"Miss Banks."

"Mr Andrews."

He smiled and offered me his arm, which I gladly took. Since leaving Lights and Harry to discuss how fast we were going, I had been wandering around with nothing to do and no one to talk to. At least I knew Mr Andrews.

We walked down to the Palm Court together in silence. Why was I being so shy? And why wasn't he breaking the silence? I breathed a sigh of relief when I realised he was making his way towards Molly Brown.

"Good afternoon, Molly." He smiled as she shook his hand eagerly.

"Ready for lunch, Thomas?" She noticed me. "Ada! Glad to see you joining us!"

I smiled at her appreciatively. At least I was genuinely wanted here, despite my worst fears. Mr Andrews pulled a chair out for me, then sat between Molly and myself. She said something to him and he laughed. Well, maybe I would still be excluded a bit – but at least Bruce Junior was nowhere to be seen. I smiled at that thought.

"Ah, Mr Andrews!"

We all looked up to see two women and a man standing a small distance away. Mr Andrews forced a smile and stood as the older woman smiled. She looked so...false.

"Ruth, Mr Hockley...Rose."

Molly grinned up at them, and I smiled timidly, hoping they wouldn't be joining us. They did – without invitation. Andrews introduced me to the newcomers, deciding to omit the part about my fiancé being an officer. I was surprised, but he whispered to me after he sat down that the older woman, Ruth DeWitt Bukater, would not appreciate me eating lunch with them if she knew - even though she had invaded our lunch rather than the other way around. We had all settled when another voice broke in.

"Mr Andrews!"

My heart sank as I raised my eyes to see the Ismays – Bruces Senior and Junior. Bruce Junior gave me a funny, questioning look. Mr Hockley invited them to join us – the cheek – and Junior took the opportunity to sit in the empty chair to my left. I edged closer to Mr Andrews, hoping he wouldn't notice. Bruce Junior started talking quietly to me.

"I thought you would not be eating lunch, Miss Banks."

"It turned out that my fiancé had already asked Mr Andrews to accompany me. I did not know, and when I found out I did not wish to mess him around anymore."

Ruth looked up as I spoke.

"You have an interesting accent, Miss Banks. May I inquire as to where you are from?"

"New Zealand, ma'am."

"Really? How extraordinary!" She paused. "And what brings you here?"

"I am travelling to New York to...collect some dresses. I am engaged to be married, you see, and I have to collect the dresses for the wedding." It was a lie, of course, but she accepted it.

The conversation then turned to her daughter, Rose, who was also engaged to be married, to Mr Hockley. I gazed at Rose for a moment – she seemed blank and uninterested, almost as though there was no love lost between the couple at all. Her eyes met mine suddenly, and I dropped my gaze. Mr Ismay started bragging about Titanic – I discreetly rolled my eyes. I didn't care. I had heard all about Titanic, and not much else, for the last week.

"She's the largest moving object ever made by the hand of man in all history. And our master shipbuilder, Mr Andrews here, designed her from the keel plates up."

There was a murmur of approval at this, and all eyes turned to Andrews. He instantly looked alarmed, then simply uncomfortable and tried to pass the attention back to Ismay.

"I may have knocked her together, but the idea was Mr Ismay's."

Attention was still focused on him – his plan had backfired. I pitied him. I hated being the centre of attention too, especially when surrounded by this sort of company. I watched as he fidgeted with his notebook, as though to distract their attention away from him.

"He envisioned a steamer so grand in scale and so luxurious in its appointments that its supremacy would never be challenged. And here she is -" He slapped the table to demonstrate his point. "Willed into solid reality!"

This was met by approval all round, and I smiled as I saw Andrews breathe a sigh of relief. He was such a lovely man – it just seemed to me that, like myself, he wasn't really one of these people. Almost as though he was only there because it seemed like the appropriate thing to do as builder of the ship. He was a worker, not a first class socialite.

I became aware of the stewards hovering around the table, taking orders. God, I wasn't hungry. I wouldn't know what to eat anyway! I gazed around for help, and felt absolutely mortified when my eyes met those of Bruce Junior.

"Would you care to meet me on deck after lunch, Miss Banks?"

"No, thank you."

"Come now – I'm sure your fiancé won't mind. He'll be happy to rest!"

"No, really. Mr Ismay, I am tired myself and would rather just read or...write to my sister than walk around that deck for the hundredth time!"

Our conversation was in hushed tones, which was just as well. It meant that Ruth DeWitt Bukater did not feel compelled to question me anymore, which I was certain she would do if she noticed me again. I was a newcomer, a stranger. As it was, however, she seemed to be distracted by her miserable daughter – I had missed the first part of their conversation because of Bruce Junior, but all eyes were on Rose and Mr Hockley when Molly chimed in.

