We managed to get some kind of clothing on before Reggie and Louise came to get us dressed for the ship. I couldn't imagine how I'd be able to face her if she had found me as I was the night before, skin flushed and laying wantonly over Will. It was better to done a nightgown at some point, and for Will to slip on a pair of pajamas and at least make it look like we hadn't been so absorbed in each other that we couldn't have cared less about clothing.

Dressed in yet another traveling suit, Louise and I met Will and Reggie in the hallway. He was wearing a lighter gray suit, and I could see the cufflinks Mother had given him on his cuffs. We kept ourselves mostly quiet as we headed downstairs, it was so early that even most of the staff was still asleep. The carriage was being left, a hired cab waiting to for us. We were loaded up fairly quickly, and pulled out into the just stirring city.

"Ah, there she is." Will murmured as we pulled up to where we would board. The St. Paul was an older ship, but she had made the crossing many times and the cabins we had booked were quite adequate to what we wanted. It also helped that not many of New York society would be onboard, if any of them. The would stick to the Olympic, the Mauritania and the other new, faster, fancier ships.

I had to admit, I was looking forward to taking the Mauritania back to New York at the end of our honeymoon.

"American Line, here we are." The driver parked along the curb, and Will handed both Louise and myself out. Reggie carried our two valises, and we were among the first to head onto the gangways. It was not crowded, and our tickets were quickly accepted and a steward showed Will and I to our cabin. Reggie and Louise were whisked off to their own cabins, and Will and I sank onto the edge of the bed. It was a well appointed space, even if the furniture was rather outdated.

"Well, I suppose I could sleep here." Will leaned back onto the bed, sighing. "Although it will be hell to get out of this bed for my watches."

I laughed as I lay down with him. "And leave me all alone in a cold bed? My, you are a poor husband."

"A poor husband with a nagging wife, constantly begging for him to resume their marital relations." He chuckled, turning on his side to look at me. "Ah, Ana. Sometimes I still don't know if I'll get used to this?"

"Taking a holiday?" I reached out, adjusting his tie.

"Having a wife again."

"Oh."

He caught my fingers, bringing them up to kiss. "It's a blessing, to have you here. I've quite forgotten how pleasant it is to have someone beside me, a person I love." I brushed those fingers across his cheek, his eyes closing and a sigh breathing through his lips. "I've missed it, so much."

"I'm so glad to have you Will," I closed my eyes, leaning back onto the bed. "So lucky to have found you." We were quiet, simply gently touching and breathing in each other. I could even hear the clock ticking as we lay together, the sound of the other passengers boarding. The only thing to interrupt us was the ship's whistle, calling out a warning that departure was coming soon. I shifted against Will, his hand stroking my back. "Should we head up?"

"I suppose." He sounded resigned as he withdrew his hand, both of us standing and adjusting our clothes to avoid wrinkles. I hoped Reggie and Louise were enjoying the slightly crowded deck as we gained it, passengers waving handkerchiefs and calling farewells to those on the dock. I wasn't even sure if this was their first major trip, I would ask her about it. It was not a long walk up to the boat deck, the last thing myself or Will wanted was to have a cabin far belowdecks. Not after what had happened, it felt safer to be near the top of the ship.

The sight of the lifeboats, their number clearly having been supplemented recently, also made me feel safer.


The crossing was proving to be a smooth one, three days out from New York and the only negative had been a cloudy day that the other passengers had complained about endlessly. As usual when he was onboard a ship, Will almost fell back into his routine. I couldn't count the number of times we promenaded up and down the deck, him considering our course and speed. We were in fact examining the speed of the ship at the moment, Will trying to determine how fast we were going simply from the way the ship was cutting through the water.

Tired of listening to his mumbled math, I waved down a steward as he walked by. "Pardon me, but do you happen to know how fast we are going?"

"Looking to win the lottery?" The steward laughed, "Well, I can certainly ask for you ma'am, but I don't think we're going over fourteen knots. We haven't gone any faster than that and I've been on this ship for ten years." I smiled, sending him on his way.

With a hand on my hip, I turned to Will. "Satisfied?"

"I'll want to take some measurements tonight." He stepped back from the railing, "I did pack a few of my instruments. I don't suppose you'd mind?"

"Of course not, after dinner though." I took his arm, and we slowly ambled back belowdecks. I had saved my finest gowns for Paris and London, but the shimmering silver silk that I wore was still beautiful. Silky charmeuse was draped around my hips, a beaded belt showing off my waist. Louise had even placed my sapphires in my hair and around my neck. It was one of the few times I saw Will get dressed, and I was almost frustrated by how simple everything was. All he had to do was don a finer jacket for dinner and place his tie stick in place. I shook my head as we left the room, "You have it far too easy in terms of getting dressed."

"Did you enjoy watching Reggie hand me my gloves?" Will teased, those self same gloves reaching over to pinch my hand. "I quite enjoyed watching Louise get you into your gown." His lips brushed my ears, his voice a whisper. "I'll enjoy getting you out of it much more."

