41. Free

Moaning, I shifted, stretching out my hand to feel the smooth cotton of my pillow with my fingers. Hm...so I was in bed? Well, that fit. I'd had such a weird dream. Mr Rikkard Ambrose had actually promised to take me on a sightseeing tour, right after I'd found out that I was pregnant. Ha! Me, pregnant? That was so incredibly funny I nearly couldn't contain my—

Right then and there, my eyes fell on a bottle on the night stand with a label proclaiming Fizzlewizz Fantastic Fertility Water.

Oh fudge.

Instinctively, my hand shot down to my stomach. Now that I knew, it was quite obvious. There, right there, was a small bulge. And it was not because I was getting fat, thank you very much! Hesitantly, almost tremulously, I stroked my belly once, twice, a third time.

"Hello there, little one," I whispered. "How are you?"

"I am perfectly fine, Mrs Ambrose. Your concern is appreciated."

Jerking upright in bed, I whirled around to glare at the fiend responsible for all of this. Mr Rikkard Ambrose was sitting in an armchair at the window, going through some papers.

"I was not talking to you!"

"Indeed?" He didn't even glance up from his documents.

A long, long moment of silence passed. Lowering my eyes, I gazed down at where my hand still rested on my belly.

"Is...is it really true?"

A pause.

"Yes."

I felt my breath hitch.

"I will really take you on a sightseeing tour."

"You...!" Grabbing the closest pillow, I hurled it straight at Mr Rikkard Ambrose's head—whereupon he promptly reached up and caught it without looking. "I wasn't talking about that, you bloody son of a bachelor!"

"Indeed?"

I reached for another cushion to throw—only to find that there weren't any more. Darn! I would have loved so much to indulge in some senseless, satisfying violence. Now that I couldn't, that left me alone with nothing but my own thoughts.

I swallowed.

"Mr Ambrose?"

"Yes, Mrs Ambrose?"

"What...what do I do now?"

"Now?" Rising to his feet, Mr Rikkard Ambrose put his documents aside and strode over to me. "Now there's only one thing we can do."

Tentatively, I glanced up to where he was towering over me. "Yes?"

He fixed his deep, dark eyes on me and, reaching out, gently touched my cheek. "Go on our sightseeing tour."

Where is another pillow when you need one?

But before I could find anything else to throw at him, I felt his hand clasp mine and pull. In a blink, I was up and in his arms as he held me gently.

"Get dressed. We're on our honeymoon, are we not?" Leaning forward, he caressed my cheek. Closing my eyes, I leaned into his touch. "It's time we start acting like it."

Heck! First he makes me want to strangle him, and then...

Then he suddenly pulls something like this.

Click.

Abruptly, I opened my eyes—only to see the room distinctly devoid of husbands. Only a hint of his warmth was still left on my cheek.

"Hurry up and dress," his cool, commanding voice came from out in the corridor. "Time waits for no man!"

For the first time since I'd received yesterday's shock, my lips curled up into a smile. "Well, it's lucky that I'm a woman, then!" I shouted back. "And as long as we're trading quotes, how about 'Patience is a virtue'?"

The only answer I received was silence.

I grinned. Yay! Victory!

Ten minutes later I was dressed and on my way down the stairs. Mr Rikkard Ambrose, oh wonder of wonders, was actually waiting for me in the lobby. Not reading through documents. Not counting money. Just...waiting.

"Shall we?" Gazing right into my eyes, he extended his arm.

I took a deep breath, then linked my arm with his. "We shall."

And, together we strode out onto the busy New York street.

"So, where do we go first?" I enquired eagerly. "A five-star restaurant? A theatre on Broadway? An art exhibition?"

"No." Pointing ahead, he shook his head. "We're in New York, are we not? To truly take in the jewel that is this incredible city, one should visit its most marvellous architectural wonders such as the High Bridge, the Trinity Church—"

"—and the many other places that can be entered without paying entrance fees?"

Half-turning to look into my eyes, he reached out to cup my face. "Mrs Ambrose...a true man measures his worth in strength and love, not money."

"You are really amazingly talented at spouting stuff that makes you being stingy seem romantic, you know that, don't you?"

"Naturally. I am talented at everything. Now let's go, shall we?"

His grip on my hand tightened, and together, we started strolling away from our hotel. Thus, our tour through the Big Apple began. We wandered down the busy streets, enjoyed all the cheap yet delicious food from dozens of vendors, climbed onto the tallest buildings to feel the wind in our faces, and last, but not least, took a rowing boat out onto the ocean. Cuddled together, we sat in the creaking little boat, gazing at the deep blue ocean glittering in the sunlight.

