I could not believe the way that my new life was suddenly turning out, it was really to the point where all I wanted to do was laugh and cry at the same time, both for happiness and a mixture of sadness and frustration. I had always wanted my life to be like a fairytale, every time I watched "The Little Mermaid" or "Beauty and the Beast". I longed for the adventure and the romance. But what was that saying that people always say: be careful what you wish for. And sure enough, here I was in my room with my maid, getting ready for dinner, and sure enough I had gotten what I had always longed for: the adventure and the romance. The only problem was that I feared at what cost.
I winced slightly as Bryony suddenly poked me with one of the hair pins, and of course it was something that the girl noticed, as she quickly began to apologize.
Bryony, please, I assure you that it is quite alright," I attempted to reassure the nervous girl. After a while she quietly and timidly went back to work on my hair as I observed myself in the mirror. It may be that Bryony was acting skittish today but I could not deny that she was doing an excellent job, in my old life I had never been good at hair or makeup, and to now have it perfect all of the time was really something that in my old life I would have killed for.
I was snapped out of my thoughts by a knock at the door. Startled, I almost yelled for who was on the other side of the door. That however turned out to not be such a great idea, because the next thing I knew father came storming through the door, ready to kill someone.
"Attica, are you alright?!" he almost yelled in return.
"Yes father, forgive me, I was lost in my thoughts," I replied as I turned back to study Bryony's work. Father, on the other hand, was obviously feeling akward as he began shifting his weight and, after softly clearing his throat, said that he understood, although I was left wondering if he really did.
"Are you ready to leave for dinner?" he finally asked.
"Yes," was my only reply as I got up from my seat, and with a final nod and thank you to Bryony, left the room to join father.
"Mr. Corbett, may I introduce you to George Hollingford," Mr. Ismay said as he and Mr. Hollingford got up. He first came to greet father, but it was only when he greeted me that I shivered. I tried as hard as possible to conceal it: whether I succeeded or not was something that I would never know, but could only hope. The man before me had a gaze that would make a snake cower.
"Miss Cobertt, a pleasure to meet you," he greeted.
After fighting against every instinct to show my disgust towards this man in any way, I was finally able to reply, "Mr. Hollingford, the pleasure is all mine." This, however, only made me fight harder, as the response that I got from him was one that just sent more chills down my spine.
"Please, Mr. Cobertt, join us."
"Thank you, Mr. Hollingford."
Thank you? In his opinion maybe, but for me it was going to be a long night, but I was a woman, I knew that my opinion amongst these people, in this time, was worth nothing, so I reluctantly followed father to the table.
It was not long before my prediction came true. It was the same conversation as the previous night, only this time not only did the dialogue go in the direction of Mr. Hockley's and Miss Dewit Bukater's wedding, but also my wedding to the 'Ice Man', though the real trouble did not start until after dinner, when I had asked to be excused from the table, claiming that I was tired and that I was going to go back to the suite.
"Shall I escort you?" father asked as he began to get up from the table, but before he could I quickly assured him or tried to, I am not sure which one. I could tell that he was not pleased, but luckily he finally relented and I was allowed to return to my suite.
"Ah, Miss Cobertt." I had only been able to get a part of the way to the suite before a snake-like voice, which I only recognized all too well, interrupted me.
"Mr. Hollingford," I replied coldly. Every nerve in my body told me to run, but I knew that running would only result in a higher chance of harm and danger, so I gritted my teeth and stayed in place. "Can I help you?" I struggled not to show my disgust. The reply that I got did nothing to comfort my nerves. Mr. Hollingford simply gave a chilling grin and stepped closer.
"You may just be able to help me, Miss Cobertt." He stopped briefly, only to take a deep breath, the grin never once leaving his face. "You see, I know about your excursions." I felt my heart beat harder and harder as the man moved closer to me with every word he spoke.
"What do you want?" In my fear and anger I forgot the Edwardian protocols. Mr. Hollingford, however, did not seem to care.
"I should tell your father. God knows what he would do to you!" With another pause and breath he continued, "But I could just let it go, if..."
"If what?" I asked.
Mr. Hollingford then decided to take the final step and effectively sandwiched me between the wall and himself where I found myself defenceless and unable to do anything. It was then that Mr. Hollingford decided to raise his hand and with an even bigger grin began to fondle my cheek. I was too disgusted and scared to do anything about it.
"If you repay me in bed!" he whispered suggestively. His hand moved again, most likely to continue fondling me, but before he could a new voice broke through the tension in the hallway along with my fear, a voice that I made my heart skip a beat.
"Mr. Hollingford! Please step away from Miss Cobertt," Will commanded as he slowly yet confidently moved towards us.
"Mr. Murdoch, how nice of you to join us. Now please, move along and check on the bridge." The belittling in Mr. Hollingford's voice did not go unnoticed by me and by looking at Will he also noticed it.
"Sir, step away from Miss Cobertt, or I will have the Master at Arms fetched, and you will spend the rest of the voyage under arrest," Will said as he came right into Mr. Hollingford's personal space effectively intimidating him as he began to back up until I was finally able to once again breathe.
"Very well. Miss Cobertt, please try to be more careful, you would not want to get hurt next time."
I was not sure whether this was meant to be a threat or not, but in all honesty all I wanted was to get as far away from this man as possible. Mr. Hollingford, on the other hand, merely acted out the part that he had chosen and with one last glance walked down the hall until he was completely out of sight, and it was only then that I moved from my spot and launched myself at Will. I knew that it was wrong and that if someone saw us, the chance that we would be able to keep on getting away with our love, would be reduced to the microscopical proportions, but I simply broke down into sobs.
Will merely wrapped me tight in his embrace and, with his face buried in my hair, inhaled my scent. "It's alright, he is gone, you're safe now."
I shook my head, and in between sobs managed to speak, "No, I won't! He knows, Will... He knows about us... And he threatened to tell father... I will never be able to get away from him."
"Hey, Attica, look at me!"
Slowly I brought my head up to look deep into his eyes.
"Nothing is going to happen to you, to us, I won't let it, I promise."
I nodded, I wanted so hard to believe him, but I did not know how he would be able to protect me all the time.
"Attica, listen, when you are not with your father, I want you to be with me or Mr. Lightholler, you understand?"
I nodded and once again returned to find comfort in his embrace.
