by Tonie Chacon
Fletcher said, “This is all that was left on the ship three days before sailing. I am sorry, Frances, that and you and Alice cannot be together. It’s just for a little while and then we shall be all together again in New York. Let’s make the best of things, shall we?”
Alice felt like a maid of sorts, but there were benefits to the role. She didn’t get to be with the family, but she would be free to be herself, and be by herself, with no one constantly supervising her. That would be nice.
“Here you go my good man.” Fletcher handed Hemsley a ten pound note, twirled around and pointed at Alice.
“And the young lady’s accommodations?”
Hemsley replied, “If that is all, sir, I shall escort the young woman down to her Second Class accommodations. But this is completely against regulations,” he said. “Second Class passengers are usually left to their own devices. But, all in all.” He glanced down at the note in his hand and said, “Come along miss.”
He started to grab Alice’s elbow, but she sidestepped him and turned to Frances. “Let’s meet on the promenade deck, starboard side for the send off. Half an hour you say? I think I can be back by then. Wait.” She turned to Hemsley. “Why can’t you just come back here after the ship has sailed to fetch me to go to my berth? What say you?” She waited a moment. “Please.”
“Right, then, I’ll go and find others that need my assistance. I will come back and check on things later then.” Hemsley carried himself off in a totally opposite direction, pocketing the ten spot as he walked away. Alice suspected she wouldn’t see him again. No matter. She really just wanted to watch the launch. She would find her own way to her cabin later, just like the rest of the Second Class passengers.
Alice turned to Frances and said, “Let’s go and wave to the people on the shore. It will be a while before we shall see your homeland again.”
THE WESTBROOKES ARRIVED at the station in plenty of time for the launch. Emily noticed the Cheswicks’ tan, two-toned Rolls Royce, two cars back. “My, my, my, the plot thickens.” Thank God she’d had to turn around to talk to Ethan. She would not have even noticed the Cheswicks if Ethan hadn’t been blabbering on about some gentleman he wished was sailing with him. Her mind must have been wandering because she was so caught up in her surprise. She saw them, all of them, just to the right of his shoulder. She’d had no idea that they would actually take up her brother’s offer and join them. She’d thought it was just party talk. Now to find out they were here, it certainly changed the scenery. This trip was going to be even more delicious than she had originally thought.
Alice and Frances climbed out of the first car. They didn’t really resemble one another, did they? Hmm, how exciting to have both of them on this beautiful, huge ship, without too many restraints. Really, where could they go? There was Alice. Such delights that woman gave Emily at the tea and in the garden, and almost again in the cloakroom at the Sterling affair. What a voyage this has become. Titanic was a ship of dreams. Emily’s were already coming true.
“Come along Ethan.” Emily flagged down a porter, gave him a ten dollar piece, and pointed to the pile of two trunks and three bags, all clearly marked for storage.
“I shall keep this one with me in our suite. Ethan, come along.” Emily started walking along the pier to their gangplank. “Let’s go up to the First Class promenade deck and wave goodbye to a gracious country. I know I had fun. We have received so many new prospects for business in the coming year and more with crossings of the Atlantic becoming faster and more luxurious with each ship. Westbrooke Shipping will do well in the coming years. I’m glad we came on this voyage. Stand tall, my brother, for you are a Westbrooke. Maybe your boyfriend is down there waving goodbye to you. With you at the helm and me doing everything else that needs to be done, Westbrooke Shipping will be unsinkable,” she said, borrowing the new cliché of Titanic.
They entered the ship through the First Class gangplank. “Here,” Emily said. “Here is a nice view of the people on the dock waving at us. Let’s stand toward the bow, by a railing and wave back. They seem very excited for us to go. No more, I suppose, than I am to leave. Come on.”
More and more passengers were coming aboard, starting to form rows along the rail going three deep. The excitement filling the air was almost too much. Never before had Emily seen so many passengers making a spectacle of the launching of a ship. People were laughing and crying, waving and singing, and even dancing. The excitement rose from steerage up to the D deck and beyond.
