In the end, Will was willing to let me use Ada's sewing machine to keep me from dragging him to Savile Row. It was somewhat strange to have him watch me a I cleaned it, the dust revealing that it was actually a well made machine in good condition. It needed oiling though, fortunately some had been left in the drawers in its cabinet. Will, in the desk chair, watched as I shook up the oil and applied it to the points on the machine, "I never would have figured you for knowing how to run one of these."
I placed a few drops in the last hole, spinning the belt fed wheel in my hand to distribute it. the machine resisted slightly, but slowly began running smoothly as I worked it. I looked over my shoulder, "My father was very practical in terms of my education. And unlike the time he thought I should take up fencing, my mother agreed with him that I should learn to use a sewing machine."
"So what other practical subjects did you cover?" He asked, his voice light.
"Horseback riding, even astride." I couldn't help but smirk at him over my shoulder, "Swimming, archery, tennis, he was very adamant that I exercise. And he pushed for mathematics, history, and whatever else struck him as useful." The machine running smoothly now, I turned to the treadle. The footboard needed little work, running quickly under my feet. The leather belt feeding the motion to the machine though was rather loose, and I released the hook from the end of it. "My mother wanted me to learn dancing and embroidery, copperplate and fine sewing. She even had a tutor teach me poetry, although he despaired about my sketching."
"Is there anything you didn't learn?"
"Languages, just couldn't get them to stick." I shook my head, thinking of the tutors who had tried to impress innumerable French lessons into me. Sitting and conjugating verbs in French, Italian and German had seemed so boring when I could have been chasing after a tennis ball or working on the draw on my bow. Mother had constantly despaired of my ignorance until my coming out, at that point my education had been considered complete and she had to content herself with the fact the I could sew a straight seam and tread water for over an hour. Ada had stored an awl in one of the drawers, and I used it to poke a hold in the leather belt and thread the hook through it. I glanced over to Will, "I don't suppose you know any other languages?"
"Scots, or Gaelic if you want to get specific about it." Will countered, "Not that I have much occasion to use it."
I watched as the needle quickly moved through the plate on the bottom of the machine, the now tight belt moving smoothly. "Say something in it."
"Chan urrainn dhomh a chreidsinn gu bheil thu còmhla rium". Will had to think for a moment before speaking, his voice rising and the burr in it thick.
I worked the bobbin case out and set the bobbin itself on the winder, "And what does that mean?"
"I can't believe you're with me," I felt Will slide his arms around my shoulders, "Do you need me to get changed yet?"
"You can, I'll have to get ahold of some pins before I get to work." I leaned back into his touch, "And wear your suit inside out, it makes it easier to adjust the seams." He came back, looking rather foolish in his suit, but I set to with pins. First was the jacket, already well fitted but I brought it in a little around his waist. I'd have to pick the lining off to adjust the seams, but that would not take too long. With the jacket finished, I set to on the waistcoat. It was easier, already making Will's waist look trim, but I still brought it in just a bit. I felt Will move under me, jerking away. "You're not ticklish are you?"
"No," He swallowed, "Just a bit nervous of the pins."
"Please Will, do you know how many times I've been stuck during a fitting? It doesn't even hurt that much." I set my fingers to undoing the buttons of his waistcoat, setting it aside. The trousers were all that was left, and I knelt down to work on them. It would have been better if I had something for Will to stand on, but he was flat on the floor. I wadded up my skirt under my knees to provide some cushion, and focused on the trousers. I could bring them in a little, and I gently pulled the fabric tighter. I had just slipped a pin into the wool when the material seemed to move, I looked up. "Will, if you don't stand still I might prick you."
"Ana, for the love of God, don't say prick right now." He was staring straight ahead, his jaw tight. I heard him breath heavily through his nose, "Don't look."
I let my eyes drift down, noting that the front of his trousers was currently straining. "Oh, dear. Did I do something to, bring it about?" I hadn't even noticed him rising, I had been so focused on the fitting.
"Looking at you, on your knees, in front of me." Will practically grunted, "It will go away, it just takes time."
