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2021-02-25 04:42:26Meg’s new gown was simple, but it felt much more elegant than anything she’d worn for weeks, except the night she’d gone to dinner with Charlie, of course. It was a royal blue color, which she knew went well with her eyes. Carrie had gotten her a charming new brush and comb set and had lovingly helped her work out all of the knots in her hair without supposing how they might have gotten there. Meg remembered there had been a crown of icicles around her head not long ago. Thoughts of the hours she’d spent in the lifeboat, soaking wet and then freezing, praying for Charlie in her mind and then aloud, made her shudder, and she pushed them away, back into a corner, into the same compartment where she kept remembrances of the awful things her uncle had done to her.
“You look absolutely stunning, Miss West,” Carrie said, smiling at Meg’s reflection in the mirror.
“Thank you, Carrie, but please do call me Meg,” she insiste
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Ghosts of Southampton Secrets
Meg was certain Charlie must have remembered what she’d told him then. Bertram Westmoreland was the only bastard he could’ve been speaking of. She dropped her eyes to the floor for a moment in concentration before returning them to Jonathan’s face. “If I tell the Ashtons who I really am, do you think they will be angry?”“No, and certainly not if you tell them why you’ve kept it a secret.”“Do you suppose they will keep my secret? I’m still not certain what I plan to do.”“Do you mean as far as your mother is concerned?”Meg nodded. There was a knock at the door, and a male voice shouted, “Room service.” Carrie entered the room and smiled as if she was apologizing for intruding. The conversation froze in place as Carrie and the gentlemen set up Meg’s breakfast on a table across the room, and then he left, Carrie returning to the bedroom.Jonathan had sca
Last Updated : 2021-02-25Ghosts of Southampton Mansion
Charlie’s house was unlike anything Meg had ever seen before, and she could scarcely believe she was engaged to the man who lived here. While she could easily imagine it sitting out of town on a few hundred acres and still being imposing, it was situated between two other similar dwellings, though Charlie’s was by far the most impressive. It resembled a French chateau and reached at least three stories into the air, though Meg thought the turrets might count for one more. She stood outside on the sidewalk next to Fifth Avenue trying to catch her breath.“It’s stunning, isn’t it?” Jonathan asked at her elbow. “His mother picked it out. Charlie was far too busy with his work at the factory and his other interests to go house shopping.”“I don’t even know what to say,” Meg admitted. “It’s breathtaking.”“He can explain the history to you once he’s feeling up to it. At le
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Charlie chuckled, and Meg felt her blush meet the apples of her cheeks. While she wanted to add it was best of all to know he remembered her, she couldn’t say that in front of his family.“Charlie was just telling us about how you’d gone back into the bowels of the ship to rescue a little girl,” Pamela explained. “Your lady-in-waiting’s daughter?”Meg looked at Charlie who gave her a reassuring nod. “Oh, yes,” Meg said. “Ruth is more like my niece than anything else. She’d lost her doll and slipped away from her parents. So I went down to find her.”“It seems odd to me that the daughter of a First Class passenger’s lady would go all the way down there to find a doll. Is that where she was being accommodated?” Grace’s inquiry had even more questions behind it, and while Meg could understand why the older sibling was suspicious of her intentions, she felt her abdomen ti
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“Hello, gorgeous,” Charlie said, reaching for her hand, and Meg gave it to him. “How are you really doing this morning?”She couldn’t help but smile at him. His hand was much warmer now than it had been for days. The tips of his fingers were rough in spots where they’d suffered frostbite, but she was glad to see they were healing. “I’m managing,” she admitted with a shrug. “It’s nice to see you know who I am today.”Charlie’s green eyes grew wide for a moment. “What does that mean?” he asked.Meg exhaled deeply through her nose. She’d done this same song and dance more times than she could count, and since she’d brought the topic up, she knew she'd have to say more, but she was determined not to go into a lot of detail because it always upset him to learn that he didn’t know who she was. “There were times, before, when we were on Carpathia,
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The family walked in, discussing what the newspapers were saying about the sinking, and Meg tuned them out. She had no interest whatsoever in learning the misinformation being spread across the world as if it were fact.“Charlie, you’ve got some color in your cheeks,” Pamela noted as she returned to her spot on the sofa. A small smile played at the corners of her mouth as if she thought she could guess why that might be.“Meg’s presence always makes me feel better,” Charlie assured her. Grace let out a small scoffing snicker and was met by another sharp look from her mother. Charlie either didn’t notice or didn’t care to acknowledge it. “We actually have some information we’d like to share with you, but first we want to caution you that what we are about to tell you cannot leave this room.”“My god! Is she carrying your child?” Grace leaned forward in her seat so far, Meg thought she m
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“Now, will your lady be returning to your side, or will you need to keep Carrie?”The question was another good one. “If you say Kelly’s new home is far away, then it wouldn’t be easy for her to attend to me here. And, I believe she was planning on staying home with the girls.” She was looking at Charlie, but she would’ve accepted a response from anyone.“I plan to give Daniel that foreman’s position that just opened up,” Charlie said to his father. “His arm is currently in a cast, but he’s a fine young man, and I know he will be able to do the work.”Mr. Ashton nodded. “Of course, I trust your judgment.”“That position will come with an apartment, and he will make enough so that Kelly can stay home,” Charlie explained to Meg.“Very good then,” Pamela stated. “That solves that. I’ll let Carrie know.”“But
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Meg was thankful that the carriage house had been completely converted to a guest house since there were absolutely no carriages or horses kept here, and Charlie had an attached garage where he kept his automobiles. (She was shocked when Jonathan said he owned four.) The apartment above the carriage house was nearly as large as her entire house would be if it were placed on one story, and she couldn’t imagine why anyone would call this an apartment.It was immaculate, which didn’t surprise Meg at all since she knew Jonathan to be impeccably tidy. The view from one side was of Charlie’s house—which she couldn’t fathom would soon be her own home—and on the other side she could see the expansive back garden of the house behind them, though there was a large hedge obstructing part of the view. Charlie’s own garden, complete with a small pond and fountain, was nestled between the two buildings, and Meg thought it was quite lovely.J
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Charlie was all alone in his own bedroom, sitting on the edge of his own bed, looking out the back window at the carriage house, wondering what Meg was doing. There was no way he could see her from here, partially due to the heavy drapery that covered the windows of the second story across the yard, but he imagined she was resting or possibly reading a book. He wondered if she felt all alone when there was no one with her or if she was suffering from the same sensation he was experiencing.The voices wouldn’t stop. Even when other people were talking to him, even as he formulated responses to their questions, he could hear the constant noises of screaming, crying out, in the back of his mind. While having other people nearby lessened the effects to some degree, it never made them stop. When he was completely alone as he was now, there was nothing to dull the effect, and he could distinctly hear the individual voices, make out what they were saying, and envision their fa
Last Updated : 2021-02-25
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She’d been in Charlie’s bedroom a few times before, but this time was certainly different. Butterflies fluttered around her stomach, some of the nervous variety, but most of them fueled by excitement.They were sitting on the edge of his bed, the door closed and locked, the drapes pulled tightly. She knew that there were a few servants elsewhere in the house, but they would leave the couple undisturbed at least until mid-morning. Glancing up at him, she could see that he felt much the same way that she did.“It turned out quite well, don’t you think?” Charlie asked, clearly meaning the wedding.“Yes,” Meg nodded.“Even though a few guests certainly had too much to drink.”She giggled, thinking of one older gentleman who had made quite a spectacle of himself trying to climb atop one of the tables to dance. He had been escorted out, but Meg was thankful for the diversion. For once, everyone wasn&r
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Ruth looked adorable in her pink dress, which hung to the floor, nearly tripping her as she danced around her parents. Kelly had stood beside Meg, along with Grace, and Charlie had been proud to have both Walter—who turned out to be every bit as silly as Charlie had described—and Quincy on his side.Now, it was all over, except for the reception. Then, Meg would return to Charlie’s house—the house they would share together—and embark on a new adventure, that of being Mrs. Charles Ashton.“Meg Ashton,” she said aloud, once the last of the well-wishers had moved along. “What do you think?”Charlie was already grinning from ear to ear, but his face brightened even more. “I think it sounds remarkable.”“That’s my name now, you know? Meg Ashton.”“What about Mary Margaret Ashton?” he asked, leaning close to her ear.“Heaven’s no. That&rsquo
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“The brain is still quite a mystery,” Dr. Morgan was saying as he sat across from Charlie in a plush velvet chair, Dr. Shaw seated nearby. Circles of smoke lingered around them from the cigars of several dozen gentlemen seated in similar groupings, discussing business and other inconsequentialities. Jonathan and Edward were sitting across the room, and Charlie glanced in his friend’s direction every once in a while, noting that he seemed unusually amused about something.“I’ve been reading Freud’s theories of psychoanalysis,” Charlie said with a nod. “Do you think there’s any truth to his findings? Particularly regarding the unconscious mind?”Dr. Morgan nodded. “I can’t say that I completely agree with all that Freud has to say, but I do with his theory that the unconscious mind plays a larger role in our actions than we previously understood.”“Do you believe memories can be tr
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The First Class dining experience aboard the passenger liner they’d booked the next day to take them home was nothing compared to Titanic, and the ship was much smaller, which made the rocking more obvious, but as Meg sat next to Charlie at dinner, she was just happy to have him with her. She had been right in thinking he’d be more at ease on the way home.They’d insisted on having Jonathan and Carrie accompany them, and no one had objected. Dr. Shaw belonged there with them as much as anyone else, but Meg enjoyed watching Carrie’s face as others served her for a change, and Meg thought she looked lovely in one of her gowns.They’d spoken at great length about all that had transpired, and yet, from time to time, someone would still muse aloud, bringing the most astounding topics back to the conversation. Meg hadn’t allowed herself to shed a single tear for either Bertram or her mother, and she was hopeful that Ezra would get
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Mildred only raised her eyebrows at Charlie but didn’t say a word about his blunt statement of what Meg certainly saw as the truth. “I shall go upstairs and fetch Bertram for you,” Mildred said, glancing at the detective before she turned to ascend the stairs. “It will give me the opportunity to say goodbye to him privately.”Meg was certain that last comment was a jab at her, her mother implying what Meg had always known was true, that the relationship between her mother and uncle was more than either of them were ever willing to admit to, but Meg ignored it. The emotions running through her mind were too much, even for her carefully guarded compartments, and she felt like she might begin to crumble at any moment.“Miss Westmoreland, we are prepared to take your statement whenever you are ready,” the detective said quietly, a weak smile pulling at one corner of his mouth out of politeness.“Give her a few moments,
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They began to make their way through the kitchen, and Meg noticed Tessa had moved on to some sort of baking. She offered a smile but said nothing as they passed through. Meg made a mental note to make sure that Tessa received enough money that she wouldn’t have to work anymore. It was the least she could do for the woman who’d served her mother and put up with her uncle for so long.Mildred was standing in the foyer speaking to an officer Meg didn’t recognize. The other officers Det. Weber had mentioned must have arrived, because several men in uniforms stood both inside the entryway and on the porch. Officer Brown was speaking to the ones on the porch, and Meg decided to wait for him to notice her rather than announce her presence and be forced to get on with her report of what happened with her uncle any sooner than necessary.“Mary Margaret,” Mildred said, turning to face her daughter. “You’ve returned. Did you get everythin
