Chapter XVIII: Lost in Translation
A/N: Sorry about the long wait. Got a computer of my own, plus a new jump drive. Hopefully, this means that updates will be faster. Thanks go out to TheCowgirlBookworm for her help! Bold is another language. Looking forward to seeing what you all think! SSD
###
There were many times that Fabrizio wished his English was better. He missed so much. Especially when it came to Second Officer Lightoller's sense of humor. The man frequently said things that were clearly off color.
This morning the man was in top form.
"So how exactly did Cecily's brother not see anything until he saw you pinning her up against a wall," he asked Lowe. The fifth officer was romantically involved with Cecily and her brother had only just found out about it the night before.
"It was a cherry tree sir," was the Welshman's reply, with reddening ears.
"Well at least you found an appropriate place to pop her cherry though most women prefer beds you know," the older man winked as Harry turned beet red. Lieutenant Murdoch added even more scotch to his coffee.
Fabrizio had to ask, he hoped they would not laugh at him, "English is not my first language, but what did you mean by that Mr. Lightoller?"
Apparently, it was not expected that he would ask such a thing out in the open.
Murdoch was the one who answered, "What Charles means is that he was under the impression that Harold meant to deflower Miss Lethbridge."
Turning back to Lowe, Fabrizio asked, "Did you?"
The Welshman turned an even darker red, "Certainly not!"
"Something to save for the wedding then. When is that," Fabrizio inquired, joining in on the chaffing.
"Our Sicilian friend has you pegged Lowe! I'm surprised your sweetheart's brother didn't bring out a shotgun," Lightoller cackled.
"Is this where the term "shotgun wedding" comes from," Fabrizio asked again.
"That it does Mr. Ferretti. I can teach you more English you like," Lightoller offered with a grin.
Then Malcolm, one of the 40 Thieves who had been helping him walked in saying, "He'll be needing American English more than British English. If you all don't want to be late, you need to get moving, you numpties!"
Fabrizio groaned, "More slang? What's a numpty?"
He noticed Lieutenant Murdoch had a confident smirk on his face when he asked Malcolm in another language, "Tha thu math gu leòr, ach chan eil thu math gu leòr. Dè cho fada bhon a tha thu air cladaichean ar dùthcha fhaicinn?"
Malcolm blinked before asking, "I'm sorry, what did you say sir?"
"Tha dìth ùine agam airson leantainn air adhart leis a' chòmhradh againn. Thig na dìomhaireachdan agad chun uachdar mu dheireadh." The first officer cleared his throat saying in English, "Come along, this bloody inquiry waits for no one."
Only when they were all gone did Malcolm turn to him with a too bright smile saying, "Aren't you going to be speaking with Gunny Hannah today? I don't think you'd want to be late for that yourself!"
Fabrizio got up posthaste himself. That was not a meeting he wanted to miss.
###
Cecily knew that today was going to be a slow one. So as to not attract any further attention to herself, she dressed in a light blue dress. Now all that was need to be was get through the day without attracting undue attention to herself.
She was just lacing up her boot when there was a knock on the door.
"Who is it?"
"Rafaela Miss Lethbridge. I have someone to meet you."
Puzzled, Cecily smoothed the skirt of her dress and called "Come in."
Rafaela came in with a younger woman trailing behind her. She was about the same height as Cecily herself, but slighter. She had curly copper hair that was barely tamed back in a braid with bright hazel eyes. They were darting around the room, taking everything in.
"This is Olive McRae, your new maid. Since she wasn't working out well in the kitchen, your brother suggested she could work with you, after finding out what she was good at," Rafaela stated.
"And what are you good at, Miss McRae," Cecily tried to keep kindness in her voice, but the mention of Roland's involvement she was suspicious.
"Sewing, hair arranging, cosmetics, things I learned around my older sisters. Cooking was something I could never quite get the knack for," she replied sheepishly.
"Again, your brother thought with Mr. Lowe formally courting you, the help of a dedicated ladies' maid would be useful. Miss McRae is an incredibly light sleeper as well," Rafaela added pointedly.
So… Roland thinks I need a minder beyond the 40 Thieves. I will be having a long conversation with him! Cecily seethed in her mind.
Aloud she replied, "As long as she doesn't have a sudden hobby of stargazing, I'm sure we will get along swimmingly.