Emily’s eye caught a twinkle. She turned to her right and it flashed again. It was a mirrored piece on a young woman’s hat. Well, isn’t this nice? It was Alice. Emily smiled. It was kismet, it must be. It was only a five- to seven-day voyage or less, if the boasts of speed were accurate. It was so little time. She might as well get started. She let her gaze fall heavily on Alice.
Finally Alice looked over and caught Emily staring at her. Her eyes popped and Emily saw her give a gasp, just a little one, like the one Emily had heard that night, just barely audible. Alice smiled, shyly, almost demure. Good enough.
Emily threw her a wink and smiled seductively. She turned around to fully face the leaving pier and heard the snap of lines breaking. A nearby ship broke from its moorings from the waves created by the moving Titanic. She could read the name of the ship, New York, on its bow, they were that close. Following the starboard gunnels she could see the loose New York and the tugs bearing down on her. Emily thought the ship was on a crash course with them, and the maiden voyage of Titanic would be doomed before it even started. At the last moment, she felt a forward thrust in Titanic’s engines. The New York went safely behind them as they started bearing toward open sea. Emily linked her arm with Ethan’s and started waving. All in a dignified way, of course. She was a Westbrooke, after all.
Chapter Eight
10 April 1912 — Launch Day
AS THE SHIP started to pick up speed on the open water, Megan decided it was time to go find her cabin. She hadn’t seen hide nor hair of her brother, thank the Lord. The major hustle and bustle that had energized the passengers at the very beginning of movement from shore had come to a close. People running along the pier waving and shouting simply ran out of pier.
They were on their way. It was only a little after one o’clock. She thought she would stroll around the decks and breathe in the calming atmosphere, not the frantic goodbye scenes that she’d had to endure a bit ago.
A tuxedo-clad man opened a door to an airy tiled hall with small tables and a few brocade chairs. They did know how to make one feel like royalty. She wondered if there were any on board. Royalty, that is. She sidestepped several groups of people and soon found herself on a magnificent staircase that led off into two directions. There were small golden cherubs with wings at the bottom of the staircase. A delicately placed golden ribbon wound around the cherubs’ bodies. She moved to the other side of the staircase and discovered an elevator. The young man who ran it said that he had been so very busy, but she could come back and ride with him up and down if she wanted to. He smiled and wiggled his eyebrows at her, and she laughed. She was used to that sort of behavior from talk at the pub.
A group of young children raced around a corner yelling at one another, running like the wind. She felt their excitement and was nearly tempted to join them. A smile crossed her face. She was happy. No, she was ecstatic. Beyond free. She felt no sadness here. She had taken the chance, she had leaped the leap and now, here she was, on board this magnificent ship on her way to meet her new life and make new friends in a new country with adventures she would create herself. Titanic, you are a ship of dreams.
With her arms spread wide, Megan made a wide circle, but stopped abruptly when her fingers grazed another woman’s hat.
“I’m so terribly sorry. I shall watch where I do that from now on,” Megan mumbled, catching her breath as her eyes were penetrated by the intense blue irises staring at her from under her hat. The woman wore a seductive smile. It
made Megan wonder. Did the woman mean something in particular with that smile, or did she look at everyone that intensely? Megan hurried to catch the open door that led to a foyer before it closed.
ALICE FOLLOWED THE hallway marked Cabins 10-25 after she got out of the elevator on Deck D. She looked down the long hallway and saw doorknobs sticking out of the little alcoves for the doorways. The gleaming wood was still apparent throughout the hallway of the Second Class wing. Wainscoting lay underneath the handrails on each side of the hallway. She followed them until she reached her cabin.
She entered and stood in the middle of the room and assessed the place. There were bunk beds on each side, attached to the wall. Two sets, an upper and a lower.
