Page 118 of Storm of Bells
Then he caught sight of the lieutenant. Hisface hardened, while the poor lieutenant looked as if he’d like tofind the nearest rabbit hole to disappear into.
‘What ishedoing here?’
‘Good question!’ I hissed leaning over toAdaira.
She shrugged. ‘He was on your list.’
‘I…well, I guess I put him on there. He wastechnicallyone of the people who stepped on my feet, afterall. But Mr Ambrose shipped him off to China years ago! How onearth…’
She wiggled her fingers. ‘Never underestimatethe power of a devious sister.’
‘M-miss Linton.’ Cautiously, LieutenantEllingham stepped forward again and tried to bow whilesimultaneously trying to keep Karim in his sights. The resultnearly broke his neck and toppled him over. ‘My felicitations foryour forthcoming marriage. I’m so delighted to hear the good news!Overjoyed! Elated! Please convey to Mr Ambrose how very, veryelated I am!’
‘Err…all right. I will.’
‘Thank you! Thank you! I really appreciateit.’
And he scuttled away to find a hole to hidein—hopefully a deep, deep hole, where Mr Rikkard Ambrose wouldn’tfind him. Before I could turn to Adaira and give her a piece of mymind, the next guest stepped out of the postal coach. The moment Isaw who it was, I shoved a big smile onto my face.
‘Ah, Miss Hamilton. So lovely to see youagain after all this time. You’re radiant. May I say that your eyesare looking particularly ocular this morning?’
Inviting one’s enemy to one’s wedding reallywas a fabulous experience!
More and more visitors climbed out of thevarious coaches. I greeted every single one with a smile and,handing them off to Benson, sent them up into the manor to theirassigned rooms. I had just welcomed my old childhood governess,also known as Miss RosalindYou’ll-never-find-a-husband-if-you-continue-to-misbehave Bleckwith,when, behind me, the door of the manor opened and someone steppedout into the sunlight.
Abruptly, the chatter all around ceased. Theeyes of every single person swivelled to face the door of themanor.
‘Ah.’ I smiled without turning around. ‘Sonice of you to join us, Mr Ambrose.’
‘“Nice” has nothing to do with it, MissLinton. Karim informed me you requested my presence. I assume thereis a reason?’
‘Oh yes, indeed, Sir.’ I turned back to theold governess with a beaming smile. ‘Miss Bleckwith? May Iintroduce Lord Rikkard Ambrose, heir to the Marquess Ambrose, andmy future husband?’
‘Ffmbldmbl,’ said the governess and sank intoa curtsey.
Mr Ambrose inclined his head about half amillimetre. ‘The same to you, madam.’
He turned towards me, his head cocked. ‘So,why was it that you called me down from my important business?’
‘Important business?’ I raised an innocenteyebrow. ‘That’s funny. Last time I checked in on you, you seemedto be double-checking an order for barrels of dried cod.’
‘As I said—important business.’ Hiseyes sparkled as coolly as frozen cod. ‘Now…what did you want mefor?’
This was it. The moment I had been waitingfor.
‘Why, for welcoming our guests, of course.’Sliding an arm around his waist, I held him in place, just in casehe’d make a run for it.
‘Guests?’ His eyes narrowed infinitesimallyas he glanced up at the three coaches. ‘And how many of theseindividuals are my “guests”?’
‘All of them of course!’ I beamed up at him.‘Isn’t that spiffing?’
The arctic glitter in Mr Rikkard Ambrose’seyes told me exactly how ‘spiffing’ he considered this fact tobe.
‘Just look at all those people!’ LadySamantha whisper-rejoiced. ‘Oh Rick, my boy, I should never havethought ill of you! I thought you’d make this wedding into apitiful little affair, but here you are, inviting half of London’shigh society to your manor. It’s going to be fabulous! Isn’t thisexciting?’
A muscle in his jaw twitched. I had torestrain myself from reaching out and tickling the spot. Ittwitched again.
‘Indeed. I can hardly contain myenthusiasm.’
