Cherbourg, France, 10th April 1912
Henry was unsettled by what he learnt at dinner. In his haste to purchase his tickets he hadn't paused to check the ships schedule.
They would be docking in Queenstown tomorrow morning to pick up more passengers. He wasn't too worried. Now he had met Jane and Joséhe reason not to jump ship. He doubted Jane would let him even if he wanted to. She had been keeping a watchful eye on him all afternoon. She must have sensed his anxiety.
He liked them both immensely. They both had their flaws but they had seen he was alone and welcomed him into their circle. Right now they were at a party in the general room. He had been invited to join them but he needed some time alone. It had been a long and overwhelming day. Jane had seemed concerned when he begged off but she let it slide. José hadn't even noticed.
Henry had returned to the bench they had been sitting at earlier. It was the calmest spot he had found so far and he thought it would be a good place to write. Though, he had to admit, his motives in choosing this spot weren't entirely pure. He had been thinking about 'her' all afternoon and was hoping the mysterious woman from earlier might make an appearance.
It was only early evening but the sky was full of stars above him. A warm glow spilled out from the ships windows onto the deck. It was quiet except for the distant sound of the party and the waves crashing against the hull.
He was alone except for the odd wanderer also seeking solitude. It should be the perfect time to get some writing done but there were too many thoughts swirling about his head.
Henry thought of the guys back at the vineyard. The people he had left behind without a goodbye. He hoped John would give them his apologies.
He also thought of Rev. Laurent who would be expecting him on Tuesday. His help had been invaluable and Henry didn't want him to think he was ungrateful.
He would have to write to them all when he had a new address. Not that he knew where that would be just yet. There was one answer gnawing at the back of his mind but he didn't want to think about that right now or he would be getting off in Queenstown.
He shouldn't worry anyway. He doubted he would be welcome there after all this time… He was thinking about it again.
He could have just stayed in France and avoided all of this. It was lovely this time of year.
Bang.
That was when he heard it, the sound of a weighted object hitting the wooden floor and rolling. He listened for anything further that might explain what the strange noise was but it was silent.
Henry waited a moment longer until his curiosity got the better of him. He put his notebook away and went to investigate. It wasn't as if he had been writing anything anyway.
The sound had not been far from where he was sitting. He only had to walk a few steps and around the corner to find his answer. A small wooden spinning top. It must have fallen from the deck above.
Henry picked it up and felt its weight in his hand. Thank goodness he wasn't sitting under it when it fell. That would have hurt like hell.
There didn't seem to be anyone around to claim the toy but he remembered hearing some children playing on the first class deck. The toy looked expensive and well-loved. He imagined whoever lost it would want it back. When no one appeared to collect it he decided to track the owner down himself.
There was a narrow staircase that would lead him to the promenade and he climbed until his path was blocked by a sign proclaiming 'No third class passengers allowed beyond this point'. There wasn't anyone around to stop him. It felt like he was trespassing but he continued on.
When he reached the top of the staircase, he found himself on the aft end of the first class deck. A few steps away from where the woman had stood. He looked behind him at where he had been sitting. It was a long way down. He must have looked quite sinister from her perspective.
He was in a large open space but there was no one in sight. He walked to the covered section of the promenade.
About halfway down the walkway sat a woman sat with three children. His breath caught in his throat. It was her. She had changed her outfit and was wearing a wide brimmed hat but it was definitely the woman from before.
He approached with trepidation. He didn't belong on this deck and didn't want them to be startled when they saw the scruffy steerage passenger lurking behind them. The woman would probably think he was stalking her.
He had spent the afternoon thinking about her. What if she was arrogant and judgmental and not at all what Henry's fantasies had led him to believe. If he didn't frighten her she would probably brush him off like an annoying fly or call to have him removed from her presence.
He couldn't back away now. Today was a day of standing up to his own cowardice and he wasn't planning on ending it here.
The children looked up first which must have alerted her to his presence. She turned to him with those same piercing eyes and he felt his step falter. She was even more stunning up close.
As he approached she stood to meet him. She must have recognised him as the man who had been staring at her like a crazy person, but she didn't say anything. Neither did he. They just stood there looking at each other. He didn't know for how long. It could have been two seconds or two hours. Henry couldn't tell. He'd lost all sense of time.
He remembered he was holding the toy in his hand. He didn't really know what to say so he held it in front of him and choked out the words, "I found this".
She looked down at it and opened her mouth to say something. Her voice caught and she had to stop to clear her throat. "Thank you" she said. Her voice was quiet and kind of nasally. It made Henry's knees feel weak.
She took it from his hand and their fingers brushed. The woman's cheeks went a little bit red. She turned and ushered a young boy forwards. He was very cute, dressed in a sailor suit. The woman handed him the toy and he took it eagerly.
"What do you say Jason?" she asked.
The little boy thanked him shyly then ran off to play spin the top as if he and his toy had never been parted.
If he was polite he would leave now but the woman made no move to dismiss him. Instead she just stood there looking at him expectantly.
