I kept myself away from the court as the lawyers for both sides descended and began hectoring each other about precedence and privileges. The promised Pinkertons had begun to show up outside the fence, lingering on corners and doing their best to look inconspicuous. The porters that Mother had brought in stood out a bit more, but I felt more comfortable around them. I had tried to make it a habit of bringing refreshments to the men lingering outside. The Pinkertons chided me to head back inside, that I was putting myself at risk and ruining everything. The porters thanked me for it, asked after Will and Ezekiel and laughed at the Pinkertons in their ill fitting casual clothing.
"Miss Anastasia, I saved this for you." Peggy said as I came back in from one such excursion, holding out a folded newspaper. "Taylor saw it while he was buying the chickens for dinner, your mother has already read it." I muttered my thanks as I took it from her, heading up to the office. It was the most private place I could think of, although the library was tempting. But it had Oscar and Ezekiel in it, while Will caught up on his rest, and I wanted to read this before anyone else. Settling myself into my chair, I opened it. There was a large photograph under a massive headline, Evan Perry Arrested for Attempted Kidnapping of Dalian Heiress.
Yesterday morning Evan Perry surrendered himself to police custody at his Manhattan home. While wearing a well tailored suit, he spoke briefly to reporters present. "I have nothing to do with the unfortunate events that Miss Dalian suffered and will prove it in court." Despite repeated requests for further comment, reporters were prevented from gaining further answers by police. The case is quickly becoming well known, and our reporters at the court have sent word that the Link brothers, well known attorneys for Oscar Vanderbilt, are representing Miss Dalian. Opening arguments will begin this week, and we promise to bring our readers every word that is spoken during this case.
Mr. Perry looked well put together as he was escorted out of his house, in fact he even looked like he had posed for the photograph. He smiled, and Constance clung to his arm and gave all appearances of being the concerned and devoted wife. I folded the newspaper back up, slapping it down onto the desk. The banner practically grinned up at me, The New York Journal. Of course it was that Hearst rag that had scooped it, and now all the other papers would be scrambling to catch up. Pictures of myself would be plastered everywhere, as would pictures of Will.
And then the sinking would be talked about.
I stood, walking to the windows and looking out over the harbor. It had been almost a year, a year since everything had been turned upside down. I couldn't help leaning forward and resting my head on the glass, feeling the cold surface press against my skin. It wasn't the coldest thing I'd ever felt, not like the water in the lifeboat. Not like Will's hands, when he so desperately wanted to go back into the water. When he clung to me, soaking my clothes and I promised to be strong, to not grieve and to be the one to keep him steady. And then I failed. It was before I knew Father had died, before-
"Ana?" Will's voice cut through my thoughts, and I jerked away from the glass. "You've been in here for hours."
I pressed my hand to my head, feeling the mark on my skin. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize."
"What's that?" He moved to the desk, quickly reading the article. "Hmph, doesn't he paint a pretty picture?" I felt his arms slide around my waist, his head on my shoulder. "But you weren't thinking about him, not for this long."
"Partly," I wrapped my hands around his. "But not entirely."
"Henry? Zachary?"
"No." I let out a breath, "It's been almost a year."
"Ah, that." His hands tightened. "It's been on my mind too." Will took in a long breath, his voice low. "I, I've been having nightmares again. It's been getting worse as it gets closer."
"I don't want you out at any point during it." I turned, bringing my hands up to clutch at his chest. "You or Moody, and if I could stop Charles and the others from going out-"
"I know," He brought my hands up to gently kiss them. "Adam told everyone that he talked you down from having the entire fleet laid up during that week. But you don't have to worry about James and I, we're both staying right here in the city during it. And Charles has already said Sylvie put her foot down on him being out at that time. I wouldn't surprised if the others are staying put too."
"I don't want to order you Will," I looked down. "I just worry, I worry so much about you and James and Charles. Even Oscar and Ezekiel, what they'll think of me if they're here when it happens. I know that whatever happens, it's not going to be good."
"No, it's not." Will's hands found my cheek, pulling my head back up. "For either of us, but we'll be together for it. We can stay up the entire night, and we could invite the others to help keep our mind off of things."
"Or scare them with our memories." I leaned up and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. "But we still have a few more weeks." He chuckled at that, pulling me to him. I let his kiss drive away any thoughts that had been in my mind, the way his arms pressed me close to him. He grinned into the kiss, leaning his head to deepen it and press his tongue into my mouth. I stroked it with mine, reaching out to feel his lips and teeth on the tip of it.
I heard him groan slightly at that, and he pulled away. "We should stop, Ana." He let his hands linger on my waist, though. "The others should see this, and the lawyers want to meet with us tomorrow before the trial starts. They want to show us their evidence and tell us their plans."
