Chapter X: A Wretched Hive
A/N: This chapter could easily have been titled Landfall. But the title I went will also fit. Thanks again go out to The Cowgirl Bookworm. I hope you enjoy this chapter. SSD
Albert Lethbridge prowled the Cunard docks, waiting for the Carpathia's arrival. Like his son and daughter, he detested New York not wanting to spend any more time in the city than he absolutely had to.
Out of the three of them, Roland probably had spent the most time in New York, mostly due to the Navy Yard.
"Mr. Lethbridge are you certain about lending my clothes to Cecily? I know she has nothing beyond what she was wearing after what happened, I'm not bothered by it at all. It's just that Cecily and I while close friends are not quite the same," Lucy said obviously trying to get a point across without saying it outright.
Antin snorted in amusement. Whatever it was, he knew exactly what his daughter's closest and oldest friend was trying to explain.
Albert was thankful that he, Antin, Lucy, and the members of the 40 Thieves that were in the crowd were wearing good coats and had good sized umbrellas. The skies had opened up, fitting the mood.
The bells in the church towers called out 9:30 PM as the Carpathia steamed into the Cunard dock.
He had a feeling that Cecily and Mina would not want to be the first ones out. None of the Lethbridge family had any kind of fondness for reporters, Cecily especially.
The passengers came out in a trickle, then a flood. There were a few happy reunions, but most were collecting mourning loved ones.
"You're one of the lucky ones sir. They can't be much longer," Antin muttered.
"Why are they waiting? Did something happen beyond the sinking," Albert wondered aloud.
Mina's telegram had only given very basic information. Maybe there had been things she could not or had not wanted to put in a telegram?
One of the 40 Thieves darted in from the from the crowd and began whispering rapidly to Antin. Once the man was finished, Antin turned to him, face grim.
"Sir. Cut-Nose just gave me some news. A disembarked first class passenger just spoke to a reporter. There was a murder during the sinking, committed by William Randolph Heart's nephew Patrick. There were 4 witnesses, all survived the sinking: 2 passengers, 2 crew. His head of security was trying to calm himself.
"Did they say who saw," Albert was starting to get a bad feeling about this.
"For the crew it was the First Officer and one of the Masters at Arms. As for the passengers it was a third class passenger the person didn't know the name of…" Antin hesitated.
"Antin for the love of God, spit it out," Albert said.
"The other passenger was Cecily," Antin looked like he was ready to curse. Or kill someone.
"How in the HELL did she get away from Mina?" Albert growled. He was going to be having words with his sister when they got back to the hotel!
"I'd like to know that too. No one knows yet exactly what happened. They could've somehow gotten separated in the chaos. So don't ream your sister out till you've let her talk," Antin suggested.
Albert could almost feel the steam coming out of his ears when he heard the newest member of the 40 Thieves Adam Wallace, formerly of the US Navy say, "Mr. McLewis, there they are."
"Antin you go and get them. Cecily and Mina both know you. Once the reporters see the officers all hell is going to break loose," Albert did not want his voice to crack, but it did.
Antin picked his way expertly through the crush of the crowd. Even from this distance, Albert could tell that Cecily's walls were down.
After a great deal of difficulty, Antin finally made his way to the front past the wall of reporters. He was talking to them, there seemed to be an officer from the US Navy there as well, Antin seemed to be arranging some kind of bargain.
Finally they began the too long trek back to him. The first thing he heard was Antin's cursing and threats to the reporters to get away from them. Those made him smile a little. His head of security was creative in that area and could back that up.
Once he caught a glimpse of his daughter's exhausted green eyes and messy brown hair all he had wanted to say meant nothing now. All he wanted was his daughter in his arms. Albert openly sobbed as he buried his face in her hair. Cecily was safe. She was real. She was encased in his arms. Cecily put her arms around him completing the hug, sobbing as well.
"You are not going out to sea for a long time," Albert said once he found his voice again.
"You don't have to tell me twice," Cecily murmured, her Welsh coming out more than a bit.
Wanting to bring some joy to the moment, he said, "I have someone here that I think you'd like to see," Albert motioned behind him.
A bit more light came to Cecily's eyes when she noticed her closest friend, "Lucy, you have no idea how glad I am to see you!" she moved to embrace her.
