Will pulled out a chair for me and I sat between him and Andrews. I gazed around at the people already seated - the Ismays, who had insisted that Andrews had to join them, Molly, Mr Hockley and his fiancée and Ruth. There were a couple of other people who I vaguely recognised, but I couldn't think of their names. I don't believe I had ever been introduced to them. The captain and Henry Wilde also joined our party after a while, and as soon as they were seated the waiters began to serve the food.
A waiter walked around the table, pouring champagne – I had never tasted it before, a fact which Will knew. As soon as the waiter finished pouring it into my glass, Will leant towards me, sniggering and whispering something about the bubbles. Another waiter started offering caviar; another thing I had never tried before.
"I wouldn't recommend it, lovvie," Will whispered in my ear. "Once Lights and myself thought we'd act rich and try some, and I swear it was the most horrible thing I've ever eaten!"
Still, I took some – and regretted it almost immediately. Will made a horrible attempt at disguising his laughter with a choking fit – which was quite an achievement, as he had consumed nothing on which one could choke. He then focused his attention on his hat which was placed on the table between us, fiddling with the emblem on the front. I think he was relieved that the captain and Henry had turned up. After all, his reason for wanting to avoid the present company was that he didn't want to spend the evening talking about the ship's engines, and so far attention had been diverted away from him.
I happened to look up at one point, after forcing myself to eat the rest of the caviar, to see Ruth DeWitt Bukater staring at me. She was looking down her nose at me, as though I were beneath her. I simply stared back – I didn't care what she thought about my engagement to a ship's officer. Her gaze faltered for a moment, and she turned to say something to Mr Hockley.
After glancing around the table again, I was pleased to notice that Bruce Junior wasn't looking in my direction at all. He probably didn't want to draw Will's attention to him, I reasoned.
"Lovvie?" I turned to look at Will as he spoke to me. "It's Jack's birthday today."
I just stared at him blankly, before asking, "Who's Jack?"
"You know Jack – the Marconi operator!"
I vaguely knew Jack then – very vaguely. I think I had been introduced to him in passing before we left Southampton, but I couldn't think which of the dozens of crew he was.
"Anyway, you want to come to the mess later?" Will continued. "We can leave here early and drop in to pester him."
He had a mischievous glint in his eyes, and I laughed lightly.
"If you think so, Will."
"I mean, lovvie, this isn't as bad as you expected it to be, is it?"
I shook my head. It was surprisingly pleasant, although I'd still rather be elsewhere.
"But it's boring," he continued. "So, we'll leave early?"
I nodded, before turning to poke a bit of meat around my plate. I wasn't entirely sure what it was – it was disguised by an odd-looking sauce and didn't look particularly appetising. Andrews leant over to me.
"Are you not hungry?" He was smiling as he spoke.
"I just prefer eating food which isn't so...fussy," I spoke quietly and sheepishly, not wanting to draw attention to my unrefined culinary preferences.
Andrews was about to respond, but luckily Ismay dragged him into another conversation about how wonderful the ship was. I rolled my eyes – I had heard more than enough about this ship to last me a lifetime. I took a mouthful of the meat, deciding to force my way through it. Well, it was surprisingly nice, although I still wasn't entirely sure what it was.
After another while, Will took my hand and squeezed it gently.
"Now, lovvie?"
I nodded. I had finished most of my meal, we had avoided being put on the spot by other members of our party and I wanted to get out of there before anything negative could happen. Will stood to pull my chair out.
"If you'll excuse us, ladies and gentlemen, I must get ready for my watch," he smiled around, placing his hat on his head.
Henry opened his mouth to respond – his expression suggested his response would be something to do with the fact that Will wouldn't be on watch for another half an hour at least – but Will silenced him with a subtle glare.
"Will you not be joining us for a brandy, Mr Murdoch?" Ismay seemed surprised.
"Not tonight, I'm afraid," Will replied smoothly. "Are you ready, Ada?"
I nodded and took his arm and we walked away. As soon as we reached the grand staircase, Will stopped, spun me around and kissed my nose.
"One down, only five left, lovvie!" He used his fingers to demonstrate his point, waving one finger on his left hand and all five on the other.
