The shipbuilder's daughter

A nice afternoon in third class

"Excuse me" she says. "Would it be possible to eat something? I'll take what you have left, don't mind me" she specifies. "Of course miss" answers a nice lady who then starts to prepare a plate for her.

"Mommy, look! It's the lady who wears pants" exclaims a little voice. Lily turns around to be in front of the little boy she had met the day before, on the docks. "Tim!" his mother yelled at him. It's not polite, I've already told you. She turns her attention back to Lily. "Miss, I'm sorry. He's young, he don't mean any harm" tells the mother of the boy, apparently named Tim. "Everything is fine, no problem. I can understand how this could be strange for him.. Or anyone" says Lily. The mother seems a little reassured, although still embarrassed by this situation that was happening for the second time.

"Is everything okay?" then asks a voice that seems to come from behind Lily's back. She turns around again and this time comes face to face with Jack, Tommy's friend she met this morning. "Of course!" she replies. "This little boy was surprised at my outfit, but there's absolutely no harm done. It's understandable" she said, now turning her attention back to the kitchen lady who was handing her a plate of food. There were a few slices of roast beef, a jacket-potato and some beans. "Thank you" says Lily, picking up the plate. Jack looks at her, a little surprised. "Are you having lunch here?" he asks. "Yes, I am. I have a lot of work to do and I couldn't see myself going back to first class for lunch. It would have cost me valuable time" she explains. Jack nods his head in agreement. "Well, come and sit with us then. I mean, if you'd like" he offers.

Lily agrees. "It's very kind of you, thank you" she replies. She then follows Jack who takes her to the place where he was having lunch with Tommy and Fabrizio - who was in conversation with a young woman who sounded like being from the north.

"Look who I've just bumped into" Jack says to the small group. They all look up at Lily with welcoming - if somewhat surprised - eyes. Tommy remains subdued, but he is genuinely pleased to meet her again. He makes a little room for her to come and sit next to him.

"Why are you having lunch here?" Fabrizio asks, which may sound a bit rude, but it's not. Jack and Tommy, however, look at him with a frown to mark the impertinence of his question, but Lily is not offended. She understands what he is getting at. "While we're having luxurious meals up there, aren't we? No doubt, but I have very little time. As I was explaining to Jack, it was more convenient for me to have lunch here before I get back to work" she explains again. Fabrizio nods before turning to his new friend. "Helga, this is Lily. She is the shipbuilder's daughter" he says. Again, Jack and Tommy look somewhat exasperated, but it is obvious that Fabrizio's slight lack of tact was in all innocence.

"Nice to meet you" Lily simply says to Helga, smiling. Helga seems very nice, but a little lost though. Lily soon realised that she didn't speak English, but managed to communicate as best as she could.

"How's it going so far?" asks Tommy, referring to Lily's work. "Not too bad, I must say. Everyone seems to be having a great experience on the Titanic, it's very rewarding. My dad will be delighted" she explains. "He can. You both can. It really is an exceptional ship" replies Tommy. He still couldn't realize he was talking to Thomas Andrews' daughter though. "Thank you very much" replies Lily, smiling at him. She continues with the story of her day: "I then met the officers, who are very good men. I was able to interview two of them to get a first impression" she tells.

Lily begins to eat her meal, which she actually finds very good. From the first fork she notices that the small group is watching her discreetly, probably because they're wondering if she would be disappointed compared to the first class meal. That said, the Titanic was a very luxurious ship, even in third class. In fact, it was so much more luxurious that third class here was the equivalent of second class on any other ship.

Unlike the first meeting this morning, Jack and Fabrizio are now acting normally with her. They are interested in Lily, so they had a lot of questions. "So, you work with your father right? Isn't that difficult sometimes?" asks Jack. "Difficult in what way?" asks Lily. "You mean, is it the job that's difficult or just the fact that there's no room for a working woman?". Jack pauses before answering, enjoying the frankness of this discussion. "I would say both" he replies.

"As you can imagine, it is not always easy. In both cases" explains Lily, who has just finished her plate. She then takes a cigarette from her pocket and lights it. "Firstly, it's a job that requires a lot of attention to detail. But I like it. I work for my father, which should make me feel better because he is the one who carries all the responsibility. But it sometimes frightens me to think that the slightest mistake on my part could tarnish his reputation. You see what I mean?" she says. They all nod their heads. "Of course" replies Jack. "And as for the other difficulty" resumes Lily, "yes, it is true that it's not always easy to deal with people's looks. Beyond work, many people are obviously shocked by my outfit. But you have to understand that it's obviously not a matter of coquetry! It would not have been possible for me to work in a dress" she explains. "Looks good on you" Tommy simply comments, eager to be nice, though he meant it sincerely.

❇

"I should go" says Lily after chatting with them for a while. "Won't you stay with us a bit longer?" offers Jack, before giving Tommy a quick look. "I'd love to, but I've got so many places to check out" explains Lily. "Why don't you just take a little more time to check out third class? Over a beer in the general room?" offers Jack, unable to hide an amused smile. Lily laughs at the suggestion: "Clever!" she says. "Yes, come on! Stay with us!" adds Fabrizio. Lily took a second to think about it and then, without really knowing why, she turns to Tommy as if to get his opinion on the matter. "It's up to you if you have too much work, but yeah it's great if you stay a little longer" he says. 

Lily smiles at him. They look at each other for a brief moment, before being interrupted by Jack: "Let's go then!". So Lily, Tommy, Jack, Fabrizio and his friend Helga get up to leave the dining room, heading for the general room.

On the way, Lily and Tommy walk side by side in the back. "You seem less talkative than you were this morning" she points out. Tommy can't help laughing at this remark. "Well, it's true that sometimes I'm not much of a talker" he says. "But to be honest, I'm a bit uncomfortable" he adds. "You see, the guys...". "Keep giving you sidelong looks?" interrupts Lily. 

Tommy looks at her, surprised. "I told you, noticing details is part of my job. And it hasn't escape my notice" Lily explains, smiling at him to let him know there was no harm done though. "I'm sorry about that" says Tommy. 

After a brief moment of thinking, Lily stops and grabs the young Irishman's arm. Dazed, he stops and looks at her. She then places her index finger on her lips, to make him understand not to say anything to the others who were still moving forward. "Follow me" she says. She pulls lightly on Tommy's arm to take him with her, losing the small group in all discretion. After a few minutes, Fabrizio, who wanted to say something to Tommy, turns around. "Where are they?" he asks, noticing that they have vanished. Jack turns around as well. After a short moment, he looks at his friend with an impish smile.