Silence Breaking (Storm and Silence 4)

Was that my voice, sounding so uncharacteristically soft? Christmas must be having a bad influence on me.

When the coach rolled to a stop in front of Battlewood Hall, Adaira wasn’t the only one waiting for me. Mr Ambrose was there, as was his mother, smiling brightly, and-

Oh dear.

His father.

Who was not smiling brightly.

Before I could come up with an excuse to stay inside the coach, Karim jumped out, unfolded the steps and held the door open for me. Taking a deep breath, I started to descend.

‘Miss Linton! I’m so glad you’re back!’ Adaira was the first to greet me - with a bone-crushing hug instead of a curtsy, which earned her an icy stare of disapproval from her father. He was altogether looking not very approving of the situation.

‘Miss Linton?’ Stepping forward, he sketched a brief bow. The kind of bow Alexander the Great might have given a lady. It said clearly I’m showing you respect, but only because I feel like it. If I wanted to, I could crush you in an instant.

I curtsied. It wasn’t a very deep curtsy. ‘Your Lordship.’

Icy, sea-coloured eyes raked me from top to bottom. If I had been unprepared, I might have been intimidated. But I’d had over a year of training. I didn’t flinch, even when his gaze bored into mine. ‘My wife has spoken very fondly of you, Miss Linton.’

‘She has?’

‘Oh yes, indeed. She has spoken of you a lot. So has my daughter.’

Oh? Did she mention the time she caught your son and me in bed together?

‘How nice.’

‘Interestingly enough, even Lord Dalgliesh speaks of you.’

‘Oh?’

Less nice! A lot less nice!

Though right now I thought I might even prefer Lord Dalgliesh’s company over that of this polished marble monolith of aristocracy. At least in Lord Dalgliesh’s case I knew which kind of evil villain I was dealing with.

‘So I thought it was time,’ the marquess continued, ‘for me to come out and personally meet this young lady who seems to have caught everyone’s attention.’

I waited for more - in vain. He didn’t say anything. He just stood there, scrutinising me in silence. It felt like being laid open with a fillet knife. Only instead of a knife, he was using his gaze. And instead of being prepared for roasting, I was being frozen.

To hell with him! I had survived much, much worse than this old man. Raising my chin, I met his gaze head-on and didn’t blink. Not once. Finally, he narrowed his eyes and, whirling, marched off towards the house. I thought he would leave without a word. But then he stopped next to Mr Ambrose. Without touching or looking at his son, he said:

‘Be careful whom you associate with. Even after what you’ve done in the last ten years, the Ambrose name still means something. Be very careful.’

And he swept off into the house.

‘Oh, my dear!’ Before I could even think of moving, Lady Samantha rushed forward, enveloping me in a fluffy hug. ‘I’m so sorry about that! Sometimes he can be a bit…’

…of an arse?

‘…grumpy.’

Well, that was certainly one way to put it. Sliding my arms around her, I gently patted the little lady’s back.

‘Don’t worry. It would take a lot more than that to scare me away.’

Maybe it was just coincidence - but just at that moment, I happened to look up and, through one of the windows facing the courtyard, high up on the second floor, caught the glimpse of a figure standing half-hidden behind the curtains. A tall, blond figure with aquiline features.

Lord Dalgliesh smiled at me.