Hello everyone! So, the next chapter is now up! I was a little sad that no one reviewed but NONE THE LESS, thank you for reading this story, if anyone out there is still reading! I'll see you guys at the end of this chapter again! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and please review if you did. :)
Just a friendly reminder, it is 13 April 1912!
- Elizabeth -
Like the previous night, Elizabeth woke up in Jim's room. But not exactly the way she was awoken yesterday. She woke up and saw Jim putting on his clothes, finishing up with his overcoat quickly. He seemed like he was in a rush. Elizabeth walked out of the bed, not even carrying the sheets with her as she hugged him from behind, kissing his neck. "Liz, I love you but I'm running late today." Jim said as he hastily planted a kiss on her forehead before going to the table to get his visor cap.
Suddenly the door swung open, banging against the wall. "Jim! Wake the hell up!" A Scottish accented man shouted. Elizabeth hid a scream as she scurried behind Jim. "Bloody hell, Will! Don't you knock?!" Jim shouted, putting his hands behind him to shield Elizabeth from Will's eyes.
The first officer on the other hand, blushed profusely before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him, not forgetting to apologise. Jim and Elizabeth looked at each other and started to burst into laughter. She turned and quickly put on her nightgown again before packing the sheets as usual. Jim chuckled before grabbing her hand opening the cabin door. They saw Will leaning against the wall, arms crossed. "I'll escort her back and meet you up on deck." Jim said before Will promptly nodded, walking ahead of them, obviously still flustered.
As they made their way up, they talked and talked, making lame jokes as well. "Well, thank you so much for last night, Jim. I love you." She said, kissing him deeply on the lips. Jim smiled against her lips and she did the same. "I love you too, Liz." He said warmly before pecking her on the cheek. After making sure she got into the room safely, he went up to the deck to meet Will for his watch.
- Clara -
Clara woke up, early as usual. She was excited for the event happening later that day but decided to read Jane Austen at the promenade deck as usual.
- Elizabeth -
Elizabeth turned in her sleep, hearing murmurs in the room.
"I think she's waking up soon." One said. "Look! She's up!" The next said. Elizabeth opened her eyes and saw her father leaning over her as he sat on the edge of her bed. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday Elizabeth, happy birthday to you." He sang. Elizabeth laughed.
"I got you a present!" Thomas said, smiling at her. Elizabeth clapped her hands excitedly, wondering what her father could possibly get her for her birthday. He reached into his pocket and took out a black leather notebook. It looked a lot like his own, but it wasn't. It was brand new.
"I know how much you love to draw so I've given you your own little black notebook. To write down anything at all. A thought, a recollection, anything you'd like." He said as he put the notebook and a pen in her hands. Elizabeth smiled at the notebook sitting in her hands. She was never one to judge a gift's value by the cost of it, but she cared more about the meaning behind it.
Elizabeth placed the notebook on the bed beside her before kissing her father on the cheek ."Thank you daddy." Thomas pulled his daughter into an embrace before giving her a kiss on the forehead. "I'm glad you like it. Go on and get ready for breakfast dear, I'll wait in my room." He smiled at the girls before getting up to leave.
Elizabeth couldn't stop grinning to herself as Clara helped her into her dress for breakfast. She was dressed in a blue-grey dress that touched the floor. She casually pinned her hair up in a chignon bun and wore a large hat with a wide brim to match the look, it being of the same colour as her dress. She put on some light make-up as well. Elizabeth went over to her wardrobe and took out her mother's necklace that Clara gave her the previous day and brought the box to the vanity table. "Clary, would you help me put this on?" She asked.
Clara softly smiled before adorning her neck with the gorgeous diamond necklace. Elizabeth ran her hands along the tiny diamonds laced together to form the necklace and smiled sadly, dearly missing her mother. She felt a tear fall from her eye. Clara went in front of Elizabeth and wiped away the tear. "Come on Liz. It's your birthday today isn't it? Plus, crying will only ruin your make-up."