Olive didn't know what Cecily meant (yet), but Rafaela definitely did. "Any further stargazing excursions will be supervised from now on the older woman warned.
"Am I being accused of something Rafaela," Cecily asked as Olive familiarized herself with the rooms.
"All I am saying is that you need to practice some extra caution. Antin is aware of what you and your suitor call stargazing and what happens during it or rather what you don't do when you go stargazing," the Lethbridge's longtime housekeeper and cook said in an undertone.
I need to work on controlling my blush. I cannot keep on doing that whenever someone references Harry and I!
Cecily missed Rafaela's departure and her aunt's entrance.
"You seem lost in thought," Aunt Mina remarked.
"A little. There are another pair of eyes on me, thanks to Roland," she nodded towards her new maid.
"After the events of yesterday evening, you shouldn't be surprised. I thought that Roland might escort Harold to the inquiry today himself," her aunt grinned.
"Right now, I'm just thankful Roland didn't beat him to a pulp. Though at the moment I just want to stop blushing every time someone talks about us being together," Cecily remarked.
"There is one really fast way you can get over blushing from thinking about kissing your suitor," Cecily did not like the way her aunt was smiling, but she needed the information her aunt had.
"Please get on with it Aunt Mina," she motioned with her hand.
"You simply go beyond kissing my dear. Once you've gone beyond that, you'll stop blushing over a mere kiss," her aunt sounded like she was talking about the weather.
Fighting the blush, Cecily asked, "And… what would you suggest? Things that won't get Harry murdered by Roland."
"I can think of a few. Come with me. We need to me someplace where there aren't so many ears," her aunt took her by the arm and led her out of the room.
It was certain to be an… educational afternoon.
###
Mina was quite certain that her niece's face and would still be red come nightfall. Cecily had always been full of questions as a child, wanting as much information as possible on a subject.
This was no exception.
There were a pile of newspapers to read, however what she was really looking forward to reading was a letter from Matthew finally. Mail was entirely too slow.
Mum,
I suppose I have never been more thankful for a work emergency to have cropped up. We may have been angry at the time, but it certainly worked out in the end. Even with my clubfoot I would have had a hard time getting off that ship.
Don't worry, I made my way to Saint Andrew's as soon as I could after I heard the news. I said a rosary and then some, then lit enough candles to fill Westminster Abbey.
In the papers I saw two names I saw two names I haven't thought of in donkey's years. Cecily and Roland must have been shocked to have seen Harry again after all these years. I remember Cecily tagging along after the two of them like it was yesterday, with the two of them trying to avoid her. He must have been a help to all of you.
The second name must have been a definite surprise for you. Seeing Arthur for the first time in over 20 years had to have been a shock. I hope you caught him up with what we're all doing now. Did you tell him about Randall at all? If you see him again whilst you are over tell him Alistair, Brandon, and I said hello!
I should wrap this letter up, especially if I want it to get to you with any kind of speed. Tell Cecily happy birthday.
Love, Matthew.
Reading the letter made Mina both happy and worried. Happy that she had heard from Matt, yet worried about what he'd mentioned in the letter.
Of her older three, Matt was the most observant, out of necessity. A twitch of Wyndam's hands would tell him if he needed to duck or dodge. The way her husband spoke told him if he needed to start getting out of the room and how people looked and acted around each other. Now it helped in his chosen career path as a barrister.
Mina was worried that Matt would turn his considerable investigative talents to where they weren't needed. Albert already knew the secret. The more people that were aware, the harder it would be to keep quiet.
Taking out some paper she began her reply.
Matthew,
Harold's opinion of Cecily has changed quite a bit since you saw him last. Instead of trying to get away from her, he now wants to spend as much time in her presence as possible. Which inevitably leads to him sticking his tongue down her throat.
Cecily is quite happy to return the favor, much to Roland's annoyance. What she lacks in experience she makes up for in enthusiasm. I have been assisting her with navigating this new field so there are not any unintended consequences to her new experiences.
Especially so that Roland does not give into his newfound desire to beat Harold to a pulp. Oh you should have *seen* his reaction to finding out! You would have thought Harold was shagging Cecily against that tree. As it currently stands, they have not done that yet.
