I jerked my head to the source of the voice. Standing there was Adam
O'Malley, looking at me with unrestrained surprise. I faltered. "I..um...I
am just coming for a walk." I gave him one of my 'I dare you to oppose me'
looks. He was a bit flustered, and I thought I saw a look of guilt in his
eyes. "What are YOU doing down here, Adam O'Malley?" He turned a deeper
red. "Nothing. Just a walk, also." He answered a bit too quickly and his
voice held a quaver.
I couldn't help but smile fiercely. I felt like I had caught a young boy with his hand in the cookie jar, though I didn't even know what Adam was so riled up about. "Why, Adam! What is the matter?" I just couldn't help myself. I suppressed a giggle as I watched him squirm. He frowned a bit and shook his head. "Nothing. It's rather hot out here, don't you think?" I nodded, deciding to let the matter go. I really didn't care what he was hiding, I just liked to watch him try and hide it. (poorly, I might add.)
I smiled a little at him. "Adam, dear, I really do need to get on with my walk before lunch bell sounds. I'll be seeing you." He nodded and said his goodbyes hastily, walking back up to the A-deck. I let myself laugh for a few minutes after he was out of hearing. That was a rather enjoyable experience. I wonder what I should do, now that my victim isn't here to harass. The thought brought another catty smile to my lips.
Suddenly I gasped as I saw Silus's brother from last night...what was his name? Ah, Billy. Billy was walking up, and suddenly noticed me. He squinted his eyes a bit in concentration, as though he couldn't quite place his finger on something he wanted to remember. I could feel my face heating up in remembrance of last night.
Billy turned pale as he finally remembered who I was. "Oh-" he managed to get out. I bit my lip. I suddenly wished that the deck would open up and allow me to fall into the boiler rooms below, preferably into a boiler itself. "I-" he was turning red now. "I'm very sorry about last night, miss." I looked down at the planks I was standing on. I was biting my lip so hard now I wouldn't be surprised if blood started to flow out of it.
Though he did have one of those intriguing Irish accents. I found my voice, finally. "It is....quite alright, Billy. I...I understand, I suppose. You weren't in control." My voice was barely above a whisper, I scolded myself for the crack in it. "No, that en't no excuse for my actions! I take full responsibility, miss. Luckily my brother....ah....properly punished me this mornin." He rubbed the back of his hair absent mindedly with his hand. "Oh?" at the mention of his brother I was intrigued. 'No!' I reminded myself. 'You are mad at him, and you hate him. He was very rude! Humph. Don't belong on the c-deck.'
Billy interrupted my thoughts. "Lets just say I had one mighty hangover and he made a lot of ruckus." I didn't know what exactly he meant, but he seemed amused so I gave a short giggle at this. "My older brother says your name is Katherine, then?" I nodded. "Nice Irish name, lass. Has anybody ever called you Katie?"
I decided I couldn't be mad at this man. He was much too friendly. "No, I haven't." I rather liked the name, though. He smiled. "Then do you mind if I call you Katie? I believe the name suites you much better than Katherine." I flashed him an approving smile. "Yes, I like that." It struck me as a fun little secret, just between me and this Irish man.
It's a wonder father wanted to keep me from Irish people, I couldn't see why. With the exception of that awful Silus, they seemed very nice. I felt a sudden urge to be one of them. Billy laughed; he had a nice hearty laugh. I couldn't help but chuckle a bit, his laugh was contagious. "A thought just hit me, Katie."
I really liked the way he called me Katie. "What, Billy?" "If you aren't too busy with first class, why'nt you come down and have lunch in the third class dining area? I'll introduce you to some of my family and friends; I know they'll like you." I was warming up to this happy, carefree man. "I don't see why not. It sounds like fun."
A sudden thought hit me. 'What if they don't like me because of my class, just like Silus?' I chewed on the inside of my cheek fretfully. Billy noticed my worried expression and gave a small chuckle. "Don't be worried, young Katie. They'll like you, I'm sure. You're a kind soul." He smiled warmly over me. I couldn't help smiling back. Darn that infectious smile of his.