"So," I asked, snuggling up more closely against him, "what now?"

He cocked his head. "Is it not obvious, Mrs Ambrose?"

I blinked. "Obvious?"

"Did you really think we were going out here just to enjoy the sea air?" Raising his hand, he pointed over his shoulder. I craned my neck to see what he was talking about. It still was a mystery to me how people managed to steer rowing boats, when they actually had to look in the opposite direction from the one they were going in. But Mr Ambrose seemed to manage it without the slightest problem. Squinting, I tried to peek over Mr Rikkard Ambrose's shoulder, something which is bloody harder than it sounds. Does this infernal man have to be taller than me even when sitting down?

I still couldn't see anything out here we could possibly be heading to. There was only the wide, open ocean, the sun in the sky, a few ships on the horizon, and the Statue of—

I caught my breath.

I'd seen it before, of course. In pictures, and from a distance. But let me tell you, what from a distance looked like a lady dressed in a big bed sheet was a darn sight more impressive up close! The towering light green figure seemed to pierce the very sky with her torch, the crown upon her head shining slightly in the sunlight.

"You know..." Cocking my head, I gazed up at the statue. "I just realized, this place prides itself on being a democracy, and the most famous monument in the entire country wears a massive, spikey crown? Is it just me, or does that make no sense whatsoever?"

"It was built by humans, Mrs Ambrose. Who says it has to make sense?"

I took a deep breath of sea air, still unable to look away from the beautiful vista that was the Statue of Liberty. "Maybe they just thought a crown would be fitting for the most beautiful lady in the country."

"Indeed?" His deep, cool voice was like a caress as he reached over to brush his thumb across my cheek. "Well, if that is what they thought, they chose wrong."

I felt my heart leap.

Damn this man! How can someone who rarely ever squeezes a few words out come up with stuff like that?

I still hadn't found the answer to the question by the time our boat touched the coast of Bedloe's Island. Only the grinding of wood on sand tore me from my thoughts.

"Shall we?" Blinking, I glanced up to see Mr Rikkard Ambrose already standing on the shore, his hand extended towards me. A smile spread over my face as I took the outstretched hand and, together, we headed towards the towering colossus of metal and stone. When we reached the foot of the statue, however, I came to a stop. Noticing, Mr Ambrose halted as well and turned around, gazing at me questioningly.

"Mrs Ambrose?"

I stared into his eyes. "Why?"

He cocked his head. "What do you mean?"

"Why here?" My eyes narrowed. "Why did you bring me here, of all places?"

"Why, for our sightseeing tour, of course."

"Not buying it." Stepping forward, I jabbed his chest with a finger. I knew my husband. Mr Rikkard Ambrose never did anything without adequate reason. Not. One. Single. Thing. "I know that absence-of-a-look on your face! Tell me now! Why did you bring me here?"

He gazed at me for a long, long moment—then, stepping forward, captured my face in his hands.

"You won't ever be restricted, my little ifrit. You won't ever be restrained or confined." Glancing up at the statue reaching for the sky for a moment, he once more speared me with his gaze, his deep, dark, fathomless eyes enough for me to drown in. "That's why you're here, Mrs Ambrose. So that you'll realize, married or not, you will always fly free, fly free as a bird."

Then, without another word, he whirled around and strode into the interior of the statue. I, for my part, just stood there for a long moment, a lump in my throat—then determination rose within me, and I dashed after him. After my future.

Time passed in a whirl. We wandered through the entirety of the statue's echoing interior, gazed out from the windows at the top of the crown and last, but definitely not least, ended up in front of a narrow ladder.

Mr Ambrose gestured towards the ladder.

"Ladies first."

I stared suspiciously at the ladder leading up through a metal pipe. "What's up there?"

"Why don't you go and find out?" He cocked his head. "Or are you scared?"

My foot was on the ladder before I'd even had the chance to think about it. Damn the man to hell for knowing me so well!

As I climbed, I felt him staying close on my heels, his body tense and ready. I could practically hear the words he did not speak out loud: if you fall, I will always be there to catch you.

I felt a surge of warmth in my heart.

That is, until I stuck my head out onto the platform at the top of the statue's torch.

"H-holy crap is it freezing up here!"

"Indeed?" Mr Ambrose climbed onto the platform behind me, his coat tails fluttering in the icy wind, his stone-cold face unmoving. "I can't say I noticed."

"M-my n-nose is nearly f-freezing off!"

"Indeed?" Suddenly, arms encircled me from behind, drawing me into a strong chest. A warm chest. "Well, that can be remedied."

