Chapter 256 - 256

As the night grew older, the outside carnival started to slow down.  The lights from the rides turned on brighter as the small seats for occupants started to dwindle down.  There was a small crowd that had ȧssembled of old timers reminiscing with Henry about the history of the house.  Here Henry seemed to be very comfortable here as he diffused refreshments and chairs with ease to make sure that everyone was as comfortable as they could be.  As the hour crept closer to midnight, the younger children where whisked away in shuttles back to the town square where their awaiting parents could pick them up.  There were parents too whom had come to the fair itself and parked on the grounds who left in a long line of cars that ended in a bit of a jam around the town square.  Ellie could see it from the top of the ferris wheel where Henry had kissed her quickly as she opened her mouth. She remembered what he had told her earlier, but dismissed the idea as there were a lot of people who could see them from this vantage point.  And the physics of the act would probably rock the whole carriage as she eyes the sign that warned against that. Ellie knew Henry could see the one behind them as he pulled away from her.

Her mood had dampened as she felt the eyes follow her.  They split as they decided they wanted to do different things.  Ellie had ridden a couple of the rides and was taking to the bakery stand that had been set up in the driveway. She was remarking just how amazing the buŧŧery croissants and apple pie was, when she saw that a snazzy glitter covered limousine with light covered wheels had pulled up behind them. 

Henry ambled towards with with purposeful strides as he looked very suspicious indeed. As she watched him from the corner of her eye, the woman she had been talking to pointed at it.  Ellie finally turned her head to see the door of the limousine opened by Henry as he tightened a buŧŧon on his suit coat. Her mouth dropped as she shouted excitedly and ran over to the woman who had gotten out, "OLGA!  MY GOODNESS, YOU"RE HERE!"

The two woman embraced while more of Ellie's college friends got out as well and marveled at the outdoor carnival which was in full swing around them.  There were only three of her friends and Ellie noticed three of Henry's. Both groups of friends were wearing identical outfits which she found strange as the camera flashed behind them.  Two of the men wore military stripes which quickly identified them as Michael's sons whom they had stayed with earlier. They were cordial with Henry as they spoke in hushed tones before nodding in her direction.  She felt her stomach flip as she wondered if they were talking about security. Was there something lurking here that Henry didn't want her to know about?

Olga sighed into Ellie's embrace and tightened her arms around her friend.  "I can't believe I'm here. Henry told us he wanted to do something special for your birthday ball.  I'm so happy that I got to be a part of it. We were all worried when you disappeared from New York City and we couldn't know where you were.  I thought you got kidnapped until I saw the news. You should have told us think was your childhood. I would have called you milady like I'm at some Renaissance festival but in real life."

Ellie smiled easily.  "Oh well, it's not that important who my father is.  It's not something that ever benefitted me, even while I was growing up in Rochester.  My mother just wanted us to grow up normally and I don't exactly have the best claim to British aristocracy.  It was such an insane story that me and Nolan agreed that no one would believe us. We don't look anything like the British royals you see on TV.  We looked too Asian to be anything but like we had come from China or Hong Kong."

"I figured as such.  I'm glad you didn't actually go around telling people as you probably wouldn't have been believed by even your own teachers.  It's like a secret fairy tale where you find out the frog is really a cursed princess. To all of us you were always extremely regal and out of everyone I really think that you deserve to have a spurt of good luck."

She shrugged.  "I don't know if I'd call it good luck.  There's a lot of work this house needs before it's anywhere near presentable.  We've just finished the inside house repairs since we got here. It looks great, I'm very happy that Henry is an expert manager when it comes to the business side of things."

"He is a reputed CEO of a major international company so that's not surprising at all.  This is probably a bit of a small development for him seeing that huge skyscraper where he's got hundreds of workers and projects to manage.  It's good then that the two of you came here together. Henry seemed very excited to plan all of this for you when I got the call, even though most of my contacts were with his ȧssistant, Michael.  Both are very excellent in making sure that we had everything we needed to make this day great for you. Having bridesmaids dresses for the publicity shoot does seem a bit strange though, don't you think?  You're almost a bride yourself even though it is your birthday."

Ellie looked down at the dress she was wearing.  "Yes, I do think so as well. It is a bit strange.  But, you know Henry isn't exactly an event planner. From talking to the man who runs the estate, he put all this together in under twenty four hours.  He did this so quickly and just with local businesses. Henry is trying to maximize the potential of everything so it can move forward."

"It's like he's in a hurry or something.  How are you really? Is he treating you well?  I don't want to bog you down with my own problems as it is your birthday, but are you truly feeling that he is good for you?"