Antin came forward with Mina, whom Albert also gave a bear hug to, saying "The Navy wants all of the witnesses to the murder in the Yard for security reasons. I was able to wrangle 2 hours for Cecily with the EXO from the Florida. It should be long enough for her to get cleaned up and dressed in clean clothes. Roland put in a good word for the 40 Thieves, she'll be able to come and go with us. I'll be offering protection to the other 3 should they want it."
Cecily had forgotten how much of a whirlwind Lucy could be when she was on a mission. This time, the mission was cleaning her up in 90 minutes and getting her into clean clothes.
With her nimble pianist's fingers, Lucy had gotten her out of the greatcoat as soon as they had gotten into her room and had thrown it on her couch.
"Get out of those clothes. All of them. I have no idea what it will take for them to get clean. I don't want to see you come out till you've scrubbed every inch of yourself. The water should be pretty hot. Though you'll probably think it can't be too hot," Lucy suggested.
After stripping everything off, Cecily submerged herself in the near burning hot water up to her neck. Staying there for a few moments, she quickly got down to business. Starting with her rat's nest of hair. The shampoo smelled like oranges.
Cecily wished she could soak, but there was little time for that. She had to get back to the Navy Yard. So she set to scrubbing herself till she was pink all over.
Tying a robe around herself after putting on the undergarments Lucy set out for her, Cecily went back into the main room. It was then that she noticed her friend was getting out one of her own dresses.
"Lucy I am beyond grateful for your help. But you and I both know that while we fit in most places, there is one critical area where we do not. I would stretch your dress, and my father would not be pleased."
"It was your father's idea that you borrow my clothes. I don't believe he was thinking clearly at the time. Antin even tried," her friend explained wryly.
"And there's nothing else of yours," she asked with wide eyes.
"Not unless you want to take your chances wearing your greatcoat. And nothing else," Lucy chortled.
Harry wouldn't mind that. Though it might melt his mind, Cecily thought evilly.
Aloud she said, "My father is going to regret this. And Roland will give the evil eye to any man that looks at me cross eyed."
"The coat will cover you up," Lucy replied.
"I'll have to take it off at one point or another," Cecily groused as she took the cerulean dress and went behind the privacy screen.
"You know, the ship that escorted the Carpathia in was the Florida," she called out as she started to get into the dress.
"Really? It'll be nice to see Erik again after all this time. It must have been good for Roland to have an old friend to keep him on an even keel before he found out that you and your aunt were all right," Lucy said in a would be casual voice. Cecily could tell that her friend was excited to see Erik again. And hopefully with minimal supervision.
"I ran into an old friend of Roland's and mine back from when we still lived in Wales. Could you help me with the ties in the back," Cecily asked.
"Your aunt mentioned that. You must have been pleased to see him again after all this time. And that he made it as well," Lucy answered as she finished the ties.
Cecily looked in the mirror. Sure enough, the usual problem on the rare occasion she'd had to borrow Lucy's clothes had cropped up.
"I was, on both counts," she replied as she tried and failed to fix the bust.
"Was he the boy you mentioned Roland was always playing with back in Wales," Lucy inquired.
"Yes. Harold Lowe."
"He must be different from the last time you saw him. Definitely a lot bigger than he was nearly 20 years ago," Lucy remarked as she went to get the greatcoat.
Without thinking Cecily said, "In more ways than one!"
"I see. You've finally discovered the joys and carnal delights of sailors," Lucy had a devious look in her eyes.
Playing back what she just said, Cecily pled, "Is there anything I can do to make you forget I said that and not mention it to my father or Roland?"
"Five uninterrupted minutes alone with Erik," Lucy said without hesitation.
"Done. Roland will have to help, but it should not be to hard to persuade him to help," Cecily breathed a sigh of relief as she put on her coat.
"Here. You only have that sapphire necklace. It's much too dark for that dress. Why don't you wear this jade necklace of mine. It makes your eyes look lovely," and before Cecily could stop her, Lucy had fastened the necklace around her neck.
"It does not just make my eyes lovely and you know it!" Cecily glared at her oldest friend.
"I think your "old friend" will definitely appreciate it," Lucy snickered. As they walked across to her father's rooms.
Once they entered where her father and were talking, Cecily saw her father's eyes go wide.
