April 2, 1912
I lovingly smiled up at him as he talked. He could talk, and everything he said often went in one ear and out the other. It didn't matter, I loved him completely unconditionally – why else would I have agreed to accompany him on Titanic's maiden voyage? I hated the sea with a passion and the last thing I wanted was to leave solid earth for a week in a floating iron cell and a short stay in New York at the end. My sister told me I was mad for agreeing to it, but...God, I would do anything to spend time with my wonderful fiancé, William Murdoch.
What was he talking about? I looked up at him again and he smiled at me, taking my hand and squeezing it gently.
"You haven't been listening, have you lovvie?"
His pet name for me makes me smile every time.
"I'm sorry Will – it's just...you know I'm not entirely happy about ships."
"I know lovvie, but," he put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer. "You are going to be living on here for the next couple of weeks, and I also know you will love it as soon as you board."
I looked at him in horror. "Couple of weeks? I thought we would be in New York in a week's time!"
He nodded, "A week from Southampton. We will be there tonight, stay onboard until morning and then be staying in Southampton until the 12th. We won't actually be sailing for that long, lovvie.
I looked skeptical, "So why would you imply that?"
"You know I like to exaggerate! Anyway, don't you want to go on board and have a look? I'll introduce you to the officers..."
My mind wandered again, this time to the surrounding area. I hated Belfast. It was such a grey, dull place, always looking miserable. Admittedly, Will's Scotland wasn't much better in that respect, but at least there was scenery there. Belfast was just a city full of tall buildings and that hideous yellow Harland and Wolff thing. I tilted my head and looked at it. What was it anyway? I'm sure Will had told me before – in fact I knew he had.
"Ada? Do you want to go on board?"
His voice startled me, and I quickly nodded. No, I didn't want to go on board – but I knew I would have to at some point. He took my hand and led me up the gangway. I turned and looked at our luggage – well, mostly my luggage. Will always travelled lightly. Not that I didn't – after all, I hardly had the money to spend on things I needed, let alone frivolities like several beautiful dresses I don't need. Will had already wasted enough of his wages on dresses so I would fit in with the first class ladies who were due to board in Southampton. I didn't deserve to be travelling first class – I had no idea how Will had managed to get me a ticket. Then again, he was the chief officer. That must have something to do with it.
"Will, what about our luggage?"
"Don't worry about it, Ada – I'll bring it up in a while. Trust me, lovvie, the shipyard workers are not going to want your dresses or jewellery!"
I laughed. True enough – the big burly workers in worn jumpsuits and with thick Belfast accents were unlikely to want my luggage. I allowed Will to lead me inside the ship, where men were rushing back and forth putting the finishing touches to the interior. Will kept a tight grip on my hand as he led me through the corridors, up stairs and eventually onto the top deck.
"This is the boat deck, lovvie. There's the lifeboats, the gymnasium – you will want to try the machines in there – and this over here," he led me over to the front. "This is the bridge and officer's quarters."
I gazed around, pretending to be impressed. I had seen several ships in my life, although I'd never been on the bridge of one. It was exactly as I had imagined – nothing of particular interest, with wheels and a perfect view of the sea in front. I smiled and nodded as Will talked me through the use of each and every wheel and contraption in there.
"Will!"
We turned to see a tall young man bounding across the boat deck towards us. He was an officer too, although from his deer-like behaviour I would almost disbelieve this. He stopped as soon as he saw me.
"And who is this lovely lady?"
Will grinned from ear to ear, putting his arm across my shoulder again.
"This is Miss Ada Banks."
"Miss Banks...how utterly wonderful to meet you."
The officer took my hand and kissed it sincerely. I smiled and giggled.
"And this, Ada, is my subordinate Charles Lightoller. He's our first officer. And my subordinate." Will grinned, obviously revelling in the teasing of his colleague. "We call him Lights."
"I am, after all, the light of your lives, am I not?" He grinned back at Will. "I may be your subordinate, but only in name!"
Will rolled his eyes, "So you keep saying!"
Lights suddenly looked down at my hand again, and grabbed it in surprise, staring at my ring. It was a beautiful ring, the most perfect ring I could imagine – because Will had given it to me.