"Right, that." I pressed my head to his shoulder. "You know, if this hadn't happened, I'd be worrying about our wedding portraits at the moment."
"I don't want to do the portraits until this has faded." He brushed his thumb over the bruise on my cheek. "You should be an angel in them, not like this." I tried not to flinch from the pressure on it, it was still rather tender. He kept his arm around me as we headed to the library, letting me put the paper before Oscar and Ezekiel.
The two of them were angry beyond measure at it, although Oscar was the one to quickly voice his outrage. "It's that damn Hearst, I know it! I wouldn't be surprised if he's a customer of Perry's."
"You can't accuse everyone of that." Ezekiel chuckled, "He could just be a greedy old bastard."
"Or he could be a blasphemous old lecher who would have been only too pleased to have Anastasia locked in some bordello." Oscar growled, "I'll take this to the Links, although I'm sure they've seen it."
"We may as well all go to their offices, they wanted us to come today anyway." I sighed, starting for the door. It was fairly quick for all of us to be gathered, although I wore a veil again. Mother insisted, not only to hide my bruise but to keep my face out of the papers in case any reporters or photographers were waiting around for our arrival. I only wished I could do something for Will in that area, but a veil would have looked foolish with the bowler hat he was wearing. In the end we were all crammed together in Mother's car, puttering across town to the plain brownstone that housed Link & Link, Attorneys. There was a crowd of reporters outside, although some men in plain clothes quickly cleared a path for us. It did not stop them from shouting though.
"Miss Dalian! Your thoughts on the case?"
"Do you think you have a chance?"
"Mr. Perry is innocent! How can you accuse him of such a crime?"
"Mrs. Dalian, how could you allow your daughter to fall into such a situation?"
I recognized some of them men holding them back as the Pinkertons from outside the house, even as I was hustled inside by Will. Oscar had his arm around Mother, while Ezekiel brought up the rear. He also practically barred the door as soon as we were inside, blocking the windows until one of the clerks came over to help with the shades. The Link brothers office was well appointed, cherry wood book cases lining the walls and desks with electric lamps spread over the floor. Rhett Link was waiting outside a door, "Ah, Miss Dalian. My apologies, those vultures have been waiting around all day. I take it you saw the piece in The Journal?"
"Yes, I did." I raised my head, the veil brushing across my face. "It was rather hard to miss."
"Well, all of you come in. We have plenty to discuss." He opened the door behind him, letting us into a large meeting room. A massive table was covered with papers, pens, books and a few items that seemed out of place. Dalton was shuffling some papers into order, although he stood and nodded to us as we came in. It was only after we were all sat that Rhett spoke again. "I hope that you all won't mind if I speak freely? Perhaps a bit harshly?"
"Tell us what you have planned." Mother spoke quietly. "Don't spare our gentle feelings."
"Mrs. Dalian, I've never thought of you as gentle." Oscar chuckled, "If anything, you're rather fearsome."
"Only to you and Mr. Murdoch, Oscar." Mother demurred, although I could see the grin on her face.
Rhett coughed gently, "If I may begin?" He waited for us all to nod before he began. "Through witness testimony and the word of a person remaining anonymous for their safety, we have roughly pieced together the reasons behind the attack." He gestured to one of the items laid out on the table, a red silk dress in a box. "Mr. Perry was quite prepared for his plan to succeed, this dress was intended for Miss Dalian and had been placed in the finest room of his establishment. His plans after she had been kidnapped was to present her to an unidentified client, according to our anonymous witness he and the client had suffered a falling out and he was hoping to repair their relationship through her. The men had accomplished this task for Mr. Perry several times before, in fact they had taken our anonymous witness from the streets. But they were unprepared for her to fight back, and for Mr. Vanderbilt to interfere."
Will had twisted his fingers together as Rhett had spoken. "We know this." What he left unsaid was that we also knew the identity of the customer I was intended for, but perhaps that was for the best. I didn't want what had happened with Mr. Reichster to become public knowledge, it wasn't for people to gossip about.
"The kidnappers have pleaded guilty to their charges of attempted kidnapping, and the one to the assault of Miss Dalian. In exchange for their testimony against Mr. Perry they have received reduced sentences."
"How long?" Mother fixed Dalton with a glare as he looked up.
"Three years in prison for each of them, with an additional two for the one who hit Miss Dalian." Dalton stated very matter of factly. "I understand that may be displeasing to you, but their testimony will be vital to putting Mr. Perry behind bars."
