‘There you are,’ he teased. ‘You’re a natural.’ Very soon they were gliding along the deck and Flora felt as if she was floating and wished that it could go on forever. The moon was turning the sea to liquid silver and the night took on a magical air. However, after a time he told her regretfully, ‘I suppose I should be getting back in now. My parents will wonder where I’ve got to. Are you sure you won’t come in?’
Flora came back down to earth with a bump as she hastily stepped away from him. Whatever would his parents think of her … a maid!
‘No, thank you, I ought to get back to make sure that Connie doesn’t need anything.’
‘Very well, then hopefully I shall see you at some point tomorrow, Flora. Goodnight.’ Before she knew what was happening he bent his head and as his lips lightly brushed hers her heart started to hammer so loudly in her chest that she was sure he must be able to hear it.
‘Goodnight, Toby.’
He gave her a courteous little bow and she stood as if rooted to the spot until he disappeared back through the doors. When he was gone she raised her hand to touch her lips and just for a second she thought of the kisses she’d shared with Jamie, but she pushed the thought away; he’d made his choice when he ran away. So, smiling to herself, she hurried back to her room where she sat shivering and staring through the cabin window at the stars overhead, reliving every second of the evening in her mind.
The following morning at breakfast Connie remarked, ‘You’re very quiet today. Are you feeling unwell?’
‘Not at all.’ Flora helped herself to another fried egg. All this fresh air was giving her an enormous appetite. ‘On the contrary, I feel wonderful. Who wouldn’t aboard such a lovely ship? Why don’t you come for a stroll this morning? You’re looking a little pale and the fresh air will do you good.’
‘I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to take a turn around the deck but we’ll have to wrap up warmly, it seems to be getting colder by the minute. The steward who brought my cocoa last night said we could be seeing icebergs in another day or so.’
As Flora laid Connie’s clothes out for her she groaned as she saw the belt that Mrs Merry had made for her. ‘Do I have to wear that again today? It’s rubbed all the skin around my middle.’
‘Mine has too,’ Flora admitted. ‘But I have worn it religiously just as I promised her I would.’ Connie’s jewels and papers were evenly spread between the two belts.
‘Let’s just hide them in here for today. It’s hardly likely that anyone is going to come in and steal them, is it? Merry was so worried that I might forget my aunt’s address but I swear it’s burned into my brain even if I were to lose it.’
‘Mine too,’ Flora admitted and promptly pushed both of the belts into the bottom of the wardrobe and covered them with a carpet bag. ‘There!’ She stood back up and rubbed her hands together with a satisfied sigh. ‘It will be nice not to have it digging into me every time I sit down for a while.’
They set off for a brisk walk along the promenade. The first-class deck was decorated in a Tudor style – for once, Flora recognised this – and stretched all along the side of the ship with comfortable padded chairs set down the length of it, where wealthy women in expensive-looking fur coats sat sipping coffee and chatting. The deck was under cover but it was still bitterly cold as the girls stood at the rails looking out at the vast expanse of the ocean. They walked up and down for a little while, until by mid-morning Flora persuaded Connie to go into one of the many salons leading from it. The fragrant aroma of coffee greeted them the second they stepped through the door and they had barely had time to find a seat when a waiter in a snow-white jacket with a little towel folded neatly across his arm hurried over to take their order.
‘Yes, ladies, what may I get for you?’ he purred respectfully and Connie gave him their order.
‘Ah, this is the life,’ Flora remarked, her cheeks pink from the cold air outside. ‘I could get used to being waited on like this.’
‘Instead of you having to wait on me, you mean?’ Connie asked with a grin.
‘No … I didn’t mean that at all. I love working for you,’ Flora told her. ‘But that doesn’t mean to say that I can’t make the most of it, does it? We’ve been sailing for two days already. The voyage will be over before we know it so I’m going to make the most of every minute.’
They enjoyed coffee and fresh-baked biscuits and Connie watched Flora tuck in with amusement. ‘You’ll be the size of a house by the time we get to New York at this rate,’ she teased.
