Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
I’d taken to calling her Miss Mischief, which she seemed to like.
Mount Bürgenstock School for Girls
Mount Bürgenstock, Switzerland
As my parents understood dragons far better than I, my mother handled my attire while my father took care of Erik, as we needed to present ourselves as the inheritors of Madam Merorie’s estate.
Rather than another gown, I wore a black pencil skirt and blazer with a beige blouse.
I despised the heels, but I wore them without vocalizing a complaint.
We’d have a spat over the diamonds and rubies I wore when we reached somewhere private.
As I refused to leave the Yule cats unattended, my parents had acquired collars for them, and while we had leashes for them, I was able to convince my furry children to stick close to us. Garnet and Citrine helped with that.
My mother’s little boy enjoyed being carried around, which worked out well as my mother refused to lose her precious baby to my father. Peridot rode on my father’s shoulder, thus keeping peace in the family. My pillow thieving kitten tended to sit on my feet to make certain I couldn’t escape her.
Thanks to her mischievous personality, I’d taken to calling her Miss Mischief, which she seemed to like. Erik had named the panty-thieving girl Treasure, and I hoped the kitten never realized he viewed my underwear as treasures he wished to steal from me while I wore them.
Some battles I couldn’t win, and that was one of them.
The bra thief had earned the name Sugar after getting into a sugar bowl at a hotel and creating a massive mess.
My mother had tried to convince us the staff would forgive us for the sweet disaster, but we’d done our best to clean up after her before housekeeping came and prevented an ant-filled nightmare in our suite.
I figured all the kittens would earn their names by the end of the week, and they seemed content to wait for their moment to shine.
Sugar attacked Erik’s laces, and I hoped she didn’t add shoes to her attire preferences. I could live with missing bras.
I didn’t tend to keep extra pairs of shoes.
The headmistress of the school strolled our way, and she wore an outfit similar to mine.
When she reached us, she dipped in a curtsy directed mostly at my parents.
“Thank you for coming all this way. We were shocked to hear of Madam Merorie’s death, and we appreciate that you gave the girls a chance to grieve the loss of their matron. ”
My mother dipped into a curtsy as well while my father offered a short bow, the kind I recognized as someone of a higher position offering a greeting.
I followed my mother’s lead while Erik followed my father’s.
Once we went through the social dance, my mother smiled and said, “We’ve learned that not everything is as it appears with this.
As my daughter is Madam Merorie’s heiress, our concern is making certain that the girls maintain their lifestyle and education.
While my daughter is a lover of the arts, she has received a sizable fund from returning a religious artifact to its proper place.
She is uncomfortable with spending the money for personal gain, so she has earmarked all funds to pay for their education and future. ”
I recognized my cue to take over, and I hoped I could handle the load with even half my mother’s grace.
“It’s an honor to make certain all the girls continue to receive the quality of care and schooling they get here.
” I’d done my fair share of research, and sure enough, Madam Merorie had swept all the abused children into a world of luxury and opportunities.
“It is my intention to continue her charitable programs for less fortunate children.”
The headmistress eyed me with interest. “You are aware of their backgrounds?”
I nodded. “Before I became an heiress, I was a cop. While my specialty was homicide, you don’t work in law enforcement for as long as I have without understanding what is going on in the background. I will not see these girls return to dark days.”
“I see. Thank you, Miss Ramons.”
“Kinsley, please.”
“I’m Scarlett,” the headmistress replied, and she finally offered me a genuine smile.
“I’m grateful we seem to be on the same page, then.
I’ll admit, I was worried when I was first approached by law enforcement.
We have our first appointment with the immigration attorneys tomorrow, although I’ve been told there will be no problems with the paperwork. How did you accomplish that?”
I considered her question, wondering how we’d gotten to such a point.
After a few moments, I shrugged. “Two wrongs don’t make a right, and upon discovering what had happened, I offered to pay for their legal fees and for any appeals needed.
These girls are being set up to become jewels of Switzerland, so it makes sense for Switzerland to help.
They get their paid fees, and they gain citizens who will bring the country prestige in the future.
It makes sense to me. It’s not like the girls had any idea there was something wrong with their paperwork. ”
“We didn’t have any idea,” Scarlett confirmed. “Still, it is appreciated. The girls make up more than half of our school, so this has been a shock to us all. We aren’t sure how we’ll be moving forward from here.”
I considered her before taking in the Yule cats doing as we’d asked of them, crowding our feet and charming all to behold them. It sank in that there was no reason we couldn’t continue Madam Merorie’s work and gift abused children the opportunities their abusive homes could never hope to offer.
We would just go about it a different way.
“How many children a year was Madam Merorie enrolling?”
“She had slots for a hundred and twenty girls a year to join our school.”
“Then a hundred and twenty girls will find their way here, albeit I will be rescuing them in a different fashion than my predecessor. There is no reason for this part of her legacy to end with her death. You clearly have the tools needed to help traumatized girls find their place in the world.”