"That's hardly anything." Ezekiel stood, walking behind us and raking his hands through his hair. "Five years? And that's if he doesn't get busted out by someone."
"It's the best we could hope for." Rhett sighed, "Mr. Perry is rather slippery, and his lawyers are well prepared to fight this out. With opening arguments in two days, we need everything we can get." He moved to a blackboard that had been set up, flipping it over. A list had been written out in a clean hand, and he moved through it line by line. "First, we will lay out the facts of the attack, where it was, how it happened, and what Miss Dalian was doing there. Second, we will use the testimony of the kidnappers to show that the blame lays squarely on Mr. Perry. Finally, we will use our anonymous testimony to show that this attack was premeditated and his plans for Miss Dalian were of the most evil nature."
"It sounds well thought out." I spoke up. "Do we have a chance?"
"I think we have a very good chance." Dalton removed his glasses, pinching his nose. "Our chances could only improve in one way, if you take the stand."
"What?"
"If you are willing to take the stand and undergo cross examination, his conviction is practically assured." Dalton put his glasses back on. "But I must warn you, Mr. Perry's lawyers are going to be vicious. They won't take it easy on you because of your sex or what you went through. They will try to break you down in every way that they can. If you don't feel you can take it, tell us now."
"Ana, can I speak to you privately?" Will turned to me, his voice low. At my nod he helped me up, and Rhett opened a side door to an office. Will pulled me to a far corner, his hands on my arms. It took him a minute to speak, his face troubled. "Don't do this."
"Will, I have to." I sighed, reaching up and brushing my veil back over my hat. "They said it's going to be a sure thing if I do."
"They're going to destroy you." He brought his hands to my shoulders. "I don't want you to have to deal with what they're going to do." His hands tightened. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I allowed you to do that, if I had to watch them tear into you. Ana, Oscar said there's no way for him to avoid a conviction. Listen to him, trust him! Don't let them force you into this."
I tried to duck my head, but he caught my chin and forced my gaze back up. I held his eye, watching the clear blue of them as they stared into mine. "I'm tired of letting them get away with this Will. I'm tired of them trying, over and over. There's two ways we can stop this. We can either show them that if they try it again they will go to prison," I brought my hand up to his collar, brushing my thumb across his throat. "Or you can fuck me." He gasped at that, his grasp on my shoulders tighter. "I heard Oscar too, this is all going on in the name of blackmail, and what Mr. Reichster wants from me. If I'm not a virgin, even if he succeeds, he can't blackmail me with anything!"
Will swallowed, his throat moving under my thumb. "Ana, you can't be serious." I moved my hand up to clutch at the back of his head. He leaned into my hand, his eyes closing. "I would still want you if you weren't a virgin, I won't ever stop wanting you. Even if he had succeeded, I would still marry you. I would still want you." His hand came up, wrapping his fingers around mine and pulling it away from his cheek. "But I'm not going to deflower you just to avoid this. We can make it to the wedding, I want it to be then."
"Then I'm going to have to testify." I stepped forward, resting my forehead on his chest. "It's either going to be that or you fucking me, and since you won't-"
"It's not that I don't want to." He interrupted, clutching me to him. "You know how much I want you Ana, but if I did it solely because of this it would be as transactional as an engagement at one of Perry's places. An act simply to reach a favorable conclusion, for one party. I don't want it to be like that." His hands dropped from my waist, moving lower to press me to him. "I want it to be because we don't have to wait anymore, because we've sworn ourselves to each other. Because I would go mad with want if I couldn't have you right there and then."
I threw my arms around his neck, pressing myself to him. "And I want that too, but if we don't do this before the wedding, he could try again." I felt Will's lips against my neck, their movement shaky. "Just take me Will, or let me speak."
He breathed deeply, "Then testify, but I don't know how much longer I can resist you."
"You don't have to." I pressed my lips to his ear, whispering. "You could always give in, we could do it tonight."
"At least leave me my strength of will, love." He pulled back, looking me in my eye. "Everything else is already yours." He reached up, pulling my veil back down. "I am going to be there every day of the trial, and I don't care what they accuse me of, I'm going to only focus on you."
"I hardly doubt they could accuse you of anything, aside from loyalty." I gave his hand a squeeze, and we both made our way back to the table. The hushed conversation the lawyers had been having with Oscar quieted as I sat. I drew in a deep breath, hoping that I could screw my courage to the sticking place not only now but in the future. "I will take the stand."
"We should prepare her." Rhett looked over to Dalton. "Don't hold back."
Dalton stood, coming to loom over me. "I'm going to be harsh, but only so you know what you will face." His voice dropped, condescension immediately dripping from his lips. "Miss Dalian, what were you doing at that tailor's shop?"
