Patty: Lindsay's tied up at the moment... so I'm just going to say that she doesn't own Titanic!
The knife was cold against my throat. My feet barely scraped the grass as I struggled against my half-brother's father.
"So, Markus, are you coming with me, or do I have to kill your precious half-sister and simply find another woman to produce my heirs so I can get my inheritance? This wretch of your whore of a mother's means nothing to me - but she holds great value to you, correct, Markus?"
Mark's eyes frothed with hate, an expression I had never seen on him before, and it scared me. But he jerkily said, "I will come. Leave my sister alone. She's not blood related to you and plays no part in this."
"No, I think you'll be much more cooperative with her pretty little neck on the line... come! We haven't all night, I daresay that fool you call your uncle and his cub will wake up soon."
Luckily Mark had left a note explaining what might happen, but Uncle Jim and Cora would still worry.
"I will get us out of here, Cassie," Mark had promised me when we were locked in the cellar. "I love you."
When I woke up in a cold sweat the next morning, something fat and furry was curled up next to me. It had just been a dream. Merdoc was right next to me. Mark's father was probably still trying to find us, but he'd never dream that we had made it onto the Titanic. And if by some chance he were here, he would be first class, and not find us. Ever again. I tried to forget it, stroking Merdoc's head. He stretched out on his back and turned green eyes on me, waiting for me to rub the white fur on his throat and chest. How I loved that dumb old cat.
But Merdoc wasn't the only one who was next to me. Cora was asleep on my other side, one small thumb in her mouth, the other arm wrapped around her cherished doll, Shannon. My own ragged teddy bear, Amanda, was on my pillow. I smiled at Cora's sleeping frame. Before Mark's father had made us come with him - and I still had nightmares about a knife at my throat - Cora would pretend to have bad dreams so I would let her sleep in my bed, because she didn't like sleeping alone. She had probably decided she wouldn't wake me.
It was nice to wake up with Cora again. In the month we had been gone, dreams had dominated my sleep. Dreams of horrible things happening not only to me, but to Merdoc, Mark, Uncle Jim and Cora as well. I sighed in contentment, putting an arm around Cora and hugging her tightly. I wanted to stay like that forever, just me, my cat and my cousin, all comfortable and together, with Mark right in the bunk below mine and Uncle Jim beneath Cora's empty bunk.
Eventually we started stirring. As usual, Mark was the first one up. He was a morning person. I am not.
"Up and at 'em, girls!" said Mark, his hair all tousled and messed up. He grinned, shaking Cora gently awake. "Come on, Cora-Bell, time to get up! Cass? Wake up!"
I yawned and stretched, Merdoc doing the same thing. He jumped nimbly from the top bunk to the floor, landing lightly on his feet for such a fatty, and sitting on top of my dress. I blearily climbed down, lifted him off and got dressed. Cora was pretending to be asleep - not very convincing, as she kept giggling.
I went to splash some cold water on my face, and when I did, I felt refreshed. Mark was lifting Cora down from the top bunk, and standing her on her feet. Uncle Jim was still trying to focus his eyes.
"Morning, Uncle Jim," I said, giving him a hug and kiss. He kissed me on the cheek and I grabbed my pad, shoving it into a pocket. We all got ready and went to breakfast, Merdoc riding around my shoulders as usual, and ate quickly because we wanted to explore the ship. Mark found Jack and Fabrizio and sat with them, talking, while Cora leaned over the side of the ship.
"How does the ship move, Daddy?" she asked curiously. Uncle Jim held her steady on the fence and began explaining how the propellers worked.
I grew bored and walked over to Mark, Jack and Fabrizio, sitting down next to Jack. The three of them were talking to a guy with an Irish accent.
"Ah, that's typical," the guy said, watching a first-class man walking three dogs. "First class dogs come down here to take a shit."
"Lets us know where we rank in the scheme of things," joked Jack.
"Like we could forget?" The Irish guy shook Jack's hand. "I'm Tommy Ryans."
"Jack Dawson."
"Mark Meyers."
"Fabrizio."
"Oy... do you make any money with your drawings?"
