Her Storm And His Silence

Without You

Lilly smiled gleefully as she entered the Empire house. It was one of those days where the grin would just not fade away from her face.

Her aunt had grounded her after she came back from Egypt or rather her grandmother's house and announced that she had not found a suitable suitor during her stay.

So her aunt had banned her from going to balls as a punishment. Hah,if not being able to attend balls was a punishment then solid chocolate was poison.

She shot Mr.Stone a smile as she rushed up the stairs to her office and plopped down on the old chair behind her desk and sighed in contentment as she glanced at the old grandfather clock at the far end of the room noticing that she was for the first time,five minutes early.

She waited for Mr.Ambrose's message as she tapped her her foot impatiently staring at the pneumatic tube.

Ten minutes passed and her patience began to grow thin. Mr.Stone knocked on her office door and entered with the daily correspondence in his hands.

As Lilly took the letters from his hold she asked,"Is Mr.Ambrose not here yet?".

Mr.Stone frowned before replying,"Now that you mention it Mr. Linton I do not recall seeing Mr. Ambrose today. I must say it's rather strange since he is always on time".

"Strange indeed",Lilly muttered as she glanced towards the door that connected her office to her employer's.

Hours passed and Lilly spent that time casually lounging on her chair as she sorted through daily correspondence, throwing away the letters that were of no importance at least not to her miser of a boss who seemed to have vanished into thin air.

They still hadn't spoken of what took place in Egypt that one night and part of her wondered if he felt the same way she did or if it was just an act of pure lust?.

She had given up her virginity to him and the next day he had acted as though nothing of importance had taken place. It hurt Lilly terribly but she was determined to show him that he wasn't the only one who could feign ignorance.

A few minutes later, Lilly heard the shuffling of feet in the office next to hers and she shot up from her seat and rushed into his office to find him packing a few files into a small and slightly worn out briefcase.

"Mr.Ambrose Sir?",Lilly said trying to gain his attention.

Mr.Ambrose's head snapped into the direction of her voice.

It was unsettling that he would not be able to see her again for a really long time.

"Are you going somewhere?",She asked eyeing the case his hands.

"Yes. I am leaving".

"L-leaving?",Lilly stuttered.

"Indeed",Mr.Ambrose said trying to keep his voice from breaking.

"But where?".

"Africa".

"Africa?",Lilly asked confusion.

"Yes. Now that I have the file,I shall begin the construction of the canal as soon as possible. And you can't come".

"Why not?".

"I don't know for how long I will be gone. It may take five months or years  even,depending on the efficiency of the workers".

"Oh".

There was a moment of silence before Lilly whispered,"So this is possibly the last time I am seeing you".

"It is".

Lilly gave him a small smile and said,"I can't believe I'm saying this but I'll miss you".

Mr.Ambrose's eyes softened by a fraction as he took three long strides towards her and engulfed her into his arms.

Lilly stiffened in surprise before relaxing and wrapping her arms around him.

When they broke away from their hug, he kissed her and placed his forehead onto hers and whispered,"I'll miss you as well".

Lilly gave him a surprised smile and their moment was ruined by a giant Mohammedan warrior knocking on the door.

"Sahib,the preparations for the trip have been done. We must leave immediately", Karim's muffled voice echoed from outside the door being both of them back to their senses.

Lilly slowly stepped out of his grip and retreated back to her office.

"Lilly?",Mr.Ambrose said as he hesitantly took a step towards her.

"Yes?".

"I--",Mr.Ambrose started but stopped when he looked into her eyes. Though she appeared strong on the outside, the pain her eyes told him how much he had hurt her.

He closed his mouth not finding the right words to say goodbye.

"Goodbye Mr.Ambrose.It was not a pleasure meeting you".

A ghost of a smile appeared on his face and he muttered,"Goodbye Lillian".

She opened the door to her office and slid inside as he grabbed his briefcase and walked out his office door.

Lilly's eyes watered as she leaned against her desk for support. She hated him so why did the thought of not being able to see him after today feel like a dagger through her heart?. Why did it have to hurt so bad?.