Harold has been getting quite a bit of shit from most of his fellow officers on this matter. They have no shortage of suggestions of what he can do with Cecily or more accurately to her. Sailors have no shortage of warped minds.
As for Arthur, I was only able to speak to him for a short time. We caught up, he was quite busy. I did tell him what you all were doing at the moment.
I do so wish you were here. Perhaps since your prior intended vacation got cancelled, maybe sometime in the short term you could make your way over here? See your cousins, uncle, and your mother. You're likely to get a cousin in law soon, Roland will be proposing to Ghislaine in the next few weeks. The smart money on Harold is within a year, sixteen months at the outside.
So are there any women who have caught your eye? Not all women are fools you know.
Randall left a few days ago, otherwise I would've sent this with him. He was a bright light when it was sorely needed. I don't think your uncle was expecting how much your younger brother had changed since he last saw him, looking quite surprised.
Well, it's almost lunchtime here. Don't be a stranger, keep on writing.
Love, Mum.
Mina would send this letter out tomorrow. Hopefully Matt would get it sometime in the middle of the month if all went well.
###
This afternoon he'd received another telegram from Ada. Finally, a reply to his previous one. It was short and to the point.
Nice try Will. Start bargaining for time.
Good Christ how he loved her. Will wished Ada was here with right now for multiple reasons.
First and above all, she was his wife; he was always happier when she was around. Secondly and this one was really wearing on him at the moment, if she were here Will would be better able to protect her if someone were to try something. It wasn't like he wouldn't have skilled backup. And bugger it all he wanted his wife in his arms!
Getting his writing utensils and letter which was growing longer and longer, he went to find someplace peaceful to write.
He was not going to get that for he soon heard Miss Lethbridge and her brother arguing. In Spanish to be exact.
She had been quite careful about using Spanish in his presence, the morning of Charles and Lieutenant Sperling's prank on him having been the only time she'd used it since the night of the sinking.
Will was again impressed by the speed and fluidity with which the siblings spoke the language. They must have been learning it since they were children. It was difficult for him who was better at cursing.
Cecily was showing her talent at telling her brother what he could do to himself. Roland on the other hand was insulting his sister's intelligence.
He couldn't help but chuckle at the antics of the pair of siblings. In English, Will called out, "I've heard plenty of tales of your skills with Spanish. But all I'm hearing is profanity. Could you two please pipe down? I'd like to get something done."
"What are you planning on doing," Roland asked.
"Praying to whomever is listening that my wife doesn't lose her mind before she gets this letter," he replied bluntly.
A brief look of panic crossed Cecily's face, clearly remembering her rude comment.
"There was that ever so lovely comment you made to me on board the Carpathia. Charles managed to induce Mr. Ferretti to translate for the rest of the officers," Will drawled.
"What did my darling sister say to you," Roland asked with barely concealed interest.
"You don't need to know Roland," the green-eyed demoness said too quickly.
"Do I need to know? Probably not. But I'd definitely like to know," the siblings had very similar evil grins.
"How familiar are you with your sister's cheek and sailor like language," Will inquired.
"How long do you have, and I taught her some of it," the younger man grinned.
"Not always intentionally," the demoness smirked back.
"I suppose I could tell you-" Will began then Cecil cut in with, "I could always tell your wife what you said. Lights could always get a message through."
Charles definitely would do that. And Ade would never let him hear the end of it.
"This round goes to you Miss Lethbridge. I will make sure the next round goes to me," he nodded. Will heard them switch languages.
"A yw ei Sbaeneg yn rheolaidd yn dda neu a yw'n dda i chi a fi," Roland asked his sister.
His sister hissed back, "Da nes atat ti a fi, ond paid a meiddio dweud wrtho fe!"
###
James had taken to exploring the house of his hosts ever since he had learned of the secret passages. Most of the time it had gone well. He had not gotten lost. Until now.
He had found a passage in the mercifully empty library. James knew full well what went on in there, everyone did. Lowe and Cecily were outside at the moment.
He'd gotten turned around at some point when he heard, "Are you lost sir?"
A woman not much younger than himself was standing behind James in a black dress with a white apron. Even in the poorly lit passage, he could tell that she had copper red hair back in a braid.
"I'm afraid I am. I went exploring and… I'd rather like to get out," James answered lamely.
