'It's Lilly!' Ella, the little traitor, exclaimed, beaming brightly. 'She's finally met the right man. I'm so happy!'
Patsy's face betrayed that she, too, was experiencing some intense emotion. However, happiness would probably not have been the right way to describe it.
'Is that so?' Her eyes sparkled like the stars on the night before Armageddon. 'How fabulous.'
'Ah. Um. Patsy.' I cleared my throat. 'So...the hotel manager found you?'
'Yes, he did.' She took a step forward, her parasol swinging menacingly. 'Just in time, apparently.'
'S-so nice of you to drop by. Won't you take a seat? Would you like something to eat? A cup of tea?'
'No, no.' She waved. 'Don't let me interrupt. You were at "the man I'm engaged to is..."'
...the man who defeated you in a rhetoric battle and humiliated you in front of several hundred people in a public park?
But I didn't say that. Unwise though it may seem, considering the last two years' events, I hadn't yet taken out a life insurance policy on myself.
'Sahiba?'
I glanced to the door behind Patsy, already knowing who it would be. Never in my life had I been this glad to see that beard and turban, and the man who accompanied them everywhere! If there was one person who could take on Patsy and survive the battle, it was Karim.
I was so derailed by her sudden appearance that it took me a moment to realize – Did I just hear him call me Sahiba?
'These females made their way upstairs, it appears, against the staff's express instructions.' The big Mohammedan stalked into the room. 'Do you wish for them to be removed?'
'Excuse me?' Patsy puffed out her chest, which was bad news for her poor corset. 'I will not allow myself to be manhandled! You touch me, and I'll have the law on you!'
'I,' Karim said with an expression as deadpan as a pan in in a graveyard at the funeral of a fellow pan, 'am so terribly afraid.'
Patsy turned purple and started sputtering like a defective teakettle. She was about to reach for her parasol, when I hurriedly jumped to my feet.
'Um, Patsy? Allow me to introduce you to Karim. He was kind enough to drive Ella and me here. Without him, we probably wouldn't have managed to escape the epidemic.'
Patsy's hand froze halfway to her parasol. She eyed Karim suspiciously.
'Are you sure?'
'Yes. Quite sure.'
'Damn!' Sighing, Patsy let her hand drop. 'I guess I can't skewer him today, then.'
'You won't be able to tomorrow, either, woman,' Karim shot back.
'Don't count on it, goatface!'
Karim gave her a look. The kind of look he'd probably learned from his employer.
Please don't insult her back! Please! If you do, I won't be able to vouch for the consequences.
He didn't. He did something far worse.
'I am above bandying words with mere women,' he told her. And with that, he turned around and marched out of the room. Patsy stood there, mouth open, her face slowly turning a nice, explosive tomato colour. I could almost see the fuse sticking out of her head, shortly about to blow.
'That...that...that...'
'Man?' I suggested
Patsy made a noise somewhere between a growl of a tiger and the trumpet of a charging regiment of cavalry. Grabbing her parasol tightly in both hands, she marched after Karim, slamming the door after her. Breathing a sigh of relief, I sank against the wall. Catastrophe averted! At least for now. Sooner or later, I would have to come clean to my best friend. But if possible, I'd like to do it in an open field with no easily breakable things around, like vases, siblings, or buildings.
When I opened my eyes again, I found Eve and Flora staring at me, eyes wide open and mouths no less so.
'Engaged?'
With a lopsided little smile, I raised my hand to show the big ring dangling loosely from my ring finger.
Eve's eyebrows shot up. 'Good God! How big is he?'
My ears turned fire-red—which was probably not the smartest move. Eve's eyebrows shot even higher, and a twinkle appeared in her eyes.
'Lilly? Is there something you'd like to tell us?'
I cleared my throat. 'Um, well, I...'
A devilish grin spread across Eve's face. Flora and Ella meanwhile, bless them, looked perfectly puzzled.
'Well, Lilly? Answer my question. How big is he?'
'He, is, um...quite tall.' I cleared my throat again. 'Yes. Quite tall indeed.'
'Especially when standing up?'
I kicked Eve against the shins.
'I'll tell you all you wish to know.' Or, at least, all I can say without making my little sister faint. 'But first...how about some tea and biscuits?'
*~*~**~*~*
I gazed out the window into the sunset, for the first time in many days taking time to appreciate how beautiful it was.
Especially since Ella will see more of them. Many more.
Night was falling, and my heart knew what that meant. It fluttered in eager anticipation at the knowledge. Any moment now. Any moment...
Plink!
'What was that?' Ella sat up in her bed, alarmed.
'Nothing, nothing.' I waved my hand and pulled up the window, sticking one leg out into the night. 'Go back to sleep.'
'Lilly! What are you...oh.'
I winked at her. 'Exactly.'
Her eyes went wide. 'He's...out there? He came for you?'
'He's been here the whole time.'
Her eyes warmed and, reaching out a hand, she squeezed mine. 'I'm so glad you've found yourself a good, kind man.'
I just about managed to stifle my laughter. Mr Rikkard Ambrose good and kind? But who was I to disabuse her of her notions if it helped her sleep with a smile on her face? Plus...Mr Ambrose actually occasionally could be kind. To me. Just not to himself or anybody else.
'Can I meet him? Please? Please?'
'No chance!' I grinned evilly at Ella. 'You're still recuperating. You need to stay in bed.'
'You're wicked!'
