Woah. Sorry it's been a while. I had a bit of writer's block for this chapter and just didn't quite know how to write it. Plus, the Olympics and the Fabulous Five are a major distraction.
Tell me if there are any obvious grammatical or spelling errors. I didn't really do to much editing!
Thank you to Ariadne Oliver for the reviews! It means a lot to me! And to everyone else, please review this chapter and tell me how I'm doing and what needs improvement and whatnot!
Once again, I don't own any of these characters! With the exception of the briefly mentioned Duke of Farringside and Georgiana's brother, Owen. (I just had to make there be a brother. Otherwise, we'd have Downton Abbey style problems such as inheritance, and I'm not sure there'd be an heir quite as handsome and amazing as Matthew Crawley)
Anyway, HERE IS THE CHAPTER!
April 10, 1912- Aboard Titanic
"Ah, Good. You're here. We can go in now," Georgiana hear her father call to her as she began to descend the grand staircase.
Lord and Lady Manton were standing at the the base of the staircase. Her father was replacing his watch in his pocket while her mother was darting her eyes around the foyer, her mouth drawn in a tight line. The family began to walk towards the reception room, acknowledging acquaintances as was appropriate.
"Who are we dining with?" Georgiana inquired as they approached the double doors. She was already dreading what she knew would be a long and grueling night.
"I believe we're at a table with Captain Smith, the Astors, the Duff-Gordons, and some other Americans," Lord Manton replied.
Georgiana mentally groaned. She knew it would be an evening of mindless, pointless conversation with boring and superficial people. All the same; rich and careless, more interested in balls than securing rights for all. She forced a smile onto her face as she entered the glittery reception room. It was already full; with people milling about, greeting friends and talking amongst themselves. Georgiana could hear snatches of conversation and tinkling laughter from all sides.
The reception room itself was quite charming. Electric lights gave it a bright, airy feeling and potted plants were situated in various places, or atop the white tables.
"Oh, Lord Manton," Captain Smith was near the entrance to the room welcoming guests, his hat under one arm while he shook hands with the other. They approached him as he said, "Do you know Mr. and Mrs. Astor?"
It was a stupid question, really, Georgiana thought to herself. Everyoneknew who the Astors were and could recognize the couple's faces in a moment. They had been plastered on newspapers for months now. They had been everywhere after Mr. Astor—the richest man in America—had divorced his wife and married a girl half his age and younger than his son. Nevertheless, Georgiana greeted them as they all shook hands, Mr. Astor kindly and his wife shyly. She knew her mother less than approved of them—she had often rambled on about the scandal of it all. Glancing in her direction, Georgiana observed her pursed lips.
"Oh, and a touch of glamor at your table," Captain Smith exclaimed as what appeared to be a mother and her daughter drew nearer. "You'll have heard of Miss. Dorothy Gibson."
Georgiana gasped a bit in delight. Dorothy Gibson was a star of the recently emerging film industry, something that she was quite interested in. She had seen a film once and fell in love at once. Well, she fell in love with anything new or modern, really.
Miss. Gibson—a real dark-haired beauty in a deep green dress—practically pounced on the group while her mother stayed behind. "Oh, I doubt it," she proclaimed, a huge grin plastered on her face as she aggressively shook hands with the party. Lady Manton looked petrified at her antics—as well as rather confused. "Why should folks like you care about my crazy job?"
Dorothy turned back to the slightly overweight woman behind her. Grabbing her arm, Dorothy said, "And this is my mother."
"Hello," she smiled.
Georgiana realized that her mother had probably never seen a film—let alone heard of Dorothy Gibson. Deciding that this must be the source of her confusion, she leaned in and whispered to her, "Miss. Gibson the film star."
"Ah," she breathed. She lifted her head and smiled at Georgiana in thanks.
Since she was informing her mother on the significance of Miss. Gibson, Georgiana failed to notice the group of people now joining the party. Her eyes darted to the incoming people, and she let out a little gasp.
"And Mr. and Mrs. Widener. And their son, Harry."
Georgiana just couldn't escape Harry Widener. She turned away as they drew nearer, not knowing quite how to react. Her mother gave her a puzzled look. Of course, she didn't know that her daughter had met any of the Wideners before.
As Mr. and Mrs. Widener—two very elegant and regal people, Georgiana noted—exchanged greetings and pleasantries with her her parents, the Astors, Miss. Gibson, and Captain Smith, Georgiana finally looked towards Harry. He, once again, was staring at her. Flustered under his gaze—something that she was somewhat unfamiliar with—she searched for anything else to look at, eventually bringing her attention back to the group.