"I could help it go away quicker," I let my hands find the back of his thighs, bringing my face close to him. My lips were practically on him, the fabric only stopping me. His fingers found their way into my hair, gently pulling my head up. His dark eyes were intense, and I felt my lips drop open. "Do you want me to?"
"Fuck, I want nothing more." He grunted, and I pressed a kiss to him through his trousers. His hips twitched under me, the fingers in my hair tightening. "But not now, just finish the trousers and I can take care of it."
"If you're sure."
"God Ana, just get the pins in so I can get them away from my legs." He released his fingers from my hair, and I tried to focus on getting the pins in as quick as I could. It only took a few minutes, and Will slipped off to the bathroom. I contented myself with unpicking the lining of the jacket, only opening the areas where I needed to work. I had already started on bringing in the side seams when Will came back, dressed in his shirtsleeves and a pair of trousers, on properly this time.
He set the trousers across the sewing machine before sitting in the chair, "I'm sorry about that, it's hard to control it around you sometimes."
"Does it feel good? If I were to," I blushed, looking down to my work. "Use my mouth? I'm sorry, I don't want to sound vulgar but I haven't really been with someone like that. I've heard it is nice, when performed on either party."
Will was a solid red when I looked back up, his eyes blank. "Um, yes. It does feel good, very good. And yes, I've seen that ladies can enjoy it."
"We could try it, sometime." I pulled the lining back into place, pinning it quickly before setting to whipping it back in place. The jacket really had needed little work, the waistcoat even less. I would have to use the machine on the trousers though, stitching the new seam and unpicking the old one so that it would like smoothly. I smiled at Will, still frozen in his chair. "If you would like."
"I, I should. Very much." He stood up, brushing down his shirt and deliberately avoiding looking at me. "If it's alright, I shall go find Moody and let him know that you are finding us places in your company. Do you know exactly what they will be?"
"No, not specifically." I pulled the waistcoat to my hands, quickly basting a correction to a side seam in. "I'll have to speak to Mr. Welton and inform him of my decision. It should not be too much of a problem, I'm sure there are places for a senior officer and a junior one." I caught Will's hand just before he stepped out to get dressed fully. "You know letting me do this isn't going to stop me from dragging you to Selfridges, right?"
"I know, although you know my parents would be content to see you in what you have on now." He pressed a kiss to my hair, "But if you want to impress them, then I can certainly be your audience at the shop." Tracking Moody down seemed to take him the rest of the day, and I had moved down to the parlor by the time he returned. In fact, James was trailing in his wake, his plain hat in his hands. I looked up from picking apart the old seam in Will's trousers, "James, it's so nice to see you again."
"Miss Dalian, thank you, thank you, thank you." He was practically shaking as he stood, "I was so worried, and my parents took the news from White Star poorly, but to hear-"
"James, sit." I gestured to the chairs, "I'll get some tea. It's quite alright." By the time I returned with Will's plain tea set he had managed to calm slightly, and he took the cup from me with a smile. "Now, I can't say which position you'll get, but I'm sure we have something open."
"I'll take anything Miss Dalian." James sipped at his tea, and I felt the settee settle as Will sat next to me. "Thank you for telling me, Mr. Murdoch."
"James, you may call me Anastasia, you know."
"Miss Dalian, if you are to be my employer, I cannot do that." The poor boy blushed slightly, "Although I am given to understand that sometime soon I will be calling you Mrs. Murdoch. Congratulations, to both of you."
"Thank you James, would you like to stay for dinner?" Will sipped at his own tea, slipping his hand around mine.
"Thank you, but no, sir. My parents wish me to come up before my new employment begins, I am afraid I must pack."
"Well then, I'll send you a wire when I know exactly what position you'll be given." I nodded, and James quickly finished his tea before donning his hat and leaving. I leaned back, feeling Will's arm slip around my waist. I caught his eye, 'He seemed happy."
"Why shouldn't he be? They told him the same lines they told me, poor boy was scared out of his wits that he was finished. And then you pull him back to his feet."
"I'll need to get that settled tomorrow, that way I can arrange for your salaries to continue. I'm afraid we'll have to put Selfridges off for another day."