"You gonna cut her meat too there, Cal?"

He looked somewhat embarrassed, until Molly thought up another question. There was no questioning this woman's genuine warmth and friendliness – but God, she could talk!

"Hey, who thought of the name Titanic? Was it you, Bruce?"

She grinned at Mr Ismay Senior. I fought the urge to roll my eyes again as he started up about the wonders of Titanic again. I would do anything to be able to have a normal conversation with Will – but no, I was stuck here with these rich, arrogant morons. With the exceptions of Molly and Andrews, of course. The DeWitt Bukaters unsettled me more than Bruce Junior – Ruth seemed cold and extremely judgemental, while Rose came across as being miserable and, frankly, spoilt. I just hoped I wouldn't be forced to spend the rest of the journey with them – and that Mr Hockley.

Ismay was talking all the while about Titanic – the ship of everyone's dreams but mine.

"...I wanted to convey sheer size. Size means stability, luxury and above all strength."

Rose had been watching him through this little speech, and spoke up when he finished. No one was prepared for what she came out with.

"Do you know of Doctor Freud, Mr Ismay? His ideas about the male preoccupation with size might be of particular interest to you."

I was shocked – not in a bad way, mind you. I had never expected any first class woman to come out with something like that. I suddenly became conscious that Mr Andrews was choking on his food – or, on closer inspection, it may have simply been stifled laughter. Or a combination of the two. Bruce Junior was scowling at Rose – but his father seemed to be completely blank. Rose stood up and left, leaving her mother to apologise. There was no need for apologies – Mr Ismay had no idea what Rose had been trying to say, while Molly, Andrews and I appreciated the dry humour immensely.

A while later, Mr Hockley went to find his fiancé outside while the rest of our party finished our lunch. Thankfully the conversation steered clear of Titanic (and her sister ship, which the Ismays were all too keen to refer to) – I didn't think I could take much more of this ship. Ruth was busy talking about Rose's dresses for her upcoming wedding, when I felt someone's hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Will beaming down at me.

"Will!"

"Afternoon, lovvie."

"What are you doing here?"

"Just finished my own lunch, and I was on my way to take over from Lights again when I thought I'd take a detour to see how you were getting on."

I realised the rest of our party was watching us intently, Ruth especially. Andrews stood up quickly.

"Mrs DeWitt Bukater, might I introduce our first officer, Mr William Murdoch? Mr Murdoch, this is Mrs Ruth DeWitt Bukater. She is travelling with her daughter and her fiancé but they appear to be missing at the moment."

"Charmed, I'm sure."

But Ruth looked anything but charmed. After all, Will was only the first officer – not really worthy of her attention. Still, she started staring at me, her eyes almost boring holes in my body.

Will obviously felt quite uncomfortable standing there, so he kissed my cheek and smiled.

"I'll find you at two, then."

"I'll probably be in my room."

"Well, 'til then, lovvie. I'd best be off – Lights won't be too pleased if I stop to socialise in here!" He smiled, then looked up at the rest of the party. "Molly, Mr Andrews. Sirs. And madam."

He tipped his hat to each individually, then walked away. Ruth looked at me and went in for the kill.

"Forgive me, Miss Banks, but how can one afford dresses from New York on an officer's salary?"

"It is not my fiancé's money, ma'am. My parents left me a small amount in their will and I thought it best to spend it on the wedding, so I can have a small part of them with me."

I caught a smile from everyone but Ruth, whose expression seemed frozen.

"And how did you come to meet this officer?"

"I was travelling to England from Australia a year or so ago. He was an officer on the ship I travelled on and, after I arrived, we started to write regularly to eachother."

"I have heard it said that seamen are not the type of men a respectable young woman would want to marry."

"That is merely a stereotype, ma'am. Will is most definitely a perfect gentleman and I would much rather marry a 'mere officer' like Will than a rich banker with the personality of a salmon."

"A salmon, you say?" Bruce Junior interrupted. "I quite like a good salmon!"

The conversation turned away from me again, and for once I was glad for Bruce Junior's presence.


A/N – Just thought I'd add one more chapter, for luck! I'll be flat out working on the next few chapters for a while, but please let me know what you think so far. I have heavily edited this and the previous chapter because of a lack of continuity in Ada's character (yeah, I suck), so any comments on the continuity, pacing or anything else will be greatly appreciated. Also, I think I should point out that the above scene actually takes place the next day in the movie.