Suddenly a thought struck me. "Billy, why are you inviting me to eat lunch with you? You barely know me." He seemed to turn this over in his mind. "Partly because I want to make up to you for last night, and apologize, and partly because I like you, Katie; you're fun." He said the last with a teasing look in his eyes. "Fun?" I had never been called.....fun before. He laughed. "Well, you let me change your name didn't you?" I laughed with him.
I couldn't wait to go meet some more of these strange, thrilling people. An unrestrainable smile, accompanied by a giggle sprung to the surface of my lips as I thought about giving my father a full account of my trips to C-class to visit with the Irish. My giggle turned to an outright laugh at this thought. Billy looked at me with amusement. "What is the jest, Katie?" I wiped tears from the corners of my eyes. "Oh, nothing, I just thought about what would happen, should I tell my father about all of this when I get to the Americas."
Billy cocked his head a little, listening for the rest of the explanation. I stopped giggling again long enough to clarify. My father has always commanded me to stay away from lower class people, but most of all he has looked down upon the Irish, he's a...." I thought of the word for him as Billy laughed loudly, probably picturing the fit that would be thrown. I started laughing again. "Oh, he'd kill me for sure!" I giggled a bit.
Billy leaned his back against the rail, facing me. "And do you think us Irish are all that bad, Katie?" I shook my head fiercely. "Heavens, no! I think you're nice people! Well, except for-" I stopped myself quickly. He perked up. "Except for who, Katie?" I shook my head. "You'll never know." I said mock solemnly.
This got me a crooked smile and a shrug. "Yes, but I do know. You can't hide your true colors, Katie. You despise me. The Irish are nice folk, with the exception of that slimy Billy McCabe character. I have already apologized for my behavior last night, but noooooo, Katie dearest just won't forgive me. She has broken my heart!" He pouted a bit, though his eyes were positively dancing.
I put my hands on my hips jokingly. "Billy, don't you make me push you over the edge into the water!" He put his hands up to his chest in a comically dramatic pose. "Anything would be better than this stab through the chest my Katie has given me!" he mock swooned.
I tried not to laugh at the hysterical figure he was making, what with his pose and all. "If you must know, the exception is your brother, Silus." I frowned, remembering the hurtful words we had parted with. Billy came back from his posing and gave me a thoughtful glance. "What? He seemed to like you enough. What did he do to get hatred?" I quickly corrected him. "I don't hate him, exactly....he was just very rude to me when we parted last night. Told me that I didn't belong on a third class deck, practically told me not to come back."
"Maybe he was trying to protect you from scoundrels like me." He grinned. I laughed lightly. "Well, if you ask me, he's the scoundrel and you're a perfect gentleman." He burst out laughing. "I don't know about a gentleman, but I have to agree he's a dirty scamp." He laughed again. I shook my head indulgently and decided to change the subject. I didn't want to talk about Silus any more.
"I wonder how much more time until lunch, I'm starved." He changed the subject for me, luckily. I shrugged. "I don't know, but do you want to walk with me a bit? It will be a while." I was getting an idea. Billy detected the tone of mischief in my voice and raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Where to, miss?" I started walking and he came up beside me, matching my short strides with his own long ones.
I made my way to the stairs leading to B-deck, and went inside the ship. Reluctantly, Billy followed. After walking around for a bit I finally got to the grand staircase. It still rather took my breath away to see it. I smiled wickedly back at Billy as I saw Frank, Adam, and Kurt walking in the direction of the smoking room. I could hear Billy chuckling as he finally caught onto my idea.
"Adam!" I called, his face brightened as he saw me, then dimmed and retracted into confusion as he saw Billy. Kurt looked disapproving, and frank's face remained ever placid. "Katherine...who is your friend?" Adam was obviously shocked. "Oh, this is Billy McCabe. Billy, this is Adam O'Malley, Frank Claude, and Kurt Rosley." I smiled at them.
"Tis a mighty fine pleasure, sirs." Billy chipperly greeted them, deepening his already deep brogue. I could hardly understand him, he was packing it on so heavy. "And have the Little People been blessin ye lately, kind folk? For I believe a fine ship like this one is much of a blessin, and to be in the company of such fine ones as yourself, why, me cup is full."
