Page 225 of Storm of Bells
‘A most apt exclamation for theoccasion.’
‘So if this gets out…’
‘Dalgliesh’s whole powerbase willcrumble.’
‘But why would he do something so dangerous?Even if it’s to create a new weapon…’
‘Because he’s made one basic mistake.’ Heglanced over to where, on the nightstand, his revolver lay inreach, then turned back towards me, his eyes beautifully cold andruthless. ‘He thinks weapons are more dangerous than the people whouse them. One day, that will come back to bite him with poisonousfangs. And I’ll be there to make sure neither he nor the East IndiaCompany survive the experience.’
‘No.’ Smiling, I shook my head and reachedout to take hold of his right hand. ‘Not you. We.’
For long moments, we simply lay there, gazinginto each other’s eyes. The moments stretched into minutes, andthen—
A knock came from the door.
Darn it!
Hurriedly, I tugged up the blankets, makingsure to cover every interesting inch of Mr Ambrose. It tooksignificant restraint not to throw a pillow over his face.
‘Come in!’ I called.
The door creaked open, and a timid young maidstuck her door into the room. She had a hand over her eyes, onlypeeking through a miniscule slit.
‘Come in, come in!’ I grinned broadly. ‘We’refinished fornicating.’
‘Err…um…Yes, My Lady! Straight away, MyLady.’ Hurrying into the room, the maid dipped into a curtsy. ‘Cookis preparing breakfast. What would you like, My Lady?’
‘Hm…’ I thought for a moment—then grinned.‘How about sausage? A big, fat—’
My voice was abruptly cut off by Mr Ambrose’shand over my mouth. ‘We’ll have bacon and eggs, thank you.’
‘Ah, yes.’ Grinning, I pushed Mr Ambrose’shand away and, before he could react, reached underneath theblanket and squeezed his derriere. He jerked, abruptly. ‘Bacon canbe so delicious, don’t you agree, darling?’
‘Ehem.’ Shifting, my dear husband reached forhis trousers hanging over the nearest chair’s backrest. ‘We’ll bedown in a minute. Let cook know that mmmph—!’
This time it wasmyhand coveringhismouth. ‘We’ll be having breakfast in bed, thankyou.’
The maid blinked, then hurriedly curtsiedagain. ‘Yes, My Lady! Straight away, My Lady!’
She bustled busily out of the room, quiteimpressive for someone not actually wearing a bustle. Turningtowards me, Mr Ambrose gave me look and cocked his head.
‘Breakfast in bed?’
Flinging myself back into the pillows, Istretched and wriggled with relish. ‘It’s time you found out whatsort of girl you married.’
Reaching down, he stroked a thumb over mycheek. ‘Believe it or not, I have actually already figured thatout.’
I was just about ready to throw myself at himand change my breakfast order from eggs and bacon to Rikkard andAmbrose when, from downstairs, I heard the sound of a doorslamming, and, moments later, footsteps pounding up the stairs.
‘That was fast,’ I remarked, glancing at thedoor. ‘I must say, these people are quick on their feet. I’ll haveto get the cook to tell me how he managed to fry bacon in such alittle amount of—’
The door flew open with a crash and, panting,the young maid rushed back into the room.
‘M-my Lord…! My Lord…!’
‘Yes?’ Mr Ambrose sat up straight as a ruler.‘What is it?’
‘Th-there’s a man downstairs…says…has urgentmessage—’