With luck she wouldn’t get a roommate. It didn’t appear as if anyone else had arrived. Alice decided to sleep on the lower bunk and use the upper for her bags and things. She sat on the bunk and glanced about the room. It was a very efficient use of space. She especially liked the dressing table that was fastened to the floor and the sink that was secured to the wall by anchors. It had the same wallpaper as upstairs, the same gleaming wood accents, but it didn’t quite have the luxurious feeling.
It wasn’t at all as nice as the Cheswicks’, even if Frances did have to share with her mother and father. Alice supposed she was lucky she got placed down here in Second Class at all, with it being last minute. It was a lot more compact than the First Class rooms. She took a deep breath, exhaled, and yawned deeply.
She needed to rest her eyes for a moment. No one would miss her. Alice settled back with her head on the edge of the pillow and sighed. Her feet were still on the floor, feeling the low rumbling of the engines, far away in some unknown part of the ship. She could feel the chugging of the propellers through the water taking them, eventually, to America. What a lovely holiday it would be.
Should she be more excited about seeing her homeland? She hadn’t set foot on American soil for over a decade now. It made her wonder if she would feel like an American or if she had changed so much that she was an English woman now. She swung her legs around to rest them on the bed. She almost whimpered, it felt so good. She should have removed her shoes. It felt nice. Quiet even. The engines underneath were lulling and thrumming back and forth, side to side.
She had just fallen asleep when the door of the cabin banged open and a woman in a large purple hat with a white plume stepped into the room.
“Oh my, but this is a splendid room. Very efficient. Huh. I did put us up well, don’t you think?” the woman asked earnestly.
Alice sat up, startled. She stared at the woman, trying to place where she had seen her. She remembered the face. It was a beautiful one. But where...
The woman spoke again. “How do you do. I’m Megan Mahoney, in case you don’t remember. Do you remember? The White Star Line Ticket office? I helped you with your tickets, you and the Cheswicks?
Beautiful Frances? Err, Southampton?”
Alice felt her hand being grasped and pumped like it was a water spigot. She supposed it was a handshake.
Megan said, “I say, it’s all right if you don’t remember. I didn’t mean to scare you like I have. I’m sorry. I just remember a lot of odd things, and people’s faces are one of them. I was just really glad to see a face I knew in all this sea of strangers. May I put my bags up here, if that be all right?”
Alice nodded. She still hadn’t let go of Megan’s hand. Flustered, she released it, and motioned that it was fine to put her bags on the upper bunk opposite Alice’s.
“So, after you and Frances left my office it started me to thinking. Hey, what about me? I mean, I could use a holiday too. No, I deserve a holiday. Why not Titanic? I looked and saw that the cabin I put you in met all my needs and so I placed myself in here with you. I hope I didn’t overstep my boundaries, but I couldn’t leave our meeting on board again to chance. I needed to control it a little. If this arrangement isn’t to your liking, then we shall find me another suitable room. I took it to heart when you said we could be friends. I could certainly use a friend on board, like you and Frances. That’s why I chose you. You seemed to have such a special relationship. I want to have that kind of friendship like you and Frances have. The fun, the bickering, like family. Special,” Megan said brightly.
“Oh, I should think not. No, not at all.” Alice got up quickly. How could this strange woman think that she and Franny had that sort of intimate relationship? “Franny and I are not, no, no, I can’t even begin to explain it to you, but Franny and I certainly do not have a relationship like you describe. She is like my little sister.”
With that, Alice swept out of the room and down the hall. She hesitated just outside the door to the promenade deck, then pushed forward and swept through the doors and stood thinking about what had just transpired.
A fresh breeze cooled her hot cheeks. Megan Mahoney was here. That beautiful clerk that she had haphazardly asked if she wanted to join them. Flirting was what she had done. Was that so bad? No, once again it showed she had good taste in women. But to be taken up like that, after her casual words, was a shock. A pleasant shock, though, now that its freshness wore off a bit. She could think about a special relationship with that one. She took a deep breath to regain her composure and returned to the cabin.
