AN: Does anyone here that knows how to use the cover designer want to help me? I'd love to put in a new cover but I'm terrible at photo editing.
Morning dawned bright and clear, and the sea was much smoother than it had been last night. Not that I had minded the motion of the ship, held in Will's arms and buried under our blanket. In recompense for the lack of dinner, the ship's stewards seemed keen to outdo themselves with their breakfast spread. Rashers of bacon, links of sausage, piles of eggs, bowl overflowing with fruit, all of it was up for the taking and I gladly filled my plate.
"Ah, Mr. Green! Please, join us." Evan Perry waved us over to his table, his wife huddling over a cup of tea. "My wife is still recovering from her bout of seasickness last night. I hope your better half made it through the night alright?"
"Anne is made of sterner stuff." Will gave me a smile, I tried to return it without showing the remains of the piece of bacon I had just inhaled. "Not to disparage you, Mrs. Perry."
She gave a small smile, "Oh, it is quite alright Mr. Green. I am sure you two must do a crossing several times a year, yesterday's storm must have seemed a trifle. My husband and I only make a crossing when needed."
"We do love to sail," I gave her a hopeful smile. "What business are you engaged in that keeps you in New York?"
"The business of pleasure," Mr. Perry laughed, "My father was an investor of one of the first parks on Coney Island, his shares passed down to me. As did the dividends they provide."
"I may have visited your park." I turned to him, "I once went to Coney Island years ago, with some friends. We had such a lovely time."
"I highly doubt you visited my business," He chuckled, turning back to Will. "You seemed to have your sea legs yesterday, tell me Mr. Green, what yacht club are you in back in New York? If it's not the Hudson I may have to try and steal you. We need better hands on our ship, we've lost two over the past year."
Will took a minute to finish his mouthful of eggs, "I am afraid I don't belong to any, I've simply enjoyed sailing for many years."
"Well then, when the ladies head off to tea this afternoon, I insist that you join me in the smoking room. We've got a race coming up against the Union club and I'll not see us lose again, perhaps you can give me some pointers."
I gave a little chuckle, turning back to Constance. "They do love their races, don't they."
Her face had lost its greenish cast of yesterday, and some color rose to her cheeks. "Men and races, they always seem to find themselves together. Be it horses or boats." The rest of breakfast passed along quickly enough, although by the end of it I was rather cursing the staff for their generosity. I wanted nothing more than a nap, and told Will as much when we were making our way through the ship.
"A morning nap, my dear wife you are impossible." Will tucked my arm closer, "What you need is a walk in fresh air, come along. We've almost gained the boat deck."
I whined as we came up, "Walking after breakfast, it's ungodly." But it did feel good to be out in the sun, my hat pinned to my head. Part of me fretted about being seen in the same hat as yesterday, and knowing that it would be seen again every day of the crossing, but I was proud of it. I was also proud of Will on my arm, his dove gray suit only slightly wrinkled from where it had been folded in his trunk, the chain of his watch visible through his open jacket. "Really Will, can't we go back?"
"No, I'm afraid not my dear." He chuckled, moving us along at a steady clip. "For you have to tell me everything you know about these infernal yacht clubs."
"Oh, where to begin." I rolled my eyes heavenward, praying for patience. "They are utterly boring, if you must know the truth. Simply an excuse for the men to get together and drink and smoke away from us ladies."
"Mr. Perry seems awfully invested in this race coming up."
"More than likely he is literally invested, from what I heard the losers must send the victors a selection of fine champagnes. Purchased with their own accounts." I gave Will's hand a squeeze, wishing that I had left off my gloves so I could actually feel his skin under my fingers. "You're going to be in society now, you must accustom yourself to this."
"I am going to be on a ship, and leave you to handle all of that." Will shook his head, "Such foolishness, a waste of money. And it's not as if they are going to develop some new method of shipbuilding with their little boats."
"Then simply tell Mr. Perry you prefer steam to sail," I watched his brow furrow, "I am sure he will leave you alone after that."
"Well, I shall have to stop and pick up my pipe before then. It will give me a chance to send you off to tea with the ladies." He slipped his hand into his jacket, pulling out my book. "Perhaps you'd care to have me read another chapter before then?"
"What about poetry?"
Will handed me down into a chair, taking a seat next to me. "Poetry is for night like last night, when all you want is to be warm and safe with the one you love." He leaned closer, his lips ghosting over my ear and sending a chill down my spine. "Besides, listening to you read poetry, you're irresistible my dear. And you wouldn't like to make those sounds out here on deck, would you?"
