April 12th, 1912 - 8:20 am

When Ned woke up the next morning, his thoughts went immediately to Katherine and their time they spent together the night before. It had been such a rush of so many different feelings.

He settled back into the soft sheets and smiled. He wished she was with him now. He wished to one day feel her lay in his arms and see that peaceful smile of hers creep upon her face. A smile spread itself on his face and other parts of his body began to react as well. He was so content imagining everything he wished one day he would get to do with her.

He wanted a life. A real one.

Not one as fake as the one his mother had planned out for him.

He forced his thoughts elsewhere as he pushed the covers back and stood up. He went to the washing room and stripped down before he stepped into the shower, turning on the overhead spray. The water took only a moment before it was hot and spilling over him.

He ran his hands up and over his chest and arms with a bar of soap before setting it on the ledge. He ran his hands through his hair before he shut the water off and stepped out. He grabbed his robe from the hook on the wall outside the shower. He went out and saw that there had been freshly pressed clothes laid out by his maid for him.

He quickly dressed and met his mother out on their private promenade where the maids were setting out breakfast. His mother was already seated and was sipping her usual coffee. The smell wafted over and he breathed in the earthy smell.

He hurriedly took his seat and poured himself a cup.

"Good morning, Ned," his mother said icily, peering at her as he poured some cream into his coffee.

He immediately became nervous over her tone. "Good morning, Mother. Did you sleep well?" He replied quietly, bringing the steaming mug of coffee to his lips and taking a long sip. The strong, hot liquid felt so good going down his throat.

"Where did you disappear to last night?" His mother asked.

He gulped. He didn't need his mother being suspicious. "I just went to the top deck again. I like it up there." Had she seen him?

His mother looked at him for a moment, the look in her eyes made him gulp again. "Really? I went up there myself right after supper and did not see you."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, it's a rather large ship, Mother. We must have been on different parts of the deck at that time." He was surprised at how steady his voice was. Usually, it was hard for him to stay level with her

Before his mother could respond, the maids brought them plates of fried eggs, grilled sausage, toast, marmalade, honey, and fresh fruit. His stomach audibly growled which only seemed to irritate her further.

They ate their breakfast in silence. It was delicious, but he wished he was among better company. The only noise was the sound of their silverware clinking against the plates. He tried to finish quickly, eager to get out onto the deck and look for Katherine again but trying not to act too suspicious.

After he had finished, he laid back into his seat and wiped his mouth before he stood. "That was delicious. Didn't you think so?"

"It was, my dear." His mother sipped her coffee as he excused himself.

He claimed that the gentlemen had asked him to join them in playing cards the night before. His mother did not respond, but he kissed her cheek and left before she could protest.

He quickly washed up before hurrying out of the suite and to the top deck. The sun was shining and the ocean waters were brilliant blue as he strode across the hardwoods. The sun reflected off the waves and the clear weather seemed to be reflecting his mood.

He'd never felt so clear in his entire life.

As he approached the stern, his heart began to pound. He desperately hoped Katherine would be there. She had to be.

And she was.

She leaned on her elbows over the railing, looking out over the ocean. She was wearing a brown dress that complemented her olive skin and dark hair, which was brushed cleanly down her back. She was beautiful, the most magnificent woman he'd ever seen. Finally, he approached her.

She turned around at the sound of his footsteps and her eyes lit up when they met his.

"Good morning," he greeted her, taking her hand and leaving a lingering kiss on the back of it. He smiled as he stepped closer, leaning against the rail. "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Good morning," she greeted in return. "You seem rather cheerful this morning. Why is that?" she said with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Well, I may have kissed the most beautiful woman in the world last night," he smiled proudly.

Her face fell slightly. "Me? The most beautiful? Hardly," she said barely above a whisper.

"Of course you are," his hairs rose to cup her cheeks and ran through her hair. It was as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Not like that girl that you introduced me to last night," she shrugged, looking off at the water. "Your mother likes her."

Who was she talking about? Claire?