"They hire them young on the Titanic!" he said awkwardly in reference to the boy's sailor outfit. He expected her to be turned off by his amateur attempt at small talk but instead she beamed proudly and looked back at her son.
"Yes, I heard they let him go from the steam rooms" she played along. "Can't reach the furnaces."
Henry's cheeks hurt from trying not to smile like an idiot. He didn't really know what to say then for fear of blurting out how much he was attracted to her. He didn't have to worry about saying anything, she beat him to it.
"You were staring at me earlier" she said seriously, as if he might have forgotten.
"So were you" he said back. He sounded defensive. He didn't mean to.
"I'm sorry". She said. "I don't mean to— I'm not accusing you of anything… If I was, it would be quite hypocritical of me". She laughed nervously. God she was beautiful.
"You don't have to apologise".
"I'm Elizabeth" she said. The name suited her. Elegant, sophisticated.
"Henry" he shook her hand.
"Henry…" She repeated his name as if mulling it over.
"Yes" he said questioningly still holding her hand. "Is that alright with you?"
"Sorry" she laughed and her smile took his breath away. "I just—never mind". She let go of his hand. He wished she hadn't. They stood there silently. He knew he should make his leave. He had done what he came here to do but he didn't want the conversation to end.
"You looked peaceful earlier… watching the sea." He knew that sounded stupid, even a little creepy. It just came out of his mouth.
"I find it relaxing" she said. They had that in common.
He motioned with his head to the railings that stood a few feet from them. She glanced at the children to make sure they were alright before she followed him. They seemed to be absorbed in their activities. The two girls were making up clapping games and laughing when their hands missed. Jason was still playing with his spinning toy.
They stood against the railings for a while. The conversation had fizzled out but the silence wasn't uncomfortable. Every so often someone would walk past them and give a strange look at the odd pairing. He didn't let it bother him. She didn't seem to notice.
She began fidgeting beside him and he wondered if the silence was making her uneasy. Then he noticed she was shivering. She must be freezing in only a thin overcoat, and those fancy gloves didn't look like they would protect her from anything other than hollandaise sauce.
"I would offer you my scarf but I don't think it would go with that dress of yours" he said.
"You keep it" she tried to smile and shivered harder.
He took it off and handed it to her anyway. She looked at him like he had two heads. "You'll freeze!" she said.
"Well by the looks of it you already are. We can freeze together". She wrapped it around her neck and smiled lightly through the wool as she held it to her face.
"You must be mad. You don't even know me" it was muffled.
"You're the one accepting items of clothing from complete strangers" he teased.
"Thank you" she said. "For the scarf and for bringing back Jason's toy. It's one of his favourites."
"I'm glad he dropped it." Henry said seriously and she blushed. "Even if he almost concussed me in the process!"
She let out a sharp maniacal cackle that couldn't have contrasted her appearance more.
"I'm glad you think that's funny" he said and bumped lightly against her. Why he did that he didn't know. But she bumped him lightly back.
Her face was still buried firmly in his scarf but her eyes gleamed with mischief.
"You're lucky there wasn't a watchman about. I hear they're pretty strict about who they let up here" he said.
She looked down and he was worried he'd said something to upset her.
"Did I say something—"
"No!" her head shot up. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry if I implied you shouldn't be here, or made you feel uncomfortable or —"
Was she serious? "I was only kidding" he cut her off. He had no idea what she was talking about. She could have taken the toy and brushed him off like he was nothing. Instead she was here laughing at his jokes and hogging his scarf.
"Besides" He said. "it's not quite as fancy up here as I was led to believe." She had a weird combination of amusement, confusion and relief on her face and it made Henry feel mushy inside. "I mean, it could probably do with a spruce of paint. And what's with the lack of cushioning on those deck chairs!" he gestured behind him in mock horror. "I'll have to have a word with the man in charge."
She scoffed "dreadful isn't it! You ought to talk to Mr Ismay. He surely has a lot to answer for." She smiled, bumping into his side again.
Elizabeth turned and leant her back against the railing. She opened her mouth something witty but instead her brow furrowed and she said "wait, where did he go?" The change in tone threw Henry though a loop.
"Huh?" He said, not really sure what she was asking him.
"Jason." There was an edge to her voice.
He looked around. He couldn't see the little boy.
"Girls" Her voice cracked slightly. "Where is your brother?"
The two girls stopped playing to look around, puzzled.
He looked left then right. The promenade seemed to stretch for miles but it was a straight walkway with very few places for a little boy to hide.
Elizabeth walked a few steps away from him and called Jason's name. When there was no response she tried again.
"Jase! Come on, playtimes over!" The girls looked at him confusedly.
He walked over to Elizabeth and placed a reassuring hand on her arm. "He's only got little legs, he can't have gotten far" he said and took a step back at the look she gave him.
"I really don't appreciate your sense of humour" she said. Any sign of the Elizabeth he had been joking with a minute ago was gone. She was now very much in crisis mode.
Her eyes widened. "Oh my God! There was that man," she grabbed his arm. "Before- there was that man by himself!" It took him a moment to picture who she was talking about. The man in question had been sitting fifty feet from them reading a book. He had seemed unassuming to Henry but his presence and now lack thereof was causing Elizabeth to work herself into a state.