“Oh dear me,” Alice said. “I always get so flustered and then I run. Now I’m back to start once again. Miss Mahoney, how good it is to see you again. Yes, in answer to your question, I do remember you and would be delighted to work on that close special relationship you were mentioning. These next few days with our own cabin and the whole ship to explore, I’m sure we will have a fabulous time discovering new places and getting to know each other. I am so glad you took me at my word and joined me. It did take me quite by surprise. And now that I am back, let me make some room for your things and then let’s go find Frances. I am scheduled to meet her on the promenade deck in—oh, what time is it now? In just a few minutes. You are welcome to join us if you’d care to.”
“Oh, yes, I surely would,” Megan said, “but give me a little time to get my things sorted out and I’ll catch up with you on the promenade deck.”
“Meet us at the clock in twenty minutes. You know the one on the stairs. The carved one with two women on it gazing at each other adoringly. At least I think so. Nothing but time separates them. Anyway, meet us there.”
“WE’LL BE BACK soon,” Alice assured Fletcher and Helene. “We want to wave goodbye to England.” She ushered Frances through the door and closed it behind them.
“Hurry up. We’re going to be late. It’s been over twenty minutes.”
“So?” Frances asked. “England isn’t going anywhere.”
“Well, I made plans with my roommate to join us and we are late.”
“A roommate?” Frances said suspiciously.
“Yes. You remember the woman who helped us with our accommodations at the White Star Line? Her name was Megan?”
“I remember her. You were all caught up in her name. Dripping like honey or something like that. Why?”
“Because that is who we are meeting,” Alice said. She tried not to act too excited. Frances had a tendency to get a little jealous when Alice made a new friend. “Come on. We’re meeting her by the clock. We passed it on our way to your cabin.”
Frances stopped. “Megan Mahoney is your roommate?”
“Yes, now come along. We mustn’t keep her waiting.” Alice noted the stubborn look on Frances’s face and tried to think of a way to entice her. “This will be fun, won’t it Frances? To have a third person to play with on our voyage?”
“I thought it would just be the two of us,” Frances said.
“Well, if two is good, then three will be better,” Alice said. “Now, come along please.”
They reached the top of the stairs and looked down to the landing. Alice’s heart bumped an extra beat as she watched Megan approach the clock and study it. Megan’s face took on an almost angelic appearance as she stared at
the women in the clock and reached up to touch the ribbon covering them. Alice cleared her throat.
Megan looked up and a smile broke out on her face. She acted happy to see them. Alice was elated at the thought. “Megan, did you see what I was talking about when I mentioned the clock?”
Megan blushed.
Alice walked down the stairs to meet up with Megan. “You remember Frances, don’t you? Frances, what are you doing up there? Here, come down and meet Megan Mahoney again, properly this time.”
Frances walked down the stairs and took Megan’s hand, almost politely, and said, “Oh, yes, I remember you quite well. I thought you had a job? You certainly do look different though, with your hair down and all. But that hat? Wait a moment. That’s the hat from the window I was looking at, after we left your office. I didn’t buy it, but obviously you did. How funny that you like so many things I like. I can say that at least you have good taste.” Frances glanced over at Alice, then turned back to Megan, smiled and asked, “Why are you here?”
Alice glared over at her and answered, “Miss Mahoney is on holiday, same as us. Isn’t that marvelous?”
“Please, call me Megan, both of you.”
“All right, I’m Alice, and this is Frances.”
“Oh, I want to stay with you two. Are there any more bunks where you are?” Frances asked.
“Um, I’ll have to see,” Alice said. “Everyone is not on board yet. You should just stay where you are. You have much nicer accommodations than ours.”
They descended the stairs and went out onto the promenade deck. The crowds had dispersed and they had it nearly to themselves. Alice smiled and felt a glow of satisfaction as, being in the middle, she glanced back and forth between the two beautiful women. They started walking at a slow pace, each seemingly lost in her own thoughts, glancing out to the sea and beyond.