I blushed. "Oh stop it, you. Remember, you wanted to go get measurements tonight and calculate out where we are."

"That will only take a moment, and the night is long." Will growled theatrically, pulling me closer to him. I laughed as my feet got caught up for a moment, and he generously allowed me a moment to collect myself before we continued into the dining saloon. The food we had been receiving was refined and tasty, but tonight we were expecting an even better spread. The captain had invited us to dine at his table, in celebration of our marriage.

He was there already, in his formal uniform and with champagne already on ice. He stood, reaching out to take Will's hand. "Mr. Murdoch, congratulations. I'm honored you and Mrs. Murdoch chose my ship to take."

"Thank you for inviting us," Will managed after a moment, shaking his hand. "It was a pleasant surprise to get your invitation for tonight, Captain Pierce." We all settled down at the table, allowing the stewards to step forward and begin serving the first course. Will took a drink of water before speaking again. "You run a tight ship, I'm quite impressed."

"I shall take that as a compliment." Captain Pierce nodded, "Knowing that you have served on such grand ships makes it even more impressive."

"Yes, well," Will ducked his head a bit. "I never strayed to those areas much, let alone resided in them as a passenger."

"Still, we are quite pleased with everything." I patted his arm as I began to start in on the soup that had been brought. "Especially the dinner tonight."

"My crew and I are quite flattered." Captain Pierce tucked into his own soup at that. It was only after the last bits of potato soup had been scooped up and savored that he spoke again. "If there is anything that we can do to make your crossing more pleasant, you have only to let us know."

Will was already cutting into the salmon that had been presented to him. "The only thing I could think of is some paper, I was going to show Ana here how to calculate your position based on the stars tonight, but I'm afraid I haven't had the chance to get my hands on some."

"Of course," Captain Pierce waved over a steward, relaying the request. He seemed a rather quiet man, simply asking how we enjoyed the food, the ship, the weather, but falling quiet in between courses. In the end, it was a rather quick dinner, for Captain Pierce was not a man to indulge in drink or in a cigar after dinner, instead excusing himself to return to the bridge. Which meant that Will and I made a quick stop at the cabin for his navigation tools, a pen and the paper that had been placed there by a steward. It took a moment to find a place he felt was suitable, and I was in charge of the case while he started writing out the formulas.

"This really is a fine piece." I murmured as I examined the case, plain but sturdy leather and engraved with his initials at the clasp. "Where did you get it?"

"My father got it for me when I got my master's certificate." Will was examining the stars through an instrument. "I brought it over from Southampton after the inquiry. Thank God I didn't have it on me before."

"Hmmm," I set it aside, looking up at the stars spread above it. It was dark, far darker than I was used to. The didn't seem to have very bright lights outside, meaning that the decks were dark and the stars above could shine fully. The bench I was on was perfect to lean farther back against, staring up at the sky. There were so many stars that I couldn't even determine which as part of a constellation and which were just random stars. Voicing my thoughts aloud, I called out. "Which stars are you using?"

"What?" Will sounded surprised as I spoke, and I popped my head up to look at him to find that he had not been looking at the stars, but rather at where my breasts were straining against the neckline of my gown as I leaned back to look at the stars. I adjusted myself so that they weren't quite so obvious. "Oh, the stars. Just some well known ones, Polaris and the like." He returned to his paper, scrawling out some formula before placing everything back into the case. His arm stretched along the back of the bench, fingers brushing against my shoulder. "We're on the right course, should be in France in a few days."

I reached over, brushing my fingers over his arm. "Wonderful, are you quite satisfied?"

"No," His voice was raspy as he grabbed my hand, pulling me to him. "I'm never satisfied."

"So greedy," I whispered, pressing myself against him. "Taking advantage of your wife all the time."

"Like hell I am," He stood, the two of us so close that I could feel the heat of him. "You're the one taking advantage of me."

I threw my arms around him, the champagne from dinner having gone to my head a bit. "Should we head back down? You can help me out of my gown."

"Actually," He pulled me along with him as he walked, although I could hardly tell where we were going in the dark. "I have somewhere closer in mind."

I turned, seeing that he was moving towards one of the lifeboats. "Will, someone will see us."

"We'll pull the cover back over, it'll be fine." He was already undoing one of the knots holding the cover down, opening a little hole between the cover and the side of the boat. "Get in, Ana." I quickly checked to be sure that we were alone on deck, and then did my best to wriggle through the opening without snagging my dress. I tried to settle myself onto the floor of the boat, the canvas of a folded sail proving to be a great comfort as I did so. It was pitch black inside, and I couldn't help the little squeal that came out of me when Will was suddenly half on me. He chuckled, bringing a gloved hand up to cover my mouth. "Quiet lass, unless ye want everyone ta know."

God, he was sounding so Scottish at the moment. "You're the one who wanted to do this."