Jack had been sketching Cora and Uncle Jim. He looked up from it (it was quite good) and stared at something on the higher deck. I followed his gaze. It was the younger redhead from the lift! She was just staring into space. Then, she looked right at Jack, before being pulled away from the man we had seen also in the lift. She seemed angry at him, and walked away. He followed.
"Ah, forget about it, boyo," said Tommy. "You'd as like have angels flyin' out of your arse as get next to the likes o' her."
I giggled. Tommy looked at me. "I don't think I caught your name, miss."
"Cassie," I said. "Mark's sister."
Cora ran over to us and tripped on her dress, hurtling into Jack's lap.
"Whoa there!" he exclaimed, standing her on her feet. "You okay, Cora?"
She nodded, giggling. "Sorry, Jack," she said. He grinned easily.
"Don't worry about it. After all, you are my best girl."
She giggled again. "Is that your por...portfo..."
"Portfolio?"
"Thank you, Cassie... and is that it?" she asked, pointing at the leather holder.
"Yeah, it is," replied Jack. He opened it and showed her the picture he had just sketched of her and Uncle Jim. She was clearly awed.
I laughed. She was so cute. After Jack showed her a few more of his pictures, we played patty cake for awhile, except that Cora wasn't wonderful at it because she couldn't get the claps at the right time.
"I wonder if we can draw a hopscotch board on the floor," thought Cora out loud.
"I doubt it," I replied. The guys were talking again, along with Uncle Jim. "Hey, Cora, want to wear your pretty dress?"
"Yeah!"
"Want to have a real first class luncheon?"
Cora nodded so hard her hair smacked against her face.
"Well, want to sneak into it?"
Cora clapped her hands over her mouth and nodded again. I grinned and walked up to Uncle Jim.
"Uncle Jim, can we go back to our room?" I asked. "Cora forgot something, and then we're going to rest a bit."
"Of course, girls," he said. "Don't get into any trouble now!"
I grinned at Cora as we hurried back to our room. "If only he knew." But that was one of the many wonderful things about Uncle Jim, that he was so clueless.
I set Merdoc on Mark's bunk, and he watched with a disapproving eye as we got dressed.
"Cassie, I can't lace up," said Cora. I helped her into her dress, which was light pink and frilly, and had her put on the pretty pale pink gloves and hat with the white ribbon. She laced my corset for me, tying a bit tighter than necessary, but I was fine.
We walked primly into first class luncheon, taking little steps and nodding and smiling at everyone we saw. Merdoc, clearly wanting no part in this, had gone wandering about the ship. We found an empty little table and sat down, and the waiter came over after a few moments of quiet giggling to ourselves that this was working.
"I'll have the lamb," I said to the waiter. "Medium, and with heaps of mint sauce, please? And what would you like, Cora?"
"The same," she said distractedly, looking around. The waiter nodded and left. "Cassie, do you think that girl with the red hair will be here?"
"I'd imagine so, she was in first class," I said. "But we just saw her before, and Jack was staring at her."
"Really?" asked Cora.
"Yeah," I replied, smiling. "I think that he likes her."
Cora smiled. "Well, that's good. But I feel like... I dunno, it's weird... I kind of feel like she wants help. Like she was jealous of us."
"Jealous?" I laughed, but I had noticed it too. I was about to continue, but then I saw something that made my blood run cold. A man with familiar straight shoulders, impeccably clean clothes with no wrinkles and a black hat... he turned around and I gasped. "Come on, Cora, we've got to go."
"Why?" she asked, but I was already standing and lifting her out of her chair and carrying her out of the first class luncheon. "Cassie? Why did we have to leave?"
"Because... because, uh, we can't pay for that lamb," I said, running as fast as I could go with Cora on my hip. "We've got to go back to our room and change back into our clothes and find Mark and Uncle Jim, okay?"
"Okay..."
She didn't understand, but that was a good thing. She didn't have to know. But it couldn't have been him, he couldn't be here, on the Titanic of all places!
Mark's father could not be here. It was so unlikely. There was no way that had been him I had seen.
But I wasn't taking any chances.