AMBROSE...

With my cane in hand, slowly walked up to the front door, the wooden barrier seeming to get further and further away. I eventually stood before it, staring it down. My glare would not work on this.

Was I ready for this? Ready to do the one thing I have never in my life done before? What if it all turned out bad? What would happen if I forgot all I wanted to say to her?

Pull yourself together!

I quickly knocked on the door before I could change my mind. The door opened a few seconds later and a frail old man stood in front of me. How could he answer so quickly? The old man didn't look like he was fast on his feet. Was he waiting for me?

"Good Morning sir" I greeted "I'm here to see Miss Lillian"

"Lillian?" I heard whispers from behind the door

Ah, so they had been waiting. They had probably ran to the door when they saw my coach parked outside for a few minutes.

An older woman appeared from behind the door, then pushed the old man out of the way.

"Mr. Rikkard Ambrose Sir" the woman bowed her head in a greeting "You're here to see Lillian?"

She looked like she didn't believe me.

"Yes, Lillian" I repeated, "She does live here right?"

"Uh, yes" she answered, still not seeming to believe me "I am her aunt, Mrs. Brank Linton. Please come in" she stepped aside allowing me in

The old butler closed the door behind me and I followed Mrs. Linton to a room. I took in what I could see of the house, it was obvious that the woman tried her best to make her home look expensive, though, she didn't quite succeed.

We arrived in what seemed like a sitting room and she offered me a chair to sit in. Once I did, I finally noticed the five women standing by the entrance. They hadn't been there when I came in. They had to be her sisters and they all had differing expressions on their faces. Some were pleasantly surprised, some not so pleased at all. Maybe because I was here to see their sister and not them.

"These are my nieces, Lillian's sisters" she introduced

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," I said, sounding more polite than I expected

"The pleasure is ours" they replied, the twins doing a little more than the others

"Ella, can you go get Lillian," the woman asked

"Yes ma'am" Ella, which I learned from Lillian was the youngest, answered

There was excitement written all over her face. Did she know of me? Did Lillian tell her things about us? She quickly turned and left the room, leaving me with her sisters and aunt.

"So, how do you know Lillian?" Mrs. Linton asked "I haven't heard her talk about you before"

Was I supposed to tell her the whole truth? That her niece was a cross dresser who worked as my secretary? The inner workings of our...complicated relationship?

"We met in town one evening" I answered, that wasn't a lie "We talked and we became...close" that wasn't a lie either

The woman's eyes widened a bit.

"So...you've grown sweet on her?" she asked

"Well...yes" I couldn't lie now, this was the reason I was here after all

There were grumbles coming from the twins. I easily held back a smile at their obvious jealousy. I knew Lillian would like that very much. Her other sisters continued to look pleasantly surprised. Mrs. Linton looked like she had just heard her rich great uncle had left her thousands of pounds in his will.

"That's wonderful" she answered, eyes bright with excitement

Wasn't Lillian supposed to be marrying another man per her approval? Did she not care anymore? She surely was a woman that cared about wealth and class. Her niece marrying the richest man in London was sure to push her up the social ladder ten fold, more than with this other man that was picked.

There was silence as we waited for Lillian to come down. What was taking her so long? Could her sister find her? Had she run away before I arrived here? Was I too late?

A few more minutes of silence passed before I got my answer.

Ella stepped into the room, a wide smile on her face. I looked behind her, waiting for Lillian to appear, but she didn't.

I tried to hide the frown I felt coming. She had left, gone to God knows where. But why was her sister smiling like that?

Ella noticed our confused stares and knew something was wrong. She quickly turned. The confusion on her face showed that she too expected her sister to be at her heel.

"Lilly!" she hissed stepping out of the room again

For a few minutes there were hushed voices and then Ella walked back in, this time with Lillian next to her. She looked scared, nervous, something I rarely saw from her.

"Let's leave these two to talk, shall we?" her aunt said before getting up from her seat and escorting her nieces out, leaving Lillian and I alone.

