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To hear Helen say the title out loud, made Ellie shiver.  She still wasn't used to it. She hoped as Helen had mentioned she would forget to mind it eventually.  Ellie continued with her thoughts. "I'm glad that even though everything happened so quickly that Henry still decided that coming to England with me is something that he wants to do.  I hope that within the next month that I can decide whether or not we have a future."

"It'll work out somehow.  I know you can do it. Even if you weren't in the position you wanted to be, you would always manage to finish the race."

"I'm nothing like you, I could just be bold when I'm around him." Ellie looked past Helen for a moment as she saw someone who had the same height that Henry.  She considered it must be him for a moment before she noticed the streak of blonde hair and the woman he was lugging behind him who was dragging her feet in the uneven snow covered pavement.  Ellie remembered how Henry's arms had felt when he had touched her. Involuntarily, she looked back at her friends while setting back the cup she had been holding onto the table. "I do feel again and again that I won't be successful at all, but I can't let my ship sink without trying to save it."

Helen looked at her with concern.  "May sure not to go down while you're trying to fix your ship.  Henry isn't worth losing yourself for. There are a lot of fish in the sea since you're using ocean metaphors."

Ellie smiled and stood.  They exchanged goodbyes before agreeing that they would need to meet again soon.  Helen gave Ellie one languorous final wave before she disappeared into the crowd. Ellie's feet were sore from walking and sitting for so long.  She considered for a moment to head over to Nolan's apartment before deciding that she would instead go in a more productive and proactive direction.  Ellie stepped off the sidewalk and hailed a yellow cab taxi. The driver looked at her begrudgingly as she told him to take her to Mr. Chou offices. Mr Chou was the Wong family lawyer, technically since she was still married, he was her lawyer too now. In her conversation with Helen, she had reminded Ellie that now she had wealth she should make sure that Henry wouldn't take advantage of it. Ellie was sure that he wouldn't but wanted to be sure for her own clear thinking.

Ellie felt furthered relieved when she was told she didn't have a long wait to see the wizened old lawyer. The lawyer drew her into a conference room and the tap of his fingers slowly turned to a removal of his glasses as Ellie explained how she had recently come into her own money and land. "That's simply an extraordinary story to see that someone of our Chinese blood can also be a part of British aristocracy. I did read about it on the internet but did not know that lucky lady would be married to one of my longtime clients. How fantastic that a good fortune met a good hearted person. I'm so happy to serve you, I apologize if it seems rude by British law by comparison to American Law is simply fascinating. Some colleagues and I were just discussing your case and the logistics of it. Of course you can trust my discretion so you can remain your anonymity until the process is formalized." Chou cleared his throat as he struggled to return his excitement to business detachement. "Hearing this good news makes me wonder if the newly minted Baron, would like to retain his honors by staying married to you? I hope so. It will be so exciting to write letters with the strange punctuation. It would be just the best story to tell our prospective clients that nobility use our services."

"I can't speak for Henry. He has his own mind. Based on our past discussions I think he is still set on getting an annulment.  It's mine as well." Ellie felt the words in her mouth leave with some hesitation as she wondered if it was still what she wanted. She coughed to gather her thoughts. "Because of the immediacy of some of the repairs of my main property in the United Kingdom, Henry and I have agreed that we will be leaving together to England. If we will be there for a while it is I think a good idea to start the process here so it can be rolling while we're gone and finished when we're back."

Chou tapped his finger against the table so his heavy wedding ring clanged loudly. Both his and Ellie's eyes were drawn to it as he spoke. "I respect your opinion, but don't know if it would be the best idea to file immediately. There are many perks of being married to a Wong. As an ambitious woman you could very well take advantage of these things to further yourself. I know you have only just recovered from surgery and your circumstance has changed very quickly. I mean no offense, but before all your privileges are no longer available to you, are there things you want?"

"Henry is a wonderful man. He has always given me everything. I didn't know anything about him before I married him so these privileges I have no idea of. I would like to leave the marriage the same way I started—-with nothing. The Wong fortune is nothing I am looking for. I am sure I will be more secure to start my life single than I will be in this marriage." Ellie could see that Chou wanted her to continue but his increased interest cut off her point. She knew that she had always been a stubborn person, but the thought of growing comfortable at the Wong building made her feel strangely sick. She didn't want her good intent of just marrying him for the will to be spoiled by the security she felt with a rich partner. It was dangerous to be lulled in by a comfort that if he changed his mind would disappear. She would not stick around for him to look at her like a kept woman. She could see Chou nodding as he had a paralegal bring forth the documents. Ellie knew it was better to take this leap then let the monster of uncertainty catch up to her. She would have to stay one step ahead, even if she didn't want to. Henry had to be the one to make a decision because honestly, Ellie couldn't trust herself to look at all that money and say a firm no