Her aunt pointed out, "Now do you see what I mean Albert?!"
"She can keep the coat buttoned up in public. When she's alone, she can take it off. It only has to last till morning. You can go shopping then," her father said quickly.
"Can Lucy come with me? I'm sure Aunt Mina would prefer to rest and soak longer than in the time that we have left to get back to the Navy Yard," Cecily asked.
"I could use some rest and relaxation. I'm sure you two could come up with plenty to talk about," Aunt Mina stretched.
"We have about 30 minutes to get you back to the Navy Yard. We should probably leave now," Antin suggested.
Cecily and Lucy hurried after him.
After ordering Petty Officer Ryan to tell Commander Kelly what he and the mess stewards had done to the prisoner (not that he blamed him) Roland made his back to his quarters to get one of his sets of dress blues.
One of the officers from the Titanic was in need of it and Roland had the closest measurements.
I wonder which one it is.
Putting the uniform in a box to keep it dry from the still downpouring rain, Roland made his way from the Florida to the quartermaster's building.
Looking up, the man at the desk said, "Ah, Lieutenant Lethbridge. There you are. Commander Blair was here earlier doing the same thing you are. You'll be giving your uniform to 5th Officer Lowe to use."
Roland could not help but snicker at the situation placed the box on the counter for the alteration, as minor as they'd likely be.
"Something funny Lieutenant?"
"I already knew he was on board Quartermaster. He's an old friend from childhood. I never thought that I would be lending him my clothes. Again," Roland chuckled.
"I'm going to be wearing one of your uniforms? I'd rather hoped we had outgrown that habit!" Harry had come down from wherever he had been.
"I'd hoped to have outgrown you," Roland fired back easily with a grin.
"You have. You're still bigger than me as always," Harry shot back.
"And here we are again. Me giving you clothes yours got all soaked," Roland smirked before closing the gap giving his old friend a hug, "Good God it's great to have you around again."
The quartermaster snapped, "Are either of you talking English? I can't understand a damn word of what you're sayin'!"
Damn. That's the second time in a week I've slipped up, Roland thought before saying in his best Annapolis officer voice, "We were speaking English, Quartermaster. Just not the kind you can easily understand. Is the 5th Officer immediately needed?"
"No sir."
"Good. Then I'll be taking him along with me to the mess hall in this building. Come along Harry. You look like you could use some food and drink in you," he motioned for his old friend to follow him.
Not 5 minutes later, they were sitting down with some beef stew, with a beer for him and a Dr. Pepper for Harry.
"So what happened exactly? How did things proceed after the iceberg," Roland asked after Harry had gotten some food into him.
"I was actually asleep at the time of the collision. Woke up a little bit after midnight to Boxhall banging on my door telling me the ship was sinking. I dressed, got what I needed, and was out the door," Harry went back to eating.
"How did the evacuation go," Roland inquired as he opened his beer.
"We thought there was a ship nearby, we could see the lights with ease. Tried signaling with rockets and with the Morse code lantern, but got no response. There were nowhere near enough boats for everyone to get off, no ship in sight. Everything went downhill fairly fast," Harry continued.
"I've heard there was some violence beyond the murder," Roland prompted.
"Lightoller had to bluff the crowd near what would become my lifeboat. Told them to back off or he'd shoot them all like dogs. What the crowd didn't know was that the pistol wasn't loaded. As the boat was being lowered, I had to fire my own gun away from the ship. Bunch of men were grabbing at the boat; it was only to scare them off."
"What of the other officers?"
"Murdoch had your sister and the murderer in his lifeboat. To my knowledge he still has his revolver. Lights nearly got sucked under but got blasted to the surface when a boiler blew, he made it to an overturned lifeboat. Pitman and Boxhall were in their own lifeboats. James used up his luck getting to that overturned lifeboat as well. Once I got away clean, I unloaded into some emptier ones and went back," Harry's eyes turned haunted, "I waited too long. I only got to five, and one still died in the boat."
Deciding that getting Harry out of his head was a good idea Roland said, "I hope Cecily did not follow you around and make a nuisance of herself the way she did when we were younger."
Harry had been taking a drink of his soda choked at that, and started coughing.
"You alright?"
"Drink went down the wrong way," Harry coughed again before replying, "She was not a bother at all. Still spent some time together. Were you aware that your aunt was acquainted with the captain of the Carpathia?"
