Rolling out of bed, Penelope stretched out her limbs, her arms reaching towards the ceiling as she rocked onto the balls of her feet. She looked over her shoulder, feeling pride swell in her chest when she saw Ruby openly appraising her. She knew her nightgown was sheer and left little to the imagination.
Perhaps it was the hunger in her gaze and the memories from last night that made her add, “I don’t know how, but I have worked up an awful appetite.”
Ruby snorted and pushed herself up from the bed. She lifted Penelope’s combinations from the chair and threw them at her. “Oh shush, you, and get dressed before your mother or my sister comes knocking.”
Getting dressed seemed to take double the time. Penelope couldn’t stop herself from constantly glancing over her shoulder. Especially when, most of the time, she knew Ruby was already staring at her. And every time their eyes met, Penelope smiled and reached out to touch her, whether it was a fleeting kiss or a gentle caress.
By the time they were decent, Penelope had to fight the urge to remove it all again and lead Ruby back to the bed.
Her throat tightened when she realised that only her bed was rumpled. Not wanting to start any rumours, she quickly disturbed the sheets on Ruby’s bed so that they looked slept in.
“Oh,” Ruby said. Her cheeks flooded with a hint of red. “Yes. That’s probably a good idea.” She looked at her reflection in the mirror above the cabinet with the stowaway basin. Ruby fiddled with the hairs that she had left out to frame her face, pushing and pulling strands away until she got an arrangement that she liked.
Penelope watched her with hooded eyes. She couldn’t help daydreaming about how her hair would look haloed around her, or as she stifled moans with a hand clamped over her lips.
Blinking furiously, Penelope pushed those thoughts away before she stepped towards the door. “Perhaps we should set a time? Just in case we get pulled into something by our families and we can’t send word?”
Ruby nodded. “Good idea. Eleven?”
“Eleven is fine with me.” Penelope almost couldn’t look at her; her mind was still burning with her fantasies. She had a better idea of what Ruby looked and felt like now, which made them all the more vivid.
And it didn’t help how Ruby looked at her as if she knew and was beckoning her to make them come true.
Penelope cleared her throat and pulled the door open, stepping out into the corridor, thankful when Ruby took off in the opposite direction after giving a low chuckle in her ear.
Her parents were already dressed and didn’t look too happy about her tardy arrival, but Penelope found she didn’t care quite as much. Not with her thoughts still running rampant. She apologised because it was what they expected, then followed them towards the dining room.
Thankfully, neither of them was particularly interested in keeping her in their company, so the moment she was finished, she retreated to her bedroom, not really surprised when it was still empty.
Collapsing into the sofa, Penelope buried her face in her hands, bending over as much as she could with her corset. She noticed the embroidery hoop still sitting on the floor, and picked it up, her fingers brushing over the outline of Poppy as she let her mind wander.
What did she want? What did this even mean? Out of all the things she’d expected on this journey, never in her wildest dreams had this come up.
She rather liked Ruby’s idea of creating some fond memories before life caught up with them and they were forced to find husbands.
Times were changing, that much she knew, but she feared it wouldn’t come about fast enough to convince her father to let her remain unwed for the rest of her life. Or to put courting aside for some time whilst she went to college. Despite being a learned man himself and coming from a background that wouldn’t have allowed him an education not that long ago, he held the opinion that women were homemakers and nothing more.
So, perhaps it’d be good to have memories that weren’t tied to Caroline and bitterness. Now, when she had to lie with her future husband, she could think instead of Ruby.
When Ruby finally arrived, Penelope stood, her body thrumming with excitement.
Ruby licked her lips and then nodded her head, wasting no time. “Right. Well. Last night was rather good.” Her cheeks started to darken. “More than good, even. And I do believe I already told you that it is my father’s intention to see me settled this year…” She trailed off with a frown. “He is worried about me, should we lose his income.”
“I’m sorry,” Penelope said, because she didn’t know what else to say.
“It is what it is.” Ruby gently shrugged her shoulders. “So I did mean what I said about seeing no harm in creating some memories aboard before that becomes a reality.”
“Perhaps I won’t be married quite as soon as you, yet I know my parents well enough to know that it won’t be too long.” Penelope reached for the locket still fastened around her neck and hidden in the high collar of her blouse.
“So… We both are in agreement that our futures aren’t going to be that brilliant,” Ruby started. “That still leaves the decision on what we do now. Do we consider last night a onetime thing, or do we continue for the rest of the journey and hope we don’t raise any suspicions?”
A million different thoughts ran through Penelope’s mind.
She couldn’t deny that their night together had been amazing.
Perhaps this was what she needed. Something careless; a passionate fling that meant nothing.
Of course, such a confined area could lead to problems—but most people would look at them and see friends, sisters even, before they saw lovers.
Penelope cleared her throat.
“I…I still don’t see much harm in having fun before we grow serious. Lord knows I haven’t had much of that in my life,” she announced in a soft voice.
Ruby’s lips quirked up at the corners. “Now that I relate to.” They shared a laugh before Ruby took a deep breath and added, “I’m glad we’re in agreement, then.”
