*Chapter 8*

She walked around, through the promenade deck, where she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the glass.

Her hair had become a mess, from all the wind. Not important though. What was important was what she was wearing; she always dressed to impress.

She was wearing a beautiful baby pink lace tea gown, and in her hair was a beautiful Opal heart shaped clip, that held her hair in place, while she was inside, anyway. Now she found no purpose for it.

"Hello, Clara!" A voice behind her called.

Clara spun around, immediately recognizing the voice, but couldn't see the man anywhere.

"Up here, Clara! In the bridge cab!"

"Which side?" Clara called out to nobody in particular.

"Port!!! Port, Clara!"

Clara diverted her gaze to the port bridge cab, where she could see an officer, but couldn't make out which one.

"Clara, hang on! I'll come down in a minute!"

Clara paced back and forth, waiting for the officer to come down and greet her.

Finally, he came down.

"Ah, so good to see you, Mr Lightoller!" Clara said happily.

"Oh, please, do call me Charles," Lightoller said.

"Ok then, Charles, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Clara asked, her usual curiosity getting the better of her.

"I would like to know more about you. You're an intriguing young lady, I must say."

"Well, if you must know, I shall tell you. I was born in Wales, and my father moved to America to start his diamond mining business, that made my family rich. When Claire and I turned 14, our father bought a huge estate in London. So, we moved to London. And I obtained a little culture shock, as I spoke mostly Welsh, but my English improved, and now I just pass as a local Londoner. And then Claire lived in America for a year, and I don't know what it was but something definitely changed her. But now, I'm just a first class traveller, heading to New York to live with my father. I wish it were Wales that I was travelling to, but I'll visit my home country another day."

"Wow. So you have only lived in the UK, huh?"

"Yes. Have you been on any other ships? Or is this your first voyage?" Clara asked curiously.

Lightoller smiled.

"Ah, I've been on many other ships. In fact I've been at sea most of my life. I think if I told you my life story, we'd still be sitting here next week! But here I am, on the grandest ship in the world, having a conversation with a lovely girl like you."

Clara smiled. He had mad her blush yet again, and this time, she couldn't hide it, because she couldn't take her eyes off him.

"Clara, can I ask you something?" Lightoller asked.

"Yes."

"Why do you always blush when I talk to you?"

"Well, that's cause, um, I.uh."

Claire came out of nowhere, and interrupted.

"Hey, Clara, come on, I've gotta show you something!"

"When can I see you again?" Clara asked Lightoller.

"Tonight! I'll be on my rounds at 9:00. Catch you then! Bye!"

"Ooh, you like him!" Claire teased.

"Oh, do shut up, Claire. What are you thinking?" Clara fought back.

But Claire wasn't a fool. She knew Clara would soon be head over heels in love.

"What do you want, Claire?" Clara asked, intimidated.

"Look," Claire pointed out.

Ahead of Clara and Claire, and the bow, was a tremendous ice field. Because it was daytime, it was easy to navigate through the ice, but at night, it would be extremely difficult.

"Wow." Was all Clara could say.