Another couple had joined the party—Georgiana vaguely recognized them from some social event—and the wife was now putting on a display about her dog.
Yes, it was going to be a very long night.
The long dining table was the liveliest in the room. The sounds of chatter filled the air as the lamp light bounced off the white walls and ceiling. Drinks had been served and the first course was to soon follow.
Georgiana leaned back in her chair. "This is just all so stupid," she thought to herself. The talk of the night was all praise for the Titanic; the grandness of the rooms, how it was on track to cross the Atlantic in record time, how a steerage passenger had run Mrs. Rushton over as she took a stroll. Where people were going to vacation, business they were attending to in the States, tales from their voyages; none of it interested her. "Why does any of this matter? It's so foolish."
She just could not escape himeither. Once she was shepherded into the dining, Georgiana had tried her best to be seated next to Dorothy Gibson. Her mother, however, had had different ideas. With a glint in her eyes, she had insisted that Georgiana be sat next to Mr. Harry Widener, as, "Since they might have things in common because of their similar age."
Georgiana had seen that glint in her mother's eyes before. She had seen it when the unmarried Duke of Farringside had come for dinner, and also at her debutante ball in London. She knew what was on her mother's mind. Marriage. Suddenly, her father's words came rushing back to her:
"You have forgotten that you are, in fact, a prisoner of your parents. That is, until you marry and settle down."
Anger flared within her. She would never let her parents win.
"And that's how I came across the first edition copy of Great Expectations."
She had completely zoned out of the conversation temporarily; lost in her thoughts and anger. To be honest, there wasn't really anything wrong with Harry. He was kind and funny with a remarkable personality. He was a graduate of Harvard and an avid book collector, and was returning to America from a book buying spree.
It wasn't really Harry who was the problem. Just who he was. Georgiana had discovered that his father was George Widener, the richest man in Philadelphia, and that Harry was heir to it all. In her mother's eyes, he was the perfect tool to avoid scandal and end her problem. And she had vowed to never let her parents have the satisfaction of bringing her down.
And that's why she couldn't stand him.
Deciding that she must talk to him, Georgiana said, "What a wonderful novel. I love Charles Dickens."
"As do I!" Harry exclaimed, leaning forward and closer to her. For some reason, Georgiana found herself leaning towards him as well.
Harry continued, "My main prize was a copy of Francis Bacon's essays."
Genuinely impressed, Georgiana nodded, asking, "First edition?"
Waiting a second, he answered, "Not quite, no."
Looking at him, she found his eyes very close to her own. Georgiana momentarily got lost in the brown orbs, flecked with gold, before she noticed what she was doing. Scolding herself, she turned away and smiled.
He added, "Second. 1598. I'll show it to you if you like."
This sent warning alarms off in her head. Trying to steer the subject away from any future possible encounters, she remarked, "It's rather sad that all our old books and pictures seem to be emigrating these days."
Raising his glass, Harry whispered, "In search of a better life."
"So, why is Lady Georgiana Grex travelling to America?" he questioned.
She paused for a moment, not quite knowing what to say. For some unknown reason, Georgiana couldn't make herself tell him her parent's lie.
"My father has business in New York, and my mother has some acquaintances to see there as well. Seeing as my brother—Owen—is studying at Eton, I would have been all alone at the Manor. So I decided to come alone."
It wasn't completely a lie, thought Georgiana to herself as she leaned back in her chair, trying to avoid Harry's gaze. Those were in fact the reasons that her parents were travelling to the New World. But they had been quite prepared to leave her at Ridgeton Manor by herself until the arrest.
Harry obviously hadn't noticed the uneasiness her voice as he merely smiled and gave her a knowing look, replying, "Ah, I see. Well, you should go up to Newport if you have time. It's lovely there this time of year."
As the first course neared, they both collapsed into silence. Harry turned to talk to Miss. Gibson, who was seated at his left, and Georgiana sat still for a moment lost in her own thoughts. Why did it seem that she and Harry had some strange connection? And why hadn't she been able to tell him about the lie? She had already told it to countless people in the dining room as her parents gave her a strict look...
She saw her father giving her a knowing smile from across the table, his eyebrow quirked up. Georgiana knew in an instant he must have heard the entire conversation and the lie.
She saw triumph in his eyes.
She knew she had to stop talking to Mr. Harry Widener if she was going to win this battle.
