saw in the newspaper that there’s an archeologist who uncovered a tomb in Egypt. He has a few spare mummies, which I want because, besides starting up a publishing house, I think Chicago could use another museum.”
“Does that mean we’ll no longer have mummies and sarcophaguses stored in the dungeon?”
“It certainly does, but . . .” Ottilie’s eyes widened as she peered at something over Annaliese’s shoulder. “Good heavens. What do we have there?”
As Annaliese turned around, Norma Jean suddenly began pointing down the drive, but any urge to remind her that pointing wasn’t all that acceptable disappeared when Annaliese directed her attention to what Norma Jean was pointing at and discovered an elephant being walked her way, followed by another elephant, and then another, and then five wagons laden with large crates.
Tears blinded her for the briefest of moments, and after swiping them away, she turned to Seth, knowing full well he’d been responsible. “Elephants?”
He moved closer to her and took hold of her hand.
“It seemed to me as if everyone had made an excellent point when they’d suggested a grand gesture.
Granted, Mother thought I should do something memorable for you before we shared a first kiss, but, well, that ship certainly sailed before I could do anything memorable. ”
“I think our first kiss was very memorable,” Annaliese couldn’t help but point out.
“Agreed, but Rhenick had that iron gate made for your sister, and that got me thinking that you truly did need a grand gesture as well, not that I’m doing this because I’m going to propose like Rhenick took to proposing with Drusilla after his grand gesture.”
“We might need to revisit the whole proposing business.”
Seth blinked. “Really?”
“Really, but before we do that, how did you get those elephants when the owner of that circus in Pensacola seemed adamant about not selling them to me?”
Seth shrugged. “He was only adamant until I offered him something in exchange for all his animals that will undoubtedly bring in more money for him.”
“What did you offer him?”
“I modified that cannon that can shoot a cannonball farther than most cannons by making it spring-loaded. That makes it possible to shoot a small person out of it, and after the first one worked—not that I used a person even though Norma Jean wanted to volunteer—I made two more, and then made a fin that the circus owner can use in a sideshow act that’s far more realistic than the one Miranda was sporting when she worked at the fair.
” He grinned. “I then pointed out in a telegram I hired a Pinkerton to deliver because I wasn’t exactly sure where the circus was set up, that I have a modified flame thrower that could be used to really generate some excitement.
That was enough—well, after he charged me a rather hefty sum—for the circus owner to give me all the animals he had.
” He leaned closer. “I’m sorry to say that there was no unicorn available. ”
“I’ve always wanted an elephant more.”
“And now you have three, along with two trick ponies, a performing bear, two monkeys so Harriet will have friends, and I don’t recall all the other animals, but there are enough of them to now safely say that you have a legitimate animal sanctuary.”
He nodded to the elephants. “I was worried they wouldn’t do well in a Chicago winter, so after I made the human cannon, I started fiddling with a large forced-air furnace.
I’ll have it sent here later today since I just finished with it.
It shouldn’t take me long to install it in the barn, where I’m sure the elephants will be fine until we can build them nicer accommodations. ”
Words were impossible to come by as Annaliese’s gaze traveled back to the elephants, all of whom seemed weary and probably thought they were being shuffled off to yet another circus where they’d be expected to perform or suffer pain.
She swiped a hand over her cheek where tears were now falling before she drew in a breath and turned to Seth.
“I love you,” she said quietly.
“And I love you,” he didn’t hesitate to return.
“Would you marry me?”
Seth’s mouth went a little slack. “I beg your pardon?”
“Would you marry me?” she repeated.
“What about us taking time to just be?”
“I think we’ve had enough be time since I know exactly who you are—a gentleman who brought me elephants, and a gentleman I will love to the end of my days and who I want to spend every second I have available with, and not with Seraphina trailing after us.”
Seth’s lips began to curve. “When do you think you’d like to get married?”
“As soon as Drusilla returns, which should be in the next week according to her last telegram, but . . .” She smiled. “Was that a yes?”
“To your very unconventional proposal? Of course it was.”
Annaliese was in his arms a second later, Seth’s lips on hers, the sound of numerous pairs of feet scrambling down the castle’s front steps leaving Annaliese realizing that they definitely weren’t alone.
“I want it noted that I’m the first one to realize they’d make a perfect couple,” she heard Phoebe call out. “And did all of you see how it was Miss Merriweather doing the proposing? That’s some progressive thinking there.”
“Oh, this is not going to make the mothers happy,” she muttered as she pulled back from Seth, who was watching her with so much warmth in his eyes that she was almost tempted to throw caution to the wind and kiss him again, no matter that they had quite the audience at the moment.
“Perhaps we’ll have to,” Seth began, his eyes now twinkling in a more-than-delightful fashion, “in order to appease those mothers, stage another proposal, this one with me on bended knee and offering you the perfect ring, one you and I will need to go find.”
“Two proposals will certainly make an engagement memorable, but . . .” Annaliese nodded to the elephants, which had come to a stop, the men leading them by ropes shifting around as if they weren’t quite sure what they were supposed to do next.
“Ring shopping and second proposals will need to wait as I have some elephants to attend to.”
“We have elephants to attend to,” Seth corrected before he offered her his arm, and after taking it, they walked together toward the elephants, as well as toward a future Annaliese was convinced was going to be very memorable indeed.