Elizabeth laughed and wiped away another tear that was rolling down her cheek and put on her white gloves. "Enjoy your breakfast Liz." Clara curtseyed before seeing her out of the room.
- Thomas -
Thomas was adjusting his necktie when he heard a soft knock at the door. He smiled, knowing at once who it was. He opened the door and saw Elizabeth standing there. "You look absolutely wonderful." He complimented her as he put his arm out. "Thanks daddy." She giggled before taking his arm.
The pair or father and daughter walked out into the halls. They smiled and nodded at those who passed by them. "Daddy, where's aunt Augustine?" Elizabeth asked. She may not have liked what she did to Clara but she was, after all, her aunt and she felt obliged to show a certain amount of concern. As soon as she finished her question, Thomas' smile faded almost immediately. "Let's not talk about your aunt for now, shall we?" He tried to brush it off, grinning at her again. Elizabeth found it odd but she just decided to go along with it.
He looked down at his daughter and noticed the necklace she was wearing. His mouth rested in a thin line. "Liz...Where did you get that necklace?" Elizabeth looked down and noticed what he was asking. "Clary gave it to me for my birthday." Thomas smiled and a flicker of nostalgia showed in his eyes before he looked back at her. "It looks lovely on you. You look just like your mother." Elizabeth could feel tears welling up in her eyes but pushed them away. "Thank you, daddy." She said, holding on even more tightly to her father.
As soon as they reached the dining hall, they sat down at a table with the crowd they normally ate with. At the table was Bruce Ismay, Molly Brown, the DeWitt Bukaters and Caledon Hockley. Elizabeth was coincidentally seated opposite Caledon and she had to fight the urge to jump out of her seat and run away. Her smile of happiness was quickly replaced with a nervous bite on her lower lip.
"Well hello there, Lizzy." Molly smiled at the girl. "Uh...Lizzy?"It took a while for her to register what she was saying until her father gently shook her shoulder to bring her back to reality. "O...Oh! Good morning, Molly." She said, giving the lady a small smile "So, I heard it was your birthday today. Happy birthday!" Molly said to her again, this time sipping her tea.
"Thank you Molly." Elizabeth said. Rose who was beside her tapped her lightly on the shoulder. "Happy birthday, Elizabeth." She whispered kindly. "Thank you Rose." Elizabeth whispered back. Ruth didn't even bother to acknowledge her birthday but Elizabeth didn't expect her to anyways. She kept giving her nasty looks and Elizabeth probably didn't want to know why.
Bruce wished her a short happy birthday as well but she didn't care to pay that much attention since most of his attention was fixed on tweaking that god ugly moustache of his.
Last but not least came Caledon Hockley. "Happy birthday, Elizabeth." He said smoothly, giving her a smirk and a suggestive raise of the eyebrow. Thomas noticed how uncomfortable Elizabeth was and cleared his throat. "Ahem...Let's place our orders, shall we?" He said after realising that everybody's plates were empty.
Breakfast was uneventful. For everyone but Elizabeth. She felt a leg keep sliding up her skirt and constantly looked as if she was going to throw up. Thomas, Molly and Rose seemed to be the only ones that noticed. As soon as Elizabeth ate the last piece of food on her plate and wiped her mouth with the corner of her cream-coloured napkin, she stood up abruptly. "Excuse me." She said politely before leaving the dining hall.
Thomas was about to stand up to see how she was doing when Molly beat him to it. "I'll go talk to her, Thomas. She needs a woman-to-woman talk." Molly said before leaving the table.
- Elizabeth -
She walked out onto the deck, leaning against the railing as she looked out into the open sea. So far, she had been able to put what happened last night at the back of her mind and used thoughts of the beautiful memory she and Jim had created to fill that empty space but as soon as she saw Caledon, those same feelings of fear and anxiety came rushing back to her. It was almost too much for her to handle all at once and she felt like she was suffocating, being in the same room as that scum.
"Lizzy?" A voice called out. Elizabeth turned and saw Molly standing there, looking concerned. There was silence for a while until Molly said something. "Come to my room for a while. I want to give you something." Elizabeth nodded and followed the lady back into the ship.