My fingers were digging into my palms, "God Will, just read." He wound up making it through three chapters, although he kept griping through the story. It was after one of these asides that I plucked the book from his hands, "Just because Verne hadn't seen as much of the sea as you doesn't mean it can't be a fun story."
"Well, you are welcome to enjoy it." Will stood, helping me up. "It's about time for tea, which means I am off to the smoking room."
I couldn't help but smirk at the flatness of his voice. "Hmm, which is the worse fate; to read a book to your fiancée or to suffer through society?"
"Society, obviously." He snorted, "But I could use a pipeful of tobacco at the moment, if only to give me something to do." It took him only a moment to collect his pipe from his bag, and he quickly had me back to the lounge. It had been set up for tea, finely dressed ladies already gossiping over finger sandwiches. I felt out of place in my shirtwaist, seeing all the fine silks and laces on display, but I gave Will a smile as he left me with a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back for you after tea. Don't wander off, you make me worry when you do that."
I gave his hand a squeeze, "Where could I wander off to Will?"
"Knowing you, the engine rooms, the cargo holds, I might even find you stoking a furnace." Will chuckled as he turned, heading for the small smoking room on the other side of the ship. I quickly found Constance, who was kind enough to invite me to join her table. The names of the other women ran right through my mind, and I tried to focus on piling a few sweets onto my plate as they set to chatting.
As usual for a crossing, shipboard gossip was the main form of entertainment at tea. A woman in second class had been spotted going off with a man, not her husband, last night. A ladies maid had shown up hungover this morning, trying to pass it off as seasickness. But one piece of gossip made my spoon clatter against my cup, my fingers stilling. "To think that there is a man of the working class, traveling among us here in first." One of the ladies batted her eyes over her tea. "And that he was at the helm of the Titanic!"
"Maud, wherever did you hear that?" A lady spoke up from the far end.
Maud fairly preened, "Our dear Mrs. Perry remembered him just this morning, from the papers in New York. He was in them for months!"
"Oh, I'm sure that's not right." I stirred some cream into my tea, trying to keep my voice steady. "Besides, wasn't the Quartermaster at the helm? Hitchens, I believe?" I blew on it, "And what if he is traveling back? Surely he's allowed to."
"You seem to know an awful lot about it." Another lady, her green silk hat cocked to the side, spoke from the other side of the table.
I had to mentally command my hand not to shake as I took a spoonful of sugar. "Well, I followed it in the papers. It was only a few months ago."
"I'm afraid your secret is out 'Mrs.' Green. We all know which unmarried lady seems to follow a sailor around like a lovesick puppy." She gave a cold smile, "You'll have to find somewhere else to entertain yourself, Miss Dalian. We don't mix with women of your," She cut her eyes over, raking me up and down. "Lack of character."
My throat went dry, "Mrs. Perry, please tell me you didn't tell them all this."
"It occurred to me after breakfast and, well, it explains why your 'husband' has such a knowledge of ships. I had wondered last night, not to mention him helping the staff." She sniffed, rising from her chair and joining the other women. "You should be ashamed, traveling with a man and pretending to be wed. You're nothing but a common whore." They made their way off like a flock of preening peacocks, leaving me in my shirtwaist and skirt, clutching my book. Part of me wanted to do nothing more than run and hide in the cabin, to close myself off and just wait for Will. But I was here, and even with the eyes of the other women, who had quickly joined another table, on me, even as their voices began to whisper and word of my true identity spread, I felt anger rise in me. Who were they to speak like that? What did they know? Nothing, they knew nothing of my life and were only looking to force someone else to be the subject of gossip this trip so that they could avoid being it themselves. It wasn't even the first time I'd been called a whore, the first one had hurt far worse.
I kept my head high and proud as I finished my tea and cleaned off the sweets from my plate, and I deliberately walked slowly out of the lounge. I was the first one to leave though, and rather quickly found myself at a loss. If I did return to the cabin, it felt like conceding the field. But where could I go? The men were off in the smoking room, the ladies still in the lounge, and the ship's staff were bustling about tending to their own duties. In the end there really was no place for me but up on the boat deck, fighting the wind to try and read my book. I focused only on it, on Nemo and his adventures, almost feeling the pressure of the ocean on me even as a slight mist of sea spray was flung up on the breeze.
"Anastasia, whatever are you doing up here?" Charles was standing there, his eyebrows raised as he watched me start and grab at the book to keep it from falling.