She offered Penelope a bashful smile as her hand moved from her lap to settle over Penelope’s, who threaded their fingers together.
Penelope raised her gaze from their entwined hands and licked her lips, feeling a thrum shoot through her when she noticed Ruby tracking the movement with hungry eyes.
So she leaned forwards, moving slowly.
When their lips met, it felt as though she had been struck by lightning. Every nerve in her body came alive and she pulled Ruby closer, her free hand cupping the nape of Ruby’s neck.
She removed the metal pins from Ruby’s hair, letting it cascade over her shoulders and back. The second it was free, her fingers tangled through it to pull Ruby’s face closer.
Eventually, her lips landed on the long column of Ruby’s neck, and heavy gasps fell from her mouth.
“I’d love nothing more than to keep this going,” Ruby breathed, as Penelope’s teeth and lips worked their way down her neck.
Penelope brushed Ruby’s hair away from her shoulder and wished that their clothes were looser so that she could slide the sleeve down and get access to her bare skin.
“But I’m afraid I told my sister I’d watch Liam and Julia.” Ruby’s hand came up and rested on the back of Penelope’s head, the touch enough to pull her from the spell she was under.
Penelope straightened, her cheeks aflame as she stared at Ruby, finding her equally flushed. She looked beautiful like that, and Penelope had to bite her tongue to stop herself from leaning forwards again, from trying to see just how far she could make that blush spread.
Nodding slowly, she watched Ruby stand up and start to fix her hair, casting disapproving looks at Penelope whenever she slid a pin back into its previous place.
Penelope merely shrugged in response.
Once Ruby was decent again, she made her way to the door, but she stopped
with her hand on the handle. She seemed to be thinking about something, if that small crease between her brows was anything to go by. “Do you… Do you wish to join me? If you’re not busy, of course.”
Penelope was on her feet almost instantly, wincing when she realised she must look like an abandoned puppy. She distracted herself by smoothing her skirt. “I’d like that.”
Ruby’s beaming smile was all Penelope needed to convince herself that she wasn’t alone in her excitement. “Wonderful! Let’s go! I don’t want to keep Victoria waiting.”
The urge to take Ruby’s hand or arm was almost too strong, so to stop herself, Penelope bundled her hoop and sewing box into her hands. Then she followed Ruby towards C Deck.
Chapter Nine
This time, there were more than enough children for Julia and Liam to play tag with, so Ruby and Penelope sat off to the side to watch.
Even though Penelope’s hands were occupied with her work, they kept itching to touch Ruby, whether to take her hand or caress her face or stroke her hair. Penelope only ever did a stitch every few minutes.
As she pulled her needle through, she said, “It’s lovely to see you so involved with your niece and brother.”
Ruby turned towards her. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, here you are, looking after them. I’d say that it also speaks to your closeness with your sister that you’re minding her daughter whilst she’s around and able to do it herself.”
“She can’t.”
“Beg pardon?”
“She can’t look after Julia herself. Well, she can, but she gets tired a lot. And it doesn’t help that she’s also pregnant again.” Penelope’s shocked expression caused her to laugh. “You honestly didn’t notice?”
Penelope turned her gaze back to the children and watched them run around. She shrugged with one shoulder. “I don’t really go around looking at people’s bellies all the time.” She shot a grin at Ruby. “But no, I did not notice that at all.”
“I often think it is so obvious. Though I suppose that’s because I know.”
Penelope pressed her fingertips into her stomach, feeling the edge of her corset. She lost herself to the sensation, tracing out the contours of the thick fabric. She took a deep breath in. “When is she due?”
“Not for another couple of months. They hope to make it back over before she gives birth. I don’t think either of them would be pleased with him being born in America.” Ruby’s lips quirked up at the corner, and she laughed gently. “And Daddy wouldn’t like that at all. He’d probably yell at Victoria to keep him in, should she go into labour.”
Penelope giggled, and for a brief moment, she wondered how her father would react to becoming a grandparent. Or her mother, for that matter. She almost felt as though they wouldn’t care. She knew that they hadn’t exactly wanted Penelope herself, so it seemed only natural that a grandchild would face the same indifference. It was just another thing that would take time away from them being husband and wife.
Not that they would ever have to worry about such a thing from her. Penelope loved children, but the act required to produce one was not something she wished to experience.
She turned her attention back to the matter at hand as she continued to work on her grandmother’s present. “So you help your sister out a lot, then? With Julia?”
Ruby nodded. “Yes. There’s not much else for me to do. And it seems like the decent thing to do, since they give me a home.”
Penelope cocked an eyebrow. “You live with them? Not with your father?”
“Daddy used to rent a little cottage by the estate where he serves. However, after Mother died from tuberculosis… Well, the last thing he wanted to do was be around such familiar trappings. He asked Victoria and Frank to take me and Liam in, and he moved back into a room at the house where His Grace stays.” Ruby fiddled with her fingers, nervously twisting them together, interlocking them only to release them a moment later. All Penelope wanted to do was entwine her hands with Ruby’s, just to settle her a little. But she knew it was too risky.