"Don't panic," he said as he pried her fingers from his arm. "Jason's probably playing hide and seek. Children wander off from their parents all the time"
"Oh God!" She cried.
"They show back up again!" he said quickly.
"That's not comforting. Like at all" she waved her hands in front of her. The girls had wandered over to them. They were starting to get worked up the more their mother was.
"Look" he said calmly. "His spinning top isn't here. It probably rolled off again and he went after it."
She was trying to calm her breathing but her eyes still shone with panic. She glanced to her right at the churning icy water beyond the railing. He knew what she was thinking. He needed to stop her from panicking. She was starting to scare the two little girls who clung to her skirts.
"I'll go down onto D deck and see if he's there. We'll look around first before we raise any alarms, ok?"
She nodded, biting her lip. "I'll check inside."
This was not how he had imagined his evening going. He supposed this counted as taking his mind of things. It just wasn't in the way he had expected. He didn't know what was happening. He had known Elizabeth for less than ten minutes and she had already challenged everything he thought he knew about upper-class women. She wasn't afraid to talk to him and when she did, she was fun, witty, smart and caring. When she laughed it made him feel warm and when she worried he felt the overwhelming need to fix it.
He hoped she was holding it together for herself and those girls. At the realisation that Jason was missing her mood had turned so quickly he wasn't sure if he had been left with whiplash.
After they parted, he made his way back down the staircase to search for her runaway child. He gave a cursory glance around the deck but there was no sign of Jason. The further Henry had to walk without the boy making an appearance left him wondering if maybe he should consider those worst case scenarios that Elizabeth had thrown out. Suddenly everyone he passed seemed suspicious.
He was about ready to sound the alarms when he finally spotted Jason and the relief that filled him almost bowled him over. The little boy was sat up on his knees holding onto the railing as he looked out to sea. When he realised the boy was crying Henry's walk turned into a run.
He carefully crouched down next to Jason so not to startle him. "Hey Buddy. You gave your mom quite the fright!" And me too he thought. "What's the matter?"
"It went in" was his teary response.
"Your toy?" Jason nodded and swiped the tears off his face.
"Oh no. I'm so sorry Bud. Come on let's go back to your mom. Ok?" He offered him a hand. Jason nodded again and took it as they both rose to their feet.
He continued to cry quietly to himself as they walked back along the deck. Jason's clothes clearly placed him as a wealthy child and a few people gave them funny glances as they passed.
If they were so concerned for the boy's welfare they should have stepped in before when it counted.
Jason struggled with the stairs that seemed too big for his little legs so Henry picked him up and carried him the rest of the way.
They rounded the corner to the covered promenade to see Elizabeth talking with the man from before. He wouldn't call it arguing, more panic induced bickering.
As soon as Jason saw his mom his crying increased tenfold. Elizabeth ran forwards with relief on her face to comfort her crying son but the man seemed more concerned with Henry.
He grabbed Henry by the lapels of his jacket and got in his face. "You filth!" he spat. "What did you think you were doing with my son?!" Woah... What did he miss?
"Stephen!" Elizabeth said from her crouched position but 'Stephen' didn't take any notice and continued to jerk Henry about, waiting for an answer.
Elizabeth got up to intervene. "Stephen! Stop!" she put a hand on his arm. "He helped find Jason. He was bringing him back" she insisted.
The man calmed slightly but he still held onto his jacket.
"Jason wandered off. Henry was bringing him back." Elizabeth said, guiding his hands away from Henry.
"Wandered off?" Stephen asked him sceptically.
"That's about the long and the short of it" Henry said. "His spinning top fell overboard".
Stephen sighed dramatically, turning to Elizabeth. "Why do these things always happen when I leave you alone? You should have brought Nadine with you."
"I can manage by myself" She huffed, pulling Jason closer to her side.
"Clearly." Stephen said. Henry was right earlier. This man was an asshole.
"Well aren't you going to thank him?" Elizabeth asked Stephen.
Henry watched as the man wordlessly reached into his pocket and pulled out a one pound note. He stuffed it into Henry's hand. He didn't know what to make of that.
"One pound? Is that the going rate for helping your son?" That was more than Henry made in a week.
Stephen appraised him for a second before smiling amusedly. "Perhaps you could join us for dinner tomorrow evening?" he paused. "To tell us all about your tale… and to explain why my wife is wearing your scarf."
He'd forgotten about that. Elizabeth unwound the scarf and handed it back to him.
"I'll be there" he said as he made eye contact with Elizabeth. He knew Stephen was having fun at his expense. Why else would he be invited to dinner? But Henry wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to spend more time with Elizabeth. He might get some good food out of the bargain too.
"That's settled then" Stephen said and turned to Elizabeth. "Let's go in. its freezing and it's way past the children's bed time". Elizabeth held the kids close to her side as they walked away.
"You shouldn't have been wearing his scarf. I doubt that thing has ever been washed" Stephen said but she wasn't listening. She gave him one final glance over her shoulder before they stepped inside and out of his view.