‘I know.’ Flora managed to spray crumbs all down the front of her dress. ‘I really should stop eating so much but everything is so tasty.’
At that moment a heavily made-up, middle-aged woman and a gentleman went by them and leaning towards Connie, Flora whispered, ‘Do you suppose that’s a real mink coat she’s wearing?’
Connie nodded. ‘Undoubtedly. There are some very rich people aboard. She’s probably got a wardrobe full of them.’
‘Blimey!’ The word slipped out before she could stop it and Flora glanced at Connie apologetically. Soon after they embarked on another tour of the ship, this time to the tennis courts, but as lunchtime approached they made their way back to their rooms.
‘I’m not really hungry but get the steward to bring you anything you want,’ Connie told her. ‘I’m going to lie on my bed and read for a while.’
Flora spent a restless hour pacing up and down. She longed to go and see if she could track Toby down but didn’t dare to in case Connie needed anything. She was supposed to be there to cater to her every need after all, although the maids and stewards seemed to be doing a very good job of that. All she was really needed for was to arrange Connie’s hair and help her with dressing and undressing.
It wasn’t until Connie was settled that evening that she managed to get out again and once more she headed for the dining room to stare through the windows, hoping for a sight of Toby. Once again she was mesmerised as she stared at the women in their beautiful gowns and listened to the sound of the orchestra. The dining room was quite stunning with huge marble pillars that reached right up to the ceiling and with the beautiful sweeping staircase rising up from it, the entire scene looked like it had come straight out of a fairy tale.
‘I hope you’re looking for me?’
The voice made her spin around and when she saw Toby standing there her face lit up.
‘I was hoping you’d come,’ he said, and taking her hand he began to lead her away. Soon she was completely lost as they climbed up to the upper decks, but still she followed him trustingly until they came to the lifeboats where he dragged her into the shadows.
‘I know what girls like you want,’ he said as his arms came tightly about her and the first feelings of panic fluttered to life in her stomach. Where was the knight in shining armour who had held her tenderly in his arms and danced the night away with her the night before? He had her backed up tight to one of the lifeboats and now his hands began to roam up and down her body.
‘What are you doing?’ she snapped indignantly as she tried to thrust him away. ‘And what exactly do you mean? Girls like me!’
‘Now don’t be a tease.’ His mouth was pressed against her ear and she began to struggle.
‘Toby … stop it this minute, do you hear me?’ she yelped but he appeared to have gone deaf as he thrust his hand into her cape and viciously squeezed her breast.
‘I shall scream if you don’t stop!’ she warned him and when he ignored her and carried on groping she brought her knee up with all the force she could muster, catching him right between the legs. It was a little tip her brother had taught her years ago if ever she found herself in just this position. He instantly doubled over and reeled away from her as she hastily stepped around him and attempted to straighten her hat which was all askew.
‘You are no gentleman, sir!’ she spat as she sailed past him, but inside she was crying. How could I have been so foolish as to trust him? she berated herself. Men lik
e him felt that girls from the lower classes like me are just there to be used and abused. Didn’t Connie try to warn me? But I was so swept away with him and so flattered at his attention that I wasn’t thinking straight. Well, I certainly won’t make that mistake again, she promised herself, feeling dirty and humiliated as she raced back to her room without once looking back. She couldn’t help thinking how different Toby was to Jamie. Not once in all the time she had known him had Jamie ever attempted to abuse her, nor had he ever treated her with anything other than loving respect. But then Jamie was a true gentleman. She realised now that she had only responded to Toby’s attentions because she was trying to forget the way Jamie had abandoned her, not that she could blame him, and once again she felt bereft.
‘What a difference a day makes,’ Connie remarked the next morning as Flora poured the tea. ‘You were on top of the world yesterday about your new beau but this morning you look as if the end of the world is nigh. What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing … I just have a slight headache, and I er … thought on what you said and decided that I perhaps didn’t want to see him again after all,’ Flora replied sulkily. She was far too humiliated to tell Connie the truth.
