Written in a hurry, just got home from work and am soooo tired!

I'll address all of your wonderful reviews in the next chapter…

Chapter 40

April 20, 1912-Afternoon

Even though Cal's comment had left me with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, I forced it down and out of my mind along with everything else he had said to me of that nature. By the time George and I made it back to Nan's suite to awaken Grandfather, the feeling was gone and it was time to go back to the hearings.

Harry didn't sit beside me this time, he was next to two other officers in the back, one of whom I recognized as Mr. Boxhall and the other I assumed to Mr. Pitman. I looked back at Harry with a pining gaze, wishing he was near me. He smiled back at me, and then the room was brought to order and I reluctantly turned around and watched as Senator Smith took center stage in the room and began to speak.

"Is Mr. Bride, the Marconi operator of the Titanic, present?" he asked the room.

A man spoke up from his seat and I recognized him as Mr. Marconi from earlier this afternoon, "No sir."

"Where is he?" he asked.

"He has gone to some house uptown, where he is going to be looked after, sir"

"Has he gone to some hospital?"

"No, Senator, he has gone to the house of some relative of his. I heard you tell him that you were not going to question him anymore to-day, so I sent him along." Mr. Sammis said from his chair.

Senator Smith sighed, "I should like to ask him a few additional questions this afternoon, but it will be impossible if he is not here."

"I am sorry Senator. We understood, from what you said, that you had finished with him for to-day." Mr. Sammis replied.

Nodding, Senator Smith spoke, "In view of his physical condition, I think his further examination may not be postponed."

"We thought you had finished with him for today."

"That is all right. There is no responsibility on you at all. I merely thought that if he was here I should like to ask him a question. The other operator is here?"

"Yes, sir; and he will remain here if you wish him."

He nodded, hearing this and turned over a page in front of him and looked around the room, "Is Titanic's 2nd officer present?"

Another man, who I didn't know, answered him, "You mean Mr. Lightoller? No, he is out in the hotel, he should be back soon."

"I wanted to ask Mr. Lightoller if the ship's log was saved."

"Any of the officers can tell you that, Mr. Pitman for instance is here."

"Very well," Senator Smith replied with a short nod and then looked over the crowd towards the back of the room where Harry and two of his fellow officers sat, "Mr. Pitman I will swear you in as a witness."

I turned around just in time to see Mr. Pitman rise from his seat and begin to make his way towards the front of the room. Senator Smith swore him in and started his questions before Mr. Pitman had barely touched his seat

"State your full name please."

"Herbert John Pitman." he answered.

"Where do you reside?"

"Somerset, England."

"How old are you?"

"34."

I sighed, finding these questions very pointless and irrelevant to the situation. Senator Smith had stated that he just wanted to know if the log had been saved, so why not just ask him that? I discovered that there was more formality involved in these hearings than I previously thought. The dullness of the scene before me was making my mind go off in all different directions and it wasn't long before I found myself thinking about cal and that nauseous feeling he had given me had returned.

The image of his eyes as he spoke to me were burning themselves slowly and painfully into my conscious and his dark prophetic words were echoing in my ears, "Make the most of your time together…"

I turned around and looked at Harry. He was staring straight ahead towards Mr. Pitman, but seemed as lost in thought as I did. I wondered if he was thinking the same thing.

What was Cal planning?

Was he going to tell Nan about my being in his cabin? I turned back around. I tried to calm myself by telling my head that there was no way she would believe him, and maybe it would help if I admitted I had been in there but someone else had been with me, maybe Rose. I could say Rose was in there with me!

That might work, because in the end it was my word against his, and although he was right I couldn't let Nan find out about that. I had felt bad enough when he spoke of it in front of George, who hadn't asked about it, but I knew that he wanted to.

George, I honestly wasn't too worried about. He would be disappointed, but all I had to do was bring up a certain situation with Julianne Logan last summer and I knew that would be the last he would mention it.

I decided to turn my attention back to the hearings and seemed to return just in time for Mr. Pitman to say that he couldn't say whether or not the log was saved as he was never in the chart room. And that was in the end of that, he stepped down soon after, just in time for Senator Smith to turn towards all of us and began to speak.

He listed names of the Titanic's crew, including Harry's and told us that the hearings would commence in Washington D.C. on Monday at 10 in the morning and they were to all be there. As he continued to speak Grandfather leaned over to me and spoke;

"I will be going as well, if you would like to join me, you may."

"What about Grandmother?"

"Do you worry about that. If you wish to come I will talk some sense into her."

I hesitated, wanting to follow him, but I didn't want to upset Nan anymore than I already had, "…I don't-"

"Sarah to want to go?"

"…Yes." I relented.

"Then you will, I'm sick and tired of you running off to her every time you need to make a decision! This time next year you will be start looking for a husband, are you going to want her seal of approval on him? I'm willing to bet that she already has someone in mind for you, is that the way you want it to be?"

He was right, she did. Taylor. I found my head falling in defeat, realizing how right he was and how wrong I had been. Even Rose had been mistaken, I could clearly remember her telling me that Grandmother would never force me into marriage, but she was more than capable of it. All she had to do was highly advise something and she knew I wouldn't cross her, that was the way she had raised me.

I looked back up and faced my grandfather, a man who I once feared but in the fast few days found we had more in common than I had ever dreamed. "No, it's not. I will go with you."

"Excellent."

Excellent? Somehow I didn't think Nan would see it the same way.

Later…

After Senator Smith had finished his statement the crowd began to rise and file out of the room surrounded by a low hum of voices. I began to look around the room for Harry but Grandfather found him first.

"Mr. Lowe." he called to him and Harry turned around.

"Yes, Sir?"

Grandfather approached him in swift steps with me in toe, "I was wondering if you would like to join my grandchildren and I for dinner this evening."

I looked at Harry in shock, and it appeared to me that a malicious cat had grabbed his tongue as well. He stammered for a moment before answering, "Uh…of course, it's very kind of you to think of me."

Grandfather smiled, something which he rarely does, "Yes, well I have heard of your actions during and after the disaster and with you being an acquaintance of my granddaughter I feel compelled to get to know you better. Around 7, is that alright."

Harry nodded, seeming more relaxed now, "That's fine."

"Wonderful, I'll send a car over here around 6:30 then. Come, Sarah we should go and see you grandmother."

"Yes, sir."

Harry and I smiled at one another as I started to walk away. My stomach was doing flip flops and my heart was beating so hard, but it was a wonderful feeling.

Next: The truth about Sarah's mother FINALLY comes out!