to care for my family’s respectable name, which would help him in his advancement in the military.
Hm… Can you get rid of a respectable family name?
Well, short of changing my name or committing suicide, neither of which seemed a very good idea, I would have to do something so humongously stupid and dishonourable that it would disgrace my entire family.
Then why not do that? Sounds easy enough for someone as talented as you.
True, I had no trouble of thinking of possibilities - I could ride through the marble arch, which only the Queen was allowed to do. I could dance naked on top of the marble arch, which not even the Queen was allowed to do. I could make a handstand in Hanover Square and start singing the French national anthem. I could rob the Bank of England.
The last idea sounds nice. Then you can quit this bloody job and go lead a life of adventure, going to see the rain forests and the Great Wall of China!
But, alas, I was afraid that even dressed up as a man, nobody would take me seriously as a bank robber. You probably had to be six foot five for that, with a mask and a pistol.
Plink!
Surprised, I looked down and saw three messages lying in front of me on the desk. I had been so consumed with my own thoughts that I hadn’t noticed them coming in. The first two were the usual missives from His Mightiness, reminding me to bring him file number 35X119 and hurry up about it. The third one was different.
Mr Linton,
Taking into account your negligence in answering my messages, I must assume that something is the matter with you. Is it the same business as earlier today, the business we are never ever going to talk about anymore?
Rikkard Ambrose
I couldn’t suppress a grin as I answered:
Dear Mr Ambrose,
No, that business we are never ever going to talk about again is not a problem - at least not yet. I am sorry for my negligence. I will bring the files immediately.
Yours Sincerely
Miss Lilly Linton
But before I could rise, another message plopped onto my desk.
Mr Linton,
If it is not that problem bothering you, what is the matter?
Rikkard Ambrose.
My jaw dropped. Was I reading correctly? I reread the message. Then I turned it on its head and tried to read it like that, thinking I might be able to put a different construction on the words. Finally, I closed my eyes for ten seconds, yet when I opened them again, the impossible words were still there.
My hand shaking slightly from the shock, I quickly composed an answer.
Dear Mr Ambrose,
Careful, Sir. People might start to think you actually cared if everything goes well in my life.
Yours Sincerely
Lilly Linton
The reply to that came just as quick.
Mr Linton,
Care? Do not be ridiculous. I simply need you to work efficiently, without distractions.
Rikkard Ambrose
Of course. And there was I thinking that maybe he had asked just to make me feel better. Ha! I had forgotten who I was talking- err, writing to.
Yet regardless of his motivations, he wanted to know what was the matter. Panic began to well up inside me. How could I tell somebody I was being pursued by a man I detested? More terrible still, how could I tell that to Mr Granite-Face All-Businesslike Ambrose? The concept alone filled me with unimaginable horror! And what about Ella? I could never tell him about Ella’s secret romantic rendezvous. To mention the word 'love' in his presence would be like trying to explain bicycles to an eel.
It’s really nothing, I scribbled on a piece of paper. Really, really nothing. Don’t concern yourself with the matter. I am sure you have more important things to do.
Hurriedly, I shoved the message into a container and the container into the pneumatic tube - only then realizing that I had forgotten my usual teasing salutation. Well, that could only be good, right? He had complained of my teasing him all the while, after all, and right now I wouldn’t want to rile him up any more.
Twenty seconds later, a message returned.
It consisted of two simple words.
Tell me.
Oops. Maybe I had been wrong. Again I took up pen and paper.
Dear Mr Ambrose,
As I said, it is nothing. Please do not concern yourself with my petty troubles.
Yours Sincerely
Miss Lilly Linton
I shoved the message into the tube, pulled the lever and waited anxiously. When, after a minute or so, no reply had come, I dared to breathe again. He was going