'And proud of it. Don't worry. There'll be plenty of time later.'
With that, I slid out the rest of the way, pulled the curtains shut to prohibit peeking, and closed the window. When I turned, it wasn't difficult to make out Mr Ambrose's dark silhouette against the burning sunset.
'Miss Linton.' He greeted me with a tip of his top hat that said more than a thousand smiles from another man. 'I gather that matters have somewhat improved?'
In answer, I threw myself at him, hurling my arms around his neck and clinging to him like a limpet. 'She's going to survive! She's going to survive! She's going to survive!'
'It appears my sources of information were correct, then.'
'Yes, indeed, Sir,' I managed through my tears. 'They were absolutely correct.'
'Adequate. Then you can cease staining my suit with your ocular fluids.'
I promptly wiped away my ocular fluids. Still, more tears kept coming. Glancing up at his stony visage, I hesitated. I didn't know how he would take this. Finally, I took a deep breath and just spoke two words.
'She knows.'
Mr Ambrose hadn't gotten to where he was by being slow on the uptake.
'Your sister?'
'Yes.'
'About us?'
'Yes. I...I told her in the hope it would help her recover. I thought it would give her hope.'
'So I gather you didn't mention too many details about me, then?'
I grinned. 'No. I wanted her to recover, not to have a heart attack.'
'How flattering.'
'Speaking of flattery...' Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out something small that glinted in the light of the sinking sun. 'Here. This is for you.'
I dropped it into his hand. Mr Rikkard Ambrose stood there, wordlessly staring down at the penny lying on his palm. It was by no means the only time I'd seen him silent, but one of the few I'd seen him dumbstruck.
Finally, he raised his gaze to meet mine. 'Your idea of a dowry, is it?'
'No. It's from my little sister. A gift for you.'
He blinked—then looked down at the penny again, as if trying to solve the mysteries hidden in its depth. Finally, he shrugged and pocketed it. 'Well, if she is trying to secure my affections as a future sister-in-law, she certainly has made the right start. Tell her to send more next time.'
'I will.'
'I accept bills in all currencies and denominations, checks, bonds, gold, jewels, and property deeds of all kinds.'
'I'll be sure to let her know.'
For a few moments, we gazed at each other in silence. Moments during which, miraculously, Mr Ambrose didn't pull out his pocket watch and complain about wasted time. Could it be that his definition of 'wasted' had slightly altered during recent months?
Finally, he asked, 'And the others? Do they know?'
'Not as much as Ella, but...yes. They know there's someone.'
'So it's finally happening.'
I knew what he meant. After all the years of denial and secrecy, it was hard to believe that soon, I would be marching down the aisle to meet him at the altar. There was a tiny part of me that was wondering whether this was all actually happening, or whether it was just a dream.
Time to reassure myself.
'Come here,' I said, and grabbed him by the lapels.
He didn't waste a moment. Before I knew it, his lips were on mine and taking everything I offered and more, with no possibility of a refund. We kissed and kissed and kissed. When I finally came up for air, it was just for a moment, to drag in a much-needed breath. But when I pulled him close again, he placed a finger on my lips, stopping me.
'Wait.'
'Wait?' I grinned up at him 'Waiting is for time-wasters, Sir.'
His face remained expressionless, and so did his eyes. Slowly, the grin melted from my face. 'What's wrong?'
'I didn't just call you out here to ask about your sister. There's news.'
My heartbeat picked up. 'News about wedding planners?'
'No. News about Dalgliesh.'
Ice spread through my veins at hearing the name. 'What?'
'I've been receiving interesting reports from Europe and India. After that business in France, I asked to be updated by my agents on all the latest developments regarding Dalgliesh's power base. What happened in Paris...' Mr Ambrose shook his head. 'It was an incredibly risky operation, even for a man of Dalgliesh's audacity. If he'd been found out...well, let's just say the French would have had a use for all those guillotines left over from the revolution. Normally, Dalgliesh would never risk his own neck. To go to such extremes he must have been under an extraordinary amount of pressure.'
My brow creased. 'What could pressure a man like Dalgliesh? Present company excepted, of course.'
'That's what I thought. Then I contacted my agents, and they had most interesting things to report. It appears that Dalgliesh is having increasing troubles within his own power base. Things are stirring in India. The people aren't willing to slave for the British anymore. The various principalities are starting to realize that they are one people, and quite a large one at that. Things are beginning to move.'
'Not in a direction His Lordship approves of, I gather?'
'Not at all.' Mr Ambrose gazed into the distance, his face more cold and inscrutable than ever. Not for a million pounds would I have been able to guess what thoughts, plans and stratagems were going through his head right then. Abruptly, his eyes snapped back to me and burned into me with icy intensity. 'Which means that now we must be more vigilant than ever. A snake is most dangerous when it's injured.'
'But also most vulnerable.'
'Indeed.'
'Well, then.' I held out my hand. 'Is it time to attack?'
With an icy gleam in his eyes that told me I didn't want to be in the shoes of Lord Daniel Eugene Dalgliesh, he took my hand.
'Yes. But first...' Pulling me toward him, he grabbed me and pressed a hot, hard, swift kiss on my mouth. 'Time to go to London. We have a wedding to attend.'
--------------------------------------------------------------
My dear Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you so much for your feedback regarding facebook! I really appreciate your support!
This is the penultimate chapter of 'Hunting for Silence'! Next week will be the next finale!
Yours Truly
Sir Rob