‘That must have been the shortest romance in history,’ Connie answered, raising an eyebrow inquisitively, but Flora remained stubbornly silent.
But at least I’ve learned a lesson, Flora told herself silently and tried to go on as if nothing had happened. It had been a very hard lesson indeed.
Chapter Nine
Connie and Flora were strolling along the promenade later that day when to her horror, Flora saw Toby heading towards them with an older couple who she assumed were his parents.
The woman was wearing a long, fur-trimmed coat and the man looked like an older version of Toby. She flushed and averted her eyes but as they drew abreast of them Toby raised his hat and gave Connie a dazzling smile.
‘Good morning, ladies.’
‘Good morning,’ Connie answered and Flora’s humiliation was complete. He hadn’t even glanced at her.
‘He was a very charming, handsome young man,’ Connie remarked when they had passed them. Flora didn’t reply, she had no intention of telling her that he was the man she’d been sneaking out to meet. She just hoped that she would never have to clap eyes on Tobias Johnson again.
The weather had turned even more bitterly cold now and here and there they could see icebergs towering out of the sea.
‘Let’s get back into the warm,’ Connie suggested a few moments later. ‘It’s far too cold to be out here.’
Flora was only too happy to oblige. The extreme change in temperature and the towering icebergs that jutted out of the sea were making her feel nervous. That, on top of seeing Toby, made her feel that the whole trip was ruined for her and she could hardly wait for them to dock in New York now.
They spent the rest of the day in their rooms, reading and resting and Flora was glad when it was time for them to retire.
The next day it seemed even colder and they ventured no further than the ship’s library but luckily, they didn’t bump into Toby again.
‘Just a few more days and we’ll be in New York,’ Flora commented as she brushed Connie’s hair for her that night before they retired.
Connie nodded. She too would be glad when the journey was over now. She was bored.
Flora went to bed at about ten thirty after making sure that Connie no longer needed her and for the first time since they had sailed she fell asleep almost instantly.
Suddenly, she was jolted awake. Glancing at the clock she saw that it was eleven forty-five. There was a loud, piercing grinding noise that seemed to go right through her and set her teeth on edge and she felt the ship shudder. She lay for a moment, eyes wide and staring into the darkness, wondering what on earth had happened. Slowly she became aware that the engine noise that had been in the background since the ship had set sail had fallen silent. Had the engines stopped? Throwing back her covers, she jumped out of bed and rushed into Connie’s room where she found her awake too.
‘Did you hear something?’ Connie asked fearfully as she peeped over the top of the bedclothes.
‘Yes, it was like a grinding noise and I can’t hear the engines. I felt the ship shudder too. What do you think has happened?’
Connie shrugged as she swung her legs out of the bed. ‘I have no idea but it can’t be anything serious, can it? They have said this ship is unsinkable, haven’t they?’
There were noises outside in the corridor then and the girls crept to the door and peeped out to see what was happening. A steward was trying to reassure other passengers who had been awakened and were streaming out into the corridors in their nightclothes.
‘There’s nothing to worry about whatsoever,’ they heard him say. ‘We have hit an iceberg but it just means it might take us a few more days to reach New York than planned.’
Flora glanced at Connie and noticed that she had gone terribly pale and she looked terrified.
‘Come on now, don’t start panicking, you heard what he said,’ Flora urged, squeezing her arm reassuringly although her own heart was beating alarmingly hard. ‘But let’s get dressed, eh? We can go up on deck then and see what’s going on.’
‘I’ll get dressed but I’m not leaving my room,’ Connie retaliated in a wobbly voice. An awful feeling of foreboding had come over her and she couldn’t seem to control it.
Both of them hurriedly got dressed then sat together holding hands, listening to the sound of footsteps hurrying up and down the passageway outside. People were clearly panicking and they could hear them firing questions at the staff.
