Ah yay! so that annoying thing happened where i couldn't see the reviews. but i hadnt realised it had happened, so i just thoght there weren't many reviews for the last two chapters. then I have just logged on to find a whole page of lovely reviews. YAY! thanks guys.

jansfamily, glad you liked the Dr lucases. couldnt leave them out! ruth, i would love lizzie/darcy to figure out how to keep titanic afloat, i'm sure they could! hmmm... ;) laura you know you can count on me for E/D..your wish is my command! sooty good catch with the aunt reference. eliza/Shelby/liysyl/jolanda glad you are enjoying, plenty more to come.

colleen. im with you. i find the story of titanic in equal parts fascinating and terrifying. i love the stories (both true and fiction) of how people react to the situation. one of the things i have enjoyed in this is taking loved characters and seeing what they would do! i hope i am imparting some of my enthusiasm on to you all! :)

oh a call for shout outs as to who to save vs not! I'm game. i've decided the fate for many, but I have a few that could easily be changed. Caro a big question mark. Whos for what for her? shes pretty cold anyway, the water might not bother her!;) Lady C/ADB? what about the rest of the bennet ladies? My Oh thinks i should send Lydia down with the ship! thoughts? As an fyi my men folk are the most at risk (20% actually survived vs 75% of women) so shout outs for saves will be taken in to consideration!

anyway, to celebrate the return of my notebook. (hopefully another this weekend too!)

...

April 11th, 1315 am. 3 days, 10 hours and 25 minutes until iceberg.

...

Elizabeth and Jane joined the rest of their family for lunch and they were immediately set upon by their younger sisters.

"Oh Lizzie! Do you like my new ribbons?" Kitty cried, leaning around the waiter that was attempting to serve her.

"They are not as pretty as mine!" Lydia cried, thrusting a bundle of ribbons under her nose, their tendrils almost trailing in her soup.

"Have a care, Lydia." She laughed, moving the bundle to a safer distance. "You both have chosen lovely colours, and I daresay that will suit you each well."

"Mine will look better, once I have used them to trim my cream gown, and the lace I have bought will be a nice touch also!" Lydia declared and stuck her tongue out at Kitty.

Lizzie scowled at Lydia and then frowned "where did you both get ribbons and lace from?"

Kitty tried to speak, but she had just taken a bite of a roll and she started coughing.

Lydia laughed unkindly and said "save your breath Kitty! I shall tell Lizzie and Jane."

In many more words than would have been necessary, it transpired that a few small boats had pulled up alongside Titanic to sell wares, whilst they were docked in Queenstown.

"It was quite the spectacle." Lydia declared "we had stood to watch the new passengers, to look for new beaux, when these little boats pulled up alongside and started shouting wares and prices. They were very reasonably priced and Kitty and I could not resist."

Lizzie smiled and turned to Jane "did you see this?"

Jane shrugged "Mr Bingley and I watched for Queenstown, but we did not pay much attention to the new boats that pulled up. I confess I did not notice that there were more boats than just those bringing passengers."

Elizabeth gave her a knowing look.

"How did you miss it Lizzie? I thought you liked this sort of thing?"

"I should have liked to have seen it. I was visiting with Aunt and Uncle Gardiner."

She proceeded to tell her family of her visit to second, her new friends. Jane sat listening, but occasionally wore a dreamy distracted smile. Lydia and Kitty almost immediately began talking of what they would do with their new ribbons. Mr and Mrs Bennet listened in their half attentive way.

"Well, I enjoyed my morning. I shall return tomorrow to see Andrew and Alexa more. I think we shall explore as much as we are able!"

"La! Third class areas are fun. It is where we went to see the sellers better for the first class deck was too high!" Lydia giggled with Kitty.

"We think we will go back..."

"KITTY!" Lydia hissed.

"Ouch!" Kitty yelped. "That was my foot."

Lizzie frowned at them but her mother was quizzing Jane about her morning with Mr Bingley and the subject slipped away.

...

Thursday 11th April, 1710. 3 days, six hours and thirty minutes until iceberg.

"La! This is dull!"

Elizabeth frowned. They had agreed to walk with their youngest sisters but she had not anticipated such ridiculous behaviour.

"Lydia," Elizabeth chastised, "what do you think we should do instead?"

"There is not a single officer on the deck! Where are they all?" She whined.

"They are probably working!" Elizabeth sighed.

"Hello Ladies!" They both jumped.

Lydia giggled "why Mr Bingley, you quite snuck up on us!"

Mr Bingley smiled "I apologise, I thought you had seen us."

Caroline and Darcy were stood behind him and Elizabeth watched as she leaned in to murmur something and then she smirked. Darcy's face was it's usual inscrutable mask.

"Oh Mr Bingley." Lydia danced around him on the deck. "Do you like my ribbons?" She asked, fishing the handful out of her pocket.

Elizabeth sighed, what was with her sister? She was currently fluttering the ribbons and skipping around, more like the child she actually was than the adult she tried to be.

"Beautiful, for certain!"

"She is isn't she!" Lydia now skipped around Jane. "Especially when she blushes."

"Lydia!" Elizabeth said sharply. "You are best taking these ribbons back to your cabin, you would not wish to lose one over the side of the ship!"

As if by design the wind grabbed a ribbon and it tore across the deck, luckily catching on the leg of a deck chair.

Lydia screeched and ran after it and managed to catch the errant ribbon, which fluttered in her fingers as if desperate to escape its prison. It had the desired effect and Lydia and Kitty hastened away to protect their purchases.

Elizabeth sighed in to the silence that always was left in her sister's wake. They seemed to be like waves crashing upon the sand. A mess of frothing energy only to rush away again leaving a smooth calm behind. She shook her head, she loved her sisters, but they were impulsive and loud and hard to like sometimes.