"That's news to me. My father might know something about it. I'll ask him about it. I do know that Cecily and Aunt Mina got one of the few available staterooms," Roland mused.
"Perhaps that had something to do with it," Harry continued tearing into his food.
"How was my sister on board the Carpathia? I was only there for a short time, and I have a feeling that Cecily was putting on a brace face for me," Roland asked.
Harry stopped eating for a moment, clearly mulling over how to answer the question.
This can't be good.
"For the first couple of days Cecily seemed alright. It wasn't till the 17th that what happened finally seemed to hit her. Listening to the band play as the ship went down really seemed to eat at her on top of everything else she had to deal with," he answered carefully.
Roland knew that he would have to be there for his sister. When she wanted to talk, he would listen.
As they continued eating, Roland passed along some information from Erik, "Something that you and the other officers should probably knows is that the senator heading up the American inquiry knows precious little about sailing. He will likely ask you all questions you find illogical or to be common sense. Try not to get too pissed off about it."
Six glorious hours of uninterrupted sleep. It had worked wonders for Harry and the rest of the officers.
Putting on their new uniforms was also a good thing. Harry was not the only one that had needed to get a uniform from an outside source. Pitman had been given a uniform from Doctor Kelly and Murdoch had gotten one from Commander Blair.
After eating a quick breakfast, he decided to kill some time exploring.
"Excuse me, are you Harold Lowe?" He turned around to see a blonde woman with brown eyes, about Cecily's age facing him.
"I am. Who's asking," he inquired warily.
"Cecily has told me a lot about you. We got some sleep last night, but not as much as we would have liked. She may have mentioned me. I'm Lucy." One of the first things he noticed was her amazing smile.
"Cecily has mentioned you on several occasions," he replied.
"All of it good, I hope," there was a bit of mischief in her eyes.
"It was. She spoke highly you, your brother, and your youngest sister," Harry answered.
"Why don't you go see her? Cecily's just freshening up a bit before we're picked up by some of her father's security team to replace her clothes," Lucy suggested.
Cecily was not facing him when he entered the room she and Lucy had been staying in. Once she turned around however, the first thing he saw was the stunning jade necklace she was wearing and his eyes could not help but linger on it. Said necklace hung low on her, and he suddenly noticed that that the neckline of the light blue dress was barely containing her. Even as he slapped his gloved hands over his eyes and did the quickest about face of his life; he babbled as many apologies as he could think of , but the way her breasts moved in the clearly borrowed dress were permanently etched on his mind!
"Lucy sent you in here didn't she," Cecily sounded irritated but not at him.
"Did she know you were dressed like this," he questioned whilst silently telling a certain part of his anatomy to cool it.
"Oh yes. She helped tie me into this dress of hers. My father in his infinite wisdom thought that I would be able to borrow her clothes with ease," he could hear her shrugging on her coat.
"Your father suggested you wear that dress," Harry could not believe his ears.
"He did not realize at the time that Lucy and I do not fit in one critical area. Aunt Mina tore into him for that. You can turn around you know," she suggested.
He did that, but still kept his eyes covered.
Harry could hear her exasperation when her fingers tugged his hands gently away from his eyes. He still kept them screwed shut though, terrified that Cecily might see something she might not like in them.
"Harry, it's alright. I won't get angry. Open your eyes," Cecily ordered.
You will keep your eyes on her face. Do not take advantage of the fact that she lost most of her clothes!
He slowly opened his eyes. Cecily was standing right in front of him with her hands on her hips with her greatcoat on, yet still unbuttoned.
Harry tried. He really did. But the way they necklace was resting on her neck drew his eyes exactly where he was trying not to look. The jade almost matched her eyes.
Of its own accord, his hand reached out to touch the necklace. He only just managed to change course to push a stray lock of her hair back behind her ear.
Cecily seemed to have stopped breathing when he did that, touching the warm skin of her neck a little. Her eyes went wide like a scared deer, yet she did not try to flee. Instead, she leaned further into his hand, and he got a better touch on her neck.
She looked at him, eyes almost glowing, opening her mouth to speak when the door opened making them jump.
Lucy had a grin on her face that would put one of Lightoller's to shame. The blonde drawled, "Good thing I stopped Roland from coming in here. You'd both have some explaining to do."