‘Why have the engines stopped? … What’s happening?’
At that time the staff were obviously trying to calm them but as the minutes passed the sound of doors slamming and running footsteps intensified until suddenly someone hammered on the door and shouted, ‘Get your lifebelts and some warm clothes on and get up on deck immediately.’
‘The squash court and the baggage bay is already submerged,’ someone screamed and now Connie started to tremble.
‘W-we’re going to die,’ she whimpered but Flora gently shook her.
‘No, we are not. Now come along – we’d best get the belts on that Mrs Merry made us then we’ll get our lifebelts on.’ She instantly began to rummage beneath the bags in the wardrobe then slinging the first belt that came to hand at Connie she quickly hoisted her skirt and fastened the second one around her own waist. Connie did the same although it took her longer because her hands were trembling so much, then they grabbed their coats and let themselves out into the hallway where they were immediately swept along by a tide of terrified people. Most of the women were crying and the men were doing their best to comfort them as Connie clung to Flora’s hand.
Once up on deck, Flora’s hand rose to her throat and she suddenly realised that she had left the little silver locket that Jamie had given her in their cabin, it was the only thing she had to remember him by, and she desperately wanted to go back and get it, but the ceaseless jostling of the passengers behind her made her realise there was no way she could make it. Anyway, she couldn’t leave Connie.
As the crowd jostled up the stairs to the lifeboat deck at the top of the ship, they passed the purser’s office. Glancing through the door, Flora caught a glimpse of piles of papers and valuables laid out on a desk, and a crowd of people were clamouring to retrieve their valuables. Suddenly, for the first time, she realised that they were indeed in mortal danger, and she grasped Connie’s hand, partly to reassure herself, and partly to ensure she wouldn’t lose her in the crush of people.
When they finally emerged onto the deck, the cold air hit them like a slap in the face, almost taking their breath away. An officer stepped forward to help them adjust their lifebelts before pushing them none too gently in the direction of the lifeboats, which had already been uncovered. Still holding tight to Connie’s hand, Flora looked at them in dismay. Is this all there is? sh
e wondered. Surely there aren’t enough boats for everyone on board. She looked around, hoping to see some other boats hidden somewhere. But there was just the press of screaming, shivering passengers. Maybe there were some lifeboats stowed on another deck as well, she thought hopefully. She didn’t dare voice her thoughts aloud, though. Connie was in a bad enough panic as it was, and to be honest, for the first time since she had woken up, Flora was beginning to feel that maybe everything wouldn’t be all right.
In addition to the screams of the other passengers and Connie’s sobbing, now they were at the top of the ship, there was a ceaseless, deafening roar of escaping steam, which they hadn’t been aware of while they were inside. It added to the sheer terror of the scene and was too much for Connie, who pulled her hand from Flora’s and put both hands over her ears, screaming, ‘Make it stop! Make it stop!’ Not sure what to do, Flora grabbed her hands and pulled Connie in close, whispering soothingly in her ear. ‘Shh, now, we’ll be safe soon. Don’t you worry, my darling. It’s all going to be fine.’
She hoped Connie couldn’t hear the trembling in her voice, because right then, Flora was not convinced that anything would be all right again. Gradually, Connie quietened, and the girls stood with their arms wrapped around each other and watched wide-eyed as the seamen worked frantically to prepare the boats to be lowered.
Finally, the first one was ready to be hoisted out on long ropes and dangled beside the ship. People were screaming and wailing all around them and the girls were swept forward in the panic-stricken crowd as the sailors shouted for women and children to come forward. Soon they were hanging on to the rail staring down into a lifeboat that was rocking precariously from side to side.
‘I can’t get in that,’ Connie cried in terror as she gazed down into the black sea far below and before Flora could stop her she was off, racing like a hare back the way they had come. Somehow Flora pushed and shouldered her way through the crowd until eventually she caught up with her just as she was about to launch herself into the passage leading back to their state rooms.
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