"And that delay will be torture for me," Will pulled me to his shoulder, "I'm sure you know how much I was looking forward to it."
I snorted, "You are horrible, now, do you have an iron? I need to get these seams pressed."
Mr. Welton practically had an apoplectic fit when I arrived at the offices the next afternoon and told him what I was planning. His face made an interesting march from his regular coloring, to a pale white, and then a rush of red overcame him. "Miss Dalian, you cannot just demand employment for two men with no warning. We have many ships, but I cannot tell you exactly which ones have open positions at the moment!"
"Mr. Welton, who is one of the owners of this company?" I looked up from the register of ships that I had placed on the desk in my, now clean, office. The fact that they had rushed through cleaning it was obvious, the models and books had been all out of order and I had enjoyed making Mr. Welton wait outside while I had corrected the placement. It wasn't that I disliked the man, he had been in his position for several years, I simply felt he needed to recognize who was in charge. There was no better way to do that then to call him up and have him wait until I was ready.
I heard his feet shift, he had not been invited to sit when I had called him in. "You are, Miss Dalian. But so is your mother, and I feel she should be consulted on decisions like this. We don't even know if these men are qualified."
"They both posses their Master's certificates, and Mr. Murdoch his Extra Master's certificate." I leaned back, lacing my fingers together. "The British Board of Trade certainly seems to think they are qualified."
"And you what ship they last served on," His voice was low, and he fairly glared down at me. "Imagine what that will do to the men on the ships they serve on? I know you have little knowledge of sailors, due to your sex, but they are a very superstitious lot. I have no doubt some will refuse to serve with them."
"I have known about sailor's superstitions since I was a girl, Mr. Welton." I returned his glare, "You forget that I was raised knowing I would take over the company someday."
"My apologies, Miss."
"I am not demanding that they immediately join up to an established crew." I spun the register around, pointing to the newest entry. "I know our newest ship has not even launched, I toured the shipyard she was in back in New York. You will assign Mr. Moody and Mr. Murdoch to her compliment of officers, her captain may interview them and decide the best placing for them when she is closer to setting out. Surely he would appreciate having a senior officer and a junior officer already selected to join him? Ones with the proper qualifications and plenty of experience?"
"He might, but that ship is months from being finished, you want them to receive salaries for months without working?" His nose wrinkled, and he bent to study the register.
"We cannot risk losing qualified men." I stood, drawing myself up. "I recognize that you care about the company Mr. Welton, and I appreciate that. It is why my family has trusted you to handle matters here. What I ask for is far little compared to what others in my place have, correct?"
"Yes, I suppose." He shook his head, "But you understand the men will talk, saying that you're putting your fiancé and his friend in a prime place simply because of their relation to you."
"I am putting them there because they are good sailors." I smiled, letting my brows rise slightly, "And because I know they can be trusted, due to my relation with them. Can you please have the contracts drawn up and sent to their homes? We will need to get their payment started as well."
"Yes, Miss." He turned on his heel, and I could already hear him ordering the clerks to get to work on ironing out the wording on the contracts. I kept myself busy at the desk, reviewing accounts and client statements until the numbers started to spin in my mind. Will had escorted me to the offices and promised to pick me up by six, which meant that by the time he arrived I had a raging headache going from trying to force the accounts through my skull.
"Perhaps some aspirin would help." Will said as he opened the door, taking in the sight of me rubbing my temples at the desk.
"Very funny, Will." I grumbled, "Did the contract get to you? I told them I wanted it done before the end of the day."
"Oh yes, everything is settled. Although an assignment your new ship? Is that the wisest course right now?" He had come behind me, his hands finding my shoulders.
I leaned back, looking up at his eyes. "It's the best I can manage at the moment, the captains get a little fussy if you start trying to shuffle their officers around at a moment's notice. Plus, you'll be on her as soon as her trials start. Plenty of time to get familiar with her."
"Does she have a name yet?"
"Not that I'm aware, the plans have just listed her as Ship 127."
"You have a hundred and twenty six ships?"
