Cold All the Way Through, But Warming

Shipboard Antics

Tired of listening to his mumbled math, I waved down a steward as he walked by. "Pardon me, but do you happen to know how fast we are going?"

"Looking to win the lottery?" The steward laughed, "Well, I can certainly ask for you ma'am, but I don't think we're going over fourteen knots. We haven't gone any faster than that and I've been on this ship for ten years." I smiled, sending him on his way.

With a hand on my hip, I turned to Will. "Satisfied?"

"I'll want to take some measurements tonight." He stepped back from the railing, "I did pack a few of my instruments. I don't suppose you'd mind?"

"Of course not, after dinner though." I took his arm, and we slowly ambled back belowdecks. I had saved my finest gowns for Paris and London, but the shimmering silver silk that I wore was still beautiful. Silky charmeuse was draped around my hips, a beaded belt showing off my waist. Louise had even placed my sapphires in my hair and around my neck. It was one of the few times I saw Will get dressed, and I was almost frustrated by how simple everything was. All he had to do was don a finer jacket for dinner and place his tie stick in place. I shook my head as we left the room, "You have it far too easy in terms of getting dressed."

"Did you enjoy watching Reggie hand me my gloves?" Will teased, those self same gloves reaching over to pinch my hand. "I quite enjoyed watching Louise get you into your gown." His lips brushed my ears, his voice a whisper. "I'll enjoy getting you out of it much more."

I blushed. "Oh stop it, you. Remember, you wanted to go get measurements tonight and calculate out where we are."

"That will only take a moment, and the night is long." Will growled theatrically, pulling me closer to him. I laughed as my feet got caught up for a moment, and he generously allowed me a moment to collect myself before we continued into the dining saloon. The food we had been receiving was refined and tasty, but tonight we were expecting an even better spread. The captain had invited us to dine at his table, in celebration of our marriage.

He was there already, in his formal uniform and with champagne already on ice. He stood, reaching out to take Will's hand. "Mr. Murdoch, congratulations. I'm honored you and Mrs. Murdoch chose my ship to take."

"Thank you for inviting us," Will managed after a moment, shaking his hand. "It was a pleasant surprise to get your invitation for tonight, Captain Pierce." We all settled down at the table, allowing the stewards to step forward and begin serving the first course. Will took a drink of water before speaking again. "You run a tight ship, I'm quite impressed."

"I shall take that as a compliment." Captain Pierce nodded, "Knowing that you have served on such grand ships makes it even more impressive."

"Yes, well," Will ducked his head a bit. "I never strayed to those areas much, let alone resided in them as a passenger."

"Still, we are quite pleased with everything." I patted his arm as I began to start in on the soup that had been brought. "Especially the dinner tonight."

"My crew and I are quite flattered." Captain Pierce tucked into his own soup at that. It was only after the last bits of potato soup had been scooped up and savored that he spoke again. "If there is anything that we can do to make your crossing more pleasant, you have only to let us know."

Will was already cutting into the salmon that had been presented to him. "The only thing I could think of is some paper, I was going to show Ana here how to calculate your position based on the stars tonight, but I'm afraid I haven't had the chance to get my hands on some."

"Of course," Captain Pierce waved over a steward, relaying the request. He seemed a rather quiet man, simply asking how we enjoyed the food, the ship, the weather, but falling quiet in between courses. In the end, it was a rather quick dinner, for Captain Pierce was not a man to indulge in drink or in a cigar after dinner, instead excusing himself to return to the bridge. Which meant that Will and I made a quick stop at the cabin for his navigation tools, a pen and the paper that had been placed there by a steward. It took a moment to find a place he felt was suitable, and I was in charge of the case while he started writing out the formulas.