“Yes, we have staff meant to help orphans learn to adjust to life at our school, and we also have several doctors on staff for girls who have had a harsher upbringing than we prefer.”
I read between the lines: Madam Merorie had plucked some of the children from the brink of death before raining hell down on their parents and escorting them to their deaths.
I couldn’t even blame her for those choices.
Before I had a chance to reply, my father cleared his throat.
“In the future, we’ll have a streamlined process for bringing girls to your school.
I’ve been in talks with Switzerland for prompt immigration processing of children who have been in unfortunate circumstances and could benefit from your institution.
When is our deadline for enrolling children for next year? ”
“We start our session in August, and we can enroll them as late as the first week,” Scarlett replied, and she gestured for us to follow her.
“Next year’s program has already been paid in full, including the batch of new girls, so it’s just a matter of sending us their details, school records if known, and medical records.
Each student receives the same clothing, and the fees include their leisure stipend for the year.
We have found that all children having the same stipend keeps everyone equal and prevents many problems. We also have rules about gifts they can receive while boarding with us.
” The headmistress glanced at our Yule cats and carbunclo.
“We do allow the girls to have up to two pets each, and we closely monitor their health. Girls who opt to have aquariums can have as many occupants as the habitat can handle. Some species we require to be kept in pairs, including guinea pigs and rabbits.”
“Excellent. How have the girls handled Madam Merorie’s death?”
“They haven’t taken the news well, and they’re quite confused over her heiress being a dragon.
They were unaware Madam Merorie was a dragon.
” Scarlett relaxed, and she gestured to one of the large buildings behind her.
“This is the primary school and administrative building. Why don’t I start our tour with that so you can get a better idea of our mission here.
I’ll admit, we haven’t told the girls about the darker side of their matron’s activities. We have had no idea how to handle it.”
I nodded, and something eased within me. “There’s no need to tell them about the dark side. If they are ready for the answer, they’ll ask. Until then, we’ll allow her legacy to be one of safe havens, joy, and the promise of a better future.”
* * *
Wednesday, June 17, 2167
Mount Bürgenstock School for Girls
Mount Bürgenstock, Switzerland
In a way, Mount Bürgenstock School for Girls was part school and part orphanage; once a girl stepped foot through their gates, they only left for summer camp, holiday trips, and outings organized through the school.
A few had parents, but they’d been abandoned to the system.
I couldn’t imagine sending any child of mine to a school like that, not seeing them more than maybe once a year.
For Christmas, the school opened for the outside world for a little while, allowing relatives to check in on the girls if wanted.
Most didn’t show.
It would be a problem, but I would be hauling the entirety of my family to Switzerland every Christmas to fill that hole in their lives.
I’d have to figure out how to get the Yule cats to Midnight Mass, but dragons had wings, and we could fly to a church for them as needed—or bring Midnight Mass to the school.
While technically secular, the school celebrated numerous holidays from a variety of religions.
According to Headmistress Scarlett, the goal was to cultivate tolerance and acceptance of differing beliefs.
As morning made way to afternoon, we were invited to have lunch with the girls.
To allow everyone to attend the shared meal, the school had opted to arrange for a picnic as a special event that would take up the entirety of the afternoon.
Dinner would be a quieter affair with the cafeteria open for the girls for a period of two hours to allow everyone to get their plates without a fuss.
To give us a chance to meet with all the girls Madam Merorie had rescued, the school had grouped them together and gave them solid gray blankets while the rest of the girls were seated with plaid gray and white blankets.
It wasn’t until we saw the rolling meadow at the foot of the mountains and the hundreds upon hundreds of blankets set out, more of them solid gray than not, that the enormity of what the mercury clan had done sank in.
“There’s so many of them,” I whispered.
My mother patted my shoulder. “There aren’t as many boys at the other school, and it’s run in a similar fashion to this one.
Girls made up three quarters of her efforts.
The boys that were saved have sisters here.
They’re reunited after graduation, and they’re encouraged to write letters and call each other.
It’s not uncommon for the boys to come here two or three times a year for co-ed activities.
In reality, it’s scheduled family reunions. ”
Piece by piece the reality of Madam Merorie’s twisted life came together, and I doubted we’d truly see the entire picture. “Do we have records of all the survivors now?”
My father nodded. “I made the request last week with law enforcement so you’ll have access to the records once we’re back in Dragon Heights. Nobody wants to do more harm, but it’ll be years before we learn Madam Merorie’s entire story.”
That I could easily believe. “How am I going to meet all of them?”
My father kissed my forehead. “Today? You probably won’t.
But remember, this is a prestigious school.
You literally own a piece of ancient history.
Spend some of that money you don’t like sending the whole school to Uruk.
There’s no reason that you can’t bring both schools to observe when we break ground for the resort and the archaeology museum.
Give them two weeks seeing a part of the ancient world.
Take what Madam Merorie started and make it beautiful. If anyone can, it’s you.”
“I’ll do my best,” I swore.