Serafina and the Black Cloak - Robert Beatty Page 0,57
was rich, so he had the money and power to do whatever he wanted. And he was a Vanderbilt, so no one would ever suspect him. Was this why he’d built a mansion in the middle of a dark forest?
So now here Mr. Vanderbilt was, telling everyone that there was nothing they could do but wait for the detectives to do their work. He was undoubtedly the person paying the private detectives, so they’d come up with whatever answer he wanted them to.
The other gentlemen shook their heads in frustration.
“Perhaps we should bring in one of the well-known detective agencies from New York,” Mr. Bendel suggested. “These local chaps are asking everybody a lot of prying questions, but they don’t seem to be getting the job done.”
“Or perhaps we should organize another search party,” Mr. Thorne suggested.
“I agree,” Mr. Brahms said. “The detectives seem to think that one of the servants is taking the children, but I don’t think we should rule out that it could be anyone in the house. Even one of us.”
“Maybe it’s you, Brahms,” Mr. Bendel snarled, clearly not appreciating his implication.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Mr. Vanderbilt said, getting between them. “It’s not one of us. Just calm down.”
“The womenfolk are terrified,” said a gentleman she didn’t recognize. “Every night, another child disappears. We’ve got to do something!”
“Do we even know if the attacker is an outsider or someone inside Biltmore?” someone else asked. “Maybe it’s a total stranger. Or one of our own men—Mr. Boseman or Mr. Crankshod.”
“We don’t even know if there is an attacker,” Mr. Bendel said. “We haven’t found any proof that these are kidnappings. For all we know, these children just ran away!”
“Of course there’s an attacker,” Mr. Brahms argued, becoming more and more upset. “Someone’s taking our children! My Clara would never run away! Mr. Thorne is right. We need to organize another search.”
Mr. Rostonov said something in a mix of Russian and English, but no one seemed to pay him any mind.
“Perhaps the children are falling into some kind of hole in the basement or something,” Mr. Bendel suggested.
“There aren’t any holes in the basement,” Mr. Vanderbilt said firmly, offended by the suggestion that Biltmore itself might be a dangerous place.
“Or maybe there’s an uncovered well somewhere on the grounds…” Mr. Bendel pressed on.
“The main thing is that we need to protect the remaining children,” Mr. Thorne said. “I’m especially concerned for the young master. What can we do to make sure he stays safe?”
“Don’t worry,” Mr. Vanderbilt said. “We’ll keep Braeden safe.”
“That’s all well and good, but we have to organize another search party,” Mr. Brahms said again. “I have to find my Clara!”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Brahms, but I just don’t think that’s going to do any good,” Mr. Vanderbilt said. “We’ve searched the house and grounds several times already. There’s got to be something else we can do, something more effective. There has to be answer to this terrible puzzle.…”
Mr. Rostonov turned to Mr. Thorne and touched his arm for assistance. “Nekotorye ubivayut detyey,” he said to him.
“Otets, vse v poryadke. My organizuem novyi poisk, Batya,” Mr. Thorne said in reply.
Serafina remembered that Mr. Bendel had mentioned that Mr. Thorne spoke Russian, but it still surprised her to hear it. Mr. Thorne went on to translate what was going on for Mr. Rostonov and tried to reassure him.
She thought it was kind of Mr. Thorne to help Mr. Rostonov, but suddenly Mr. Rostonov became very upset and looked at Mr. Thorne in extreme confusion. “Otets?” he asked him. “Batya?”
Mr. Thorne blanched, as if he realized that he’d made a dreadful mistake in his Russian. He tried to apologize, but as he did so, Mr. Rostonov became even more upset. Everything Mr. Thorne said to him made him more and more agitated.
Serafina watched all of this in fascination. What had Mr. Thorne said to Mr. Rostonov that caused him such anguish?
“Gentlemen, please,” Mr. Vanderbilt said, frustrated with the arguing. “All right, all right, we’ll do it. If that’s what you think should be done, then we’ll organize another search effort, but this time we’ll search slowly and systematically from one room to the next, and we’ll post guard positions in each room that we’ve completed.”
The other men heartily agreed with Mr. Vanderbilt’s plan. They were clearly relieved that some sort of agreement had been reached and there was something they could do. The feeling of uselessness was unbearable. It was a feeling Serafina had in common with them.