I bit my lower lip to keep from laughing. Adam had an angry look in his eyes, Kurt appalled, and Frank a bit amused. Billy looked rather pleased with himself. I beamed at Adam. "Why, Mr. O'Malley, you look so surprised to hear a fellow Irishman! Why so?" Adam looked upset that I would even ask such a question. "I am not Irish. Not par say, I am British-Irish. You see, to cut it short of boring political complications, Ireland is an English run country. I am from the English part."
I could see an angry look come into Billy's eyes, though he quickly hid it. I didn't bother to ask Adam why his name was Irish, he didn't seemed pleased with any implications that he was Irish so I chose to let it drop. But I couldn't resist dropping one last bomb. "Well, I'd better be leaving now, gentlemen. It was an extreme pleasure, as always is, but I need to go back down to C-level to eat lunch with Billy and his friends and family."
I smiled at the upheaval I had just caused and walked off, Billy at my side. I headed towards my room to freshen up a bit for lunch. Billy paused outside of my door. "I'll just wait out here." I frowned at him. "Nonsense! You can come in and wait for me, I won't take long." He shrugged and came inside, seeming a bit uncomfortable at the extravagance of the room. "Sit." I said, indicating to a chair in the center of the room.
He sat down and I looked at his eyes, which were still angry and seemed to be in another place. "What...what's the matter, Billy? Are you mad at me?" I fretted a bit. I didn't want to lose one of my only friends because I had pulled some juvenile prank on some rich snobs. "No, no, Katie aroon. Of course not. It's just...that Adam man. Something he said bothered me, that's all." What did aroon mean? I shrugged it off, assuming it had just slipped, it seemed a nonsense word to me. "About England? What about it?"
He sighed. "The English for a long time have conquered those lands, those lands that are rightfully ours, the Irish. They-......they take everything. Right down to our heritage. The Adam fellow was making very light of it, knowing it would piss me off!" his language startled me a bit. "Oh." Was all I could say. He was clutching the arms of the chair he was sitting in so hard his hands were turning white. I laid a small white hand on his large tan one. "I'm sorry." I said in an almost whisper.
He looked up at me, all anger gone. His eyes brushed over a clock on the mantel. "We best get going, Katie! Hurry up now." His face transformed back to the happy-go-lucky youthful face from before the staircase and I relaxed. "Well fine, then! Honestly, I don't know how you think you can rush a woman." He laughed and shook his head.
I went into my bathroom and retied my hair, dabbing a little bit of rouge on my cheeks. I looked okay, enough. "Ready, your majesty." I mocked, stepping out of the bathroom. "Milady." He laughed at me with his eyes and extended an elbow. I took it and let him lead me down to the third class deck.
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hum. I wonder how my feelings for Adam could have changed so suddenly. Maybe because of how he had just treated Billy, like he was less than human. I hadn't thought Adam was like the others, but I suppose I just had to face it. He was. Billy, on the other hand, was an amazing person. He had opened up to me immediately, not last night but today, and been a friend from the start. Unlike some of these fake people I was forced to spend time with all the time.
Unlike me.
The thought hit me suddenly. Was I really a fake? Did I hide behind my material possessions and money like the rest of them? A funny thing, when one gets the chance to look at themselves. Well, if I am fake, I hope its reversible. I think Billy may be just the thing I need to reverse this lie I've been forced by my father to live. But what if there is no escape? What if I have to live the rest of my life in a hazy lie, formal and stiff? The thought of it left me horrified. I didn't want to live like that. I wanted an escape. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A loud horn came to my rescue, offering lunch as my escape. I smiled in its general direction and followed Billy into what appeared to be a dining area. It looked like....well, like our servants kitchen in a way. It did look cozy, though. With many round tables spread out, with a clear space in the middle and people were already getting food. They were getting it themselves, too. I was in a trance, watching all the bustle around me.
Billy nudged me and led me over to an empty table. I nodded and sat down as he went to retrieve me food. All of a sudden, I felt a pair of eyes boring into the back of my head. Turning around to see who it was, I was disappointed. Standing there was Silus, his mouth hanging open in surprise and a look of disbelief on his face. I bit my lip to keep tears back and looked away. I suddenly felt so out of place and excluded. How was it that he could make me feel that way? When he had been so friendly before, (or had I mistaken his sarcasm for jest?) he seemed so hostile.