"Well, starting from my grandfather's time, we have had that many. Of course our actual fleet is about fifty ships, spread across the globe."
"And is Ship 127 going to be on the Southampton route?"
"I wouldn't have picked it for you if it wasn't." I pushed my chair back, letting him take my arm and lead me from the offices. "It's being constructed in New York, it's not as if I'm going to have you come around Cape Horn to start the run back here, you know."
Selfridges was almost an altar to fashion and shopping, it was even designed to look like an ancient temple. The boat train had brought us up, and we had return tickets for the afternoon run. Which meant I had about five hours to find a dress that would do for meeting Will's parents. I had turned the idea over and over in my mind the entire trip, I wanted to impress them and show them that their son was going to be with a beautiful woman who loved him. Extravagance had to be able to win them over, some way to show them that I could take care of both of us. Will stepped closer to me as we moved in, footmen in elaborate uniforms opening the glass doors to admit us into the entryway, with its marble floors and vaulted ceilings. He took in the massive displays, piles of gloves, racks of fabric, and the endless shopgirls roaming the store. "This is quite the place."
"And this is only the first floor," I smiled, turning as a shopgirl came up. "Hello."
"Miss, sir, would you happen to be American?" She nodded to both of us.
"I am, why?"
"We have a reception room for Americans, if you would like me to show it to you. I can also have items brought to you there for your approval. If that would be alright, Miss?" She had a slight accent to her words, beyond what I could identify. After a glance to Will, I nodded and she set off, leading us through a what seemed massive maze of polished oak and electric lights. The American reception area proved to be a well lit and spacious room, with clusters of Colonial chairs and settees arranged throughout. The girl bobbed to us as she left.
"A room just for Americans?" Will began pacing around the room, his voice low. There were only a few other visitors, the largest a group of ladies who were examining a pile of fans with a critical eye.
I followed Will, taking in the decor. It felt rather like some of the old houses I had visited in Boston one year, where the decor hadn't changed since Jefferson took office. In fact, there was a portrait of Jefferson displayed, next to one of Washington. I looked down to the guest book open underneath the portrait, names scrawled out in immaculate penmanship. "Perhaps they think I'll feel at home and spend more." I looked out the bay of windows toward the main floor, feeling the familiar thrill of the feminine hunt race up my spine. "You know, we don't have to stay in here. Let's go take a look at what's on offer."
Will gamely kept up with me as I started out, examining ready to wear dresses and designs that would have had to be made with equal consideration. Gloves and hats were given a critical eye, as were fans and trimmings that could be applied to whatever you preferred. I had tried on a beaver hat with an explosion of orange feathers, and was examining myself in a mirror when I heard him chuckle. "It's not the opera, you know. It's just my parents."
"I want to impress them," I look aside at him, "You can understand that, right?"
"Of course," The hat was plucked from my hands and replaced on its display, Will now standing behind me in the mirror's reflection. "But if you show up in a Merry Widow and Paris fashions they will take you for a foolish girl." He leaned down, his voice quiet. "Which I know you're not."
"And here I thought I was your sweet little fool," I whispered back to him and, turning to the display of hats, raised my voice. "But whatever will work? This is an important occasion you know. It's not everyday I meet my fiancé's parents."
I had just a moment to enjoy the slight furrowing of Will's brow before a salesman approached with a slight bow. "That is indeed a momentous event, Miss. Should you care for some assistance?"
"If it would not trouble you," I nodded to him, "I would greatly appreciate it."
"Of course not, Miss. We are here to serve the customers. Now, if you could let me know exactly what you are looking for?" The salesman gave another bow, "I can make some selections and send them along with a girl for your consideration."
"Something sensible," Will said, "But not plain."
"Such a delightful description, perhaps a slight adjustment to it, if I may be allowed?" He turned to me, "Miss, your complexion hardly suits the fierce colors dominating fashion at the moment, I shall bring some light colored items. Some trimmings can add such charm to a plain waist."
I felt myself flush slightly, "I have always been drawn to lighter colors, or jewel tones if I must wear darker colors."