After a fairly quiet walk, they reached Molly's stateroom. It wasn't much different from hers but the main difference was that there were many hats and headpieces lying around everywhere. "It's a mess in here." Molly commented as she went into her bedroom. Elizabeth looked around and took an empty seat on the couch, taking her own hat off and placing it on the space next to her.
When Molly came back in, she was carrying a small little box in her hands. Elizabeth stood up and walked up to Molly. Elizabeth looked down at Molly, as she was about 4 inches taller than her. "Well, today is your birthday and I wanted to give you something special. You know darling, you've been like a daughter to me. Heck, you're one of the people on this ship that I can actually talk to." Elizabeth giggled. "So...this present I'm giving you is very dear to me. My mother gave it to me on my wedding day. It never really did fit me though." Molly let out a loud laugh.
Molly opened the box to reveal a watch. The strap of the timepiece had diamonds all over it in neat rows. It looked so expensive. "I...I can't accept this, Molly." Elizabeth gasped, turning away. "Oh come on, Lizzy. I'm giving it to you!" Molly said exasperatedly. "It's too valuable and meaningful! I don't think I could take it." Elizabeth said, embarrassed. "Well, if you don't want it, I guess I'll just have to throw it overboard." Molly sighed as she walked towards the promenade deck with the watch in her hands.
Elizabeth thought that she was just kidding but when she saw Molly get closer and closer to the edge, she got a little surprised. "Oh, you're serious." Elizabeth muttered to herself before she ran towards her. "Molly, stop!" Molly started to chuckle. "So now will you accept the watch?" Elizabeth sighed. "All right. Just know that I'm pretty much indebted to you, at this point Molly."
"Well, you can start by returning me my son's suit." Molly said. Elizabeth gasped. "Oh my Lord, I am SO sorry Molly! It completely slipped my mind! I promise, I'll return it to you tomorrow after the Church service." Molly put a hand on her shoulder. "Relax, Lizzy. You could even keep it if you really liked it." She joked. Elizabeth laughed too.
- Clara -
Clara had gone down to F Deck about an hour or two after Elizabeth left to the servants' dining hall which was located next to the third class dining saloon, at about 11am. As she recalled, it was not that crowded, save for a few chattering maids. She got her food and quietly sat in the corner, not wanting to talk to anyone. She was never a social butterfly, anyway.
After she was done, she walked out but was pulled to one corner by someone. She turned and saw Harry there. "What are you doing, Harry?" She whispered, annoyed. "What's wrong, Clary?" He asked, concerned as he knew something was amiss. Clara pulled her hand out of his, looking away. "It's nothing. Leave me alone." She said coldly and as she was about to leave, Harry pulled her close to him and kissed her, holding her hands to prevent her from running away.
She struggled and finally got out of his grasp and slapped him across the face. "Don't you see? Elizabeth was almost taken advantage of because I sneaked out to see you that night." Clara started to cry. "Like I said. Leave me alone and spare me the pain." She ran off, her hands loosely covering her eyes as the tears fell non-stop. Harry stood there, unsure of what just happened.
- Elizabeth -
Elizabeth took the whole box from Molly and went back to her stateroom since there was nothing much for her to do. As soon as she opened the door, she was greeted by sounds of someone crying. She looked at the source of the wails and saw Clara sitting on her bed, back facing her. After the maid heard her lady come in, she quickly started to wipe away her tears.
Elizabeth ran to Clara' side and knelt in front of her, not caring if her dress got dirty. "Clary, what's wrong?" Clara shook her head and walked past her friend, refusing to answer her. "Clary, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong!" Elizabeth stood up and followed the blonde. "I just don't feel like talking about it! All of you are just driving me up the wall!" Clara whispered loudly and started to wail again.
Elizabeth was about to follow her and get her to elaborate when Clara brisk walked to the bathroom and locked herself inside. Elizabeth sat down on her bed, deep in thought when all the pieces sort of clicked. There was no one else Clara would be so open with either than her and Harry so that was her answer. Elizabeth picked up her hat and pressed it lightly on her head before leaving the room, now furious.