Only then did he and Cecily move to a more appropriate distance apart. Harry found himself disappointed that Cecily was buttoning up her coat. Then again she was heading outside, and he did not want to start any fights with anyone ogling Cecily.
"I was coming in to let Cecily know that the car for us is here. You two can talk later," Lucy continued.
It did not escape his notice that Cecily herself looked quite frustrated at leaving.
Once Lucy was well out of earshot, Cecily gave him a quick kiss saying, "Fe'ch gwelaf yn fuan. Pob lwc."
"If I'd known he was looking at you like that, I would have waited a few more minutes," Lucy said once she and Cecily split off from Mina and Rafaela at the Macys. They'd been to a few stores already. The guard with them was close enough to see them but far enough away not hear what exactly they were saying.
"How would you describe how Harry was looking at me," Cecily asked as she looked over the clothes.
"Like he was a wolf and you were a fat, juicy steak," Lucy replied.
"You should have waited then," her friend replied over a pile of skirts.
"If I had waited much longer, Roland would've come in. It would be a damn shame for Mr. Lowe to be hauled in front of a firing squad," Lucy grinned.
"I know you're joking, but he'd definitely consider it," Cecily rejoined.
"Have you two kissed yet," Lucy decided to cut right to the important question.
"What would you count as kissing," her friend asked with her back to her.
"Well him having his lips on yours is a good start. And their tongues can do pretty good things as well," Lucy added to see Cecily's reaction.
Looking to make sure that the member of the 40 Thieves was still well out of earshot Cecily replied, "We've kissed several times. The first was very early in the morning on the 14th. I couldn't sleep, so I went wandering the ship, started some stargazing. He'd just gotten off a watch, so we got to talking. I started babbling, so he shut me up the best way he knew how. I didn't feel trapped at all," her friend had this secretive smile on her face.
"Any other times," Lucy was happy for her closest friend to finally have a positive romantic experience.
"A few more times aboard the Carpathia. One of them led to me being pinned to a wall. Ties are incredibly useful when much shorter than the man you want to kiss," Cecily snickered.
"It's rather nice when they have you pushed up against something," Lucy watched Cecily eye a moss green coat. "I'd get that if I were you. The coat Roland got you will need to get cleaned soon or later. You haven't mentioned to your aunt that he had you pinned to a wall did you?"
"Do I look like a fool? No I haven't. But she has noticed that he's taken an interest in me, and has been driving me up the wall with her near constant teasing," her friend answered after nodding at the store clerk helping them to take the coat.
Cecily continued onward once the clerk left, "The only reason I am telling you this is that I am hoping you will be more helpful than her."
"Of course. Do you like kissing him?"
Cecily gave her a "What-do-you-think?" look.
"We can help each other. I like kissing Erik, I haven't been able to do that in a while, I want to make up for lost time. You help me with that, I'll provide cover for when you want some alone time with Harry," Lucy said matter of factly.
I need to get Cecily into more green. It clearly catches his eye. Cecily may have missed how he was looking at that necklace, but I did not! Lucy knew what she had to do, and it needed to be subtle. Cecily had already chosen that longcoat.
"You should wear more green. It's a flattering color on you. Brings out your eyes," she remarked.
"We've already been shopping for longer than I thought possible. I'd like to get back before…" Cecily trailed off.
Lucy had a pretty good idea why Cecily wanted to get back to the Yard sooner rather than later. She wanted to talk to Harry again. And changing into clothes that fit would be a perk for her as well.
"We don't have to take much longer. I know your measurements as well as my own. You trust me don't you?" Cecily nodded, then time flew.
Shortly before they headed up to pay, the both of them saw a dress. It was clearly a party dress made of delicate, silky emerald green chiffon with a silver satin underskirt, with silver beading and embroidery. Lucy could tell that her friend was made for this dress.
"Cecily, if you do not get this dress, whatever the next party is, I will make sure you turn up to it in your skivvies!" she threatened.
"Relax, I'm getting it. And after we buy everything and get back, I'm changing as soon as possible," Cecily muttered as she motioned for a store clerk, one last time.
Senator Smith is an idiot of the highest order. How in the hell did he get put in charge of the inquiry?
