After my unfortunate experience at lunch, I didn't feel particularly compelled to leave my room again. That is, until Will turned up at two o'clock, beaming again. I was starting to feel oddly conspicuous – since the last night, Will had been constantly grinning, like a cat which had stolen the cream, as my mother would have said. I missed her.

"Aid, how utterly divine you look this afternoon!"

"Will, that name is never going to catch on!"

He looked momentarily hurt, before pulling me closer and kissing my nose.

"But lovvie, you are my aid!"

I giggled, "How long did it take you to think up that line?"

"All morning," he put his mouth close to my ear. "But I'm not just saying that, Ada. You are everything I need, you...you're my little Aid, who helps me through each day."

I felt myself go literally weak at the knees. "Is that the end of 'lovvie' then, Will?"

"Of course not!" He grinned. "If the men notice me calling you by a different name they might become suspicious!"

I felt myself blush again – what was happening to me? I could feel myself glowing inside. Nothing had ever been so perfect. Not for anyone, at any time, ever – I was sure of it.

"Will, don't you need to sleep at some point?"

"You know, that might be a good idea. Let's see...I'm on duty again at ten tonight. Tell you what, lovvie, I'll head up to catch some sleep now but you make sure to wake me by six."

"Six?" I laughed. "What on earth for?"

"Ah, I forget my manners. Miss Banks, would you be so kind as to allow me to escort you to dinner this evening?" He bowed towards me, waving his hand elaborately.

"I don't know...I've seen a couple of rather dashing young officers on the bridge."

"Who?" He looked mock-horrified.

"Oh, you know. That simply charming Harry Lowe, for one."

"You leave me no choice, Miss Banks. I shall have to throw them all overboard and steer this ship into New York by myself!"

"In that case, I shall be dining alone this evening! You can't eat if you're attached to the bridge!"

He looked at me and laughed. "You've caught me out there, lovvie. So, call me at six – don't forget!"

He kissed my nose before leaving my room. I could still feel myself glowing – every doubt from the past few days had vanished. Will and I were perfectly happy together, I could hardly contain my excitement at the thought of spending the rest of my life with him.


I didn't have anything to do for the rest of the afternoon, and intended to stay in my suite to write to my sister. Still, I had become somewhat restless and wasted an hour or so just organising everything – the notepaper wasn't straight, the daffodils weren't standing up in their vase and so on. I had just settled myself at the writing desk at half four when I was disturbed by a knock at the door. Thinking it would be Bruce Junior again, I decided to ignore it – until I heard Jim calling in a sing-song voice.

"I know you're in there, Ada!"

I jumped up and opened the door, revealing Jim leaning on the frame. He looked amused.

"May I come in?"

"Of course," I stepped to one side and he entered. I closed the door and turned to look at him. "Don't you have any work to do?"

"Not now, no. I'm off duty for a couple of hours. I should really be trying to sleep now, but you try sleeping in the middle of the afternoon with all that noise."

I laughed. "So you won't be tired on your watch?"

"Course I will be," he grinned. "But I can't help that now. Anyway, Ada, I need to ask you a question. Are you alright?"

"What?"

"Well...you seem withdrawn or something."

"Have you been talking to Will?"

"Yes, but not about you. I'm only asking as a friend."

He did seem concerned. I tilted my head, crossed my arms and looked at him. I could talk to him, without fear of him relaying everything to Will. He would tell me anything – he had already told me everything about how he felt about the reshuffle, the other officers and his duties. Surely if he could trust me to keep all that information to myself, I could trust him with the same? Besides, everyone needs to talk to somebody. I made my decision.

"If I tell you, will you promise not to tell Will?"

"Cross me heart," he said solemnly, doing the actions. "You can trust me."

"Well...do you know, I don't think I can tell you."

He looked confused, before his face lit up. "Oh my God, Ada – you aren't..." He gestured towards my stomach.

I was mortified. "No, Jim! No, no, no!"

"Then what?"

I sat down, gesturing for him to sit beside me. He did so, still looking at me with that concerned expression on his face. I took a deep breath before starting.

"It's Mr Ismay."

"Ismay?"

I nodded, "Well, his son."

"Junior?" His tone was laced with disbelief.

"Yes, Junior," I paused, fixing my gaze on the daffodils Will had presented me with the previous morning. "He always seems to be following me. Inviting me to lunch, to dinner – I'm expecting an invitation to breakfast fairly soon!"

"I'm sure he's just being friendly. The Ismays know you're travelling alone. Apart from Will, of course, but he's always working or sleeping."

"Jim, he told me that he's never met an officer who's worth the time of day. He has a horrible derogatory attitude towards Will – and he brought me a rose this morning!"

"So...you're saying you think he's trying to...uh...steal you away from Will?"

I nodded. He sighed and shook his head.

"To be honest, Ada, I don't think you need to worry about him. You'll only be on here for a week, and I hear that he is staying in New York. You'll be free on him on the way back."

"But he doesn't take no for an answer!"

"Have you mentioned this to Will?"

"Of course not! If I had, I would not have made you promise. I can't tell Will – he will do something rash and then regret it."

"I suppose," Jim nodded slowly. "Like I said, don't worry about it. As long as you always have someone to dine with – and there are plenty of officers who would love to dine with you! - he will eventually get the message."

I nodded forlornly, "If you're sure. I suppose I'm just worrying about nothing, as usual."

"Course I'm sure!"

"What time are you on watch?"

To be honest, I only wanted constant company. I knew that my asking every officer the same question made me seem obsessive, but I was just lonely. He sighed and looked across at the clock, which read as ten past five. I heard him groan.

"I'm on the first dog-watch...starting at six. Lord, I hate the dog-watches."

"They aren't that bad, are they?" I laughed.

"They are! Two hours on, two off and then back on. I won't be awake by the end!"

"You should have tried to get some sleep now then."

He looked at me and laughed. "You are right on that point. I have to go now though – I am gasping for some coffee."

I stood as he did, and walked over to open the door for him. "Oh, Jim, could you call Will before you go on watch? He is supposed to be coming to dinner this evening."

"Right-o, Ada. See you tomorrow, probably."

He winked and tipped his hat as he walked outside and wandered away. I sighed happily as I closed the door – despite my worrying about Bruce Junior, I couldn't help feeling positively elated. I had the perfect fiancé and companion in Will and a wonderful friend in Jim Moody. I rang for Lizzie, hardly caring about dressing or dinner – everything had fallen into place. I just couldn't wait to return to Southampton to start planning our wedding.