chapter eleven      His smile faded immediately when he saw her room, empty. He walked in and around her room looking for any sign of her belongings. There wasn't. Her closet and chest of drawers were empty, and there was no luggage on her luggage rack.      As tears rose in his throat, he walked downstairs to the dining room and through to the kitchen. The cook/butler, Nigel, was preparing a tea service for his father.      "Good morning, William, I trust you slept well?"      "Not really, and it's even worse now."      "May I inquire, as to the reason for your distress?"      "It's Ellie."      "Ah yes, the American doctor, I see, women troubles. Anything I can do?"      "Yeah, you can tell me where she went!"      "Ms. Jones, I believe that it her name, left early this morning for London."      "London? Why?"      "I believe she said something about a plane, she had me check her reservation before she left."      "How did she get to London?"      "A cab."      "When does her plane leave?"      "I believe I heard the ticket counter clerk say that it leaves at nine." William looked at his watch.      "That's in an hour."      "If you leave right now, you'll just make it."      "Thanks Nigel, tell my dad where I went."      "Will do, sir," Nigel said, as Will turned to leave. "Wait!"      "Yes?" Will asked, turning around.      "She did give me this," he said, handing Will a letter, "to give to you." He ripped it open and read it as he left the kitchen. The note simply read that she had committed a serious lack of professional judgment and she apologized for her behavior. It went on to say that in light of recent events, she couldn't possibly stay on to attend to the family any longer, and that once she was back in New York, she'd send word of local doctors who would be able to help continue therapy sessions with the family. He dropped the note on the front table and ran out of the house.      Will ran out to his car and peeled out of the driveway. He was five miles from the house before he noticed the black sedan trailing him.      "There'll always be there, won't they?" he muttered to himself as he speed towards Heathrow Airport. .:.      He pulled into the parking lot at five till nine. He jumped out of his car and ran to the terminal. He looked up at the departures board, luckily there was only one flight leaving for New York. He raced through the airport, looking up every now and then at the gate numbers. Once he spotted her gate, he ran up to the counter.      "I need to get on that plane, please."      "I'm sorry, sir. The plane has already left."      He ran over to the window, only to see that she was right, the plane was making it's way to the runway. .:.      After the captain's welcoming, Ellie leaned her head back and closed her eyes, and replayed the events of the past ten hours. She had run out to the barn to see Will, hoping that he would tell her that he loved her. He had. And she told him that she loved him back. They kissed. It was a mistake. The kiss itself was wonderful, but she couldn't take it any farther, in fact, it had gone too far already. She was his psychiatrist for crying out loud! She couldn't fall in love with him, and the fact that she had filled her with guilt and anxiety. She loved him, she couldn't help it; but she could fight it. And distance, to her, was the best way to fight it.      She could feel tears running down her face. She leaned forward a fished a Kleenex out from her purse.      "You okay dear?" the elderly lady sitting next to her, asked. Ellie sniffled lightly, wiped her eyes, and nodded 'yes'. "Well, if you need to talk, I'm a mother of ten and a grandmother of twenty-two, I've been through my fair share of predicaments." She patted Ellie's knee and picked up her knitting.      "Thank you very much, you're very kind." The lady nodded and knitted a pearl into her scarf.      Ellie sighed and settled into her seat. She stared out the window, and began to weep at the sight of the crystalline blue sky.      "There, there," the lady next to her murmured as she put her knitting away in her bag and cradled Ellie against her shoulder. "Just let it out, honey, it's okay." Ellie cried for what seemed like hours, but it was only minutes. The woman, who had introduced herself as Martha, rubbed her back and asked the stewardess for a few more tissues. Once Ellie was composed, and the stewardess had delivered a pair of orange juices, the two ladies began to talk.      "I'm a psychiatrist," Ellie began. "I was helping a teenage boy and his older brother work through grief for their mother and some tension issues," Martha nodded her head in understanding. "Anyways, I had been staying with them while I was in England, and as the days went on I began to fall in love with the older brother."      "I see, well, there's nothing wrong with that, dear. Love is a very natural emotion, nothing to be ashamed of."      "That's just the thing! I'm his psychiatrist; there are laws against that sort of thing! I had no business falling for him, let alone kissing him!" She began to tear up again, at the thought of the very private and intimate kiss that they shared.      "It's all right dear, I'm sure no one's going to hang you up by your hair. People fall in love everyday, especially on more forbidden terms than you fell in love with this man." Ellie nodded, beginning to wonder what she was going to say to any member of the family if they called her. She had always feared confrontation, but this was going to be particularly sticky. Ellie and Martha continued to talk for another thirty minutes, before Ellie tired and excused her self to nap. .:.      Meanwhile, Will had made his way back to Highgrove and both Charles and Harry were in front of the house, ready to meet their tear-stained family member. Will walked with them inside and into his father's study where they all settle in for some hot tea and scones.      "What happened?" Harry, the first to speak up, asked.      "I slipped Ellie a note last night after dinner, asking her to meet me in the stables at eleven. She came; I explained that in the time that she had been here, I had begun to have feelings for her. She admitted that she had feelings for me too, and then we kissed."      "So the therapist was a good idea, huh?" Harry quipped. Charles stared at him with a look of disinterest.      "Harry please, it is not the time." He turned his attention back to his eldest son, and his face softened into one of concern. "Did she give any indication that it would effect her like this?"      "After we kissed she pushed me away, and said something about there being laws against this, that she shouldn't have done it." Charles sighed.      "Well, she was right about that, there are laws."      "What do you mean?" Will asked.      "I don't know if there are specific laws in the U.K. but I know there are laws about this in the U.S."      "Against kissing?"      "No, no. The Ethics Committee of American Psychiatrists, or whatever it's called, established the laws; they were put in place to prevent psychiatrist from preying on innocent and distraught patients. If anyone was to find out that she had kissed you and report her to the Ethics committee in America she would not only lose her license but she might have to pay a fine or worse."      "Oh god!" William sighed, rubbing his temples. "What am I going to do?" .:.      After Ellie had napped a little and was feeling revived; she pulled out her phone card and used the phone in the headrest in front of her, to call her secretary, Bernice. Bernice agreed to send out a listing of competent psychiatrists in the U.K., along with good family counseling centers; she also was told to send a letter of sincere apology, which Ellie dictated to her. Ellie also instructed her not to send a bill for her services, and thank you note for their hospitality. Bernice agreed to meet Ellie at the gate when she arrived. Ellie said goodbye, and hung up the phone.      As Ellie watched the in cabin movie, she knew, in her heart of hearts, that she would never see any member of that family ever again, least of all William. And for the first time, she didn't weep; because, she had come to realize that it wasn't meant to be; and so her heart began to heal, slowly, but surely. back