I closed the book, using a scrap of ribbon I had dug out of my valise to mark my place. "Well, I am afraid our secret is out. At least among the women, who cut me today, pretty definitively." I shrugged my shoulders, taking in the deserted boat deck. "And so I was left with no place to go but my cabin, and I'd prefer not to be shut in there the whole time."
"And Will?"
"He's off with some of the men, speaking of ships. They think he's a member of some yacht club and are convinced they can get him to reveal some secret. Which leaves me here, with Mr. Verne." I weakly waved the book, "But don't think it was your fault Charles, she remembered Will from the papers. And me, along with the fact that we aren't married yet. It was always a risk, but still."
"Regardless, it is regrettable." Charles leaned down, extending a hand. "Perhaps I could show you something to cheer you up? You'd have to come up to the bridge."
"Is that allowed, Charles?" I considered his hand, pursing my lips.
He gave a shrug, "I am the senior officer on watch at the moment, simply making my rounds and attending to the needs of any passengers I encounter. And I happen to have found one who needs me." He flexed his hand, "And I should like to invite you skating."
I felt a ghost of a smile cross my face as I took it. "As lovely as the Oceanic is Charles, I doubt she has an ice skating rink on her."
"I never said ice." He chuckled, tucking my hand on his arm as he began walking towards the bridge. I clutched the book tightly in my other hand, glad to have some reason to move. Charles quickly had me past the gate separating the bridge, and quickly drew me inside. I could see a couple junior officers tending to their duties, and a helmsman keeping us on a steady course. Charles turned to the junior officers, "Clear away lads, just for a moment." They barely gave a grumble, which just made me think they must have been familiar with Charles's antics. He gave me a smile, "Just follow me."
He proceeded to glide away, his shoes not even skipping on the floor as he hurtled across the bridge and lightly caught himself on the door across from me. I couldn't help but laugh, "How did you do that? You must have grown wheels to move so easily."
"It's just rubber Anne, give it a try." He pointed to the floor, a slight sheen of water on it. I hesitated, looking at the junior officers and the helmsman, but they hardly seemed to notice me. I took a couple of steps back, then stepped quickly forward and onto the rubber. It was rather slippery, and I would have fallen quickly if one of the junior officers hadn't caught me and sent me off towards Charles. I stumbled into him, laughing. "See? I told you we could go skating here."
"It's not quite what I imagined." I chuckled, turning and hurtling myself back across. Now that I knew what to expect it seemed much easier, and I made two more passes before Charles started, waving me towards him. "What is it?"
"Captain Cameron, who will not be pleased if you're skating about." He turned to the others, "She's been getting nothing but a tour, am I understood?"
The helmsman nodded, but one of the juniors piped up. "If that's what you want Mr. Lightoller then I expect to have an extra half hour in my bunk in the morning."
"Fine, damn it." Charles snapped, grabbing up my hand and tucking it against his arm. His voice dropped, his language more formal than I had ever heard him. "As you can see Mrs. Green, it is rather slippery up here so I would caution you to hold tight as we make our way across."
"Mr. Lightoller, what is this?" A deep voice, completely opposite to the slight man who appeared, rang out.
"Simply showing a friend the bridge sir, she asked if she might see it." Charles almost snapped to attention, "Mrs. Anne Green, Captain Cameron."
I pasted a bright smile on my face, "You have a wonderful ship sir, and Mr. Lightoller was kind enough to indulge me. Please, let me know if I should leave. I would not wish to cause any strife between you two."
"Mr. Lightoller does need to return to his duties, so perhaps you should return to the passenger's promenade." He cocked his head, "Your husband, is he with you?"
"Yes, he is."
"I may have encountered him on my way up, British, tall, brown hair? He was quite worried that he could not find you, I believe he had already sent several stewards off to look for you. Perhaps you should return to him and stop him bothering the staff."
I practically felt my eyes bulge, but Charles smoothly stepped in. "With your permission sir, I should like to escort her back and assure her husband that nothing amiss happened."
"Quickly, Mr. Lightoller, quickly." Captain Cameron nodded, and Charles quickly had me back outside of the bridge and on our way to the promenade. It had grown darker, and I could see other passengers heading in, no doubt for dinner. Will was not on the promenade though, and Charles almost dragged me through the passageways until he saw a rather frazzled looking steward, who informed him that Mr. Green was towards the bow on B deck, and could he please hurry to him?
Charles shook his head as Will came into sight after we rounded a corner, his gray suit rather disheveled and his pipe clutched tightly in his hand. "Will, quit scaring the stewards. Anne's been alright, she's been with me."
