Chapter One

A New Beginning

Henry Tingle Wilde looked up at the starry sky on deck of the new White Star Liner Olympic. The ship was beautiful, that was without a doubt, and he was the one that had been honoured to become Chief Officer of the ship. If only his wife was still about to see the ship that he was working on now. She could have seen it while they were docked in Liverpool showing the ship off and putting the proceeds toward the local hospitals of Liverpool. His sister had brought along his children to see the ship for the day, he'd shown them around the ship, but the sense of something missing had been strong and it hadn't taken a genius to figure out that it was his wife and twins that were missing. He exhaled a sigh that told the tale of missing the person that he loved, only tonight left to feel the worst of the loneliness, tomorrow they would be setting off to New York for the maiden voyage. That was when he would be able to keep himself busy with his watch on deck and when he would be doing his rounds at the end of the day. As for after the shifts, he was hoping that'd he'd be too exhausted to think about how much he was missing Polly. He doubted that it would work that way, but he could always hope.

Emily ran to the dockside her chest burning from lack of air. She had never run so fast in her life, but if she did not speed herself up she would be late. Anyone that couldn't turn up on time would get replaced immediately, that was common knowledge to all that worked at sea. And although Emily didn't need to work for financial reasons, she had to work to get away from Southampton for a while. If only her father had not tried to keep her behind, she would have been there long before now. She would have been one of the first to arrive she had been ready to leave before sunrise only she had underestimated her father. He had stayed up all night to make sure that she hadn't left while he had been asleep. Intoxicated from the night before, he didn't realise what he was doing, drink always had that effect on him. She knew that after the argument today she would have at least a dozen new bruises, but this time she wanted to make sure that she had time to heal before the next time. Getting work, as a stewardess had been her lifeline, she hadn't cared what ship she had to work on; she would have slept out on deck if it had been completely necessary. She had just needed to get away and due to luck she had landed a job on the new triple screw steamship 'Olympic'. She had been extremely lucky to get a job on any ship because of her age, being only twenty, most shipping lines considered her too young. When she had received the summons to sign the log it had surprised her, after so many dismissals she had just about been ready to give in.

Pain was quickly trying to take over and she fought against it with all her might, it wasn't exactly something that was easy to do, but it was something that was necessary. Her ribs were aching from breathing so hard, her lungs were burning from lack of air, but determination kept her going as fast as she could to Southampton Docks. She couldn't allow herself to be late, she couldn't allow for the position to be taken by someone else.

Seeing the docks ahead of her she almost sobbed with relief and she picked up her speed even more now that her target was within her sights a new wave of adrenaline pumped through her system urging her to go that bit faster.

So concentrated in getting to the docks Emily could hear her own blood rushing through her veins, the sound of it roaring in her own ears. The only other sounds that she could hear were her footsteps and the harsh sound of her breathing. Turning the last corner she rushed to the office where she had to sign in for duties fighting dearly to keep the pain from her expression, and trying her best to keep her breathing under control.

"Emily Jameson," she said as normally as she could to the clerk and then signed the book where she was told to sign it.

"Barely made it young girl, now go aboard and report for your duties," the clerk said softly.

Smiling with all of the relief that she felt at getting there on time Emily nodded her head, still desperately trying to catch her breath. She didn't notice the clerks shock at seeing her face transform with her smile as she turned and went to walk out of the office. Opening the door she turned her head again and said softly, "thank you."

Looking down over the dock one of the deck hands let out a low whistle, "what a stunner she is."

"Eyeing up the stewardesses again Thompson?" Henry asked grinning.

"Aye Sir, only this one makes all the other stewardesses non-existent."

Henry chuckled, "aye Thompson, I believe you said that about the last one too."

Thompson grinned knowing that the Officer was right but shook his head slowly as the stewardess disappeared from his sight, "I believe that you'll come across her some time Officer, and I believe I will be around to say I told you so."

Throwing his head back Henry laughed, not a false laugh like it had been so many times before over the last year, this time it was right from the belly, a full belly laugh. He'd almost forgotten how good it felt to laugh. "Thompson, if any lass catches my eye on this journey you'll have the full honour of telling me I told you so."

"Will be holding you to that one Officer Wilde, you wait and see," Thompson said confidently.

Shaking his head in amusement Henry grinned. "Do you think that we should get back to work now Thompson, as all the stewardesses are bound to have appeared and boarded the ship by now?"

Finally the day was over. It was half past eleven and all of the passengers that were under her care were in bed. She felt absolutely exhausted but at the same time more alive than she had ever felt. She now knew the ship better than she could have imagined. She had met the purser that was the man that she had to answer to if she caused any trouble, or if her work wasn't up to standards. She imagined that by the end of the day that she had proved herself to be a hard worker, even with one of the other stewardesses trying to blame her mistakes on her.

She took it all within her stride, understanding that the stewardess was using her as a scapegoat. Being a new stewardess and the youngest one in the process was hard work, harder than sorting out the passengers. It would be harder still if they ever found out that she came from an upper class family though so she was grateful that no one had recognised her.

For now though it was her time to relax. Before going to her quarters she had decided to go up on deck for a breath of fresh air. She was sitting on one of the many benches that were on deck, sitting there with her eyes closed, her head resting back listening to the lapping of the waves against the hull of the ship. If there was one sound that could send her fast asleep it would be the sound she could hear now. It was so peaceful she felt as if she could listen to that sound every day for the rest of her life.