"An expression of your inimitable tastes, please enjoy a light luncheon in the reception room and I shall send a girl when I have completed my selections." He gestured back toward the room, and Will quickly took my arm to escort me.
He didn't speak until we'd settled into a pair of chairs at a table that had been laid for tea, the other visitors having left. "Are they always that way?"
"What way?" I selected a shortbread from the tray and crunched into it.
"I can't exactly say, he felt rather slimy to me." Will poured himself a cup of tea, "And the way he looked at you, like he was breaking you down into parts."
"He's a salesman Will, it's his job to try and get me to spend a lot." I took his hand, "Don't worry, I won't let him fleece me. At least not too much." We had only enjoyed a few moments before a shopgirl arrived to escort us to a room set aside for us. I could feel Will step closer to me as the salesman entered, gesturing for us to sit on a provided pair of chairs as he began to lift items from a rack.
"If you will allow me, Miss, I should like to present these as an entire ensemble instead of individual items." He pulled a coat rack from the corner of the room, settling a hat on top of it. If it hadn't been for the slight sheen to the light golden fabric, I would have thought it straw. "A silk hat, ornamented with silk forget-me-nots in the band. It also has a small ostrich plume." He tipped it forward, showing the false flowers and the small feather bobbing gaily above them. A light blue silk dress, with a tiered skirt of ecru chiffon peeping out beneath a false front, was placed beneath it, "This is a Lucille from a year ago, but would suit you very well and no doubt impress your soon to be in-laws." Plain silk stockings and a pair of black barred shoes were the ending piece, "We have these in many sizes, I can send for the correct size if need be."
I took in the coat rack, trying to picture myself in it. I knew I would want the hat, it was just such a darling thing and the fierce possessiveness I felt upon seeing it almost frightened me. The dress seemed far too loose though, I tended to prefer something more tailored. "I'm not sure about the dress. Will?"
"Perhaps something in wool?" He sounded unsure, "But the same color?" The salesman immediately excused himself to continue his search, and Will turned to me as I stood. "Ana, perhaps I should step out. I feel useless in this."
I had placed the hat on my head, adjusting the brim in a mirror. "Will, you know your parents, you know what they like. I don't even know their names." I turned back to him, "What do you think?"
"It looks nice," He brought his hand up to the brim, twisting it slightly on my head so that the plume bobbed at a rakish angle. "Much better like that though. And their names are Samuel and Jane."
"Samuel and Jane." I repeated, replacing the hat on the rack. "And what are they like?"
"My father was a captain, if you get him talking about ships you'll be like a child to him." Will chuckled, and I couldn't help but smile. "My mother has always been devoted to us, pushing us to do well in our lives. She's had to bury two children though, and sometimes falls into low spirits because of it, and she has pains from the weather when it gets cold. Sometimes she falls so sick I worry she won't recover."
"Oh Will, I'm so sorry about your brother and sister." I immediately sat down and took his hand. "And I hope this trip isn't too hard on your mother."
"I didn't know Mary, but John had a seizure and passed," He leaned back, sighing. "Six years ago, now. I was out at sea when it happened, stayed a few months with them to see Mother through. It was hard on her, on us all. She fell sick for awhile, and it took my father some time to come back to himself." He pinched the bridge of his nose, "They're older though, which is why I've been trying to get this," He gestured around, taking in the whole store, "Calmed down from the excess I was used to seeing onboard the ships I've been on."
"I completely understand," I squeezed his hand, "I'll keep the frills to a minimum." In the end, we left Selfridges with a sky blue wool dress that would need some slight tailoring to fit me better, a new pair of shoes and stockings, and the hat perched on my head as we boarded the train. Will was kind enough to keep the box on his lap as the train pulled out, although as we started moving he placed it aside on the wooden bench to allow him to stretch his legs out. I twisted my ring around, I would have to find a jeweler in New York to fix it since I didn't know how long we would be here. "You know, I'm going to need your help with the dress."
"My sewing skills are far below yours." Will shook his head, "I can manage a button, and a hem if needed. But tailoring? I'm afraid not."
"Oh, I just need your help with the pins." I caught his eye, feeling a grin break out. "After all, I might just prick myself."