Whoever had warned Lowe on that matter, likely Lieutenant Lethbridge, Charles wanted to thank personally.
Almost as soon as they got back to the Yard around 5:30 PM, Lowe peeled off from the main group, heading towards the civilian guest quarters.
Curious as to where the Welsh officer was headed, though he had a very good idea; Charles went off after him.
"Mr. Lowe, wherever are you off to," he called out to the younger man.
"I'm… um…" he stammered.
"You're off to see Miss Lethbridge aren't you," Charles stated as he came level with the Mr. Lowe.
"Yes sir."
"And what are your intentions towards her?"
"I… care about her. A lot more than I'm supposed to," Harold answered as they continued the walk.
"No one can tell you how much you should care about a person except for yourself. Now onto a far more interesting topic: how much have you been caring for her? Enough for there to be a wedding in a few weeks," Charles inquired teasingly.
With reddening ears, Harold replied, "I have been behaving myself sir. I would rather like to avoid being shot by her brother or father!"
"But judging by your reddening face, you have been thinking about shagging her senseless whilst stargazing," he continued slyly.
"I wouldn't be paying much attention to the stars then would I," the Welsh sailor bit out.
"I'd also bet money you're also thinking about children, but more about the act of making them I'd believe."
This made Harold turn maroon. He answered, "I'm almost wishing I was dealing with Mr. Murdoch."
"I'm far more entertaining than that scowling Scot at the moment. All you'd be getting out of Will at the moment is a lecture," Charles replied brightly.
"I wish he'd take Cecily's advice if his wife does visit. Don't tell him I said that!" the younger man pled in alarm.
"I'll be making that suggestion to him myself. Ada can unwind him, although I'm not the only one who's noticed you're getting wound pretty tight yourself," Charles remarked. They were almost to the civilian guest quarters.
"I cannot exactly ask Cecily to do anything about it," Lowe shot back.
"Harold, for God's sake, tell me you know how a man can take care of himself," Charles hissed
"I can handle that, thank you very much sir," Harold replied through gritted teeth.
"What can you handle?" It was Miss Lethbridge. All of the blood drained from his subordinates face.
"Ah Miss Lethbridge. Harold here was just assuring me that he could handle showing a beautiful young lady around the yard himself. Have a nice rest of your evening you two," Charles drawled.
And that is how you save a junior officer's and your own arses!
I am never eating scrambled eggs again! Patrick Hearst thought as he laid in the brig hospital bed, cuffed to it by his ankle. Somehow he had gotten food poisoning aboard the Florida and had yet to be transferred to the US Marshal Service because of it.
"You must have inherited your mother's brains. To shoot someone in plain view is the height of idiocy."
Oh Hell. His uncle was here already!
"I don't have the time to go after the four witnesses who actually saw you pull the trigger yet. Bruce Ismay is providing too much fodder. And the better the First Officer and that Master at Arms do in the inquiry the more credible they will be at your trial!"
"If you have only come here to yell at me uncle, can't it wait till I am able to move again," he groaned.
"Have you managed to do anything besides get yourself arrested for murder?"
"Managed to not drown when I got dropped trying to get aboard the Carpathia. Once I was aboard the Florida, I got violently ill from food poisoning. If you can arrange for some better care, I could tell you something," Patrick suggested hopefully.
"That depends on what it is," his Uncle William replied curtly.
"The Lethbridge girl, one of the witnesses, isn't quite so frigid anymore. The Ice Queen is melting, though I'm not sure who is managing that feat," Patrick started.
"You've piqued my interest, keep talking. I had started to think she was something of a Sapphic," his uncle muttered.
"Whatever that is, she's definitely interested in one of the junior officers from the Titanic that's for sure. Saw them talking while I was sprawled on the deck of the Carpathia," Patrick finished.
"A love story, that's all you've got for me? People want blood, they want tragedy and you are the one with blood soaked hands," his uncle growled.
"The officers all hand guns that night! One of them had to have fired his," Patrick insisted.
"Now you're using your brains. I'll set an old friend of the Lethbridge's on the case. Let's see what Paul can dig up."
A/N 2: This chapter turned into a beast. I hope you all enjoy it, looking forward to seeing what you all think! SSD!
Welsh translation:
"Fe'ch gwelaf yn fuan. Pov lwc."- I will see you soon. Good luck.