"Five?" I sighed. "But they're so...frightfully dull!"
We exploded into a fit of laughter, trying to keep moving up the stairs to get completely out of earshot of the people still in the restaurant.
Once we got up to the boat deck, Will removed his hat and put it on my head at an angle.
"You'll need to pretend to be an officer while we're in the mess, lovvie."
"You'll ruin my hair, Will!" I protested through my laughter.
Will didn't listen and proceeded to lead me to the officers mess – surprisingly there wasn't much noise coming from inside.
"Are you sure there'll be anyone here, Will?"
"If there's not, we can go back to your room," he smiled. "There will be someone in here anyway. I made it my business to find out."
He opened the door, and he was indeed correct. Jim Moody was sitting at a table, propped up by the wall. He was obviously sound asleep. Two other men were sitting with him, playing a card game – one was Joe Boxhall, the fourth officer, and the other was a man I didn't recognise. They both glanced up briefly as we entered, before immediately continuing to focus their attention on their game.
"No hello, lads?" Will sounded disappointed.
"Bit busy at the moment, Will," Boxhall muttered. "Talk to Jim."
We looked at Jim, who obviously wouldn't be doing any talking at all. At least he wasn't snoring, I supposed.
"Damn!" Boxhall flung his cards down and scowled at the other man, who stubbed a cigarette out on the table. "You win again."
Will pulled a chair out for me, then sat to my right. "Jack, you remember Ada Banks?"
"Course I do!" The other man, who was obviously Jack Philips, shook my hand. "And 'ow are you, Ada?"
"I am fine, thank you," I smiled in response.
Jack gestured to my hat. "You get promoted?"
Will spoke before I could reply, "Jack, where's Bride?"
"He's still working. Poor sod – I don't know who told the passengers about our set, but I curse him to an early grave!"
Will clapped him on the back, "And how old are we today?"
"Not quite as old as you, William," Jack grimaced. "But still not as young as Bride. Or Jimmy, for that matter."
Everyone immediately looked at Jim, who was still asleep. Boxhall frowned, grabbed a hat and hit him with it. Jim jumped and yelled in shock, gazing around wildly.
"What's wrong with you?!" He grabbed the hat off Boxhall and started whacking him with it.
"What's wrong with me? Mate, I'm not the one who's sleeping when we have guests!"
Jim mumbled a greeting, still scowling at Boxhall, who was seemingly unfazed by this.
"Still no need to wake me up!"
"There is, Jim. We're back on in a quar'er of an hour," Boxhall looked down at his watch.
"We are not!" Jim protested loudly. "We're not back on 'til midnight!"
"Really?" Boxhall looked faux-stunned.
Jim was not amused, even less so as Jack burst out laughing.
"You're a bastard, Joe. I'm going to my cabin."
"I'll be calling you at twelve, Jim – you'd better be up and ready!" Boxhall winked as Jim stood up and stretched.
"What did you drag this lovely lady in here for, Will?" Jack asked suddenly.
"Purely to pester you, Jack. Actually, on reflection I should really walk you back to your room now, lovvie," Will sighed. "It's almost ten, isn't it?"
Boxhall nodded and Will's expression became glum, "Come on then, lovvie. I have to go back on watch."
Will stopped walking as soon as we reached my door.
"Do you want me to meet you for breakfast, Aid, or do you want Andrews or someone to meet you?"
"I...I think I'll eat in here, Will. I don't really feel like sitting through another meal with them."
"I'll meet you if you want -" Will began, but I cut him off.
"No, it's alright, Will. You'll need your sleep! I'll be fine, don't worry about it!"
He seemed like he wanted to protest again, but then just sighed and kissed my nose gently.
"You sure you don't want me to come down here when I finish, lovvie?" He asked softly.
I shook my head, "No, Will – what would the captain say?"
He laughed as I turned to open the door, before kissing my nose again.
"Well, if you're sure. Goodnight, lovvie."
I watched him walk back in the direction we came before sighing and turning to enter my room. I still needed to call Lizzie before I could think of going to sleep – first class women must be entirely dependent on their maids.