- Harry -
Harry and Charles were on the boat deck, chatting to one another since their watch was fairly uneventful. There was hardly anyone else on the boat deck at the moment and the two officers were looking for a place to take a breather from their work.
"Did you see how distracted Moody was this morning?" Lights asked, his hands clasped behind his back.
"I noticed. I wonder why..." Harry said, staring off into space.
"Probably because of Miss Elizabeth..." Charles wondered aloud.
"I haven't the slightest idea. Maybe he-oh, hey Liz, how-" Harry was cut off by a loud slap across the face.
"What is going on here?" Charles asked as he quickly went behind Elizabeth, holding onto both her elbows, keeping her away from Harry. Harry held onto his face, shocked. That was the second time he had been slapped that day, and on the same spot!
"I come back from breakfast to my suite to see my best friend bawling her eyes out?! And don't give me shit that it doesn't have anything to do with you! I know one way or another it's somehow linked to you." Elizabeth spat at him, working even harder to get out of Charles' grasp. He struggled just to hold her back and the Second Officer even had to fully wrap his arms around her to keep her from pouncing on his junior officer.
"I...I..." Harry stuttered, not exactly sure how to explain himself. "Just spit it out, Harry!" Charles shouted at him. "R...Right! Well...she blames herself...and me...for you almost getting...you know...taken advantage of that night..." Harry said, looking away. All at once, Elizabeth stopped all movement, taking in the new piece of information. Charles was wondering what they were talking about but he told himself he would ask Harry about it later.
"W...What?" Elizabeth managed to whisper. "She didn't tell you because she didn't want to worry you..." Harry said, looking down. Lights still had his arms wrapped around Elizabeth and after hearing this news, he felt her lean into him and he hugged her a little tighter. "Then...then why was she crying this morning?" She asked again, looking up at him.
"I didn't understand how guilty she felt about it so I acted as if nothing had happened. I...I hurt her feelings." He answered with remorse, leaving out the part that he forcefully kissed her. Elizabeth turned around and put her hands on Charles' chest. "Lights, can I steal Harry for a while? Clara really needs him." She looked up at the tall officer with pleading eyes.
"All right, all right." He sighed, conceding. Elizabeth gave him a friendly peck on the cheek and a quick hug before breaking away, walking towards her room with Harry behind her. Charles shook his head at the pair before walking off himself to continue the watch by his lonesome.
- Clara -
When Clara heard the sound of the entrance door open and close, she knew it was a sign that Elizabeth had left the room. She quietly opened the door and sat down on her bed. A billion thoughts raced through her mind. One idea was for her to quit working for the Andrews. Sure, she'd have no job to feed herself but she couldn't bear to face Elizabeth. It was only a matter of time before the guilt caught onto her sanity.
After about 15 minutes of silently thinking to herself, Clara heard the door open again. She turned her head slightly over her shoulder and saw Elizabeth and Harry.
"Clary...I brought Harry here. The three of us need to have a good talk to sort this out." Elizabeth said. "There's not much to talk about." Clara said, her voice devoid of emotion. Elizabeth walked over to her maid. "Clary! Please, just talk to me! I know you always bottle up your feelings but this time, I need to know how you feel." She frowned, holding Clara's hands in hers.
Clara looked away, as if contemplating whether or not to tell her. "I'll leave you two to talk." Harry said before leaving the room. The blonde still remained silent. "I know you blame yourself for what happened to me the other night." Elizabeth decided to talk if Clara didn't. "I'm so sorry..." Clara managed to get out, her voice was no louder than a whisper.
"Stop blaming yourself. Look, Clary. Do you want to know the truth? Because of this one incident, it let me experience something...something so special and beautiful. That night...Jim and I...did it." Elizabeth said, eyes downcast. Clara looked at Elizabeth, eyes wide open. "You two did...WHAT?" She gasped. "We...made love." The brunette blushed. Clara almost got all excited but she remembered what she almost did to Elizabeth and frowned again.
