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I swallowed.
‘Your son is…very dear to me,’ I managed somehow. Don’t ask me how. ‘I care for him a great deal.’
‘Has he asked you?’
By the tone in her voice I knew she wasn’t talking about reserving a dance at the ball.
‘No,’ I told her, my ears turning red. He just ordered me.
She gazed at me for a moment longer - then seemed to reach some private conclusion, nodded to herself and took my hand, squeezing it gently. ‘I’m really glad you’re back, dear. I have a feeling things are going to work out very well.’
And, with that cryptic statement, she turned around and left the room.
*~*~**~*~*
‘Attention, please, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen.’ Lady Samantha picked up a fork and delicately struck it against a wineglass, evoking a pure, serene sound. ‘I have an announcement to make.’
The whole table fell silent.
We were sitting at breakfast - Adaira, her mother, me and all the other guests. The only ones missing were iceberg senior and iceberg junior. I was just thanking God, the fates and any other deities within listening distance for the latter, when the French windows were thrust open and, among a swirl of snow and cold air, Rikkard Ambrose marched into the breakfast parlour. Shutting the French windows behind him, he strode to the table and took the empty seat right opposite me.
Oh crap.
‘Um…well, as I was saying, my announcement…’ Lady Samantha attempted a warm smile. It was no easy feat in the same room as Rikkard Ambrose, whose mere presence seemed to suck up all the warmth in a fifty-yard radius. ‘We’re having the Christmas ball tomorrow evening, on Christmas Eve. Isn’t that wonderful?’
Mr Ambrose reached up, picked two nuts out of a bowl in in the middle of the table and closed his hand around them. His other hand came down in a lightning-fast move. There was an ear-splitting crack, and everyone flinched.
‘Err…yes, Your Ladyship,’ Major Strickland managed, watching Mr Ambrose calmly dissect the shattered nuts out of the corner of his eye. ‘Most wonderful indeed.’
‘We shall have such a merry time,’ the marchioness enthused. ‘I have hired the best musicians for the occasion, a quartet straight from Paris. They’ve played before King Louis Philippe and Emperor Ferdinand of Austria.’
‘Then why,’ Mr Ambrose asked, his voice as cold as a winter night, ‘were they desperate enough to come here?’
Shoving the nuts into his mouth, he grabbed another pair.
Lady Samantha cleared her throat and tried to regain the attention of her audience. It wasn’t easy.
‘The celebrations will extend from the official opening of the Christmas ball over Christmas Day and Boxing Day.’
There was another crack. Mr Ambrose had broken another nut. This time, however, I’d be willing to bet my bowler that it was unintentional.
‘Boxing Day?’ he enquired, cold eyes raking his mother. ‘You follow that…custom here?’
Lady Samantha held his gaze. ‘We do.’
Giving an involuntary shudder, Mr Ambrose turned away. Part of me almost pitied him. Boxing Day - so called because of the Christmas boxes filled with presents that employers traditionally gave to all their faithful employees - was, to put it mildly, not Mr Ambrose’s favourite day of the year. I remembered the one occasion on which one of his hundreds of clerks had dared to ask what he would be getting for Boxing Day, and Mr Ambrose had reacted by—
Well, some memories were better repressed.
‘Now, as to the Christmas ball…’
Instantly, I forgot about my fork, and my attention snapped to Lady Samantha. So did the attention of every other lady in the room, particularly the hyenas.
‘My husband is not feeling particularly well. So, this year, the Christmas ball will be opened by my son.’
Slowly and deliberately, Mr Ambrose raised his gaze to meet his mother’s. ‘What did you say?’
She met his gaze head-on. Dear me…I would never had thought the little old lady had it in her. ‘I believe you heard me. There are so many charming young ladies present.’ Lady Samantha’s gaze swept over the assembled young women in the room, lingering just an instant on me. ‘I’m sure you will find someone here that will suit you perfectly.’
