Chapter 2

Kate smoothed her windblown hair, an easy sacrifice to make in exchange for the great view of London from the upper deck of the open topped bus. They had traveled over the famed London Bridge, seen some beautiful old cathedrals before hopping off at Buckingham palace just in time for the changing of the guards. They'd visited the Tate Modern Museum, viewing works of art by Blake and Matisse, and a special exhibit of JMW Turner's works, before having an amazing late lunch in the museum's restaurant, seated at a table by a window overlooking the Thames.

Now they were in a small building within the fortress walls of the Tower of London, shuffling along with the crowd that was filing past the glass display cases protecting the Crown Jewels. The light glinted off the diamonds to dazzling effect. Scepters sat on velvet pillows, fur lined crowns sparkled with gems. Ahead of her, Castle stopped without warning and she bumped into him, then was brushed from behind by the next person in line. She turned to apologize to them, then pivoted and smacked her husband on the arm.

"Castle!" she hissed. "What are you doing? Move it!"

Absently he nodded and hurried forward to fill the gap he had created. They exited the room, earning a stern look from the Beefeater guards on the way out.

Once they were out in the open air, Rick stopped again, but this time he quickly stepped to the side so that Kate could step up beside him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. He watched her face flash confusion, alarm and irritation, all in a few seconds. She patted the hip that had bumped his.

"What's wrong?" he asked, but rather than answer, she spun around, quickly finding her quarry.

She marched up to a young man and grabbed him by the arm. Despite the fact that she was far out of her jurisdiction, her 'police' voice welled up as she exclaimed "YOU stole my wallet!" The man started to protest, but Kate held on while catching the eye of the nearest guard. The uniformed man approached.

"Is there a problem here, Mum?"

"Yes," she snapped, "he bumped into me in the Jewel room and picked my pocket!"

The guard was joined by another as the man continued to protest. The two Tower employees assured the man that he would not be permitted to leave the premises until he has been searched. The search revealed not only Kate's wallet, but those of two other tourists.

After catching a glimpse of Kate's police ID in her wallet, they apologized profusely and thanked her for helping them catch at least one of the pickpockets that had been plaguing the attraction.

Returning to Rick's side, she took in his amused look. "You want to know what's really funny?" he asked. "The moment where I stopped in my tracks, I was thinking about my friend Powell and how he might pull off a jewel heist there."

"How is that funny?"

"My musings about robbers actually gave you the opportunity to catch one!"

When they left the Tower, they headed down to the pier. They took their seats on the tour boat and enjoyed the early evening sunshine. They disembarked at the next pier, where they saw Big Ben and Parliament. Rick then led her across the bridge toward the London Eye, an enormous ferris wheel looking structure, with large oblong glass bubbles in place of standard cars.. Kate craned her neck to look up at it as they approached. "Boy, I bet the view from there is something else."

He followed her gaze and tilted his head to the side, considering. When he looked back at her, his smirk was unmistakably triumphant. "We'll find out soon enough."

She whirled on him. "NO. Really?"

He nodded, smiling at the wonder in her eyes. This was the expression that made it all worth it. "I've arranged for a private capsule with two flights back to back. We'll enjoy the sunset while drinking champagne and eating canapes then watch the city lights twinkle."

Kate reached up and pulled him down for a kiss. "I love you so much…" she whispered once she broke away.

"I love you too. Now let's go, we'll be late." They reached the gate and Rick pulled the passes out of his pocket to show to the gate tender. He stepped aside and pointed them toward the express line. In short order they boarded and were greeted by a smiling hostess holding a magnum of champagne.

"Welcome to the London Eye! Honeymooners?" she asked, noting their intertwined fingers. When they nodded, she smiled wider. "Then we'll be sure to toast to a new happy couple." An attendant in an apron stepped aboard and placed a tray of snacks on the bench, then hurried out as the doors closed. For the next 15 minutes, the capsule ascended, while Kate and Rick slowly walked around the perimeter of the pod, looking up, down, and all around, taking in every detail. At the moment it had reached its pinnacle over 400 feet in the air, they heard a loud pop. They accepted flutes of champagne from the hostess, and stood with their arms around one another's waists as the hostess offered a toast.

"Surely you folks would like your picture taken?" She accepted the camera and snapped a photo of them with the sunset stained skyline as a backdrop. She then retreated to the other side of the capsule to allow them a private moment, which Rick gratefully capitalized on. He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"So, Mrs. Castle…" he murmured in her ear, before giving it a nip. "Having a good time so far?"

Kate let her eyes drift closed for a moment, before resuming her appreciation of the glittering Thames below. "Mmm-Hmm".

As the sky darkened to cobalt then navy blue, the capsule rose again and Kate felt as if she could see to infinity. She turned in his arms for another kiss.

The hostess cleared her throat to get their attention. "Thank you for riding the London Eye. Enjoy the rest of your visit!"

They caught a taxi back to the hotel, since it was after 10:30 at night. The next morning, Kate declared that a more sedate pace was in order, so that they could recover from their packed previous day.

"Ok…I think I've got just the thing." Rick allowed. They traveled to Chelsea and were taken on a tour of various English gardens. They strolled hand in hand through rows of rose bushes and mazes of hedges. Sitting on a bench by a Koi pond in a Japanese garden, they breathed in the heady floral scents around them.

"So what's the plan for lunch?" Kate asked.

"Well…you know how I was into those cooking reality shows? I got reservations to Foxtrot Oscar's! Seriously! It's one of the first things I booked when I planned this trip, because you need major advanced notice." He was bouncing a little as he broke his news, but his face fell when she just stared back cluelessly. "No, Kate, come on. You can't really be in the dark, can you? Gordon Ramsay? The guy is like a legend. Ads for his shows are on billboards, for crying out loud."

"Gotcha!" she grinned. "Of course I know about him, Madison filled me in."

After a sumptuous lunch of cauliflower soup followed by smoked haddock for Kate and chicken liver parfait and roast duck for Rick, they settled into their seats at the Royal Court Theater to enjoy a matinee.

When the play was over, they headed back to the hotel to pack and catch their next flight.