His shoulders slumped as he turned, even as relief broke across his face. "Ana, I told you I would come back for you. Why did you let me know?"
"Because someone figured out who you actually are," Charles winced, "And who she is. Not to mention your current marital state. Would you have wanted to be around all those women?" I could see something rise in him, his eyes beginning to move quickly, his hands twitching slightly as if wanting something to do.
"Harpies, more accurately." I sniffed, coming to Will and taking his hand. "Really Will, it's alright. Charles took me skating."
"Skating?" He couldn't have looked more confused if I had told him we played a polo match.
"I'll tell you later, but we really should send Charles back up." I gave him a smile, "Although, if you wanted to join us for dinner tomorrow Charles, it would be appreciated."
"And miss the gruel I'm sure to be getting?" He spun on his heel, "Well, how could I say no?"
There wasn't even a chance to say farewell before he had turned a corner and vanished, and I turned back to Will. "He was simply being a good friend."
"I'm not upset you went off with him," Will grumbled, moving my hand to his arm. "I just wish you would have sent word."
"I'm sorry."
"It's in the past," He guided us through the ship, and we were quickly back at the lounge. It had been changed over from tea, tablecloths and chairs changed out for dinner. I felt my legs grow slightly wooden as he walked in. Conversation died as we moved past, replaced by hushed whispers and pointing fingers. Even Will must have noticed something, because after he handed me into a chair, he looked around. "Why are they all staring?"
"They know who you are, courtesy of Mrs. Perry." I fumbled the napkin into my lap, "Although they think you were actually at the wheel that night. And they know who I am. And that we're not married. We're the focus of the voyage, Will."
I heard him breathe in harshly, "And what is that to them? We're engaged, surely that is enough."
"We haven't announced it yet, how could they know?" I fell silent as a steward came up, taking our orders for dinner. The silence seemed to stretch, first lasting until the meal arrives, then through the meal, and finally when Will rose. I made to stand with him, but the look his gave me was enough to freeze me in my seat. I had rarely seen Will get angry, really only the once with Zachary. He had been frustrated with me, but never angry. But the cold in his gaze, the rigidity in his step as he made his way across the lounge, frightened me. The Perrys looked up as he stopped by them, leaning over and speaking quickly to Evan. His face slowly grew red, but whatever he said was lost in the distance between us. Will remained calm, spoke briefly, and turned on his heel.
He held out his hand, "Ana, come with me. And stand tall, don't let them cow you." I took his hand, pulling myself up to my full height as we left the lounge. The stewards that had been working in the cabins had finished, and we passed only a few other people before we reached our cabin. I set my hat aside, reaching for the buttons of my shirtwaist. I looked to Will, sat on the bed and staring at me.
"Do you want to do this?" I chuckled, watching him flush. He shook his head though, ducking it and looking away. I sighed, sitting next to him. "What did you say to Mr. Perry? He looked like he was going to explode."
"I told him that if his wife went around spreading these lies, I would tell everyone what his actual business was." He still seemed focused on the open buttons of my shirtwaist, and I drew his fingers to the buttons still remaining.
"And what exactly is his business that revealing it would be such a threat?"
"He owns a number of boarding houses that only house women."
"Is that such a scandal?"
"It is when the women only entertain men." He had finished with the buttons, and rolled his eyes at my confused look. "He owns whorehouses, Ana. Or at least rents them to pimps. He offered me a trip to one of his places while we were in the smoking room. I was welcome to take my pick, he said."
I shrugged out of the shirtwaist, turning to present him with the back of the corset. "Help me with this?" I felt his fingers tug on the laces, the corset loosening. "Is that really what you discussed in the smoking room? Visiting whorehouses?"
"After they figured out I wasn't going to be joining one of their clubs, and that I knew very little of anything back in New York, it was like I was a piece of furniture." His hands slipped inside the corset, covering my breasts over my combinations as he dropped his lips to my shoulder. "I heard quite a deal, and he invited everyone to sample his 'goods'." His teeth sunk slightly into my shoulder, and I gasped. "Have no fear, Ana. I only want to sample you."
"Are you sure you don't want me to read poetry again?" I almost whimpered as he pulled me into his lap, my back to his chest as his hands removed themselves for only a moment to unhook the busk of my corset and set it aside before he pulled the combinations down. Naked to the waist, Will clasped me close to him, kissing and nipping at my neck. I held what I could reach of him close to me, pressing my lips to the side of his head.
"Bugger the poetry tonight, Ana. All I want is you."