CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Ada Banks awoke with a cacophony in her head; she could barely open her eyes as sunlight had slowly started to emerge in the confines of her small cabin. It took all the energy she could muster just to turn over and reach for a pocket watch Will had given her to read out the time.

Eight on the dot.

The previous night's happenings along with copious amounts of liquor and wine, provided to her by Sylvia Lightholler had resulted in one hell of a hangover. The last time she been hungover was at her and Will's engagement party years prior. A couple of Will's colleagues from the Wellington had brought different kinds of liquor. Wanting to impress his friends, she tried to outdrink them. It had resulted in not only a hangover, but also her being confined to bed for almost two days.

This however, was worse. Not only from the booze, but the circumstances that had brought on the booze. She could not and would not show her face at all today. Sylvia had been down the hall; knowing that her husband was probably on watch, she deduced that she would stop by and see how Ada was. Ada had been thankful for Sylvia's company whenever Will was out to sea. Even though this ship had served as the first place both Charles and Will had served together, it seemed like both of them would be out to sea almost around the same time. Nevertheless, they both lived near each other, in the small, sleepy town of Delbeattie. They were constant companions whenever the boys were away.

Ada placed a pillow over her head to escape from the ever growing light; she knew it would be a long day of recovery. A light rapping and gentle opening of the door found Sylvia peeking inside. What she saw shocked her; various items were thrown about, letters and photographs were ripped. Its remnants scattered carelessly about. She carefully maneuvered herself about, finding a covered heap in the bed.

Sylvia took her gloves off and sat gingerly beside her friend. "Ada.." She whispered. The covered mass moved slightly. "Ada, are you awake?" Sylvia whispered.

"Barely." Ada's voice was muffled with her pillow over her face.

"I would ask what happened in here, but I know what the answer is." Sylvia tried to remove the pillow, but Ada's hand would not budge. "You need to eat something dear."

Food was the last thing on the woman's mind; the very mention of food made the poor woman feel nauseous, causing her to almost involuntarily bolt up. Sylvia rushed over to the basin, grabbing it. The sudden movement combined with the nausea created a feeling motion sickness.

"I…I think I am going to be ill…" Sweat started to bead on the woman's forehead and a flush of heat overcame her. She could taste saliva pooling in her mouth, causing her to cover her mouth. In an instant, she doubled over, and vomited, barely missing the empty porcelain basin.

Sylvia soothed her as best as she could, pulling Ada's long, dark locks of hair away from her face. Ada's face red from the persistent regurgitating, tears forming in her eyes. Sylvia had never seen something so violent and gross. Charles was a great fan of the drink, but had never been resorted to such a state.

Soon after, Ada was reduced to dry heaves, the basin was a concoction of the previous night's dinner, and a dark abyss. She sat back on the bed, the back of her head hitting the headboard, causing her to cry out. Sylvia carefully moved the basin to the small end table and sat beside her ailing friend. She watched as the woman began to cry silent tears.

"You need to go to the infirmary."

Ada shook her head, "No, I want to stay here." She cried. "I cannot go outside, not after what happened last night."

Sylvia wasn't having it, "Listen here do not let some immature little girl ruin the remaining couple of days you have left here."

Ada smiled in embarrassment, "Yeah that same conniving little wench who stole my man up from under me."

"Ada, you know as well as I do that they will never see each other again once we reach New York. What you saw was nothing but a drunken encounter. The little whelp had probably never had a drink prior to being here."

"Well from the looks of him, he was enjoying himself." Ada sniffed, wiping her nose. "They were practically making love in front of me!"

Sylvia walked over to the small wardrobe and grabbed the first dress she saw. "Get dressed, you and I are going to go eat something. You need it, especially some tea."

"I am not going. Just bring me something here."

Sylvia threw the dress over to Ada. "Nonsense, I am going to get you a bath. Then I will have the basin switched out and you will get dressed and get some fresh air and a light meal."

With that, Sylvia went to find a stewardess to take care of the bath. Upon closing the door, Ada shrunk down into the warm confines of her covers, once again taking the pillow and putting it over her head. Knowing the woman, Sylvia would be true to her word. It would be a long day of avoiding the first class crowd and even Will….

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Will was hesitant to go to the first class church services; he wanted to switch with Lightholler and be on the bridge instead. He had not got much sleep, his mind went in between Ada and Angela. Both women were tormenting him in different ways: Ada was not the one he wanted to be with, in the last several months, she had started to show her true colors. She had grown to become impulsive, mercurial in her mood, and there were rumors of her seeing different men while he was away.