"Don't you see Clary? Things happen for a reason and I wouldn't have had it any other way, if that meant that Jim and I wouldn't have had such a wonderful time together. " Elizabeth told Clara. Clara slowly started to nod. "I know what you mean."
"Then go. Harry's right outside that door, waiting for you to go talk to him. I can tell he's sincere about apologising." She said, smiling at Clara. Clara finally smiled back a little. The maid then stood up and walked out of the door.
- Harry -
Harry was leaning against the wall, arms crossed. Suddenly, the door beside him opened and he stood up straight immediately. "Clary..." He muttered, walking towards her. "Look, Clary, I'm so sorry, I-" He was interrupted when Clara placed a finger to his lips. "Shh...Let me do the talking. I guess I felt...guilty and I took it all out on you. I shouldn't have done that. It wasn't fair to you. After all, that little incident made Liz the happiest girl on Earth." Clara half-smiled at Harry.
Harry's features softened and he broke out into a grin. "Wait. What do you mean, 'made Liz the happiest girl on Earth'?" He asked. Clara looked around before putting a hand next to Harry's ear to tell him something. "Last night, Liz and Jim...made love." Harry's eyes almost fell out of their sockets. "What!?" He yelled. Clara shushed him.
"Do you think I could get a chance soon?" Harry whispered cheekily to Clara, leaning forward a little. She blushed before whispering back. "Not a chance." He laughed before pulling her into an embrace. They missed each other's touch so much they savoured every moment of the hug. After they pulled apart, Harry leaned down and gave Clara a sweet and gentle kiss.
Reluctantly, Harry broke the kiss. "Come on now, I need to continue my watch with Lights. I'll see you tonight, Clary." He smiled at her before leaning sideways to give her a soft peck on the cheek. Clara watched him walk off before grinning to herself as she touched the area on her cheek where Harry kissed her.
- Thomas -
Thomas was making some scribbles in his black notebook as he took peeks at the ship's blueprints when he heard a knock at the door. He walked over and opened it to see Clara standing there. He smiled at her. "What can I do for you, Clary?" He asked as he stepped aside to let Clara go in.
"Mr. Andrews, I would like to ask you for permission to excuse Elizabeth from dinner tonight." Clara said, looking up at the tall shipbuilder. "And why's that?" Thomas asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion. "You see, a few officers and I have planned a little get-together to celebrate Liz's birthday."
Thomas nodded his head. "It should be all right. After all, it's her birthday and I don't think she'd be having fun with a bunch of stuck-up elders." Clara had to giggle at that. "Well, if there's nothing else, I must be getting back to my work. I'll see you soon, Clary." He nodded before escorting her out of his room.
- Elizabeth -
She was in her room, taking off her jewellery as she didn't feel up to lunch. She would ask Clara to ask one of the stewards to bring some food when she came back. As she sat at her vanity table, she thought about what Clara said to her. There was only one way to relieve the maid of her worries and guilt. It was to catch the rapist. Even though she knew who it was, she needed solid evidence to convict him.
The stateroom door opened and Clara walked in. Elizabeth got up from the table and walked over to her. "Clary, do you happen to have the belt and jacket that the stranger dropped the other night?" She asked. "Yes. Would you like me to take it out for you? I haven't thrown it out yet." Elizabeth smiled at her and nodded.
Clara laid it out on her bed and as soon as Elizabeth finished taking off her mother's necklace, she sat down on Clara's bed with her. "Why did you want to see them again?" Clara asked. "I can't rest in peace until I know who's responsible for this mess." Clara nodded her head, to say that it made sense.
Elizabeth looked at the belt buckle and saw the initials 'C.H' on it. She smiled. That was her first clue. She looked at the coat next. The label clearly stated 'PROPERTY OF CALEDON HOCKLEY'. She laughed to herself. Caledon was making this so easy for them. "We have to tell the master-at-arms." Clara said, looking up at Elizabeth. "My sentiments exactly." Elizabeth smirked before jumping off the bed and heading for the entrance.
