Titanic: How to get away with Murder Chapter 3
A/N: Sorry for seriously slow update uggh, I'm awful! Thank you to Blondiee Leah and FabulousSleepyHead for the reviews, the latter, love the profile picture, I cosplay Ciel in that costume!
There was something about Joy's gasp that suggested that she was surprised more than horrified, as if she had seen something that just should not have been there, rather than a dead body.
"Mrs Anderson?" Joy called uncertainly, wondering if perhaps she had been injured as well.
Elizabeth nervously poked her head out of the bathroom; the maid nodded and then closed the door firmly behind her.
"You caught me," Elizabeth whispered as she stepped out of the bathroom, "I knew that I wouldn't be able to get away with it, there was no possibility."
Joy turned the key in the lock, closing them both in the room; Elizabeth stepped over Henry's body and walked over to the bed, flinging herself down on it with a sigh. The maid watched as her mistress put her hands over her eyes and started to cry heavily.
"It's over!" she sobbed angrily, "It's all over, I should have taken my time, I just should have thought of something else! There must have been another way!"
The maid felt uncertain, she had been working for Elizabeth Anderson for a number of years and she had never seen her like this. In her line of work she had learnt to deal with situations calmly, so she was not afraid.
"Mrs Anderson," Joy whispered, stepping carefully over to her, "you'll be alright."
"Don't call me 'Mrs Anderson' now, it's Elizabeth," she said, looking up, tears running down her face, her cheeks blotchy, "and nothing is going to be alright."
Joy sat down on the bed next to her mistress and then straightened the collar on her navy and white dress.
"Everyone has to have secrets," Joy whispered,
Elizabeth stared into the maid's honest blue eyes, thinking of how much she looked like her younger sister, Trudy. Elizabeth felt a flash of annoyance, and then she remember that it was not Trudy's fault in anyway, a woman could not say no, especially a woman of low social standing.
"Secrets are more fun if you share them," Joy said, forcing a smile and pushing a curly strand of hair behind her ear.
Elizabeth nodded in response, not too sure where this was going to lead.
"This can be a secret that we share," Joy continued, "provided that I can share a secret of my own with you, Elizabeth."
She drew the last word out, pronouncing each syllable. Once again her lips curled into a smile.
"You can tell me anything," Elizabeth said, her voice flat.
The two women sat close to each other on the bed, Joy's long dress reaching down to the floor, black lace up shoes peeked out from underneath. Joy let out a short laugh, Elizabeth looked surprised. Joy grabbed the other woman's hands, making her gasp.
"The truth is, Elizabeth," Joy started nervously; "I love you! You are so quiet and kind, I hated your husband so much, I hated him! But not you, you are beautiful!
By the end of what she was saying, Joy was nearly shouting and Elizabeth's eyes had significantly widened.
"You love me?" Elizabeth asked, she had not pulled her hands from the younger woman's grasp.
"And since you've killed your husband, it means I can look after you!" Joy said, her eyes brightening. She stroked Elizabeth's cheek, "He was never kind enough to you, I've always done my best for you, always tried my hardest for you, and this is just enough mishap that I am going to help you get through."
There was a significant pause, and Joy was breathing heavily.
"It is truly kind of you to help me, when it would be so much easier for you to just report me for what I have done." Elizabeth replied.
"Before I say anymore, my love," Joy whispered, blushing, "I would like to tidy the room up, in case of visitors!"
"I made this mess, so I will help you as best as I can," Elizabeth replied, looking down in shame,
"Don't regret it, Elizabeth," Joy said with a smile, "there are no children to miss him, and I know that both of us won't care that he is gone."
Joy climbed to her feet, obviously not wanting to leave Elizabeth after explaining her feelings for her. The maid glanced back over to the dead body, with the bulging eyes and the saliva running down his chin from his open mouth, at this sight she bit her lip and glanced down. Elizabeth was the first of the two to act, she flung the wardrobe with its slatted doors open and removed all of her clothes from it, leaving Henry's in there, as he would have no need for them. She slung the clothes onto the bed, then she stood behind Henry's body, grasping him under the armpits, Joy took a hold of his legs and together they half dragged him, half carried him, into the wardrobe. With a sigh from both of the women, the body was dumped in the wardrobe and the door was closed tightly. They stepped away from the door together and gave each other a weak smile. Next they picked up the pieces of broken glass and wrapped them in tissue paper, and then they were placed in the bin in the corner of the room. The silk flowers were left on the table and the puddle of water was used to help clean the blood from the green carpet, though a stain was left.
"We can just set the table on it," Joy said, shifting the small, ornate table onto the stain.
Elizabeth nodded weakly, before sitting down on the bed again. Joy picked up a silver handled hairbrush from the dresser and sat down next to her.
"You are still worried, aren't you?" Joy asked, as she began to brush through Elizabeth's hair, "There's nothing left to worry about now."
"Yes there is, you silly girl," Elizabeth whispered, her words were harsh, but her tone was gentle, "we still have to get rid of the body, I can still get caught, and now you are part of this as well. You must know that the consequences will be fatal for both of us if we cannot make it seem as if I did not murder him and you did not help me conceal it."
This did not interrupt Joy's calm and consistent strokes, the maid smiled to herself, unworried.
"I have a solution, so you don't have to worry anymore," she whispered.
A/N: I will try to update more quickly next time!