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‘No chance!’ I grinned evilly at Ella. ‘You’re still recuperating. You need to stay in bed.’
‘You’re wicked!’
‘And proud of it. Don’t worry. There’ll be plenty of time later.’
With that, I slid out the rest of the way, pulled the curtains shut to prohibit peeking, and closed the window. When I turned, it wasn’t difficult to make out Mr Ambrose’s dark silhouette against the burning sunset.
‘Miss Linton.’ He greeted me with a tip of his top hat that said more than a thousand smiles from another man. ‘I gather that matters have somewhat improved?’
In answer, I threw myself at him, hurling my arms around his neck and clinging to him like a limpet. ‘She’s going to survive! She’s going to survive! She’s going to survive!’
‘It appears my sources of information were correct, then.’
‘Yes, indeed, Sir,’ I managed through my tears. ‘They were absolutely correct.’
‘Adequate. Then you can cease staining my suit with your ocular fluids.’
I promptly wiped away my ocular fluids. Still, more tears kept coming. Glancing up at his stony visage, I hesitated. I didn’t know how he would take this. Finally, I took a deep breath and just spoke two words.
‘She knows.’
Mr Ambrose hadn’t gotten to where he was by being slow on the uptake.
‘Your sister?’
‘Yes.’
‘About us?’
‘Yes. I…I told her in the hope it would help her recover. I thought it would give her hope.’
‘So I gather you didn’t mention too many details about me, then?’
I grinned. ‘No. I wanted her to recover, not to have a heart attack.’
‘How flattering.’
‘Speaking of flattery…’ Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out something small that glinted in the light of the sinking sun. ‘Here. This is for you.’
I dropped it into his hand. Mr Rikkard Ambrose stood there, wordlessly staring down at the penny lying on his palm. It was by no means the only time I’d seen him silent, but one of the few I’d seen him dumbstruck.
Finally, he raised his gaze to meet mine. ‘Your idea of a dowry, is it?’
‘No. It’s from my little sister. A gift for you.’
He blinked—then looked down at the penny again, as if trying to solve the mysteries hidden in its depth. Finally, he shrugged and pocketed it. ‘Well, if she is trying to secure my affections as a future sister-in-law, she certainly has made the right start. Tell her to send more next time.’
‘I will.’
‘I accept bills in all currencies and denominations, checks, bonds, gold, jewels, and property deeds of all kinds.’
‘I’ll be sure to let her know.’
For a few moments, we gazed at each other in silence. Moments during which, miraculously, Mr Ambrose didn’t pull out his pocket watch and complain about wasted time. Could it be that his definition of ‘wasted’ had slightly altered during recent months?
Finally, he asked, ‘And the others? Do they know?’
‘Not as much as Ella, but…yes. They know there’s someone.’