- Thomas -
Clara left less than 10 minutes ago and there was another knock at the door. He got up to go answer the door, thinking that Clara might've forgotten something but the person he expected was not there. Instead it was Augustine. "Hello Thomas." She smiled. He didn't return it. Still being the gentleman he was, he moved aside to let her in and she walked straight in, sitting herself down on the couch.
"I've been wanting to talk to you about the maid, Clarissa." She said, gesturing for him to sit down next to her. Thomas shook his head, holding a hand up to say that it was all right for him to stand. "All right then. I feel that we should...let her go." Augustine said calmly.
"What do you mean?" Thomas' brows furrowed. "I've heard that there are rumours floating around, saying she's involved with one of the officers. This is definitely going to be a smear on the Andrews name, don't you think?" She started to laugh. Thomas shook his head. "Shut up Augustine!" He suddenly shouted. She flinched, shocked. This had to be the first time she heard such a gentle man like Thomas raise his voice like that. "What's gotten into you, Thomas?" She asked, a hand on her chest.
"Don't think that I'm not aware of what you did to Clara!" He pointed at her. "You mean when I slapped her? She deserved it!" Augustine shouted back. "That doesn't even begin to justify your actions!" He yelled back. Tears were forming in Augustine's eyes. "When has anything I've ever done please you?" She said, walking up to him, so close that their faces were less than a few inches apart.
"After all these years you're still dwelling on the past?" He said in disbelief.
"I loved you Thomas! I loved you and you chose Helen over me!" She started to cry.
"We're not talking about this anymore. You'd best leave, Augustine." Thomas said coldly, turning away from her.
Augustine ran up behind him and hugged him from the back. "I still love you Thomas. Helen is gone but you still have me..." Augustine whispered in his ear.
"GET OUT!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. She flinched before running out of the room, sobbing. That was probably the loudest he had ever screamed before. A headache suddenly washed over him. Thomas sat down at his desk and poured himself a cup of brandy, hoping the headache would go away soon. He would, after that, proceed to take a nap as Augustine sobbed in her own room.
- Elizabeth -
She opened the door, peeking outside. Elizabeth spotted a male steward walking towards their direction. Perfect. She smiled at Clara and started walking out, acting as if she was crying. "Miss? Miss, are you all right?" The steward asked her, concerned. "Will you please help me fetch the master-at-arms? Something terrible has happened!" She sobbed. The steward was confused but nevertheless acceded to her request and nodded before walking off hastily. Elizabeth then walked back into her stateroom, leaving the door open so that the master-at-arms would know which room called for him.
"You're crazy, you know that?" Clara whispered to her. "I know." She whispered back, stifling a laugh as she wiped her tears.
After a few short moments, the master-at-arms, Mr. Joseph Henry Bailey arrived at the girls' stateroom. "What seems to be the problem, Miss..." Clara mouthed her name. "...Andrews?" Elizabeth went into crying mode again. "Something...something terrible has happened! I have been...I have been...Oh it's terrible!" She cried, holding the master-at-arms' shoulders and sobbing into his jacket.
"Umm...Don't...Don't worry Miss...Just tell me the problem and I'll try my best to help you out." He said, awkwardly patting her back. He then retrieved a handkerchief from one of the pockets on his jacket and handed it to Elizabeth. "Thank you, good sir." She said before pulling away, taking his handkerchief. "Late last night, a stranger barged into the room and...and tried to take advantage of me..." Elizabeth said, sobbing even more.
"Did you see his face? Any evidence at all?" He asked, tapping her shoulder. "Yes...yes! There was a...belt and a...and a jacket...Clara please...bring them over." She continued to say in between sobs. Clara nodded before bringing the belt and jacket over, laying them on one of the tables in the room.
Mr. Joseph walked over and scrutinised the belt buckle and the jacket label, like Elizabeth had done earlier. "Caledon Hockley...Caledon Hockley? The son of Nathan Hockley? The Pittsburgh steel tycoon?" He asked disbelievingly. "Yes, sir." She said, her tears growing in intensity.
