Denial (Storm and Silence fanfiction)

One-month anniversary

This morning, I was extraordinarily happy. When I walked into the dining room with a broad smile, softly humming, I instantly felt the flabbergasted stares of my loving family -Ella- and my four other sisters and aunt Brank.

"Good morning, everyone!" I chanted, to which their mouths fell open in surprise.

I will admit I'm not always the most cheerful gal around, but this was taking it a bit far, wasn't it? It wasn't like I never smiled or anything.

"Lilly, my dear sister," Ella prompted, "Do not be offended, but-"

"Are you ill?" Maria interrupted, rather rudely. On an ordinary day, this would have been enough to set me off completely, ruining my mood.

But, today was not an ordinary day. No, it was a very special day. Today was the day I would receive my first paycheck from Mr. Rikkard Ambrose, Stone-faced Chauvinist, one of the richest men in England and famous for being the biggest miser to ever live. Me! A girl! I couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he had to hand me my hard-earned money -not that he would ever admit that I earned it, but I knew that he knew that I knew that he knew that I did- after making it a month in his icy employ. And he still didn't have an excuse to fire me!

Of course, after the whole île Marbille experience, or whatever that island was called, he had tried to sack me, but again, he had no grounds to. Besides that, he'd also admitted that he didn't want to get rid of me on the Urania, and I wasn't letting him forget that. In conclusion, I was still an active employee of the most stoic man in the Northern Hemisphere.

Ha! In his stony visage!

Honestly, I had the strange urge to giggle, but aunt Brank would surely lock me up in a mental institution if I did that, and from what I'd heard those weren't very pleasant and I had a job to be at. Not that it was so strange for a lady to giggle, but for me? I was already pushing it with the 'good morning'.

"No, my lovely Maria, I am quite well," I answered, "How are you this fine morning?"

At this, Aunt Brank walked up to me and put her hand on my forehead, feeling if I didn't have a fever. I instinctively flinched away, because my aunt and I aren't by far close enough to have physical contact, unlike Mr. Ambrose and I... No, I wouldn't mind at all if he decided to feel my temperature.

I inwardly slapped myself. I would mind if he felt -no, tried to feel, as I would put an immediate stop to it- my temperature. Very much indeed! How did he even sneak into my train of thoughts again?

Old Leadfield just then finished serving breakfast, inviting us to sit down and dig in and at the same time distracting everyone from my odd behaviour. The man himself was then ordered by Aunt Brank to bring Uncle Bufford up in his study some food and his morning paper.

When I saw the old gentleman struggling to pick it up the paper, on top of the platter of food he was already carrying. I got up and took the paper.

"I'll help, Leadfield," I smiled at the cook, who nearly fainted from shock.

He carried the food up the stairs and I followed suitely behind, throwing a glance at the headlines. Dratted man invented something... More taxes... Women want to go to college... Blah, blah blah, same old nonse- Hold up. My eyes flew back over the page, skimming the article, and I felt a familiar rage fill me. The article wasn't so much about women wanting to go to college, it was that bloody pseudo-scientist, Dr. Anstruther, giving his viewpoint on the three women who had tried to enroll in college this year, but were denied.

The viewpoint being, that it was justified, because they were female and therefore inferior to men. Women in college would lower the level of our education, as they couldn't possibly be intelligent enough to grasp the difficult and complicated matter that was taught in higher education. He then proceeded to prove this, by giving measurements of skulls of different types of apes and women, whose hair he had to forcefully shave off, the kind doctor added rather shockedly.

"Too complicated my fa- I mean, generous, behind!" I muttered to myself. As I had experienced on multiple occasions, if there was anyone who didn't understand something in real life, it was usually a man. Take Mr. Ambrose for example. I was certain he would not be able to have a normal conversation about, say, Pride and Prejudice, simply because he would never understand why on earth Mr. Darcy would spend that much money and completely miss the point of the story. That is, of course, if he would ever read it. He probably doesn't read at all. I imagined Mr. Ambrose in blue-striped pyjama's, curling up by the fire on a soft sofa, about to read a novel.

Without ever having seen Mr. Ambrose' night garments, I knew that they weren't striped blue. He would never light a fire, as you can't find free wood in the city of London, and he definitely didn't own a sofa or novels, so I knew for a fact that nothing even close to the scenario I had in mind was even remotely realistic, yet the idea still brought a smile to my face.

Until I remembered those foul chauvinists and the new injustice I had discovered.If only I could afford the tuition, I could go to college and prove to those misogynistic chauvinists that this was utter nonsense, as were most of their viewpoints on the fairer sex.

An evil glint started to burn in my eyes when I realized I did have the funds to go to college. I had a job after all. Now to convince the boss himself to let me.

Or I could just not tell him. Yeah, I'll just not tell him.

With a broad smile plastered on my face, I changed into my Uncle Bufford's suit and walked to work.

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A/N Chapter 97? What chapter 97? I don't know what you're talking about. My Wattpad is malfunctioning and I fear I will not see chapter 97 until the sequel is here.

How'd I do in Lilly's POV?

Don't worry, Rikkard will be in the next chapter ^.^

So this will be like, 10 chapters? I don't know.