Was Katherine jealous of her?

"Clair? No, she doesn't even compare to you," he replied kissing her cheek lightly.

She turned away, shaking her head. "How do you know her?" She asked, looking up at her with teary eyes.

"She and her family sit at our table in the Dining Saloon." He decided not to tell her that his mother and Claire's parents were expecting them to get married. It didn't matter anyway because he was never going to marry Claire.

Not so suddenly. He just couldn't.

Katherine seemed to accept his answer for now, but he could see that she was wrestling with something. He wished he could ease her pain. He stepped closer. His hand resting on her shoulders. "Katherine," he whispered in her ear, kissing her cheek as she gazed out at the ocean.

"What should we do today?" She asked after a few moments of silence.

She thought back to the tour he had of the ship the first day with his mother and got an idea. "Come with me," he said excitedly as he stepped away.

She turned around, her skirt moving with her and swiping up her legs. He grabbed her hand. "Where are we going?" She giggled as he pulled her along the deck.

"It's a surprise," he led her through the halls. No one dared to look twice as he led her down the corridor and back to his suite. He paused at the door.

"Is this your suite?" She asked, her eyes wide. She looked could see she felt out of place and looked down at her feet like she always did. "We shouldn't be here, Ned… what if someone saw us." He nodded, listening at the door. "Isn't your mother here?"

"No, I don't think so." He replied, not hearing anything from inside. "She probably met with some other rich women."

He led her into the suite and shut the door behind them. When he turned back around, he smiled as he watched as she craned her neck to look at the intricate wood carvings along the ceilings. She gawked at the luxury surrounding her.

"Wait here," he said as he went into his mother's room and began to quickly but carefully rummage through her clothing.

He emerged from the room a couple of minutes later with what he was looking for. He held it up for Katherine to see. He hoped it would fit her. His mother was petite like Katherine, so he had assumed it would.

She narrowed her eyes. "A bathing suit?" He nodded eagerly. He could tell she seemed hesitant. "Where would we go swimming?"

"In the swimming pool, of course. Did you think I would make you jump into the ocean?" He laughed, but she didn't seem amused.

"But isn't the swimming pool reserved for the upper class?" She whispered. "What if we were caught… I could be arrested."

"How will they be able to tell the difference? Especially if you're wearing an upper-class bathing suit." He held out the bathing suit to her. "I would never put you in danger. We'll be okay."

She reluctantly took it, holding it as if it would come to life and bite her. "What about you?" she asked.

He quickly went into his own room and retrieved his suit. He held it up for her to see when he came back out of his room. "Let's go," he grabbed her hand again and led her out of the suite.

As they approached the changing rooms for the swimming pool, he noticed some crew workers standing nearby. He assumed they were stationed there to keep out the lower-class. He looked over at Katherine who seemed to have picked up on this.

She slouched and sighed "See, Ned, I won't be able to go in there," she said quietly, her voice tinged with disappointment.

He watched the crew workers for another moment then had an idea. "Alright, I'm going to distract them and you sneak your way into the women's changing room." He suggested.

"Ned, what if–" she started to protest but he interrupted her.

"Come on, don't you want to have fun on this voyage?" He asked.

She sighed and then got a warm, happy look in her eyes. "Alright, but only because it will be fun had with you."

He walked up to the crew workers and greeted them. They both stood up straight and greeted him back. He cleared his throat, "I have a question for you gentlemen," he began, standing in a way that forced them to look at him.

His eyes quickly darted to her, who began to quickly sneak toward the changing room. He made up some ridiculous question about the temperature of the water, not really pay attention to the crew workers' responses. He just subtly watched Katherine disappear into the changing room soon after. "Thank you for your help, gentlemen," he said kindly and entered the men's changing room.

Ned had never worn a bathing suit before as he had never had a need to. But when his mother heard there would be a heated pool on the ship she bought one for each of them. It was the right thing to do, she'd said. To him, it felt awkward. The material clung to his legs tightly and it probably looked awkward too, but his excitement to spend time with Katherine outweighed his feelings toward his appearance and comfort.

