Silence Breaking (Storm and Silence 4)

Crap, crap, crap! Why can’t I keep my big mouth shut?

I sent her a censorious look. ‘No, My Lady.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes. If you must know…’ My eyes flicked to Mr Ambrose and his father. ‘I was worried.’

It wasn’t a lie.

‘Oh, well…’ Adaire cocked her head, thoughtfully. ‘I think I know what we can do about that.’

That took me by surprise. ‘You do?’

Had she suddenly become a miracle worker?

A cheeky grin spread over her face. ‘Oh yes. We only have to catch my brother’s attention.’

‘And how do you propose we do that, my Lady?’

‘Simple. All we have to do is make him think about something that he is even more obsessed with than money, power, or his feud with our father.’

‘Such a thing exists?’

She gave me a very odd, very long look. ‘I think it does.’ And without waiting for a response, she turned towards her brother, leaning over towards him and asking sweetly: ‘Tell me, brother - where did you find this charming secretary of yours? I’ve never met such a pleasant man in all my life.’

Conversation all around us halted. All the guests’ eyes focused on me. And then, a moment later came the eyes that mattered. Cold eyes. Hard eyes. Eyes that sent a tingle down my spine.

‘Indeed?’

‘Oh yes, indeed.’ Adaira gifted her brother with a smile. ‘It was most unkind of you to hide such a handsome young fellow away in your dusty office all this time.’ And she gave me a flirtatious smile. Mr Ambrose nearly choked on a fish bone.

‘I have not been “hiding away” anybody,’ he ground out. ‘Mr Linton has been busy with work, as have I.’

‘I bet.’ Eyes twinkling, Adaira winked at her brother. ‘I can just imagine all the boring work the two of you get up to behind closed doors.’

This time it was I who nearly choked. Bloody hell! Was she insane? Had she completely lost her mind?

But when I glanced around, the only reaction I could see were pitying glances - most likely from people who had heard of Mr Ambrose’s reputation as an employer. Nobody understood the true meaning of her words. Nobody but her brother, that is, whose left little finger was now tapping a furious prestissimo on the table. His father tried to shoot him an icy glare and re-initiate the duel of eyes, but Mr Ambrose didn’t seem to give a flying fig.

‘We are indeed very busy,’ he ground out. ‘With work. Lots of work. Knowledge is power is time is money, Adaira.’

‘Is it?’ With a cheeky grin, she glanced sideways at me. ‘I definitely have to agree that the knowledge of certain secrets can give you a certain amount of power. On that note…what will you be giving me for Christmas this year, my dear brother?’

I nearly swallowed my spoon.

She wouldn’t! She couldn’t really…

No. She wouldn’t. But to judge by the look in Mr Ambrose’s eyes, he wasn’t as sure about it as I was.

‘I shall have to see,’ he managed to get past his clenched teeth.

She gave him a bright, brilliant I’ve-got-you-by-the-balls smile. ‘Do that. I really hope it’s something nice and sparkly. And expensive.’

I tore my handkerchief out of my pocket just in time to bury my face in it and disguise my snort of laughter as a sneeze - or at least so I thought.

‘Something wrong, Mr Linton?’

‘N-no, Mr Ambrose, Sir. Nothing at all.’