His present to her he hoped would make up for this shabby attempt of his to look pa.s.sable for her. The event hall downstairs had been done up with some help from local vendors. There were lily of the valley which were curled into beautiful trellis that were hanging off the ceiling.  There were strange star flower ornaments which hung randomly and matched beautiful although they were made of different metals. They were all rimmed in gold to keep the line clean as Henry's eyes moved across it. There were long rows of tables which were laid out. There were long lines of antique lights which ran across the rafters of the ceiling.  The exposed wood of the wall which had yet to be completely finished in the hall was covered with a beautiful white fabric that had a s.h.i.+mmering silver thread running through it. It brought the ethereal quality of the room to a full fruition. On top of the stage was a small table for two where there was a small banner hung with a the letters spelling out: happy birthday.

He couldn't believe it had all come together.  Henry checked his watch and was happy that in such short time he could come up with something so elaborate.  The backdrop behind them held a picture of the two of them which had been taken at the hospital by a nurse. He was admiring the settings when he felt a tap behind him.

As he turned there was a bright flash in his face of an old fas.h.i.+oned camera so he was temporarily blinded.  Henry rubbed his eyes quickly to get the strange sensation to pa.s.s. He opened his eyes as he felt cool hands holding his.  The soft smell of her lavender lotion made her ident.i.ty unmistakable. The blur as he opened his eyes settled and his heart skipped when he saw how her dewy makeup complimented the white dress he had chosen for her.

She smiled automatically when she confirmed that he was all right.  "My goodness," Ellie said as she looked past him into the hall. "What make you think that I needed all this?  Is this a wedding dress? I was debating whether or not I should put it on. But, you know I can't resist something that has such excellent pockets.  I can't believe that something this beautiful and embellished could be functional. I put my phone in this pocket. Michael insisted it was just a party dress, but did you really go to all of this for me?  What's the occasion for making something so glamourous? And wow, you really do pull off green velvet in a way I wouldn't have imagined. Like an Asian Elvis?"

Henry could feel his expression dampen.  "What? No. I'm supposed to look like a . . . you know what if you like Asian Elvis, I'll take that.  As long as you like it . . . no love it, then it's justified." 

As Ellie opened her mouth to retort something, no doubt going to stroke his ego, he quickly crushed her into his arms in a kiss.  His hands touched the pearls covering the back of her dress and he tried not to dislodge them. The gown had a sweetheart neckline so most of her chest and back were exposed to his hands.  He traced up her spine as he could feel she was starting to really enjoy the kiss and was touching his back in a way that made him sure that she was as happy as he had hoped her to be. Henry was almost as happy as she even though his mood had been dampened that the trouble brewing in New York had come to sweep him back.  It wasn't going to be easy to leave this haven and the angelic fairy who ran it. Ellie pulled back with him and looked at him with a harsh look. Henry tucked a curl behind her ear as he softly explained. "You look positively angelic. You're quite the beauty whose come to her Birthday Ball."

Ellie's mouth opened hugely as she gasped.  "Oh no, you couldn't have. Are you serious that you invited all the villager people here into the house for that old family tradition?  I haven't had one in years? You know I was poor for so long or you know traveling, practicing, or working for my job that I really haven't had a sit down birthday party in many many years.  Usually the only indication I have that another year has pa.s.sed is usually a nice text message from Nolan. If I'm lucky and I won the race, then maybe the hotel would give me a complimentary birthday cookie.  But you know how it is those things have been sitting in a storage room for months."  

As Henry took her hand to the small lover's table, the camera flashed again.  Ellie tried to pose but the cameraman shook his head. He explained. "Just candids for tonight, my lady."

Ellie turned to Henry in a bit of annoyance.  "Why did you hire a cameraman? It's such a weird attention to this party.  How did you know? Rightley? Who deserves a raise?"

Henry patted her hand as he sat opposite of her.  "Yes. And you're right he does deserve a raise. This is a public attraction as well so we have been needing some photographs to spice up our dismal website.  And who better to model than us? I don't know, call it business and pleasure, even though I know it's bad form to do both. I just wanted you to have memory of the good times we shared together.  The dress is a Tony Ward Couture that came from a local showroom. All the decorations also came from local vendors as well. It's really just going to be fantastic when I take you into the ballroom when everyone arrives so we can dance your night away.  You know the full club experience if we'd been in new york."

"Henry, I feel so sad that we didn't do anything for your birthday.  If I'd known you'd go to all this trouble, I would have made more of an effort.  You've outdone me big time."

"True.  If I had more resources to draw on, it would have been so.  I would have invited the royal family as well as your tenants, but I do think it will be nice to have an event here for everyone.  We've opened the grounds as well so people can make merry around the house. There's a full carnival outside if you want to go explore later." Henry looked at her with a mischievous glint his eyes. "There's a ferris wheel on the park outside, if you want we could do it outside. It's always been on my bucket list, and it is our house and land."

"Henry!  That will ruin this dress."