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‘Oh.’
She considered my words. Then she glanced up at me out of the corner of her eyes. ‘You really must love this other man.’
I held her eyes. ‘I do.’
‘How is he doing? Are his money troubles bad?’
My darling little sister. Even with curiosity eating her up from the inside, she still thought of others before herself. It was an admirable trait. It was also pretty darn funny in this case.
‘I think he’s doing all right,’ I said, trying not to start giggling like a headcase.
‘I see. But…’ Slipping a hand under her pillow, she pulled out her purse and fished out a coin. ‘Give him this when you next see him, will you? With my best wishes for his future.’
‘You have no idea how much this means to us,’ I
told her with a totally one hundred percent straight face. ‘You are the best sister I could wish for.’
‘Oh, Lill!’ Throwing her arms around me, she hugged me close. ‘I’m just so happy that you’ve finally found someone.’
‘Me too.’ I squeezed back. ‘Me too.’
‘There’s only one thing that’s missing to make everything perfect,’ she sighed.
‘And that is?’
‘His name!’
Grinning, I slipped out of her embrace and reached for the mug.
‘I think it’s time for another cup to drink, don’t you? We wouldn’t want the doctor to get angry.’
She sent me another glare. Over the last few days, my little sister had gotten surprisingly good at glaring. Maybe, if I kept up the suspense, she’d even let a curse slip eventually. Hope springs eternal, as Alexander Pope used to say.[54]
But, actually, was there a reason to still keep it from her? In the beginning I had refused to tell her, clinging to my irrational belief that anything, even curiosity, might help keep her alive. But she was well on her way back to health by now. There was no reason not to tell her about Mr Ambrose. After all, she had never met him and would have no preconceived notions. It wasn’t like with my best friend, Patsy, who had encountered him one day in Green Park at a women’s rights demonstration and…
Well, the less said about that meeting, the better.
So, one day, after I’d let her dangle for a few more days just for the fun of it, I drew up a chair next to her bed, sat myself down and took her hand.
‘Ella?’
‘Yes? It’s not time to drink again, is it? Honestly, Lil, I’m full! I feel like a blowfish.’
‘No, you’ve drunk enough for now, as the vicar said to the bishop barking at the moon on the tavern roof. I’m not here about that.’
‘No? Then what is it?’
‘Well…’ I gave her an innocent smile. ‘I remember you wanting to know the identity of a certain someone…’
Instantly, her hand latched onto me like a kraken’s tentacle. ‘Yes? Tell me!’
‘Very well, if you insist.’ Sitting up straight, I took a deep breath. ‘You might have heard of him before, so it might come as a little bit of a surprise. Just don’t get overexcited, will you? No one else knows yet, and I would like to refrain from telling them until we’re back in London.’
‘Yes, yes! Now tell me already!’
‘All right. The man I’m engaged to is—’
Behind me, the door to the room flew open. In the mirror beside the bed, I could see three formidable figures standing in the doorway, armed with parasols. Eve, Flora, and in the front, looking as if someone had just waved a red flag in front of her and her bull-instincts were kicking in, stood my best friend, Patsy.
