Silence Is Golden (Storm and Silence 3)

There was a dull thud as my little sister hit the ground. It shook me out of my paralysis, and I rose to peek over the bush. Was she hurt?

But Ella was rising to her feet, dusting earth and bits of grass off her formerly white dress. Without hesitation, she marched off towards the Conways’ house

And I?

Why the heck was I still standing here?

Giving myself a mental kick, I surged forward, grabbing the ladder and starting upwards. Ella was so focused on her goal that she didn’t notice me, not even when I dropped down behind her, emitting a considerably louder thud than she had.

‘Edmund!’ she called, softly, advancing towards the back of the Conways’ home. I could only hope that Mrs Conway didn’t have a lighter sleep than her son Edmund, or we’d be in big trouble. Grabbing Mr Metal in both hands, just to be sure, I ducked behind the nearest bush. It didn’t feel comfortable. It wasn’t my bush, my little fortress of feminism where I felt like nothing in the world could touch me. It was a strange bush, with funny-smelling leaves. Plus, a cat left me a little sweet-smelling present there.

‘Edmund!’

My grip around Mr Metal tightened. Shut up! I mentally yelled at my little sister. Do you want to wake up the whole neighbourhood?

But Ella’s plans apparently were more tightly focused on one particular neighbour. Grabbing a handful of gravel from the path behind the house, she pulled back her arm and let it fly. I had to admit, I was impressed. My little sister had a better arm than I had suspected. The gravel sailed through the air and hit Edmund’s window on the first floor with an audible clatter. Maybe I should take her out to play squash or tennis some time.

‘Edmund!’

Another load of gravel hit the window. A yelp came from inside the house, and footsteps could be heard from within. A moment later, the window slid upwards, and a rather dishevelled-looking Edmund Conway stuck his head outside. His face was sleepy and confused - but the sleepiness vanished the moment he caught sight of Ella.

‘Ella, my love! What are you doi - ’

‘Come down here!’ Ella ordered.

‘But I - ’

‘I said come down!’

‘But we can’t just-’

‘Now, Edmund!’

He blinked, stared at her for a moment - then withdrew his head. A moment later, he emerged feet-first, and soon dangled from the windowsill. I wondered for a moment how he thought he was going to get in without his dear parents finding out about his midnight rendezvous. But apparently, lovesick minds don’t think that far.

‘Umpf!’

With a thud - which, I noticed with satisfaction, was louder than both mine and Ella’s, even though he had his mother’s rosebushes to cushion his impact - he hit the ground feet-first and fell over. Ella rushed forward. ‘Edmund! Did you hurt yourself?’

‘No, no.’ Shaking his head, he attempted to rise - and promptly sank back to his knees. ‘I’m t-totally f-fine.’

‘Oh my darling! Don’t do anything so dangerous ever again, do you hear me?’ She hugged him fiercely, conveniently forgetting for the moment that it was she who had asked him to come down to her in the first place.

‘I’m fine, really. Why did you want me to come outside?’

Ella sank down onto her knees, until she was on Edmund’s level. They were only inches apart. I experimentally swung Mr Metal, wondering how hard Edmund’s head would be. If he made one wrong move towards her, we would find out.

‘Well…I have been thinking,’ Ella breathed. ‘And I…I wanted to give you something.’

‘Give me something?’ He looked puzzled. ‘I don’t understand. What could you possibly want to give me at this hour of the night? What are doing here?’

‘This.’ And, grabbing him by the collar, she pulled him towards her, crushing her lips to his.

I weighed Mr Metal in my hands, thoughtfully. Could that be counted as him making a wrong move? True, technically he hadn’t moved. But in relation to her he had. If a train hit a pedestrian, was it really the train who was at fault, or the pedestrian?

Ella continued to maul Edmund for at least half a minute. When she finally broke away, gasping for air, his face was as red as a wagonload of tomatoes.

‘Ella, I…I don’t know…’