"S-sneaky son of a bachelor," I growled, teeth chattering as I snuggled into his pecs. "Y-you p-planned this, didn't you?"

"Why, I have no idea what you mean, Mrs Ambrose."

Mumbling mutinously, I cursed his devious ways—then buried my nose more deeply into his chest. For a long while, we simply stood there, the wind whistling around us, his arms wrapped tightly around me. After a while in his embrace, the platform high up in the air didn't seem nearly so cold anymore. We had stood there for quite a while, gazing out over the ocean, before I realized that, when his arms had embraced me, his hands had come to rest on my stomach.

I swallowed.

"Do...do you think it will be all right?"

"Don't worry." Gently stroking my back, he drew me more closely against him. "I know it will be adequate."

"That's not reassuring!"

"Indeed?"

I opened my mouth to shoot back—only to hesitate. Glancing up, took a good, long, scrutinizing look at his perfect, chiselled face. An impish smile tugged at the corners of my lips. "On second thought...you might be right after all." Reaching out, I touched his face. "It might be adequate after all."

"To quote Her Majesty the Queen, I am not amused, Mrs Ambrose."

"Oh, but I am, Mr Ambrose. I am."

My smile widened. But then it landed on the ships in the distant harbour. The ships that would take us back to England, where I would have to face my new life. My new life as a mother.

"Will...will it really be all right?" What was wrong with me? This was the third time I'd asked this! Instinctively, my arms slid around him, clutching him close. So what if I was a bloody feminist? I was pregnant! I could take a few months holiday from feminism, along with my common sense, thank you very much! "This...I don't know how to do this. I've never felt like this before. I have no idea what to do."

His arms tightened around me. "I'll do whatever I can to help you."

I perked up. This presented...responsibilities. "Whatever you can?"

He stiffened slightly. "Yes. Why?"

"Well..." An impish smile spread across my face. "I've had this fantastic idea. It's called 'maternity and pregnancy benefits', and involves—"

Never in his life had I seen him kiss me so fast, so hard, so determined. My grin widened. I had been right earlier. Life was going to be quite adequate indeed.

***

It was a long time before the two of us descended from the torch. And if we happened to stay up there long enough to watch a very romantic sunset, that was purely coincidental.

The inside of the statue was now a cavernous hall of shadows, lit only by a few lonely beams of moonlight flooding in from above. Arm in arm, we slowly descended the spiral staircase and stepped out of the stone base onto the statue, leisurely making our way towards the sea. Once we were halfway to the shore, we stopped in silent agreement. Leaning back against my husband's chest, I took in a deep breath of sea air.

"You know..." My hand moved, fingers interlacing with his. "I'm glad I'm married to you."

"Yes. I do know."

I elbowed him. "This is where you're supposed to say you're glad to be married to me as well!"

"Indeed?"

I couldn't help but smile again. My grip on his hand tightening, I lifted it to rest against my belly.

"The future might not be what I expected, but...I think I'm looking forward to it. And more importantly, I'm looking forward to seeing this future together with you."

"So am I." he murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. "So am I, Mrs Am—"

That was when the gunshot rang out.

------------------------------------------------------

In case you haven't heard yet:

Yes, my dear Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen! After a long, long wait (caused by sickness and various other mishaps), book six of the "Storm and Silence" series, "Storm of Bells", is now finally available with EXTRA CHAPTERS from MR AMBROSE'S POV, in all possible formats!

You can find the paperback on Amazon. (Link on my Wattpad Profile)

The Ebook is available via Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Smashwords and various other stores.

Here is a big load of virtual ginger bread for anyone kind enough to leave me a review for my latest published book! :)

Now some notes regarding the above chapter:

If none of you recognized any of the landmarks mentioned in this chapter, that is probably because the majority of New York's most recognizable landmarks were built after 1900. In case you are interested, Trinity Church is an Episcopal Church at the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway, constructed between 1839 and 1846, whereas High Bridge is the oldest bridge in New York City.

Bedloe's Island is what the island the Statue of Liberty stands on used to be known as. It was renamed Liberty Island in 1956.

And, one last matter: Anyone who has ever visited the Statue of Liberty will probably be wondering why I let them climb up to the top of the torch when, in fact, nobody is allowed to do so. The reason is: people were, in fact, allowed to climb all the way up to the top once upon a time, but no longer. According to historical records, the statue was sabotaged by German agents during World War I and, even though it was repaired, authorities judged it too dangerous to let anyone but maintenance staff climb all the way up.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas in these troubled times!

Yours Truly

Sir Rob