I thought I was going to faint when Billy sat down at the table with our food and beckoned for Silus to join us.
I couldn't help but smile fiercely. I felt like I had caught a young boy with his hand in the cookie jar, though I didn't even know what Adam was so riled up about. "Why, Adam! What is the matter?" I just couldn't help myself. I suppressed a giggle as I watched him squirm. He frowned a bit and shook his head. "Nothing. It's rather hot out here, don't you think?" I nodded, deciding to let the matter go. I really didn't care what he was hiding, I just liked to watch him try and hide it. (poorly, I might add.)
I smiled a little at him. "Adam, dear, I really do need to get on with my walk before lunch bell sounds. I'll be seeing you." He nodded and said his goodbyes hastily, walking back up to the A-deck. I let myself laugh for a few minutes after he was out of hearing. That was a rather enjoyable experience. I wonder what I should do, now that my victim isn't here to harass. The thought brought another catty smile to my lips.
Suddenly I gasped as I saw Silus's brother from last night...what was his name? Ah, Billy. Billy was walking up, and suddenly noticed me. He squinted his eyes a bit in concentration, as though he couldn't quite place his finger on something he wanted to remember. I could feel my face heating up in remembrance of last night.
Billy turned pale as he finally remembered who I was. "Oh-" he managed to get out. I bit my lip. I suddenly wished that the deck would open up and allow me to fall into the boiler rooms below, preferably into a boiler itself. "I-" he was turning red now. "I'm very sorry about last night, miss." I looked down at the planks I was standing on. I was biting my lip so hard now I wouldn't be surprised if blood started to flow out of it.
Though he did have one of those intriguing Irish accents. I found my voice, finally. "It is....quite alright, Billy. I...I understand, I suppose. You weren't in control." My voice was barely above a whisper, I scolded myself for the crack in it. "No, that en't no excuse for my actions! I take full responsibility, miss. Luckily my brother....ah....properly punished me this mornin." He rubbed the back of his hair absent mindedly with his hand. "Oh?" at the mention of his brother I was intrigued. 'No!' I reminded myself. 'You are mad at him, and you hate him. He was very rude! Humph. Don't belong on the c-deck.'
Billy interrupted my thoughts. "Lets just say I had one mighty hangover and he made a lot of ruckus." I didn't know what exactly he meant, but he seemed amused so I gave a short giggle at this. "My older brother says your name is Katherine, then?" I nodded. "Nice Irish name, lass. Has anybody ever called you Katie?"
I decided I couldn't be mad at this man. He was much too friendly. "No, I haven't." I rather liked the name, though. He smiled. "Then do you mind if I call you Katie? I believe the name suites you much better than Katherine." I flashed him an approving smile. "Yes, I like that." It struck me as a fun little secret, just between me and this Irish man.
It's a wonder father wanted to keep me from Irish people, I couldn't see why. With the exception of that awful Silus, they seemed very nice. I felt a sudden urge to be one of them. Billy laughed; he had a nice hearty laugh. I couldn't help but chuckle a bit, his laugh was contagious. "A thought just hit me, Katie."
I really liked the way he called me Katie. "What, Billy?" "If you aren't too busy with first class, why'nt you come down and have lunch in the third class dining area? I'll introduce you to some of my family and friends; I know they'll like you." I was warming up to this happy, carefree man. "I don't see why not. It sounds like fun."
A sudden thought hit me. 'What if they don't like me because of my class, just like Silus?' I chewed on the inside of my cheek fretfully. Billy noticed my worried expression and gave a small chuckle. "Don't be worried, young Katie. They'll like you, I'm sure. You're a kind soul." He smiled warmly over me. I couldn't help smiling back. Darn that infectious smile of his.
Suddenly a thought struck me. "Billy, why are you inviting me to eat lunch with you? You barely know me." He seemed to turn this over in his mind. "Partly because I want to make up to you for last night, and apologize, and partly because I like you, Katie; you're fun." He said the last with a teasing look in his eyes. "Fun?" I had never been called.....fun before. He laughed. "Well, you let me change your name didn't you?" I laughed with him.
