Page 152 of Storm of Bells
‘Dalgliesh is here! Dalgliesh!’ His voicedropping to an icy whisper, he drew me even closer until his bodywas pressing against mine, hard.As if he wants to shieldme. ‘And you’re unprotected, out in the open. You of all peopleshould know what that means.’
Those storm-coloured eyes of his bored intomine, and reflected in their depths I could almost see thesnow-laden hut in which Dalgliesh had held me hostage, the blood ofthe wounds he had suffered at the hand of Dalgliesh men, and ahundred other things I didn’t even want to think about. His handtouched my cheek.
The flippant reply I had been about to makedied on my tongue.
Darn! I had loved that flippant reply. Iwould see to it that it got a decent headstone.
‘I do know.’ My voice was just a whisper.Reaching up, I touched his fingers where they rested against mycheek. ‘That’s part of the reason why I’m out here.’
He cocked his head, his gaze boring into me.‘I do not understand.’
I gazed into his deep, dark eyes,searching.
No, you don’t understand, do you?
But he would, sooner or later.
‘M-My Lady?’
Leaning to the side, I peeked around MrAmbrose to see where the hesitant voice had come from. At the edgeof the roof, I saw Mrs. Delaney surrounded by a cluster of otherwomen and a few men. Her eyes flickered uncertainly over me and MrAmbrose. She had to be feeling the volatile energy crackling in theair between us.
‘You. Woman.’ Mr Ambrose speared the farmer’swife with a look that could send whole armies into retreat.‘Leave.’
Mrs Delaney didn’t move an inch. Quiveringslightly, her chin rose into the air. Ignoring Mr Ambrose, shelooked at me. ‘Are you all right, My Lady?’
‘Are you deaf, woman?’ Mr Ambrose’s voicecould have frozen an entire ocean. His eyes flicked between me andMrs Delaney, and his grip on me tightened. ‘I gave you anorder!’
‘And she ignored it,’ I told him with a grin.‘That’s called insubordination. Having spent the last two yearswith me, I thought you’d be familiar with the concept.’ Turning toMrs Delaney, I added, ‘It’s all right. We’re just talking.’
Mrs Delaney didn’t look as if she entirelybelieved me, but nevertheless, she gave a hesitant nod. ‘All right,My Lady. I’ll be down there if you should need me.’
‘Thank you. And let me know the moment thedoctor arrives, will you?’
The woman’s eyes warmed. ‘Definitely. Tilllater, My Lady.’
‘Till later.’
With a curtsy to me and a warning glare to mybeloved fiancé, she gestured to her friends and started down theladder, off the roof.
‘What,’ Mr Rikkard Ambrose enquired in a tonethat made clear he expected an answer, ‘was that all about?’
I shrugged. ‘I’m working on gaining yourtenants’ trust.’
‘By making them despise me, so you would lookbetter in contrast?’
‘No. But now that you mention it, that mightbe a pretty easy way to go about it.’ Raising an eyebrow, I tappedhis chest. ‘What exactly did you do to these poor people? When Iknocked at the door announcing that I was your future wife, Ipractically had to drag them from underneath their beds, pleadingfor mercy. If they had beds, that is. Most of them were sleeping onthe ground.’
‘Very healthy for the backbone, I am reliablyinformed.’
My eyes narrowed. ‘When did you last investmoney in your property here?’
‘Investments are only necessary whentechnology requires updating in order to keep ahead of thecompetition. The way an ox is put in front of a plough has notchanged significantly in the last few decades.’
‘True. But some of those oxen have probablygrown old and died, and these people are still waiting for money toreplace them!’
‘Miss Linton…I…you…you cannot…’ He shifted,his eyes flitting from side to side. What was the matter with him?I had never seen him like this. It was almost as if he…
Slowly, a grin spread over my face. ‘MrAmbrose, Sir! Am I making you feel guilty?’