"You didn't put up much resistance." It was rather thrilling to just hear him, but not to see him as he let his hands wander down me. We were especially close, squeezed under the seats as we were, so I could feel his breath on my neck as he brought his hand up my leg. He groaned into my neck, "God, Ana."

"Will." I muttered, gasping as his fingers reached the bare part of my thigh. He was already kissing on my neck, even nipping at where it met my shoulder. I moaned as he diid, although his other hand came up again to cover my mouth. I pressed his gloved hand away, whispering. "Sorry."

He shifted so they he could lay between my legs, pulling my skirt up even more. "Christ, Ana." I could feel the hardness of him in his trousers, and he fell onto me again. One hand went between my thighs, buttery leather tracing over me and grazing up and down my thighs. His mouth was on mine, his tongue twisting around mine as I groaned into the kiss. I rocked my hips against his hand, seeking out the rhythm that I knew would have me melting for him. I was fumbling my hand down his jacket to find his fly when both of us froze.

"Alright you two, come out." Someone rapped against the side of the boat. "Now." Will lifted himself off me a bit, and I hastily tugged my skirt back down. Both of were rather shamefaced as we struggled out of the lifeboat, Will turning around to retie the cover. Which meant that the officer who had found us was currently staring at me. I glanced down, saw my neckline was far lower than it should have been, and covered myself. It was only after Will turned back that he spoke. "The hell were you thinking? Don't you two have a cabin?"

"Yes, sorry about that." Will reached over and took my hand. "We'll just head down."

"Don't you know how important these boats are?" The officer moved to the boat as we stepped away, "And you've tied this all wrong. Damn honeymooners, get going before I report this." I couldn't help but laugh as I grabbed Will's hand, the both of us darting away before the officer could think to look closer. I took a moment to adjust my dress before we went back in, both of us all smiles and laughs as we reached our cabin.

"Well, he won't find us here." Will said after closing the door, a boyish grin on his face. "God, I thought he was going to haul us in front of Pierce for a moment."

I could not contain my giggles anymore, "You were so red!" I was still giggling as he picked me up and dropped me on the bed, pulling his gloves off and throwing them across the room. I was still laughing as he resumed pulling my skirt up, although those quickly turned to sighs as he stroked me. It felt so much better with his bare hands than with his gloves. Every callus, every trace of his fingertips inflamed me, had me writhing in the blankets and begging for more. When he finally freed himself and slid inside me, I could hardly contain my cry. "Will, my God."

"Lass, people are sleeping." He grunted, twisting us around on the bed. It wound up with us on our sides, my legs over his hips as he shallowly thrust against me. It wasn't as intense this way, but it was still a pleasurable movement as we slowly found the rhythm. I didn't find myself crying out as much, and Will brought a hand up to brush my hair away. "Is, is this good for you?"

"Yes," I mumbled, rocking my hips against him. "You?"

"Oh God, yes." He began to move quicker, and I responded in kind. By the end we were breathing hard into each other's shoulders, shuddering and boneless after the haze had faded. I couldn't tell how long we laid there together, simply being together, but eventually we shifted off the bed. Will helped me out of my gown, laying it on the chair and placing all of my undergarments on top of it. His clothes followed, and we both buried under the blankets together. I quickly found out a very pleasant aspect of married life, that lovemaking can occur several times during the night. The sleep between rounds was deliciously deep, and I found that my desire for Will never ceased as we indulged ourselves during the night.

What came in the morning though was less pleasant. Neither of us had thought to tell Reggie and Louise when we were planning on rising, and we had neglected to grab our nightclothes out of the trunk in our room, so that when a knocking at the door woke us, we were scrambling to avoid anyone seeing us like this. Eventually, Will managed to get a robe on, while I ducked underneath the sheets. I did manage to peek out enough to see a steward at the door when Will opened it. "Yes?"

The steward held out a very familiar case. "Compliments of Captain Pierce, sir. He had them cleaned, and he would caution you to keep better track of them."

"Oh, well, please give him my thanks." Will muttered, taking the case and closing the door. He placed the case on the table, "You left it in the boat?"

"I was a little distracted!" I retorted, sitting up and letting the sheet drop. "You didn't remember them either."

Will was already untying his robe, "How could I? You left me to explain everything." But then he was wrapping his arms around me, his fingers tickling their way up and down my ribs. "My spoiled wife."

"My leeching husband." I giggled, trying to get away from his fingers. "We should get down to breakfast, you know."

"Oh, hang breakfast. I don't want to get out of bed."

"Well, I'm hungry. And if you want me to have any energy tonight, you at least have to feed me." I pouted, although he could tell I was only joking. I ran my hands up his arms, smiling at him. "Besides, once we're in Paris, we can spend an entire day in our bed. Think about it, only getting up to let in the servant with the food."

Will chuckled, "I'll be the one getting up, because I am not letting you out of that bed for anything in the world."