The room was silent and she avoided my eyes. But I couldn't let that stop me now.

"We need to..."

"Not here" she quickly cut me off

Why not here?

"Follow me" she instructed

I got up and followed her out of the room. As soon as we stepped out, I understood why. Her aunt and sisters weren't standing too far from the entrance, they would have heard our whole conversation. I followed her down one hallway, then another. Soon we walked through a door and we were out in the back garden. It wasn't large, but it was pleasant looking enough. She walked until we were in the middle, equal distances away from the house and the fence.

We stood there in silence, facing each other, her shorter frame not very close to mine.

"You're still here" I stated

"I am," she said

"Does that mean you're getting married?"

"Why do you care?" she shot back

"I don't care!" I said

"Then why are you here?"

The old me had shown up for a few seconds, forgetting why I was there and wanting to start our usual banter.

"Why are you here?" she asked again, her tone more serious than before

I calmed myself, trying to remember the speech I had planned on my way here. It was a lot harder to say and remember when her face was right in front of me.

"I had been thinking a lot after you left my office yesterday..."

"Ah, that granite head of yours has a brain to think" she insulted

I ignored.

"Your news was not very...pleasant"

"And why was that?"

"I...I..." I began, struggling for the words "It was very surprising"

"What about it was surprising?"

"You actually contemplating marriage"

"That surprised me too" she commented "But you still didn't answer my question"

"What question?" I asked innocently

"Why was it unpleasant?"

She had caught me trying to buy time. I had to stop being so weak and say what I came to say.

"You are the most irritating, maddening, rude, uncivil, stubborn woman I have ever met!"

Her brows furrowed in anger, I knew what was coming.

"And you are the most conceited, cheap, even more stubborn than I am..."

"But I don't want you to leave," I said cutting her off. Her anger left and her eyes brightened just a little "And I don't want you to marry another man"

Her brows raised at the latter part.

"Another man?" she questioned "Meaning there's a man I already should be marrying?"

"Yes" I slowly answered

"And who's that?"

The conversation was going slightly different to the one I had planned. Why couldn't she stick to the script? But her eyes were wide in anticipation. I had to go along with it now and say what needed to be said.

"Me" I answered simply, showing her there was no other option

There was a wide smile on her face and her eyes got glossier by the second. Now felt like the perfect time to say it.

"Lillian Linton, I love y-"

I didn't have time to finish my proclamation, she had already attached her lips to mine, her arms around her neck. On instinct my arms went around her waist, pulling her in.

Relief filled my body, I had finally gotten this out.

Gasps, mumbles, and giggles could be heard coming from the house. It seemed that her sisters and aunt had been spying on us the whole time.

The attention from her family had fueled her, and she deepened our kiss, pushing her body close to mine. I gladly went along, tightening my hold around her waist and lifting her off the ground. That was sure to get her sisters riled up.

She pulled away from me slightly, her forehead resting on my own.

"I love you too" she whispered

An unfamiliar feeling filled me. Was that warmth?

That's love my friend

And was that a smile creeping on my face?

Better get used to it

I was about to kiss her again when the loud voice of Mrs. Linton reached the back garden.

"I said leave!" she said

"But ma'am..." a lower, male voice said

"She does not want to marry you!"

I didn't have to be there to know who she was talking to.

"But you said..."

'I changed my mind"

Lillian giggled at the exchange.

"We'll leave your aunt to handle this," I said

I placed her gently on the ground, took her hand and lead her towards the back garden gate.

"Where are we going?" she asked, willingly following behind me

I turned to her with a smile.

"Up north"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

If you've been reading Silence is Breaking, you would know what going up north means.

There you have it, the final chapter. I've always had this idea of how they would get together when I first started reading the Storm and Silence series. When I saw that Sir Rob was holding a contest, I thought now would be a good time to share my idea with others. And, Men of Silence is what I came up with. I really hope you all liked it. And please don't hesitate to leave a comment and vote, it would be greatly appreciated! 

That is all for now. Maybe there will be fore Storm and Silence fanfics in my future. What do you think?