Ambrosial

Chapter Five - Salty Lives

"Oh my! Lily?" she shrieked as soon as she opened the door to find her niece in a man's arms. I bet she must be enjoying this.

"Forgive me, but Miss Linton was walking down the street and I saw her faint. She is terribly ill, so I thought that it would be better if I take her home and make sure she is safe." She opened the door to let me in, as I saw other girls peeking out at the hallway. At the moment I caught them staring, they quickly looked away and ran for their rooms. The aunt led me to the hallway and into a room, that consisted of two beds, and one being occupied with a worried looking girl.

"Oh, my! What has happened to my dear sister?" Interesting.

"She has fainted in the streets, and luckily this gentleman caught her before she makes a bigger fool of herself in public!" I think I'm actually understanding why Lily prefers to be in my presence rather than staying her with her aunt.

I put her into the vacant bed, assuming it was hers. As I moved to take my exit, I was stopped by the aunt.

"Please, what is your name? I was most certain that Lily was in Captain Carter's care." A man's care? Now I am most intrigued. I turned back and looked at the woman, and the little sister.

"My name, Madame, is Rikkard Ambrose." And just like that, Lily's aunt's composure and confidence flew out the window, as their jaws hung in shock. She was eyeing my face, almost like trying to take an image of me to memorize in her mind. I merely stared back, even though my mind was screaming that money is wasting as I waste time staring with the aunt and taking care of Lily.

"Y-You mean, the R-Rikkard A-Ambrose?" the little sister piped up, her shock turning into happiness. What? In all my years of introducing my name, I haven't faced a reaction such as this one, and this one is just proving to me that she is truly her sister's sister. Maybe it runs in their blood to surprise me? That must be it.

My mind drifted to the thought when Lily found me stuck in that hell of a village along with the devils that lived in it. I simply hated my stay there when I was practically being tortured by the daughter with smiles and her grammatical illness mistaking 'we' from 'I. But, what saved me from losing myself from sanity was when Lily stood at the door. I had no words,, thinking that it was yet again my own mind playing with me. I loved how she surprised me by asking what I feel, and especially when I got to feel her lips again. Even though that she merely kissed my hand, not my own lips, like how I wanted it. I felt happy.

I was brought back to the present when the aunt decided to ask if I would like some tea. Not fully in my right mind, I found myself nod once. The lady then shouted orders managing to do it in an elegant pose. The sister then seemed to snap out of her happy trance and dashed out of the room, with me following them.

Why are you wasting time? Get back to work, now!

The voice inside my head shouted at me and I was about to turn to leave, when the sister appeared, smiling at me again.

"She told me about you." What? "It was rather a while back, but I remembered it instantly when I saw you. She told me about your rendezvous in the park everyday. So, you can imagine my surprise when she started meeting with Captain Carter instead."

"Indeed?" This Captain Carter fellow is making me more curious  by the hour, as I realized that this poor excuse had become Lily's excuse when she comes to work. Why change the excuse for this Captain Character, though? That I do not know, but I plan on knowing.

She nodded, still smiling. "I hope that with whatever relationship you have with my dear sister, you shall take care of her and love her endlessly. She deserves someone who will love her wholeheartedly. My sister has always been strong and voices out what she feels and thinks. Some, specifically my aunt and our other sisters, see this as a fault. But I see it as a marvelous gift I also wish to have. When she spoke of you, I was very curtain you must be very important to her. Don't hurt her."

And with that, she walked away, leaving me (much like her sister) not having the last word, and rather speechless. After that little moment, I followed the girl to the kitchen where other ladies were there, poised as the elegant lady they want to be, with the tea. Suddenly, sending Karim in was tempting me right now. They were all sending me these weird looks similar to the ones that the girl in the hell village gave me.

I felt my finger twitch at that.

"So, Mr. Ambrose. Word has it that you are a very successful man?" the aunt said. I nod my head once, as I sipped the tea. Let me just say that it was horrible tea. Suddenly, I felt annoyed at the fact that Lily had to live like this salty life.

"What is your intentions with my niece?" I saw the little sister stare at me hard, as the aunt asked this. I merely said that I had no bad intentions –to her anyway. They simple nodded, as another girl piped up.

"Are you sure you like Lily?" If they said they were a family, I was certain that they can't even fool a blind man. This girl spoke of Lily as if she was disgusted with her. That made my finger twitch again.

"Indeed." I found myself saying, while staring at the girl who bowed her head down, cowering away.

"Well, I'm sure you must have found our Lily polite? And, ladylike?" the aunt asked, as she looked at the girl who talked with a stern look.

If this was what Lily comes home to every day, I might as well give her overtime. I can't imagine the rukus she had to face once we came back from France.

"Excuse me." I stated as I walked out of the door, mumbling a 'Good Evening' as I nodded for Karim to get me out of here. And the next time I was, I'm taking Lily with me.

x.

Surprise, surprise! Here's another early update. Do you love me yet? Ehehe.

Anyway, I know this might not be the one you wanted, but I promise it's part of something I'm planning on. And please stick with me on this one. So, yeah.

Cheers.