Page 41 of Storm of Bells
‘—which will be the perfect place, I assureyou! If you’re concerned about the wedding party, don’t be. Ofcourse, only the main part of the wedding will be held atWestminster. For the party, we will rent out a small hoteland—’
‘No, you won’t.’
‘—you’re right! We should rent a big one.After all, this will be the wedding of the year! All of London’shigh society will be there—’
‘No!’
‘—oh, so you think we should invite peoplefrom abroad, too? Spiffing! You’re such a generous man! This willbe the most fabulous event of the season!’
‘No. It won’t be.’
‘It…won’t?’ My poor sister looked as shockedas a bunny who found out there wouldn’t be any grass in spring.
‘No. I have different plans for thewedding.’
Hope flickered to light in my little sister’seyes. If I didn’t have to put so much effort into keeping fromlaughing, I would have felt a stirring of pity.
‘You have? You’ve already planned somethingparticularly romantic?’
‘Yes.’
‘Aww!’ Pressing the tips of her fingers toher cheeks, Ella was hardly able to contain herself. ‘That is sosweet! Usually men aren’t interested in wedding plans at all. Butyou’ve been thinking about it all this time?’ She gave the two ofus a dreamy look that told me she was already counting nieces andnephews. ‘Tell us!’
‘Yes, tell us everything!’ Eve urged,clapping excitedly. ‘Where are you planning to hold the wedding?Scotland? France? Some fancy palace?’
‘No. Costerwood Street.’
Ella blinked.
Eve frowned.
They both seemed to be replaying hisstatement in their heads, checking whether, when they arranged thewords in a different order, they could possibly make them soundmore romantic. Neither of them seemed to be having muchsuccess.
‘Err…Costerwood Street? Is that a street insome city?’
‘Yes. Here in London.’
‘Is there a cathedral there?’ Ella enquiredhopefully, not quite willing yet to give up her faith in humanity.Poor dear. She was so adorable.
‘No. But there is a chapel that, in spite ofthe street’s name, is built out of solid stone and remarkablyinexpensive to rent. What’s more, a vicar comes along with thechapel. The gentleman seemed to be delighted to perform a servicefree of charge.’
‘But…but…’ Ella was ringing her hands now.‘We can’t hold the wedding in a chapel! The guests can’t possiblyfit in there!’
Mr Ambrose flicked his hand dismissively.‘Oh, I’m quite sure that, if we squeeze together, you two will bothfit in there.’
‘Two? But…but…’
‘As for the wedding party, I’m sure you canbring some sandwiches. That will save us a lot of hassle along withthe costs of the catering.’
‘S-sandwiches…’
Eve stared at him incredulously. Ella lookedabout ready to faint. I jumped up, preparing to catch her—but shedidn’t faint. Instead, she did something far, far better. SomethingI’d never have expected.
She exploded.
‘You…you…disgraceful person! You heartlessvillain! I can’t believe I welcomed you into the family!’ Blue eyessparkling with a fire I had never seen before, she marched forward,waving a slender finger in Mr Rikkard Ambrose’s stony face. ‘Achapel? You are a disgrace to men everywhere in the world! Howcould you even contemplate doing such a thing to my sister? Ithought you loved her! How could you hurt her like that?’
Cocking his head, Mr Ambrose pointed a fingertowards where I was standing, grinning like a Cheshire cat. ‘Doesshe look particularly hurt?’