“That must be difficult,” Penelope whispered. She wondered how different her life would be if she didn’t always have to see her parents; if they weren’t there, constantly nagging at her, trying to get her to become someone she was not—to carry herself better, stop being so interested in education and politics, to be a good little woman to attract a rich little husband.
Don’t eat so much, sit up straight, a woman should never speak out of term. They tried to chip away everything that made her who she was, and mould her into something they thought acceptable.
“It is. I miss him so much.” Ruby drew a deep breath. “But I love being with my sister and my niece all the time. As does Liam. I think he’s the one who suffers most. He lost his mother at such a young age, and then his father just withdrew from his life. It’s like he’s an orphan.” Ruby’s eyes were locked on her younger brother, watching as he dove around the deck, giggling and screaming whenever another child got too close to him.
He was adept at moving out of the way, and in the hour or so that Penelope had been watching him, she didn’t think she had ever seen him get caught.
“He has you and Victoria. That’s something.”
Ruby only hmmed, so Penelope said no more, not wanting to pull her away from her thoughts. Whatever she was thinking and feeling didn’t last long, however, for a smile appeared on her face. “Enough about me, casting a gloom on the day.” She waved her hand. “Have you heard about First Class? How utterly over-the-top it is?”
Penelope shook her head. “No… What do you mean?”
“Well, the plan with Titanic has always been luxury. And they’ve gone overboard for First Class. There’s everything you could imagine—a gymnasium, fancy restaurants, a swimming pool! Turkish baths!”
“What on earth is a Turkish bath? And how do you even know all of this?”
Ruby laughed. “Well, a Turkish bath is a public area where people sit in a really hot room which makes them sweat, then they bathe in cold water, receive a massage, and sit in a cool room to relax.” Her smile turned wry as she noticed Penelope’s nose wrinkle. “As for how I know, Daddy told me. His Grace likes to boast a little, and so he was telling Daddy all of the things he was looking forwards to aboard the ship.”
“It must be really useful to be close to someone who knows a duke. I don’t think I would have ever learned about such a scandalous thing.” Penelope let out a laugh, feeling her heart soar when Ruby joined in.
“The best thing about the ship, however, is supposed to be the Grand Staircase,” Ruby said.
Penelope raised an eyebrow. “Wait. All of those amazing amenities, and yet the best thing is…a staircase?”
Ruby shuffled so close that the hems of their skirts brushed. Penelope was pretty sure she felt Ruby’s foot stroke her ankle. Her heart stammered, and her hold on her hoop loosened just a little. She cleared her throat as she set it in her lap so that it wouldn’t happen again and give her away.
“I know it sounds silly, but it’s an amazing piece of architecture, according to Daddy. It’s built from solid English oak, there’s a glass dome above it, and it has a chandelier in the centre. On the A Deck there’s supposed to be a stunning clock. It’s framed by angels…and they’re supposed to be…” Ruby trailed off again. Just when Penelope worried that she was never going to speak again, she snapped her fingers and exclaimed, “Glory and Honour! They’re supposed to be Glory and Honour placing a crown atop the clock, so they’re crowning Time! That’s what it’s supposed to be!”
“You seem to know an awful lot about this. Are you sure those are just things you’ve heard from your father?”
A pretty blush spread across Ruby’s cheeks, and she brought her chin down to her chest. “Well, perhaps I did a bit more reading in the library. I find it fascinating how something so utterly huge
and heavy and so ornately lavish can float. How she is forty-six-thousand tons and cannot sink. That’s a wonder, is it not?”
“I can’t say I have ever thought about it much. However”—Penelope’s gaze shifted, and she watched the children run around—“That is…rather Father’s area of expertise. Mathematics and suchlike. I…tend to avoid such things when I can.”
Penelope rather loathed herself for that, because it was something that interested her.
How a ship like Titanic remained afloat. How they built the engines that powered her through the waves. But because she was a woman, she would never learn the answers. Any time she tried to ask her father, he would wave her off and tell her it didn’t concern her.
Once, when she’d tried to read one of his books, she’d been caught and had had to listen to a whole lecture about how mathematics and engineering weren’t suitable subjects for a woman.
She sighed, turning her gaze back to Ruby. “I would love to see that clock, however. Art is the one thing that my family don’t think out of place for a woman to know about. And the concept is rather interesting. ’Tis a shame that it’s always the upper class who receive such benefits, as if anyone lower than a baron doesn’t deserve the arts.” She cringed. “I can only imagine what Third Class facilities must be like.”
“I hear they’re adequate. White Star are trying to focus on luxury, so they’ve made Third Class rather comparable to Second Class on other liners.” Ruby leaned in and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Trust me. I fear you’ve been rather spoiled by your first trip. You won’t know what hit you if you set foot on a ship that isn’t part of the Olympic class.”
“Well, I’m certain this is the only ship I shall be on.” She took a deep breath to summon the courage to lift her gaze and meet Ruby’s head-on. “Thankfully, I’m sharing it with such wonderful company.”
The Breath Between Waves Page 6