He made his way to the pool, finding that it was vacant. He waited for a few minutes, leaning against the wall until finally, she walked out.

The black bathing suit fit her better than he had expected. It went down to the tops of her knees and bared her arms and a small part of her chest. She blushed when she caught him looking at her.

"Well, are we going to swim or not?" she asked trying to sound exasperated, but he could hear the smile in her tone.

He sighed dramatically. "I guess," he replied and made quite a show of running toward the pool and jumping into it. He broke through the smooth surface and came up a few moments later, his hair and face dripping water as he looked over at Katherine who stood rooted to the floor. "Come on! It feels wonderful!"

She tentatively took a step forward. Then another and another, until she was at the edge of the pool. She touched the surface of the water with one toe.

He swam over to her. As she bent down to feel the water with her hand, he exclaimed, "You're taking too long!" And pulled her down into the water.

She squealed as she plunged into the water. He laughed as she struggled against him and broke through the surface, her hair sticking to her face in various places.

"Ned Banks!" she cried.

He laughed and pulled her with him again, dragging her out to the middle of the pool. The fact that her extremely soft and ample backside was pushed against his hips threatened to cause an embarrassing situation for him in the tight bathing suit. He kept his hips away from her and willed himself to calm down.

He let her go and she playfully splashed him. He splashed her back which started a war of more splashing and trying to wrestle with each other. Her squeals of delight made him giddy.

Eventually, he was able to pull her close again and bring their lips together for a few brief moments because no one else had joined them in the pool. He considered himself lucky.

After a while, she moved to the side of the pool and pulled herself up to sit on the edge, catching her breath. He swam over to her and stayed in the water below her, looking up into her eyes.

She shook her head. "You're going to get me into trouble."

He laughed. "But isn't this worth it?"

She smiled softly. "It is." She rubbed the material of her bathing suit between her fingers. "Ned, I never asked you: where is the rest of your brothers? You've mentioned them a few times…"

He sighed. This wasn't exactly what Ned wanted to talk about at the moment, but she had told him about her family so he supposed it was only fair to tell her about his. "Well, my father died a few years ago," he began quietly. "You knew that." She nodded, her brown eyes portrayed sympathy as she squeezed his hand. "I miss him terribly," he continued. "And my brothers."

"What happened to them?" she asked cautiously.

"My mother wanted to come to the United States and they didn't want to." He sighed, shrugging. "They wanted to stay away from her. I can't really blame them."

"Why did you come with your mother?" She asked.

"I didn't really have a choice in the matter," he muttered. "I had no money, nowhere to go, nothing. She told me that I would be making the Banks name a well-known and respected name by going to coll
becoming an upstanding businessman."

She narrowed her eyes. "Is that what you really want?"

"No," I said, averting my gaze from hers. "But what choice did I have?"

"I'm sorry, Ned. Truly," she began. "But…I'm glad that it led you here," she said, echoing his words to her from the night before.

He smiled softly and took her hand in his, kissing it gently. She smiled back at him and then slid back down into the water with him. She stood just inches away and their bodies were flush against each other.

She looked up into his eyes and before he knew what was happening, she had her hand behind his head and was pulling him down to her. Their lips locked in a passionate frenzy and he felt himself harden immediately.

He tried to pull away, but she wrapped her arms around his waist and kept him in place. He pulled his lips away from hers and kissed and licked his way down her jaw, her neck, to her collarbone. She whimpered quietly which only spurred him on. The warmth of the water and the way it dripped off her skin and ran down her neck only sent him further into a frenzy.

His hands constantly moved on her back, gripping her shoulders, running his fingers down her spine, until they found their way into her hair. Her hands found their way into his as their lips met again.

Suddenly he heard a cackling laugh behind them. Katherine moved to jump away, but he shielded her as he spun around to see who was laughing at them, desperately hoping his own body would calm down.

