Eric wasn't afraid of Warren, nor was he concerned for his own welfare if the brute did intent to hurt him. So why was it that he currently found himself withdrawing over two and a half thousand pounds from his bank account?*

Acquiring three first class tickets hadn't been easy, in fact it had been pretty much impossible. Nobody was willing that give up their space aboard Titanic and miss being a part of such a historic voyage.

It had been over a week of fruitless searching and arguments before Eric had finally persuaded somebody to sell. An old business rival of his father. The mere thought of handing so much money to a man who had given Eric's father so much grief over the years made the young man shiver. The only reason he had approached the man at all was because Titanic set sail in less than there weeks, and his desire to provide Ariel with happiness was stronger than anything he had ever encountered.

Grimsby had just about had a fit when he learned of how much Eric was paying, and Eric himself knew that the amount was eccentric; it being more than double what had been paid for the tickets in the first place.

The twenty four year old practically collapsed into his desk chair once he returned home, an envelope containing the tickets firmly clasped in his hand. He hated arguing with people, and as a result had been in a constant state of panic all week, thought always out of view of others. Eric could honestly say that he was utterly drained.

"Eric, I really must protest," proclaimed Grimsby, bursting into the study, "this is absolutely ludicrous!"

Eric looked up at the man, his blue eyes calm despite Grimsby's uncensored hysterics, and had just opened his mouth to speak when he was interrupted by a heavy knock at the front door.

Eric closed his eyes for a moment and sighed, bringing a hand to his head as Grimsby straightened up and left the room.

Within a matter of moments Warren was stood in the doorway to Eric's study, his huge frame meaning that Grimsby had no other option than to remain outside in the hallway.

Warren's eyes scoured the room before coming to rest the tickets that Eric had not moments ago set down upon the desk.

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards as he stepped further into the study, shutting the door behind him and sliding the bolt across with a deep metallic thud.

"It's about time" he said, holding out his hand in a simple gesture.

Eric rose steadily to his feet and walked round his desk to stand in front of Warren.

"Is Ariel here?" he asked.

"Why would she be? If she were then she would know you bought the tickets."

Eric couldn't ignore the sound of satisfaction in Warren's voice as he said that. That had been his plan all along, to persuade Ariel that he had managed to get her first class tickets aboard Titanic and neglect to mention that Eric had anything to do with it. The upperclassman could feel anger rising inside him. He'd worked hard to get these tickets, and he wasn't about to sit back and let Warren take undue credit for them.

"I'd rather give them to her myself" he said calmly.

The lower class man scoffed. "You think you can win her over?" he asked sceptically. "You don't stand a chance, I've told you before, she's mine!"

Eric narrowed his eyes at Warren's comment. He never failed to objectify her, always treating as though she were his property, and while many men would argue than she was, it was one thing that Eric couldn't stand.

"You don't own her Warren" he retaliated, slightly unnerved by the slow movements of the larger man as he studied the room.

His comment caused Warren to freeze, before crossing the room in two giant strides and wrapping his hand around the younger man's neck.

With Warren's sweaty face now only inches away from his own, Eric could smell the alcohol in his breath, and clearly see what damage excessive tobacco use had done to his teeth.

"Neither do you!" Warren shouted, "and you never will. I got her first!"

The hand around Eric's neck wasn't particularly tight, but his rough hands still hurt to some degree, and in an attempt to release the grip Eric brought up his own hand.

But Warren was't having any of it. In a flash he caught Eric's wrist and twisted his arm awkwardly behind his back, preventing him from moving without sending shocks of pain through his shoulder.

Eric grunted in pain as the grip around his neck became tighter, causing his breaths to come out in short gasps. If Ariel saw anything at all in this man it remained a complete mystery to him.

"Now listen carefully," spat Warren, "I don't like Ariel, but I'd do anything to stop her from ending up with someone like you. You, with your money and your big houses, you've done nothing to deserve it."

Eric could feel himself becoming slightly lightheaded, and tried desperately to force air past Warren's vice-like grip and into his lungs. He could hear Grimsby on the other side of the door, and could see the doorknob shuddering as his guardian tried unsuccessfully to enter the room. He really was beginning to wish he'd listened to the old man.

So baffled was he by this turn of events that it took him a while to register exactly what Warren had said, that the hatred he had harboured against him for years was simply due to the fact that he had been born in an aristocratic family. The next realisation hit him even harder, that being that Warren had deliberately taken Ariel from him without ever loving her at all. She deserved better than that, and had Eric any strength left he would certainly have given Warren a piece of his mind. As it was, he struggled now to draw even the faintest breath, his chest heaving as he fought to escape.

When had Warren's grip gotten so tight?

Seeing that he had made his point, Warren released the younger man, shoving him to the floor.

Oxygen flooded into Eric's lungs the second he was released, and he struggled, gasping, to his hands and knees.

"You tell anybody about this and I will know," said Warren smoothly, picking up the envelope from the desk where Eric had left them, "and mark my words, it won't be you who pays for it. If you really care about her, you'll keep your mouth shut."

"Don't you dare hurt her!" rasped Eric.

"Then keep quiet" said Warren bluntly, sliding the bolt back as soon as Eric was on his feet. With that, he left the room, leaving Eric leaning against the desk, staring after him in complete and utter bewilderment until Grimsby rushed into the room.

"Eric! Good heavens my boy, what happened? You're hurt! That's it, I'm calling the police!"

"No!" cried Eric desperately, stopping his guardian as he reached for the phone. "There's no need, honestly it's fine."

"But that... that—"

"Leave him Grim, he's not worth it," interrupted Eric, bringing a hand up to tentatively rub his already bruised neck. "I can deal with it."

Author's Note: *Two and a half thousand pounds (£2,500) by today's rates would be almost £300,000 (about $450,000)