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It was promptly four o’clock when a knock on the door brought Meg to her feet, the butterflies in her stomach mimicking Josephine on her flying machine. She pulled the door open to find Jonathan, just as she had expected. “Good afternoon,” she said, managing a smile.
“Miss Meg,” he said, tipping his bowler hat. “I’ve come to escort you to Mrs. Molly Brown’s stateroom, if you’re ready.”
“Mr. Jonaffin!” Ruth said, tumbling down from the top bunk where she had been playing and bounding across the room, flinging herself at his knees. “I missed you! Where’s Uncle Charlie?”
Scooping her up, he replied, “He’s getting ready for dinner with Aunty Meg.”
“Oh!” She leaned over and whispered sharply into his ear, “She doesn’t remember she’s a princess. Will you help her remember?”
“Yes, sweetheart, I’ll help
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“Turn around and let me have a look atcha,” Molly insisted.Meg felt rather odd but complied. “Mrs. Brown,” she said as she turned back to face the woman who was studying her as if she were about to paint her portrait, “I need to speak to you before we get started. It’s a matter with quite a bit of urgency.”“I’m sure one of them dresses Lucy gave me oughtta do nicely,” Molly muttered as if she hadn’t heard Meg’s comment. “Maybe the black one… or the red…”“Lucy?” Meg repeated. “As in Lady Duff Gordon?”“Oh, yes,” Molly replied. “How handy is it to have a famous dress designer on board when you have a fashion emergency?”Meg swallowed hard. If Lucy knew she were borrowing her dress, she’d definitely want to see her in it. And then she’d certainly let everyone know who she was, which could be q
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Meg took a deep breath and steadied herself to say a phrase she had only repeated to those the very closest to her over the last several years. “My Uncle Bertram began molesting me when I was seven years old.” Molly gasped, but Meg didn’t wait. She needed to power on or else she would lose her courage to speak. “I thought it was my fault, that I’d done something wrong. I tried to tell my mother, but she punished me severely for saying such things about my uncle. Anytime I tried to reach out to anyone, that person would end up hurt… or worse. I even contemplated telling Charlie, but my mother read everything I wrote to him. I had no one to turn to, and despite the fact that marrying him would provide a means of escape, all my mother ever talked about was marrying into the Ashton family so we could live by their means. My mother is a greedy, vindictive woman. I have no idea how someone as kindhearted and loving as my father could have ever seen her
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They were late. Not as late as Meg had anticipated considering they hadn’t even begun dressing until almost five o’clock, but slightly late nonetheless. Dressed in a velvet and silk Chantilly lace gown in black, with a small train, square neckline, and netted sleeves, featuring red floral embroidered tulle at the waistline and splendid bead work, her hair in a low chignon with matching beads interlaced, a diamond necklace she had borrowed from Molly featuring a flor de lis and matching diamond earrings, and red, satin, beaded slippers, Meg was finally beginning to feel like herself again.She had briefed Molly on precisely who she felt she needed to avoid, as best she could tell, and they had come up with a plan for what to do should her cover be blown. Arriving a bit late actually helped in some ways, as most of the diners were already seated before she entered, giving less of an opportunity for them to linger at the bottom of the grand staircase. In fac
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As soon as he entered his room, Charlie took off his jacket and tie, tossing them on the back of the sofa before collapsing into his usual chair, his head in his hands. Despite having spent most of the last week feeling like a fool, nothing could possibly top this level of idiocy.Molly was perched on the arm of the sofa nearby, giving him a moment to collect himself, no doubt. When he didn’t speak, she finally said, “Listen, Charlie, there’s a lot more to this story than you realize.”“I hope so,” he finally muttered. “Otherwise, I am simply the biggest imbecile ever to walk the face of the earth.”“Oh, come on now,” she scolded, “that’s not true. Charlie, when you hear her side of the story, I think you’ll realize this has a lot less to do with you than you think it does.”“Less to do with me?” he asked, sitting up straight. “Molly, we were engaged for
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It wasn’t as if Meg hadn’t had plenty of time to prepare herself for this. She’d known all along that he would react precisely the way he had, though she was actually surprised he had let her go without chasing her down and yelling at her. Maybe that would still happen, though she doubted it. He was an extremely level-headed person, and while she still expected to face him, she was fairly certain he was more likely to be disappointed than angry. In a way, she had actually wished he would have followed her, called her every name in the book. At least then she’d know how he was doing. Now, she could only assume he was somewhere cursing her name. Or perhaps she had meant so little to him that he was able to shrug it off and go on about his way.She didn’t think that was the case, however. No, she was quite confident that Charlie was brokenhearted again—at her hand. The feelings of despair and guilt she was wallowing in now were well deserved,
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“What do you mean you think I should go talk to her? Are you mad? You of all people should know everything I’ve been through. The last thing I need to do is go talk to her!”“Well, no, not right now,” Jonathan admitted. He had only been in Charlie’s stateroom for a few minutes, but he had easily ascertained that his friend was hammered, a rarity. “Right now, what you need to do is put that bottle of Jameson down and go sleep this one off.”“You don’t understand, Jonathan. She. Lied. To. Me. Again!” He was standing on the outside deck, bottle in one hand, glass in the other, his shirt mostly unbuttoned, shoes off, still in his suit pants, and Jonathan was doing his best to ensure he kept his voice low enough that the other First Class passengers nearby in their staterooms couldn’t hear him.“Why don’t you come inside, and we’ll talk about it in there?” he asked for abo
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Charlie heard a stirring from the main living quarters and emerged from the bathroom to find Jonathan with an array of potential brunch items. “Good morning,” he said. “I’m guessing you’re probably not hungry, but I did order some dry toast—which I think is probably your best option. And possibly some orange juice.”Charlie waved both items away and dropped onto the couch on his back. “Why is the sun so bright?” he asked, tossing a pillow over his face.“Let me turn it down for you,” Jonathan said sarcastically. He did, however, adjust the blinds to make sure they were closed as tightly as possible.“How much did I drink?” Charlie asked, pressing the pillow against his eyes.“From what I can tell, about a bottle of brandy, and most of a bottle of Jameson.”“Don’t ever let me drink alcohol again, all right?” he said, muffled by the pillow.
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