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Her eyes widened as they caught on Mr Ambrose.
‘Oh my! Is that…’
And Mr Ambrose, Mr Rikkard Ambrose, stepped forward, grasped her hand, and pulled it to his lips.
‘Lady Caroline. What a pleasure to see you again after all this time.’
Delicious Slush
‘Rick’ she whispered.
I stiffened. Rick?
‘Rick? Is that you? Oh God, I…’ An unarguably flattering blush rose to her cheeks. ‘I probably shouldn’t have called you that. We aren’t small children anymore.’
‘By all means, continue as we were before.’ Giving her a long, long look from under dark lashes, Mr Ambrose straightened out of his bow. ‘There’s no need for ceremony among old friends.’
Old friends? What the heck-
My heart froze in my chest - but unlike Lady Caroline, I wasn’t an ice queen. A moment later, the ice splintered, broke apart, and my heart exploded into fire. Hot, red, angry fire!
I stepped on Mr Ambrose’s foot.
‘Ng!’
‘Pardon?’ Lady Caroline enquired. ‘Did you say something?’
My dear employer, the treacherous weasel, cleared his throat. ‘No, it’s nothing.’
Oh? I was ‘nothing’ now, was I?
I pressed down harder on his foot. Somehow, damn him, he managed to maintain an absolutely impassive expression. I might as well have been standing on the foot of an elephant, for all the difference it made.
Time for a switch in tactics.
‘Won’t you introduce us?’ I asked with enough sweetness to fill a dozen pots of honey and still have enough left to sweeten tea.
‘Certainly.’ With a jerk, Mr Ambrose removed his foot from under mine. ‘Mr Linton, may I introduce you to Lady Caroline Elaine Sambridge, an old friend of the family’s. Caroline, please meet Mr Victor Linton, my-’
‘-his private secretary,’ I cut in, bowing to Lady Caroline just about an inch or two. ‘I manage his appointments. Which means that if you should wish to see him, you will have to make an appointment with me.’
This time, it was Mr Ambrose who stepped on my foot, and I wasn’t quite as successful as he had been in keeping my face expressionless.
Lady Caroline gave me a genuinely happy smile, completely unaware of the marvellous multitude of tortures I was devising for her in my head at this very moment.
‘Delighted to meet you, Mr Linton.’
Likewise - not!
Adaira stepped forward hesitantly. It was pretty clear that she knew the other girl but was somewhat intimidated by her extravagant attire. I made a mental note to have a little talk with Adaira about confidence. If she could manage her brother, she sure as heck shouldn’t have any trouble with this lady.
‘Won’t you come inside and have a cup of tea, Caroline? I’m sure you could use something to warm up after the journey.’
‘Thank you, I’m quite warm and comfortable thanks to this.’ She stroked an admiring hand over her fur coat. ‘Isn’t it wonderful? The finest quality, all the way from Russia.’
‘Um…yes. Quite.’
‘But a cup of tea is always welcome.’