"Are you sure Miss Andrews? It's just that...well...Mr. Hockley is a very influential man...Um...well, getting on his bad side is not a wise idea..."
"Are you suggesting that my father, Mr. Thomas Andrews, the chief naval architect of this very ship that you are working on, is not an influential man?!" Elizabeth cried, outraged. That seemed to work as the man's eyes widened. "Your...your father is Mr. Thomas Andrews?" Elizabeth looked at him as if he were crazy.
"Right. We're on it, Miss Andrews. No need to worry. We'll catch that man." He said proudly before quickly walking out of the stateroom, leaving Elizabeth and Clara in the room. Elizabeth smirked as she held out a hand which Clara softly hit in a high-five.
"I swear, you could pass for an actress." The maid shook her head, staring at the door. "I know." Elizabeth laughed.
- Caledon -
Caledon was in the smoking room with the usual bunch, sipping brandy and chatting merrily. He was bothered by the fact that the officer and the maid had seen his face after he attempted to rape Elizabeth but he re-assured himself with the notion that any problem could be solved with a little money.
"Sorry to interrupt your session gentlemen but I am going to have to take Mr. Hockley with me." A man that Caledon recognised as the master-at-arms said, walking up to their table. "Whatever for?" Colonel Gracie asked. "Mr. Hockley has been suspected of a case of outrage of modesty." He said plainly. "Oh my. Who was the poor lady?" The older man asked, giving Caledon a dirty look.
"Miss Elizabeth Andrews, sir." He replied. "Thomas Andrews' daughter?" Gasps were heard all around the table and even some from nearby tables. "This is...This is all nonsense! How dare you slander me of such a low crime?" Caledon tried to defend himself, banging his fist on the table, almost causing the glasses to topple over and spill the contents onto the rich old men.
"Further investigations will be done but until then, I'm afraid I'll have to cuff you, Mr. Hockley." Joseph said, taking a pair of silver handcuffs and locking them around the businessman's wrists. Caledon could've easily pulled away, thanks to all the long hours he spent at the gymnasium, but he didn't want to cause a scene, especially not in front of so many important people.
"Gentlemen, I'm sure this is all just a big misunderstanding. I'll have it cleared up soon and before we know it, I'll be back to sipping brandy with you fine gentlemen." Caledon said as he was being pulled away but the men he was drinking with earlier continued to stare at him with blank faces, shaking their heads.
- Spicer Lovejoy -
Spicer was standing outside the smoking room, until he saw his employer being dragged off in handcuffs by a man he knew to be the master-at-arms. He decided not to make a fuss, not in the first class hallway so he followed the two closely.
Down the many flights of stairs, they finally reached a room. Joseph hand cuffed Caledon to one of the poles as Spicer walked in. "Mr. Bailey, might I suggest that you rethink your decision?" He said coolly. The master-at-arms looked at him, clueless and so the valet went closer to him and pulled out a wad of cold, hard cash from his coat pocket and flashed it in Joseph's face.
For a moment, greed flickered in the man's eyes and Spicer knew he had Joseph's attention. "If it's not enough, I'm sure we could arrange something." He continued, taking out another stack of notes. Joseph's eyes shifted from Spicer to the money again and again before he took the two stacks of money, pushing it into his pocket. "Well, I suppose this was all just a huge misunderstanding all together..." the master-at-arms declared before un-cuffing Caledon and walked away, nodding at the two men.
Spicer walked up to Caledon as he massaged his wrists, sore from the handcuffs' constrictions. "Good job, Lovejoy. I see a raise coming your way." He smirked before walking out of the room and heading up to the smoking room, his loyal watchdog following behind him.
Don't you guys just hate Caledon? I hope you do, if not, I'm not doing a very good job of writing xD Once again, the chapter was WAY TOO LONG so I had to chop it in half T_T I hope you guys like this chapter! Have a nice day and review if you liked the chapter! :D