I couldn't wait to go meet some more of these strange, thrilling people. An unrestrainable smile, accompanied by a giggle sprung to the surface of my lips as I thought about giving my father a full account of my trips to C-class to visit with the Irish. My giggle turned to an outright laugh at this thought. Billy looked at me with amusement. "What is the jest, Katie?" I wiped tears from the corners of my eyes. "Oh, nothing, I just thought about what would happen, should I tell my father about all of this when I get to the Americas."
Billy cocked his head a little, listening for the rest of the explanation. I stopped giggling again long enough to clarify. My father has always commanded me to stay away from lower class people, but most of all he has looked down upon the Irish, he's a...." I thought of the word for him as Billy laughed loudly, probably picturing the fit that would be thrown. I started laughing again. "Oh, he'd kill me for sure!" I giggled a bit.
Billy leaned his back against the rail, facing me. "And do you think us Irish are all that bad, Katie?" I shook my head fiercely. "Heavens, no! I think you're nice people! Well, except for-" I stopped myself quickly. He perked up. "Except for who, Katie?" I shook my head. "You'll never know." I said mock solemnly.
This got me a crooked smile and a shrug. "Yes, but I do know. You can't hide your true colors, Katie. You despise me. The Irish are nice folk, with the exception of that slimy Billy McCabe character. I have already apologized for my behavior last night, but noooooo, Katie dearest just won't forgive me. She has broken my heart!" He pouted a bit, though his eyes were positively dancing.
I put my hands on my hips jokingly. "Billy, don't you make me push you over the edge into the water!" He put his hands up to his chest in a comically dramatic pose. "Anything would be better than this stab through the chest my Katie has given me!" he mock swooned.
I tried not to laugh at the hysterical figure he was making, what with his pose and all. "If you must know, the exception is your brother, Silus." I frowned, remembering the hurtful words we had parted with. Billy came back from his posing and gave me a thoughtful glance. "What? He seemed to like you enough. What did he do to get hatred?" I quickly corrected him. "I don't hate him, exactly....he was just very rude to me when we parted last night. Told me that I didn't belong on a third class deck, practically told me not to come back."
"Maybe he was trying to protect you from scoundrels like me." He grinned. I laughed lightly. "Well, if you ask me, he's the scoundrel and you're a perfect gentleman." He burst out laughing. "I don't know about a gentleman, but I have to agree he's a dirty scamp." He laughed again. I shook my head indulgently and decided to change the subject. I didn't want to talk about Silus any more.
"I wonder how much more time until lunch, I'm starved." He changed the subject for me, luckily. I shrugged. "I don't know, but do you want to walk with me a bit? It will be a while." I was getting an idea. Billy detected the tone of mischief in my voice and raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Where to, miss?" I started walking and he came up beside me, matching my short strides with his own long ones.
I made my way to the stairs leading to B-deck, and went inside the ship. Reluctantly, Billy followed. After walking around for a bit I finally got to the grand staircase. It still rather took my breath away to see it. I smiled wickedly back at Billy as I saw Frank, Adam, and Kurt walking in the direction of the smoking room. I could hear Billy chuckling as he finally caught onto my idea.
"Adam!" I called, his face brightened as he saw me, then dimmed and retracted into confusion as he saw Billy. Kurt looked disapproving, and frank's face remained ever placid. "Katherine...who is your friend?" Adam was obviously shocked. "Oh, this is Billy McCabe. Billy, this is Adam O'Malley, Frank Claude, and Kurt Rosley." I smiled at them.
"Tis a mighty fine pleasure, sirs." Billy chipperly greeted them, deepening his already deep brogue. I could hardly understand him, he was packing it on so heavy. "And have the Little People been blessin ye lately, kind folk? For I believe a fine ship like this one is much of a blessin, and to be in the company of such fine ones as yourself, why, me cup is full."
I bit my lower lip to keep from laughing. Adam had an angry look in his eyes, Kurt appalled, and Frank a bit amused. Billy looked rather pleased with himself. I beamed at Adam. "Why, Mr. O'Malley, you look so surprised to hear a fellow Irishman! Why so?" Adam looked upset that I would even ask such a question. "I am not Irish. Not par say, I am British-Irish. You see, to cut it short of boring political complications, Ireland is an English run country. I am from the English part."
