New Storm Rising

27. The Special Reinforcements

The week passed in the blink of an eye. It's really amazing how quickly time can fly when you spend said time in the company of a stunningly handsome man who suddenly seems to have an inexhaustible supply of your favourite treats. The fact that, from one day to another, these "favourite treats" switched from mustard and ice cream toast to boiled broccoli or roasted acorns marinaded in goose fat, should probably have been a bit concerning. But...

I just couldn't bring myself to! After all, it wasn't that strange to crave shoelace spaghetti, right? And I was sure that roasted grasshoppers dipped in maple syrup were a delicacy in some part of the world.

Probably.

Under the marshal's instructions, the Spaniards' carriages were stripped of all superfluous bits and pieces such as upholstery or window glass and instead were furnished with luxuries such as iron bars, metal reinforcements and handy rings on the walls to which chains could be attached. At the same time, under the instruction of Mr Rikkard Ambrose, the Spaniards' mansion was stripped of anything and everything valuable. The fact that he neglected to mention this to the marshal was surely purely coincidental.

Finally, the day of departure came. All the townspeople (who, by the way, had all started working at Mr Rikkard Ambrose's mine for half the wages in gratitude for their rescue) had assembled to send us off. Together with the freed slaves, they had assembled under a banner that read "Godspeed to our Honoured Savior and Benefactor" and were waving and cheering for their heroes.

God bless their innocent little hearts.

"Thank you!" Nelly grabbed me by the hand and shook it. "Thank you, thank you! I don't know what Jack and I would have done without you and your husband!"

Maybe gotten the chance to work for a full wage one day?

"Ehem, you're welcome. It was no trouble."

"And he's even willing to sell us houses so we can get out of those infernal tents!" Jack enthused, beaming.

You mean the houses that were stolen from you by the Spaniards, the deeds to which then disappeared from their manor, only to mysteriously reappear in the possession of Mr Rikkard Ambrose?

"Yes, he's really incredibly generous, isn't he?" I felt my eyebrows twitch. I decided then and there that I was going to have a little chat with Mr Rikkard Ambrose. And it wasn't going to be about roasted grasshoppers dipped in maple syrup!

"You're such a lucky woman!" Nelly beamed at me, her eyes travelling up and down my body. "Especially considering...you know."

I blinked. "What?"

"Exactly, that." Nelly nodded, as if that explained everything. "And since we're on such a subject...I thought you might appreciate a little gift from a more experienced married woman. Here." And, with a beaming smile, she handed me a pile of brand-new, hand-crafted linens. I stared. She was giving me...handkerchiefs?

A lot of handkerchiefs. I reached up to the protrusion in the middle of my face. Did my nose have that much resemblance to a faucet?

Well, handkerchiefs. Why not?

Only, I suddenly realized, as I unfolded the cloth on the top of the pile...handkerchiefs weren't usually triangular. And they most certainly didn't have two straps that looked like they would be used to—

Heat flooded my face. Noticing, Nelly gave me a wink, and meaningfully patted her bum.

I thought you might appreciate a little gift from a more experienced married woman....

What the heck! She was giving me women's underwear? And skimpy ones, at that! And that was coming from someone who regularly spent time with Miss Amy Weston, the terror of all overprotective mothers and suspicious wives! I had seen lingerie that would make French nude models faint, and had heard jokes that could burn the ears off Venus herself. Yet still, these things...!