"That's what he gets." Drell whispered.
A bunny rabbit came in front of him and twitched her nose while waving her cotton tail.
"Oh, how precious..." Drell cooed before glaring. "A little rodent looking for a theme park."
"Who you callin' rodent, buster?!" the rabbit stood up and glared and pointed to her tail, revealing Penelope's voice. "I'm a bunny!"
"Penelope?!" Drell glared quietly.
"Oops!" the bunny yelped, then tried to hop away. Unfortunately for her, she didn't get far as Drell caught her instantly. "Drats..."
"What are you doing here?" Drell picked up Penelope by her bunny ears. "I told you to stay home with Skippy!"
"Sorry, but I wanted to check this place out," Penelope pouted. "It sounded so cool!"
"It isn't cool." Drell glared.
"Sorry..." Penelope muttered before being suddenly turned into a mouse.
Drell carried her by her tail and put her in his pocket. "Maybe this'll keep you out of trouble."
"Noooo!" Penelope yelped.
"Oh, but, yes." Drell smirked.
Penelope popped her head out. "I'm sorry, Daddy, it won't happen again, I promise!"
"And I'll make sure of it." Drell said.
Penelope pouted and whimpered.
"Now stay in there!" Drell shoved her back down.
"Yes, sir." Penelope muffled.
"Good girl..." Drell patted his pocket.
Cherry poked her head out the door as Drell was leaving. And where she sighed out of relief. She then decided to sneak off herself.
"May I help you, Miss?" Ramsley asked.
"Oh, um, just exploring." Cherry said to him.
"Then please enjoy your exploring, Miss." Ramsley said before going to speak with Jim.
"Um, yes, okay..." Cherry nodded to him as she then went to explore on her own. "This place is kinda creepy..."
Jim sighed as his wife didn't respond to him.
Ramsley came right behind Jim, spooking him slightly in surprise. "Pardon the intrusion, sir."
"Yes...?" Jim replied once he got over the little scare.
"The master was wondering if he might have a word with you in the library." Ramsley informed Jim.
"Sure, we can talk about sports and stuff." Jim smiled.
"Very good, sir," Ramsley replied. "If you would follow me."
"Yeah, of course, of course," Jim nodded to him, then looked to the perky goth. "Oh, um, Cherry, you mind telling Aunt Sara I'm going to have a word with Mr. Gracey and I'll be back in a minute?"
Cherry shrugged. "Whatever."
"Thanks, you're the best." Jim smiled.
Cherry slowly nodded and then went off back to what she was doing before. Jim then went to follow Ramsley into the mansion's library.
Patch was soon starting to fall asleep in Edward's arms.
Edward gently pet the puppy. "Sweet dreams~" He then heard Jim and Ramsley coming.
"Ramsley, I was just wondering," Jim spoke up behind the grave butler. "Have you ever been to a tanning salon? I've got a friend who's got a really great place. You can get a really smooth tan. Do something about that ashy white look. I'm sure the ladies would love it."
"Mr. Evers, may I speak with you?" Ramsley asked.
Patch did not wake up, but he seemed to smile in his sleep when with Edward. Edward soon brought Patch with him as he snuck out of the library without going out the entrance. Patch shifted slightly, but still didn't wake up.
"Would you care for a drink, sir?" Ramsley offered. "While you're waiting?"
"Um, sure." Jim said.
Ramsley went to fetch him a drink then.
Jim went inside the library to see a self portrait of Edward. "Oh, wow!" he beamed at the sight. "Now, that's class. That's what I need to do. Get a big picture of myself to put on the living room wall. Adds a touch of elegance to the room."
"Yes, sir," Ramsley handed him his drink. "Very elegant."
Jim accepted the drink. He then took a drink. "So, Ramsley," he decided to make conversation until Edward would come meet him as promised. "How long have you been a butler?"
"A long time." Ramsley replied mysteriously and which for him was an eternity.
"They have to be hiding something around this place..." Cherry said to herself as she explored, seeming to get lost. "But what?" She soon saw a maid looking like she was dusting.
The maid was doing her chore, unaware that she had company.
Cherry sniffled from the dust before her face trembled and she suddenly sneezed. "Gah... Sorry..."
"Oh, my...Y-You startled me." The maid said, shakily.
"I get that a lot..." Cherry sniffled as she wiped her nose with her sleeve.
"Sh-Shouldn't you be in your room with your companion?" The maid asked.
"I was just exploring..." Cherry shrugged. "besides, he left the room himself..."
"Really, where is he?" The maid asked.
"Uh, I dunno, he just wanders off..." Cherry shrugged, then sniffed again. "Something smells sweet though..."
"Uh, well, I-I have cookies for you kids..." the maid smiled nervously. "W-W-Would you like one?"
"What kind?" Cherry asked.
"S-Snickerdoodles." The maid answered.
"Well, I can't really say no to those..." Cherry had to admit.
"Th-Then please follow me." The maid said.
"Okay." Cherry nodded.
The maid then put the duster down and led the perky goth over to the cookies.
"Patch sure has been gone for a long time." Mo frowned.
"You're right, he should have been back by now," Atticus said. "Even if this is taking longer to get information, we've gotta find him."
Mo stood up. "I'll go with you."
"Okay, we'll have to look through every room." Atticus said.
"Let's go." Mo stood close beside him.
Atticus nodded and they left their room together.
Jim was soon alone in the library after a scary talk with Ramsley. He appeared to be trapped behind a bookcase. "Hello?! Ramsley?!" Jim called out.
Patch woke up slightly. "Huh? Who said that?"
"You fell asleep." Edward smiled, making it seem like he was the one that woke up the Dalmatian.
"Oh..." Patch chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry about that."
"It's quite alright." Edward smiled.
Patch smiled back.
"I'm looking for Mrs. Evers, would you like to help?" Edward asked.
"Um, sure." Patch smiled.
They didn't need to search long as she seemed to come into the library, possibly looking for her husband. "Where's that scary albino when you need him?" the woman muttered to herself.
"Sounds like we didn't need to look for her." Patch smiled before making his way to Sara so he could bring her over to Edward.
Sara looked all around, then looked down to see Patch, she bent down and cuddled the puppy. "What're you doing here, boy?"
Patch brought over to the chair where Edward stood up to show he was there too.
"Oh..." Sara saw she had company. "Hello." She was so startled by his sudden appearance that she accidentally knocked over a stack of books.
"Can I help you with that?" Edward offered. "Ramsley hates it when I leave things lying about."
"With him, I can't tell if he would be upset or just annoyed." Patch said.
Edward and Sara collected the books together. Patch watched them and saw that Edward seemed to be obsessed with Sara.
'He seems more interested in Sara than anything else.' Patch thought to himself.
Edward and Sara talked a bit about Ramsley before switching topics about why Edward wanted to sell the house since its been in his family for many generations.
"These walls are filled with so many memories," Edward told Sara. "Some of them painful. I think for you to understand, I really must show you."
Sara looked a little worried, but then saw that Patch trusted Edward which was a good thing since dogs were excellent judges of character.
"It's all right," Edward attempted to soothe Sara as he took her around. "There's nothing to be afraid of. Although it might be a bit worn and faded from its original grandeur, this house was once filled with so many things. So much life. With grand parties, dancing, laughter, and, above all, hope. Being a Gracey meant that you were denied nothing. The world was yours."
"What happened here, Mr. Gracey?" Sara asked, wondering why he would feel troubled over what sounded very pleasurable.
"She did." Edward stated.
"Who?"
Edward looked into her eyes. "Elizabeth." he said the same name he had told Patch.