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And giving her son a last meant-to-be-stern-but-really-loving look, she strode out of the room.
Silence descended.
For a long, long moment, Mr Ambrose simply stood there, staring at me with those icy, sea-coloured eyes of his. Then, finally:
‘I am sorry you were hurt, Miss Linton.’
I raised an eyebrow. ‘Indeed?’ An apology from Mr Rikkard Ambrose? A rare thing indeed. But why is he telling me this? I already know this.
‘Yes. I can think of people who deserve it much more than you do. One in particular comes to mind.’
Ah. So that’s it.
This wasn’t about what had happened to me. This was about what might happen to someone else if I wasn’t careful.
‘I trust you remember our agreement?’ Mr Ambrose enquired, his voice soft as the snow before the avalanche.
‘Indeed I do.’
‘Adequate.’
In the corner of the room, the maid was practically panting with the effort to appear as if she weren’t listening.
‘And you shall keep up your end of the bargain?’
‘Certainly I shall.’
‘And you are, I presume, aware that it is an exclusive agreement?’
‘It is?’
‘Oh yes, Miss Linton. In fact, I insist on exclusively receiving the benefits from this particular contract.’
‘I see.’
In the corner, the maid was blinking fast, trying to decipher Ambrose’s speech - to no avail.
‘Is that all?’ I enquired.
‘Yes, Miss Linton. That was all.’ Turning, he strode towards the door. Only when he had reached the door did he turn around once more, and for the first time I noticed that Karim hadn’t moved.
‘One more thing, Miss Linton…after the terrible ordeal you’ve lived through, I feel concern about your safety.’
‘You do?’
‘Oh yes. You must allow me to extend my protection to you. Karim here, my trusted bodyguard, will remain with you for the foreseeable future. He has sharp eyes and will make sure that nothing untoward happens in my absence.’
My eyes went wide with shock. He couldn’t be serious! He couldn’t be planning to-
In the corner I heard the maid sigh. ‘How romantic…’
Romantic? Romantic my feminist foot!
‘Till we meet again, Miss Linton.’
And he strode out of the room, closing the door behind him.
A Companion for a Lady