I could see an angry look come into Billy's eyes, though he quickly hid it. I didn't bother to ask Adam why his name was Irish, he didn't seemed pleased with any implications that he was Irish so I chose to let it drop. But I couldn't resist dropping one last bomb. "Well, I'd better be leaving now, gentlemen. It was an extreme pleasure, as always is, but I need to go back down to C-level to eat lunch with Billy and his friends and family."
I smiled at the upheaval I had just caused and walked off, Billy at my side. I headed towards my room to freshen up a bit for lunch. Billy paused outside of my door. "I'll just wait out here." I frowned at him. "Nonsense! You can come in and wait for me, I won't take long." He shrugged and came inside, seeming a bit uncomfortable at the extravagance of the room. "Sit." I said, indicating to a chair in the center of the room.
He sat down and I looked at his eyes, which were still angry and seemed to be in another place. "What...what's the matter, Billy? Are you mad at me?" I fretted a bit. I didn't want to lose one of my only friends because I had pulled some juvenile prank on some rich snobs. "No, no, Katie aroon. Of course not. It's just...that Adam man. Something he said bothered me, that's all." What did aroon mean? I shrugged it off, assuming it had just slipped, it seemed a nonsense word to me. "About England? What about it?"
He sighed. "The English for a long time have conquered those lands, those lands that are rightfully ours, the Irish. They-......they take everything. Right down to our heritage. The Adam fellow was making very light of it, knowing it would piss me off!" his language startled me a bit. "Oh." Was all I could say. He was clutching the arms of the chair he was sitting in so hard his hands were turning white. I laid a small white hand on his large tan one. "I'm sorry." I said in an almost whisper.
He looked up at me, all anger gone. His eyes brushed over a clock on the mantel. "We best get going, Katie! Hurry up now." His face transformed back to the happy-go-lucky youthful face from before the staircase and I relaxed. "Well fine, then! Honestly, I don't know how you think you can rush a woman." He laughed and shook his head.
I went into my bathroom and retied my hair, dabbing a little bit of rouge on my cheeks. I looked okay, enough. "Ready, your majesty." I mocked, stepping out of the bathroom. "Milady." He laughed at me with his eyes and extended an elbow. I took it and let him lead me down to the third class deck.
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hum. I wonder how my feelings for Adam could have changed so suddenly. Maybe because of how he had just treated Billy, like he was less than human. I hadn't thought Adam was like the others, but I suppose I just had to face it. He was. Billy, on the other hand, was an amazing person. He had opened up to me immediately, not last night but today, and been a friend from the start. Unlike some of these fake people I was forced to spend time with all the time.
Unlike me.
The thought hit me suddenly. Was I really a fake? Did I hide behind my material possessions and money like the rest of them? A funny thing, when one gets the chance to look at themselves. Well, if I am fake, I hope its reversible. I think Billy may be just the thing I need to reverse this lie I've been forced by my father to live. But what if there is no escape? What if I have to live the rest of my life in a hazy lie, formal and stiff? The thought of it left me horrified. I didn't want to live like that. I wanted an escape. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A loud horn came to my rescue, offering lunch as my escape. I smiled in its general direction and followed Billy into what appeared to be a dining area. It looked like....well, like our servants kitchen in a way. It did look cozy, though. With many round tables spread out, with a clear space in the middle and people were already getting food. They were getting it themselves, too. I was in a trance, watching all the bustle around me.
Billy nudged me and led me over to an empty table. I nodded and sat down as he went to retrieve me food. All of a sudden, I felt a pair of eyes boring into the back of my head. Turning around to see who it was, I was disappointed. Standing there was Silus, his mouth hanging open in surprise and a look of disbelief on his face. I bit my lip to keep tears back and looked away. I suddenly felt so out of place and excluded. How was it that he could make me feel that way? When he had been so friendly before, (or had I mistaken his sarcasm for jest?) he seemed so hostile.
I thought I was going to faint when Billy sat down at the table with our food and beckoned for Silus to join us.
