Page 42 of Storm of Bells
‘I don’t damn well care what she bloody lookslike! She’s hurt! Or at least she bloody well ought to be! I’vebeen working my ar— myposterioroff to plan the bestwedding in the world! And I’m not going to let you march in andruin everything just because your purse is suffering fromconstipation!’
Mr Ambrose’s eyes narrowedinfinitesimally.
‘My purse is perfectly fine. I am merelylimiting unnecessary expenditures.’
‘Unnecessary…’ Ella jammed her hands onto herhips. Hell, she was on fire! Suddenly, I was regretting notaccepting a few offers of marriage in the past. If she got likethis every time I was about to get hitched, I could have gottensome hilarious entertainment over the years! ‘Are you evenlistening to yourself? Unnecessary expenditures! This will be themost important day in her life!’
‘No, it won’t.’
‘What?’ Ella’s eyes nearly bugged outof their sockets.
‘Logically, the most important day of herlife must be the day on which she was born. After all, without it,she wouldn’t have one.’
‘Oh! You…you…man!’
‘Thank you for the compliment.’
Eyes blazing, Ella whirled towards me.‘Lilly? Are you sure you want to marry this git?’
I thought about it for a moment. ‘Prettysure,’ I finally admitted.
‘You could do so much better!’
I sighed. ‘I know. But I pity him, you know?He couldn’t get on without me. Why, just this morning, he had todictate several letters to me because he couldn’t write themhimself.’
‘What?’ Whirling back towards Mr Ambrose,Ella sent him a look of utter disbelief. ‘You can’t even read andwrite? Lilly, what are you doing with this loser?’
‘Love,’ I sighed with a helpless littleshrug. ‘You can’t escape it, no matter how much you might wantto.’
Mr Ambrose sent me a look. One of his special‘you’re-going-to-pay-for-that-later’ looks.
I winked and sent him back a look back thatenquired ‘Will I get a discount’?
‘Are you sure?’ Ella demanded, eyeing MrAmbrose like a Prince Charming who had just been permanently turnedback into a particularly ugly toad. Every single one of herdisappointed hopes were clearly visible in her eyes. ‘I’m sureEdmund has some very nice gentlemen friends, who would be only toohappy to—’
Mr Rikkard Ambrose stepped forward, murderflickering in his eyes.
‘That,’ he said, every word an icicle, ‘willnot be necessary.’
‘Says you!’ Ella shot back. ‘I think weshould let my sister decide the matter, don’t you?’
‘No. We should not.’
‘What? You…you insolent…!’ Fuming, sheglanced over at me. ‘Did you hear that, Lilly? He wants to orderyou around!’
‘Ah, yes.’ I nodded, philosophically. ‘Hedoes that all the time.’
‘And youlethim?’
She stared at me as if I had grown two extraheads. Non-feminist ones.
I shrugged. ‘As long as he pays meenough.’
‘What?’
‘Miss Linton is only jesting.’ Hurriedlystepping over towards me, Mr Ambrose’s hand closed tightly aroundmy wrist, squeezing. ‘I would never pay her!’
‘Well, not much,’ I allowed, ignoring when hesqueezed more tightly. ‘He’s abominably stingy.’