"Miss Bennet!" Mr Bingley addressed Jane and offered his arm before walking forward. Caroline latched on to Darcy's arm and walked in front of Jane, leaving Elizabeth behind the four of them. Darcy felt the insult and purposely extracted his arm and waited for her to catch up. Elizabeth would not have been terribly concerned but accepted walking next to Darcy with serenity.

Caroline began a conversation about Miss Darcy. "Oh, how I long to walk with her. She is so genteel, so accomplished. Her performance at the pianoforte is exquisite."

Elizabeth silently contained her amusement at Caroline's obvious ploy. Darcy remained silent.

"Of course, she is truly accomplished, as one would expect."

"I am curious." Elizabeth could not help herself. "What does constitute an accomplished woman these days?"

"Well, Of course you might not know!" Caroline declared, talking across Darcy. "Why, one must have a thorough knowledge of modern languages, music, dancing and some sort of art. Dear Georgiana has all of those. And she must also have something in her air, her manner and voice, to fully deserve the words."

"Georgiana has all of these, to be sure." Darcy spoke. "But I cannot think a woman truly accomplished unless she expands her mind, allows curiosity to be sated, through extensive reading."

Elizabeth turned away to hide her smile. "She sounds like quite the young woman."

"Oh! She is!" Caroline declared, but Elizabeth was caught by Darcy's look. Part affection, part fear.

Caroline rattled on about other, accomplished, young ladies. All rich of course, apparently an important requirement for accomplishment.

"Do you not think so Caroline?" Bingley's voice surprised them all. Elizabeth had not been attending to the conversation. Caroline, appeared to have been focussed entirely on Darcy and shot her brother a vexatious look.

"Do I not think what?" She asked, barely concealing her agitation at her brother.

"We should have Miss Bennet, Oh and Miss Elizabeth, to dine with us tonight?"

"But we are at Getti's tonight!"

"Indeed. But our table is booked for four anyway and Georgiana will not join us and I am certain another chair could be added!"

Elizabeth wanted to demure but Jane shot her a look and she accepted, feeling oddly pleased at the cross look Caroline sent her.

...

Elizabeth jumped as the bugle sounded over her shoulder then laughed at her own foolishness.

Darcy looked solemnly at her, she had almost forgotten he was there. They had, as a group been walking for about an hour. She had paid little attention to her companions. She looked over at Jane, who was still talking with Bingley.

"Oh, why do they have to announce dinner so loudly!" Jane gasped and Bingley leaned in , whispering something which made her laugh.

"I think that is the call to change." Elizabeth spoke to the couple who looked over.

Mr Darcy bowed to her "I suppose we shall see you at dinner."

Elizabeth almost rolled her eyes, he did not have to sound so upset about it.

"Well." Elizabeth said, as she and Jane walked towards their cabin. "You have done well. You've covered the weather, England, America, boats, your family and onboard entertainment all in one day. It is a good job we have been invited to dinner, you can speak of your health and how annoying it is to have sisters and then you will have nothing more to say for the rest of the voyage!"

"Oh Lizzie!" Laughed Jane. "You do like to tease."

Elizabeth smiled "I take it you have had a wonderful day?"

"Oh! He is just what a young man ought to be! Sensible, Good humoured. Such fun!"

"Handsome too, which men ought to be! If at all possible!"

Jane only laughed in response.

"I am very pleased he has invited us for dinner though. I am all anticipation to know what the A-la-carte restaurant will be like. I cannot imagine papa taking us all!"

"Oh, Yes, they were kind. I should like to spend more time with Miss Bingley." Jane added.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows but said nothing as they reached their cabin. When they entered they were greeted by complete quiet. They frowned and looked at each other before moving one cabin down and knocking.

Their father answered.

"Papa, where are Kitty and Lydia?" Jane enquired.

"In their cabin, I imagine."

Jane and Elizabeth exchanged a confused glance.

Mr Bennet smiled, enjoying having one over on his brightest daughters.

"It turned out, very few of these cabins were taken." He indicated the forward cabins. "The ship is only at two thirds capacity. I managed to convince the purser to allow us an extra cabin."

Elizabeth smiled at her father "Well, that is wonderful. I assume Lydia spent much of last night complaining?"

"I cannot say if it was her complaining or her snoring which made my decision, but it is done!"

Elizabeth smiled and knocked on the door one down from them

"LIZZIE," Lydia screeched at her "look at my cabin!"

"Our cabin!" Kitty piped in.

"Is it not wonderful?"

Lizzie dutifully looked round their cabin, a mess already, and congratulated them for their lucky escape from sleeping with their parents.

"La!" Lydia cried. "I could not stay another night." She snorted and Kitty giggled.

"Not when you have recently met.."

"Hush Kitty!" Lydia snapped.

Elizabeth turned and looked at her sisters.

"You have met with someone new?"

Lydia stuck her tongue out at Kitty.

"Just some gentlemen."

Elizabeth exchanged a look with Jane.

"Kitty." Jane's gentle voice was far more persuasive than Elizabeth would have been.

Kitty looked down. "Lydia dropped her ribbon over the barrier to steerage. We went to collect it and met a few people. They are very nice and perfectly well mannered." Kitty rushed to assure them.

Elizabeth sighed. "So That was what you were planning. Do mama and papa know?"

The petulant looks on her sister's faces told all.

"You must tell them." Jane insisted. "Lizzie and I are to dine with the Bingleys tonight."

"Please." Elizabeth looked at both her sisters. "Please tell them, tonight, at dinner."

They both nodded sullenly.

"This really is a nice room, do not give papa a reason to take it off you!" Elizabeth had another look round, rescued some of her and Jane's belongings before moving back to their own to dress for dinner.

...