Storm and Silence(91)

Up in my room, Ella was waiting for me with a half-anxious, half-happy expression on her face. I walked past her and let myself fall face-downward onto my mattress, not caring about the protesting squeak from my hoop skirt.

‘So…’ I heard Ella’s hesitant voice from behind me, ‘did you have a nice walk with Lieutenant Ellingham?’

‘No,’ I groaned into my pillow.

There was a pause. Then:

‘Um… this might be a silly question… but is he the young man you went to meet the other day? The one you have feelings for?’

With a gargantuan effort, I raised my head from my pillow and turned to stare at my little sister.

‘You’re absolutely right.’

‘Oh!’ Ella’s expression brightened.

I let my head slump back onto the pillow. ‘That was a silly question.’

‘Ah.’ Her face fell again.

‘Honestly, Ella! Me and that blighter? How could you possibly think I have any feelings for him whatsoever, apart from abject horror and disgust?’

‘He wasn’t that bad,’ Ella tried to console me. ‘Although I must admit… I was very frightened by the way he treated those people and that poor grey animal. What did he call it again? An elephont?’

‘Elephant,’ I corrected.

‘Exactly.’ Ella shook her head sadly. ‘I mean, did he have to stab it? He could have tried talking to it or petting it. Grandmother’s chickens always let me pet them when I visit, and they’re perfectly friendly if you show them some affection.’

‘Don’t worry,’ I moaned and rolled over on my side to face her. ‘Do not let the poor elephant’s plight torture your heart. There was no fight in India, ergo there was no elephant and no stabbing in the belly.’

‘What?’ A frown appeared on Ella’s lovely forehead. ‘But Lieutenant Ellingham said…’

I gave a sigh. ‘I will tell you a great secret, Ella, if you promise not to tell anybody.’

‘Oh… of course!’

‘Not everything a man says to a woman must necessarily be true.’

I sank deeper into my pillow, snuggling into the soft down feathers. I knew it would take Ella a while to adjust to the concept of such a thing as a dishonourable or lying man - certainly enough time for me to get a nap. So I slowly drifted off into the realm of Morpheus, where I happily chased thieves over rooftops, cut onions into slices, and didn’t have to worry about catastrophes such as an impending engagement to the biggest bastard of London.

*~*~**~*~*

My eyes fluttered open. The first thing I saw was Ella, who was sitting beside me on the bed, staring down at her fingers in deep contemplation. When she noticed I was awake, she looked at me.

‘You mean… you mean the lieutenant was lying?’

I sneaked a glance at the old grandfather clock in the corner of the room. Two hours and twenty-six minutes. Not bad.

‘Exactly. You’ve figured it out. Bravo!’

‘But… that’s horrible!’

I shrugged. ‘Well, depends how you look at it. Lying can be quite useful sometimes, you know. For instance when there’s something going on in your life you don't want anybody to know.’

Ella’s cheeks turned as red as a ripe tomato. I had been thinking of my new occupation when speaking, but it was clear that her thoughts were on something very different, or rather somebody.

‘Um… I suppose so,’ she managed.

‘And? Tell any good lies lately?’ I inquired lightly, propping myself up on my elbows to get a better look at her.

‘No! I didn’t. Definitely not!’

‘I see.’ As hard as I tried, I couldn’t keep the grin off my face. Ella, who seemed desperate to change the subject, blurted out:

‘But what will you do? I mean, if Lieutenant Ellingham isn’t the young man you’ve been seeing, what will you do? If he continues to pay attention to you, Aunt Brank will expect you to marry him, you know.’

‘Oh yes, I know. But then, that’s no surprise since Aunt Brank would expect me to marry any willing creature in trousers who walked through the door downstairs, just to get me out of the house.’ I rolled my eyes.

‘What will you do?’ Ella repeated, anxiously. ‘How will you reconcile yourself to having to say goodbye to your true love and marry somebody else?’

Oh right! Ella was still convinced that every time I went to work, I was going on a secret rendezvous with my mystery lover. Opening my mouth, I was about to explain to her that I didn’t have and never would have a love in my life when it occurred to me that this would raise a whole lot of questions regarding my frequent absence. So I just said: