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Guests
Not only was Grace able to make it back in time for the proposed date Charlie had in mind for the engagement party, she made it back by mid-morning the next day to meet with Meg, Mrs. Ashton, and Kelly, along with a team of designers and other professionals Meg wasn’t quite sure she understood the purpose of. There were two older women who were to be responsible for decorations, a middle-aged man who’d be working on Meg’s gown (though he had no idea how he would manage such an extravagance on such a short timeline) and a group of chefs and bakers who would be responsible for the menu. Meg said very little, mostly listened to Grace prattle on about exactly what she envisioned. It was only when she began to talk about the number of guests that Meg found her voice.
“We can easily expect three hundred guests, possibly more,” Grace was saying, as her mother nodded along.
“Three hundred?” Meg said, her eyes as large as the dinner pla
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“And there’s a distinct possibility he may be going back to Southampton soon,” Meg stated, not sure if Charlie’s sister had any knowledge of the potential upcoming trip.Grace looked from her mother to Meg, her mouth agape. Clearly she hadn’t heard. “Why ever would he do that?”“My family is having some problems,” Meg explained, quietly. “I will have to go, and Charlie insists on accompanying me.”“If he’s so ill, he can’t possibly,” Grace said, her eyes like daggers. “Can’t you go by yourself?”“Your father offered to go, but Charlie wouldn’t hear of it,” Pamela explained.“I don’t understand then. If he’s well enough to go to Southampton, he should be well enough to attend a ball in his honor,” the older sister insisted.“We simply cannot overwhelm him,” Pamela said, clutching her
Ghosts of Southampton Hate
“I’m sorry I wasn’t much help in there,” Kelly said, a sympathetic look in her eyes.“On the contrary, you were invaluable,” Meg assured her. “I never would’ve had the courage to say what I did if it weren’t for you speaking your mind first.”“I’m afraid I just riled things up,” Kelly muttered.“Not at all.”“Do I even want to know?” Charlie asked, looking from one lady to the other.“No,” they both said at the same time. Then, Meg added, “I shall let you know shortly.”“Are we having a party tomorrow?” Ruth asked.“Grownups are having a party tomorrow,” Kelly corrected. “Little girls are having a sleep over at Mrs. Wagner’s house down the hall from our place.”“Awww!” Ruth moaned, her shoulders falling.“When you’re a bit bigger, y
Ghosts of Southampton Photographers
“What in the world?” Meg asked, looking to Charlie for some answers.He opened his mouth as if he might explain, but just then there was the loud clank of metal on glass, and they both jumped. The Master of Ceremonies, a gentleman Meg had met earlier by the name of Mr. Hill, was calling for everyone’s attention. “Ladies and gentlemen, if I can have Mr. Ashton’s immediate family and Miss Westmoreland to the library, please, the photographers have assembled there. The rest of you, please make your way outside to the garden, and we shall join you shortly.”While in theory it seemed a good idea to have the guests begin to make their way outside as the family prepared to be photographed, doing so caused Meg and Charlie to have to cross through a throng of people who were crowding through the exit. Most people were willing to let them pass if they were paying attention, but it seemed Stella wasn’t the only one who may have had too mu
Ghosts of Southampton Explosion
A few moments later, they heard a distinct throat clearing at the end of the hallway and realized Jonathan was waiting for them. Pulling themselves apart, Meg brushed the tear streaks from her face, and Charlie looped his arm through hers and led her down the hall, as if they were walking to the firing squad instead of a group of alleged friends.Once they reached the end of the hallway where Jonathan stood, the liegeman whispered sharply, “Your sister is about to have a conniption thinking you’ve snuck off somewhere.”“We are just slow walkers,” Charlie assured him, amused.“I’ll let you explain yourself to her. She assumed you were right behind her.”“We were. Right behind her—far, far behind her.” Charlie looked at Meg, a twinkle in his eyes.“I believe you will need the ring back if you’re to give her the ring in front of everyone,” Jonathan reminded them.
Ghosts of Southampton Escape
Most of the crowd was so absorbed in staring at the bright, colorful lights overhead, they likely didn’t even notice their host and his bride-to-be had been transported to another time. It wasn’t until Meg and Jonathan began to guide Charlie back toward the house that some of them seemed to see something was the matter as the trio had to pass through many of the guests in order to get inside. As she approached the door, her arm around Charlie’s midsection as Jonathan held him from behind, Meg realized she’d collected Kelly and Daniel who looked just as frightened as Meg felt.Once inside, Meg kept right on walking, headed toward the parlor where she thought guests might leave them be and the firecrackers might not be so loud, though the popping sound followed them through the house, and each time another burst, all of them jumped to some degree or another.Meg led Charlie over to the sofa and forced him to sit as he began to stammer out some sor
Ghosts of Southampton Afloat
Mauretania seemed eerily similar to Titanic, but Meg wouldn’t allow herself to think about that. She’d boarded the ship much differently this time, as a First Class passenger, under her own name, and the captain himself had come by to make sure she was comfortable and to assure her there was nothing to fear. While Meg was fairly certain she would manage the week-long voyage well enough, she was worried about Charlie. He had given in to his mother’s insistence that the family physician, Dr. Shaw, be brought along, and it was comforting to know someone so familiar with Charlie’s medical history was nearby, particularly since this one had not given him any medication that might make him forget his fiancée.They had opted for interior rooms on the lowest floor possible of First Class accommodations in hopes that there would be less movement and fewer reminders that they were out on the water again, but Meg ended up feeling more tra
Ghosts of Southampton Past
Meg sat next to Charlie on the settee in his room, listening to Carrie snore on his bed. It was nearly midnight, and she knew she should go back to her room, but she didn’t want to. Mauretania was due to arrive in Southampton in the morning, and thoughts of what that would mean kept creeping into her mind, along with a host of ghouls from the box. The battle of pushing them back in was exhausting.“Do you think my sister and mother are enjoying planning the wedding?” Charlie asked, clearly trying to lighten the mood.She looked up at him with one eyebrow raised. “I’m sure they are, though if it goes anything like the engagement announcement, we shall have to purchase stock in heart medication.”Charlie chuckled. “At least Grace apologized. That’s something, I suppose.”They hadn’t really talked about the events of the engagement party since that night, the fireworks having marred the ent
Ghosts of Southampton Home
The motor coach Jonathan had somehow procured pulled to a stop just short of her front door, and Meg was glad to have a bit of a walk to gather her nerves. She could see the front stoop from here, the window to her bedroom that looked down on the front garden where she’d spied on Charlie the day he’d visited and decided she didn’t deserve him. Jonathan got out of the driver’s seat to come around to her side, but his hand fell short of the handle, and she was certain he would give her all the time she needed.Another auto parked behind them, and Meg used the mirror at the front of the vehicle to see two police officers climb from inside. One was a plainclothes detective, the sort that might investigate murders and other horrible acts; the other was in a uniform. Again, she wasn’t sure how Jonathan had managed to have the authorities meet them there, but she was glad for it.Meg licked her lips and took a deep breath. She looked at Charlie b
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