It was none other than Marvel, standing by the pool with a towel over his shoulder. "You and the little street rat," the man chuckled. "Of course." He laughed.

"Marvel, get out!" He barked at him. "What are you doing here?"

It took Marvel several seconds to catch his breath enough to respond. "In case you had forgotten, this isn't just your pool, Ned. I'd watch what you say if you want me to keep your secret from that mommy of yours."

Ned groaned in frustration as he turned around. He made his way to the side of the pool and pulled himself out quickly, before helping Katherine out behind him.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"Don't be. I had fun while it lasted," she said as they both hurried into their own separate changing rooms, leaving Marvel to himself in the pool before any other conversation could be had.

That might have been the most humiliating moment of Katherine's entire life. She had lost herself when she was kissing Ned. But from the moment she saw him in his bathing suit, which revealed his toned arms and legs, all she could think about was how she wanted to kiss him.

And Marvel had ruined it.

She grabbed one of the complimentary towels from a rack on the wall, quickly stripped off the bathing suit, and dried herself off. She hurriedly tugged on her clothing and rushed out of the room as soon as possible, hoping that Ned would still be changing so she wouldn't have to face him.

Unfortunately, he was already changed and was waiting for her. She tried her best to quickly brush past him and the crew workers without a word.

But Ned noticed. "Katherine!" He called after her. She could hear his hurried footsteps as he tried to catch up to her. "Katherine, please stop! Where are you going?"

"Ned, this was a huge mistake." She shrugged him off when he tried to grab her arm. "I don't think we should see each other anymore…"

"What are you talking about?" He sounded hurt, deflated. It broke her heart a little, but she kept walking away from him as more tears rolled down her cheeks. "Katherine, please!"

She finally stopped once they were alone in a stairwell and she spun toward him, causing him to nearly run into her. His green eyes were wide and frantic. "Ned, this isn't going to work! You're from the upper class, and I'm not. We live completely different lives." She closed her eyes, more tears spilling out. "Imagine how your mother would react if she caught us together!"

He looked taken aback. "Katherine, calm down... are you worried that Marvel will tell someone? Because he won't! My mother would never believe him either. He's nothing but an assistant to a rambling drunk."

"And if he told your mother what he saw, won't that make you uncomfortable?" She snapped back.

Ned pushed the palms of his hands into his eyes. "That's not what I meant! He won't tell, Katherine! I promise!"

"How do you know?" She asked.

"I'll talk some sense into him if I need to, but he won't." He reassured her.

"But what about your mother? Her plans for you?" She whispered, looking away from him. "I could never derail your future, Ned."

"I don't give a damn about her plans," he said desperately, grasping her hand. "You were right that first night. No one should be able to steal my happiness, and I'm not going to let her anymore. I want..." His voice trailed off and her features softened.

She rose his hand to kiss her palm. "You want what, Ned?" She asked barely above a whisper.

He stepped closer to her and held his hand up to caress her cheek. "I want…you."

She swallowed as he leaned down to kiss her chastely on the lips. Suddenly her stomach growled, breaking the tension between them.

They both chuckled and he looked down at the watch on his wrist. His eyes widened. "Oh no," he whispered.

"What's wrong?" She asked, patting his chest.

"We missed lunch!" He exclaimed. "Mother's going to kill me. She's already suspicious of something."

She felt her anger rise again. "You don't want her to know about me? You just said you didn't care what she wanted anymore."

He pushed the heels of his palms into his eyes again and groaned. "That's not what I meant..."

"I think it was," she said as she began to storm away again, going down the stairwell toward steerage.

She expected to hear his footsteps behind her again when suddenly she heard an angry high-pitched woman's voice exclaim, "Ned Banks! There you are! I have been looking everywhere."

She glanced over her shoulder as she stalled on the landing between the previous floor she'd been on and the one below. She saw Ned's mother slap him on the cheek. His head spun her way and their eyes met briefly. His hand went up to touch the red spot on his face.

He looked crushed, but she couldn't afford to look back again. Her heart couldn't take it.