One evening, once dinner was over, Alice lead us to the ballroom where a small band were playing softly in the center of the room. Angela excused herself and hurried upstairs, no doubt unwilling for attention.

Alice was promptly swept away by a tall dark haired man, but not before whispering in my ear to have fun and enjoy myself. Edward stood silently next to me as I wondered what I was supposed to do and if it would be rude to follow Angela upstairs. I turned to face Edward and voice my queries but when he smiled warmly at me all my thoughts jumbled together and I was momentarily stunned by his beauty.

"May I have this dance?" he requested with a gentle smile.

"I-of course" I stuttered, my normal sense of comfort around him impaired by the flawless smile now fixed on his face.

"I don't know how" I admitted as he placed his hand in mine.

"Don't worry" he replied confidently, as he placed his hand on my waist and I felt my heart stutter. He leaned his head down so that his breath tickled my neck "It's all in the leading" he whispered in my ear.

I concentrated on my feet the entire time, until I felt his breath tickle my neck again as he leaned down to whisper in my ear "Please have a little faith in my dancing skills Isabella, besides it would be a great shame not to be able to see those beautiful eyes of yours all evening"

I flushed and looked up into his face to see him smiling gently.

"I am sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I don't know what came over me"

"It's quite alright Edward"

He looked up and grinned at me, we continued dancing until the last bars of music faded away and I was so high on the magic of everything that I forgot for a while why I was here. Alice may make me feel like a princess with the expensive clothes, large rooms and delicate meals, but Edward made me feel special in completely different way. Which was simply absurd as we had know each other no more than a week and there were several social classes separating us.

Later that night I told Angela of our dance and she was very understanding, she informed me that he was a "mighty fine gentleman with a heart of gold" and that she was surprised he hadn't settled down already, although word was that no-one had taken his fancy.

9th April

It was the evening before we were due to board the RMS Titanic. I was secretly terrified about traveling on such a huge vessel and was afraid that all number of things could go wrong. I had been putting the terror off all week and now it seemed to have caught up with me. I couldn't sleep, whenever I shut my eyes scenes would play out before me of all the scenarios that could lead to our deaths. I wasn't normally such a pessimist but the stress of my fathers illness coupled with a fear of traveling was not a good combination.

I decided to go for a walk around the grounds of the hotel and so silently slipped my coat on over the top of my nightgown. It was long enough that no-one would be able to tell that I was wearing my night clothes and it was late enough, or rather early enough in the morning, that I probably wouldn't have to worry about anyone seeing me anyway. I left my hair down around my shoulders and headed out into the brisk Spring night. I exited through one of the side doors and emerged into a maze of sweet smelling bushes and bright flowers. I inhaled and immediately felt a lot calmer as I followed the familiar path to a bench where Angela and I had sat for a few hours a couple of days ago when Alice decided to let us off for one of her shopping trips. As I rounded the corner I noticed someone sat beneath the intricate web of roses that crawled gracefully up the hotel wall. He looked up before I could turn around and I was immediately met by a pair of curious emerald eyes.

"Isabella?" he placed his book back in his pocket and came over to me.

"I-I'm sorry to disturb you Edward. I couldn't sleep so I came down here for some fresh air"

"Not to worry, I was just wishing for some company actually" he smiled a breathtaking smile and I felt as though my heart had audibly sped up "looks like my prayers were answered."

He held out his hand and I took it, feeling as though energy ran through us where our skin touched. I immediately scolded myself for having such strong reactions to a man I hardly knew, and not to mention was completely out of my reach, even though I couldn't help it. He pulled me gently towards the bench and sat down next to me.

"Although I am sorry you couldn't sleep. What's bothering you?"

I was surprised that he could tell there was something wrong, although that was normally the reason for someone wandering around in the middle of the night. That lead me to wondering why he was out here.

"Nothing." I responded automatically, not used to someone taking an interest in my problems.

"That's okay, you don't have to tell me. Although you can tell me anything you know, if you ever feel like you just want to talk, I'm always here. I won't judge you."

I was startled; it was such an unusual thing for someone of his station to say to someone like me. Although if I had to chose anyone most likely to break the unspoken rules of society I would have said the Cullen's. But then maybe I was prejudice. Maybe I was so stuck in my stubborn beliefs that everyone of a first class nature was stuck-up and cared for no-one but themselves that I had blinded myself and had overlooked any form of kindness shown by anyone of the upper classes. I shook myself. No, Alice had told me that almost everyone she knew acted like they owned the world and that everyone should worship the ground they walk on. The Cullen's were different.

"It's nothing important. I was just worrying about my father" I told the half truth, praying that the main reason for my sleep depraved state would not be obvious to him.

"Ah, yes. I'm sorry, I heard about his illness."

"It's okay. Why are you out here? If I may be so bold as to ask" I looked down at my hands and fiddled with the hem of my coat.

"I couldn't sleep. I have no idea why, so I came out here to read" he held up his book. Wuthering Heights.

"I love that book" I said almost automatically; it had been one of my favorites since childhood and was one of the few books we had actually owned.

We talked for hours that seemed like only minutes, until the early morning sun started to throw weak golden rays through the plants at us and illuminated our faces. I excused myself and thanked him for his company before going back to the room I shared with Angela to get ready for the day ahead.