She was enjoying the first day of her three weeks of heaven. No more hiding from her father for the next three weeks. No more worrying if he would find her. No more hearing her father coming in during the middle of the night staggering drunkenly up the stairs listening to him calling out for her mother knowing that she will never return. Her mother had left them over a year ago, to go and live a new life with her lover. She had married him nine months ago. Emily had not seen her mother since the day she had left. That had been when the beatings had first begun. She was still waiting for the day when they would end, a day that, at present, seemed as if it would never come. She could not lose hope that one day she would get her father back to the man who had brought her up so lovingly, not the monster that he had become. Forcing thoughts of her father out of her mind she kept her mind clear of everything while the sound of the ocean relaxed her body and soul a small smile of pure contentment raised her lips, she could get used to living this way. It was tempting to never go back to the lifestyle that she was used to and to start off a new life for herself. So very tempting.

Standing to one side Henry watched the girl sitting on the bench looking so relaxed and carefree. She was beautiful, and he was glad that Thompson wasn't about to tell him 'I told you so' as he had a funny feeling that this was the stewardess that Thompson had been talking about.

Jet black hair was pulled back tightly in a confining bun, although the wind whipping around the deck was making wisps of hair come free from its confines flying about and curling more as the wind continued to play with it. Her eyes were closed, but from what he could see thick black eyelashes rested against the woman's high cheekbones. A smile curved her mouth, a smile of pure pleasure. She was obviously enjoying her solitude, only she wasn't alone, he was there watching her. Without even realising it a smile curved up Henry's lips when the woman reached up and unclipped her hair letting it flow freely in the wind her head falling back as her hair flew around her face. She was a breathtaking sight to see, almost childlike with the pleasure that was lighting up her face.

Suddenly, without any warning, her eyes opened and she turned her head in his direction, a smile was still curving up her lips. He knew that she couldn't see him because he was hidden by the shadows, but her eyes seemed to instinctively know where he was pinning him to where he stood. She inclined her head and moved over slightly on the bench, and in one of the softest voices he had ever heard she asked, "would you like to join me, Sir?"

His breath caught in his throat, as to how she knew that he was there he had no idea, but it was obvious that she did know. Stepping out of the shadows he left his hideaway so that she could see him clearly. "Good evening Ma'am. How did you know that I wasn't hiding there to cause you some harm?"

A trickle of laughter floated to him, "I know when harm is a threat to me Officer. I knew you were there, and you were not there to cause harm. You had been too thoughtful for that."

"Thoughtful?" Henry asked. Inclining his own head he added, "I suppose that is a way to put how I was."

Emily's smile turned into a grin, something deep inside her wanted to make this Officer smile; she had a feeling that a smile would transform his face. "Would you find another way of putting it Officer?" She asked teasingly.

Henry shook his head, was this girl actually teasing him? It felt like an age since anyone had teased him, raising one of his eyebrows a very slight smile turned up the corner of his lips, "I could suggest another way, but I'm too much of a gentleman to mention it."

He watched the woman as she threw back her head laughter erupting from her, she had a husky laugh, a kind of laugh that encourages people to make her laugh all the more, just like it was encouraging him to him to make her laugh. No, he thought, that was wrong, her laugh made him want to make her laugh more, he would even go so far as to say that it made him need to make her laugh again so that he could feel her happiness trickle over him. "I'll take your word for that Officer." Holding her hand out she looked him in the eye, "it's a pleasure to meet you Officer. I'm Emily Jameson."

Henry looked at her hand, he felt completely lost in this situation. It had been an age since he had felt awkward at meeting a woman, though he did have a suspicion that this lady wasn't like many others that he had met in his 39 years. Polly had been a unique woman, someone he had cherished with all his heart, someone who he would never forget. The woman here with him now had a unique aura around her, even with only just meeting her he could tell that there was something special about her, something that would draw people to her. He extended his hand to gently clasp hers, "Henry Wilde… It's a pleasure to meet you Emily."

Emily sucked in a sharp breath as dizziness overcame her, this couldn't be happening now, not this fast. Grief swept over her, her eyes shot up to claim contact with Henry Wilde's sky blue eyes. She needed to ground herself against what was happening, couldn't allow this invasion of privacy against this man. So much pain surrounded him but it was his pain, not hers, yet her heart felt like it was breaking. Breathing in deeply she tried to pull away from the sensations, a strange curiosity was filling the gentleman's eyes. Forcing herself to speak normally she smiled gently, "pleasure is mine Officer Wilde."

Slipping her hand from his she held back the sigh of relief that almost escaped from her and all sensations of grief slipped away. Sliding over on the bench she made space for Henry to sit down, "there's something hypnotic about the sound of sea when out on deck in the evening." Her voice was almost a whisper as she looked out towards the blackness that concealed the ocean from view. She was surprised at how steady her voice sounded when everything inside of her seemed to be shaking ferociously.

Sitting down beside her Henry smiled, "is this your first time at sea?"

Shaking her head gently she replied, "hmmm, it's my first time working aboard a ship."

"You've been a passenger then?"

This time she nodded, "I have to say I prefer working than being a passenger though." She turned her head to look at him and grinned, "there's more to do when you're working."

Henry chuckled, "aye I can imagine that there is."

With a sigh Emily let her head fall back again a comfortable silence enveloped both of them, Henry turned his head to look at the woman beside him. Again it struck him with how incredibly beautiful she was, only thing was at the moment her stunning silver grey eyes were closed hiding the sparkle in them. Almost as if reading his mind she opened her eyes and smiled, "I'm still awake Officer."

A grin popped up on his face, "I hadn't thought that you were asleep."

Emily arched one of her eyebrows, "Oh, what were you thinking then? If I may be so bold to ask?"

"I was just thinking…" Something quivered deep in his belly as he hesitated in saying it. But then it clicked in his mind, even if he was to tell Emily how beautiful she was he wouldn't do anything about it. He was grieving for his wife and finding someone else beautiful was not a sin. "…How incredibly beautiful you are."