"Picking up my fiancé's wedding suit."
"Not meeting a lover?"
"Of course not." I drew back, immediately offended. "I don't have a lover."
"And yet you've been seen in the company of men, unchaperoned, many times." He began to tick them off on his fingers. "Mr. Oscar Vanderbilt, one Ezekiel Fields, five men from the Titanic inquiries last year, oh and of course your fiancé." A smirk appeared on his lips as Oscar shot to his feet, although Ezekiel quickly tugged him back to his seat. "You've been seen out with him a number of times without a member of the family to assure that he's on his best behavior." Mother hissed out a breath at that. "But then again, you've been living with him. What's to stop you from sharing his bed and deciding to take another into yours while you're at it? We all know sailors enjoy having a home port to return to, and the female company that it provides. Perhaps you worried about him wandering while he's in Britain and decided to give him something to think about back here in America? But then you discovered how you enjoyed it, so you took any man that you could. A fitting at a tailor's is a perfect excuse for a liaison."
"That's a damned lie!" Will growled, standing. "Ana is innocent of any of that!"
"We understand this, Mr. Murdoch." Rhett sighed, "But this is what the defense is going to do, turn her innocently having male friends into scandals. This act isn't just for her, but for you all as well."
"They really wouldn't do that, would they?" My voice sounded far too quiet when I spoke. "I really haven't done any of those, those things you said."
Dalton pinched his nose. "They will do anything to distract from the airtight case that we have. What we need from you Miss Dalian is very simple. We need you to be honest on the stand, but to appear as meek and innocent as a kitten. If you, or anyone," He looked to those gathered around the table. "React with anger to what they say then it will come off as defensive, as if their accusations are true and we are acting out to shut them up." He gave me a smile though. "But if we can control ourselves, then it will show itself for what it truly is, a man haranguing a poor girl who's only crime was to catch the wrong sort of attention through no fault of her own."
"I understand the logic behind it." Mother reached over and took my hand. "But you cannot expect me to hear my daughter slandered like that and have no reaction."
"Oh, react to the press all you want." Rhett chuckled, "After the trial. But they're going to be all over you every time we get there and every time we leave, you can't say a word to them." He grinned at Dalton, "But we can."
"And we will." Dalton nodded to his brother. "We will defend her not only in the courts but in the press, and you are free to take up the banner after the trial. But only after, to react as fiercely in the papers as you all have right now would come off as possibly trying to sway the jury."
"I thought they'd been sequestered." Oscar had knitted his brows together. "I had it from a clerk I know."
"They have been, but word always gets through somehow." Rhett shrugged. "And the judge has made it clear that he's not going to let this drag onto into more of a circus. It's going to be fast, which means that it's going to be rough." He looked to Dalton. "We should continue, if you're ready?" At my nod, Dalton began again. I found it helped to focus on something, to try and ignore what he was saying. At first I focused on Mother's hand around mine, but Rhett eventually made me sit away from everyone. I wouldn't have them around me when I was testifying, he remarked as he dragged a chair to face them. So instead I focused on their faces as Dalton hurled abuse after abuse at me, the way their eyes would flinch when he would accuse me of some other vile act.
Ezekiel was the first to truly get control of himself, a smirk rising on his face. I knew he'd want to laugh about the outlandish things I was accused of later. Mother slowly became a statue, her posture perfect and her eyes distant. I tried not to look at her too much, it was far too similar to how she had looked after the sinking. Oscar never quite gained complete control of himself, Dalton drew his attention multiple times to the way he was constantly clenching and unclenching his hands, the tightness in his face. But Will, oh Will. I could see him flinch every time I was accused of having another lover, of this being nothing but a game to amuse them. That I enjoyed spurning him behind his back, that I spent the time he was away in drunken revelries with any number of men.
At one point he was half out of his chair before catching himself, sitting back down slowly. Even as I practiced denying everything, I tried to let him know with my eyes how much I needed him. I needed him to be strong, to be able to be there for me. I could see the stoicism build in him slowly, like a splinter festering in him. I hated to see the far away look in his eyes, the sneer that came to his lips as he slowly relaxed into the role. It was hours before Dalton declared us ready enough to pass the opening arguments without embarrassing ourselves, and even more time to wade through the reporters and get home.
I found Will in his sitting room, smoking his pipe and staring at the fire that had been built. I sat next to him, reaching for his hand. "Perhaps it would be best if you didn't come to the trial. I didn't like seeing you like that."
"I didn't like having to be like that." He bit out the words as if they pained him, but his hand was gentle as he clasped mine. "But I'll be damned if I let you face that alone."