Ambrosian Expeditions: Lillian Linton & Rikkard Ambrose

[5] In Need Of Comfort

Warning: Emotional Lilly coming through. May be out of character but I'll try to incorporate her personality with this one shot.

In which Lilly starts succumbing to everyone's bs and is emotionally confused and exhausted.

I wrote this chapter when Sir Rob was still writing Silence is Golden so this doesn't occur anywhere after the book Silence is Golden.

One Shot #5

"You unreliable, unladylike, foul woman! How dare you?!"

"Ouch, ouch, ouch! Watch the ear, I listen with it!"

Of course, Aunt Brank never listens. Perhaps her ears have also been pulled on when she was younger; it would explain her inability to listen to my explanations.

"You untrustworthy, beastly, awful excuse of a woman! Have you no shame?!"

If it comes to my freedom, I've got none.

"This was your chance to be owned by a gentleman like him! And what do you do? You manage to sneak away from the ball as well as your future husband! For what? Sleeping in?!" She screeched, her voice closely resembling one of a high-pitched cawing crow.

"A woman does need her beauty sleep," I countered.

"Some woman you are," she snorted. "You had one chance, Lillian Linton! Just one! And you loused up!" She continuously paced back and forth between the room, a deep frown and scowl etched on her face.

"There's still a lot more eligible bachelors out there," I defended. "Maybe one who has a much higher ranking, much more rich, and much more colder than Sergeant Lance."

"Like who? As if any of those 'much higher ranking' - as you put it - would lay a single eye on you! I've tried my very best to get nearly all the fine men in the city to court you, yet you defy and reject each and every one of them! It's difficult to get other men to pursue you when your exes spread rumors of your absurdity!"

I scoffed, "They're not exes-"

"You could've gone with another man by now, and your sisters here as well. But you are the despicable one who prevents the rest of your deserving, ladylike sisters to gain a man's attention with your unsubtle, foolish attitude and irritating beliefs! You prevent your sisters from having a perfect future!"

"I-"

"If it's not for you, everyone would've been out of the house with financial stability! But no! Here you are, thriving under the roof of your caring aunt and trying uncle who's currently upstairs struggling to make a life for the rest of us despite the financial crisis going on the past months! Are you careless?"

"Well I actu-"

"And you sneaking off to God-knows-where! Why do that when you're first priority is learning to provide for the rest of us?! There are dishes to clean and clothes to sew. Why are you sneaking out in the first place? Trying to tack your name onto the wall of scandalous doings, are you? You're supposed to be a lady, Lillian Linton! Act like one! Not some man-child in a pudgy woman's skin dressed as a buffoon looking for attention!"