"My, oh my!" He whistled. "Doth mine eyes deceive me, or is this your mother's ring, Will?"
Will nodded, "That it is."
"So this is the wonderful young lady you have been bragging about for the last few months!" He smiled at me, as I turned to look at Will.
"You have been bragging about me, darling? Surely I should be doing the bragging!"
"Well, you know, lovvie, when a man asks a woman to marry him, he retains all bragging rights." He grinned at me. "And what man wouldn't want to brag about a woman as wonderful as you?"
He kissed my nose gently and I swear I felt butterflies fluttering inside me. Lights interrupted the perfect moment.
"Will, must you do this in public? It really isn't fair when you know I've left Sylvia behind! I have no way of competing!"
Will looked at him and laughed, "There's always Mr Moody!"
Lights made a face and was about to retort to this, when some newcomers walked in. Three officers, the captain – I knew him from the newspapers – and three other men in suits. Will and Lights straightened up slightly and greetings were exchanged before attention turned to me. Will introduced us.
"Gentlemen, this is Miss Ada Banks. Ada, this is Captain Smith (you must know him already, surely), Mr Andrews (he built Titanic), Mr Ismay (president of the White Star Line), his son Bruce Junior (travelling to New York with his father) and these fine men are the junior officers on Titanic – Mr Lowe, Mr Moody and Mr Boxhall." He paused. "Wait a moment – we are missing an officer. Mr Pitman isn't present."
I smiled at all of them and murmured a greeting. They all seemed pleasant enough – the captain was lovely, as was Mr Andrews and Mr Ismay, both of whom bowed politely. The officers...well, I must be honest, I couldn't remember which was which. Bruce Junior, however...I looked at him, unintentionally, to see his eyes boring into me. God, he kept staring. Will must have sensed my sudden tension as he instinctively put his arm across my shoulders. Eventually most of the men wandered off, leaving Lights and the other three officers behind. Will looked down at me with a worried expression on his face.
"Are you alright there, lovvie?"
I nodded, staring after the men. Will squeezed my hand, pulling me back into the room – not literally of course, but my mind had wandered away again. Lights was talking to the other officers, brightly.
"You see, Miss Banks is sailing with us from here because she is Will's own lady friend."
"Lights, she is not simply my 'lady friend'!" Will retorted. "She's my wonderful fiancée!"
"Fiancée?" One of the other officers interrupted. He had a Welsh accent. "Good God, Will, you're going to settle down?"
Lights mumbled something about lady friends and I distinctly heard him point out that a fiancée must be a friend of some description. Will ignored him, choosing instead to respond to the other officer who had spoken.
"Harold Lowe, I have no intention of settling down. Ada agrees with me – don't you lovvie?"
He grinned down at me. We had spoken about this before, and I had insisted that after the wedding I wanted to be with him all the time. Still, we had to come to some sort of an agreement – he would continue with the job he loved and I'd wait for him in Scotland. Something didn't seem quite right about this agreement. Will had laughed and said it was the perfect compromise, but I must admit that there was no compromise – it was exactly as it had been before. The only alternative, he had pointed out, was me joining him on the voyages across the Atlantic. Something told me that I would end up doing just that. For now, I simply smiled up at him.
"Whatever you say, Will."
Lights sniggered to the other officers, "Will is completely smitten, you know chaps. He was making me feel quite ill before you were kind enough to join us."
Will swatted him with his hat before kissing me softly on my nose again. One of the officers whistled, only to be silenced with another swat of Will's hat.
"Mr Boxhall, surely you have duties to attend to?" Will was grinning around the room, as always. The officer who had whistled simply winked and nodded, before addressing me.
"Miss Banks, keep an eye on him. He can't be trusted!"
"Don't you worry, Mr Boxhall, I'll be keeping him well and truly under my thumb!"
Will gestured towards the deck. "Has the lifeboat drill been completed?"
"Yes, sir!"
This was met with a laugh throughout the room, before each officer wandered back outside, leaving Will and myself alone again.
"I love you so much, Will." I whispered, looking up at him.
He smiled back, "Do you want to see your room now, lovvie?"
