The Man With The Umbrella

- 50 -

Back in London now. See you in a few days at the girls wedding. xxx

Pressing send, Amelia sent the text message to her brother and Mary with a breath of relief falling away from her as she eyed the familiar scenic route to Notting Hill.

She wasn't exactly sure how much time she'd have on her own before Mycroft found out that she was back. That was the thought which progressed in her mind because Amelia wasn't sure if he was already alerted and already aware serving that herself and Viola had their own security CCTV detail.

"Viola, do you want Jolene and Irene to stay ours for a few hours so they can explain themselves or do you want to leave it at the moment?" She asked her daughter quietly. Viola looked up to her mother before looking to the backs of the women's heads up front, inquisitively. "Would it be rude of me to say I don't want to see them?" She quietly responded back to ask her mother. Amelia shook her head softly with a smile of encouragement on her face. "No, it's not rude. You have a lot to work through at the moment so take your time." She answered back whilst stroking her daughter's hand lovingly.

The four sat in silence for the next few minutes before they felt the tires roll to a halt outside of the block of Notting Hill flats. As Viola jumped out and walked to the boot to collect her things, Amelia waited a few seconds to allow cars to drive past before opening her door and following in her daughter's steps.

Rolling the suitcases to the door, Amelia handed Viola her bag to collect her keys before gazing to Jolene who stood nervously beside the car. "I'll be in touch with you pair soon."

Jolene nodded unsurely before nodding again in confidence. "Alright. Stay safe and if you need anything, Amelia, please let me know." She managed to say with a faint smile that was shown as an understatement from her plastered and bruised nose.

Amelia nodded once before stepping through to the foyer and meeting her daughter up in their flat.

***

Painting.

Painting always calmed Amelia. The reason as to why, she was unsure of but she enjoyed the fulfilment she consistently got from holding a paintbrush between her index finger and thumb and watching a roll of white turn into something so lovely.

She was unsure as to why she was beginning to paint herself on the large canvas stood before her. Painting one's self was always something Amelia tended to stray away from but her hands never wavered when producing the piece of art and since she had begun it, she couldn't imagine simply leaving it.

She painted blues, blacks and whites. She painted eyes freehand whilst eyeing the images she had scattered of herself attached to string just above her head.

The painting she'd like to think that she had commissioned for herself and herself alone was slowly the creation that she'd like to think, brought her past history to life.

The truest of one's self.

Ice Queen.

It would also be the first art piece produced out of three that Amelia would create for herself and Mycroft that she would later gift to their future home after their wedding.

BUT, that was way off in the future and the pair would have many obstacles and hurdles to jump and past by.

"Long live the Ice Queen." She spoke with the ooze of sarcastic bemusement in her shine of tone.