Before the holiday season, he had come across a letter addressed to another man that had been selected as an English professor at Oxford University. The contents of the letter alluded that they were in some sort of relationship. The words of admiration and pining on Ada's part had suggested that the pair had met frequently, and even consummated the relationship. It went on to further suggest that the other man had been married with children and he had decided not to pursue the relationship any further. It was then that the wheels in Will head had started to turn and Ada had no other choice but to be with Will as the fallback. He had never confronted her with his knowledge of it, instead sparing himself from the confrontation. His parents and her parents had started to put more pressure on the pair of them to tie the knot before going on the maiden voyage.

Meeting Angela had been the catalyst in his final decision of wanting to break things off with Ada. He never intended on anything going on more than just flirtation. However, in the last few days since meeting the younger woman, his mind constantly replayed every moment of their times together. When he looked at her, he would try to memorize every detail of her face, imprinting it into memory. Her green eyes and brown, chestnut hair, her dimples and apple cheeks. The squeak in her laughter would bring a smile to his face. It was the first time in a long time that he felt truly happy.

The problem was that she was set to marry another man. Despite her not wanting to, he had to maintain respect for that position. Her parents would never allow her to break it off. Angela had not directly explained why they were so adamant about her marrying the man, but he assumed that he had money and/or status. The very idea of it sickened Will, but he knew by interfering, he could make things even more complicated for her. That was the last thing he wanted for her.

Will went to his mirror, and adjusted his tie, then put a comb through his hair. Tiny streaks of grey stood out against his otherwise dark brown hair. A part of him felt that the age gap between him and Angela would be obvious. She was seventeen years his junior; although he could tell that Angela didn't see age with him, in the back of his mind he felt that things would change. He didn't want her to settle for him; as much as he didn't want to admit it. Also, he was afraid that she was choosing him over her fiancé, because he was the most desirable to her. As he looked at himself once more, he made his mind up: he would tell Angela that the last time they would see each other is when they dock. As for Ada, he would tell her that he their relationship has ran its course and that he would see to it that she go back to New Zealand to her family. The voyage back to Southampton would be a solemn one because of Angela, and an awkward one because of Ada.

Will shut his door behind him and upon leaving, he almost ran into Sylvia, who carried a basket in her hand. "Excuse me Sylvia." Will said out of surprise. "Are you looking for your husband?" She looked up him as she held up the basket.

"No, I am going to bring this to Ada." She said tersely. The basket contained various bath soaps and oils. "She will be indisposed for today." Will was a little taken back. "Indisposed?"

Sylvia nodded in response. "Yes, she overindulged last night with dark liquor." Will closed his eyes in slight guilt. "Is she alright?" He managed to ask.

"No." Sylvia simply stated. "She is not alright; she is heartbroken and doesn't know what to do with herself." She placed the basket down by her feet. "Listen, this is none of my business, but I do not understand how things could change between leaving a few days ago and now."

Will licked his lips. "It is rather complicated. Things just haven't been the same between Ada and me. Even before I got this assignment."

"Why couldn't you have told her this? She was set and determined to marry you once we touched land." Sylvia could tell that Will was starting to become uncomfortable.

"I do not want to talk about this, right now." Will tried to walk past Sylvia, only getting so far. "Listen, you really don't have to tell me what is happening, but she deserves the truth." Sylvia picked up the basket. "Just do her that favor." She said while walking off. He looked on as Sylvia walked down the corridor, left with the simple request resonating in his ears. He concluded that he would do just that, if Ada would allow him the time to tell her just how he truly felt.

He descended upon the stairs that led down to the floor where the services would be at. He could see that almost everyone has taken their spots both in the crowd and in the front. At the corner of his eye, he could see Captain Smith and Chief Officer Wilde making their way to the glass doors of the large room.

"Good morning there Willie, you look rather refreshed." Wilde said with slight sarcasm while smirking humorously. "Ada been giving you trouble?" He asked while patting Will's back. Will rolled his eyes and tried to put on a neutral front. "Always."

Wilde opened the door. "Well let's get this over with." With that, the three top officers walked in in unison. Will took his place beside Wilde, the Captain in the center. As Will grabbed his book of hymns, he looked up and saw that Angela was right in his line of sight, their eyes locking. Will felt the familiar feeling of butterflies fluttering in his stomach. She grinned at him while trying to make herself be noticed by her family. He started to notice that he was looking at her a little too much and looked down at the hymns pretending to be interested.

Wilde leaned into Will's left ear, "I'd much rather be up on the bridge." Will snickered in response. "That makes two of us." He whispered back. They both watched as the Captain walked towards the middle and had the attendants turn to Eternal Father, Strong to Save. Will wanted to get it over, grab a bite to eat and go to bed. With the stares of some of the first class lot, he knew that word of the previous night's altercation had been spread. It had been only a matter of time. As he looked up again while trying to mime the words of the hymn, he could see that Angela was having a hard time trying to follow along. Every now and then, she would look up at him. At that moment, he didn't want to hurt her, she was too innocent to be caught up in a mess like the one that had unfolded.

He found comfort in the fact that they would never see each other again after the next couple of days.