"Then you're going to have to follow me Mr…"
"Moody, James Moody. And who might you be," he could not help but ask.
"Olive McRae. I'm Miss Cecily's new maid, but I still know my way around quite well. Please follow me Mr. Moody," she smiled while motioning to him.
"Do you know where all of the tunnels are," James inquired.
"Only Mr. McLewis knows where they all are, but I'm making a point to learn the ones Miss Cecily prefers to use. She seems to be quite fond of the library," the redhead replied.
Chuckling he answered, "Everyone knows about that. Do you know about the one in the kitchen?"
"Oh are you feeling puckish? I could bring you something to your room once we get out of here," Olive offered.
"Would the cook mind if I ate the meal in the kitchen? I'm a bit unused to all of the staff here and would prefer to dispense with the formalities," James pled.
She gave him a small smile and replied, "Rafaela won't mind. She is quite used to men just coming in and eating. If you don't mind, I can show you around at a later time?"
Before he could reply Olive began fiddling with the exit and they were soon out of the passage.
And right in front of First Officer Murdoch.
Thinking quickly James said, "Sir have you met Miss McRae? She has quite a bit of knowledge of the layout of the house and helped me when I was lost."
"I was thinking of showing Mr. Moody some more of the tunnels he doesn't get himself lost again," Olive continued earnestly.
"I am afraid I will be needing Mr. Moody for the rest of the day," the first officer replied with narrowed eyes.
"Some other time then, Lieutenant Murdoch," Olive bobbed a curtsey at both of them and left the room.
While James was watching her leave, his effective CO growled, "Don't even think about it!"
"I'm not thinking about anything sir, beyond being grateful to Mis McRae for getting me out of those blasted tunnels," he insisted.
"The last thing I need is another officer making cow eyes at a woman! You'll likely be leaving soon, so unless you're going to write to her father to ask his permission, you shouldn't be alone with her again," Murdoch ordered.
"We weren't going to be alone in the kitchen, sir. The cook and plenty of the staff would have been around," James did not want to start blushing.
"So James has found someone as well? My this trip has been productive despite the fiasco of the sinking and the inquiry," Lightoller chuckled as he entered the room.
"I'd like to say I may have found someone sir. Nothing like Lowe," he replied.
"Mr. Lowe is not what you should be using as an example for courtship. He and his sweetheart are definitely sneaking around," Murdoch growled.
Before James could even think up a reply, Mr. Lightoller smirked saying, "Will I hate to do this, but judge not lest ye be judged!"
###
Captain Christopher Torrey had known Roland Lethbridge almost from the first day the younger man had started at Annapolis. And he was almost immediately tapped for Naval Intelligence.
The now Lieutenant Jg Lethbridge's language skills had only improved since then, and they had already been unnaturally good. Especially his German which was put to frequent use. Roland spoke like he was from Kiel Germany with no trace of an outside accent.
And his sister's was just as good. If not better, according to his favorite subordinate. Roland had even found a use for his milk tongue of Welsh as a code of sorts. And except for the Spanish ambassador, Roland's skill with Spanish endeared him to the Spanish speaking ambassadors in the Americas.
Anyway he knew Roland so well, he could tell when he was up to something. Erik was likely involved, with the Florida being in port for the Titanic inquiry. Roland had been making almost daily trips to the library at the Bureau of Ships. Erik was unwelcome there after one too many times making several naval architects look foolish. So Roland tended to visit with a list of books for his friend.
This morning Lieutenant Lethbridge was carry a good sized box that seemed to be filled with glass jars, whistling the whole time.
Roland knew better than to bring any of Master Sergeant McLewis's moonshine to work so it had to be something.
As a matter of curiosity, he'd gone to see what books Roland was getting for his former Academy roommate. The list had been odd. Mostly books on stress of materials and buoyancy. They were working on something and they wanted to keep it quiet, even from him.
Deciding that bluntness would be best at the moment, Captain Torrey went to his subordinate's office, knocked then went in.
Roland was pushing the box underneath his desk, when upon noticing him, he snapped to attention with a bright, "Good morning Captain Torrey sir. How are you doing?"
"At ease. I'd be a bit better if I knew what you were doing with whatever is in that box and what you're up to with Lieutenant Sperling," he asked.
"There's no alcohol in the jars. It's food for the librarians at the BOS library," was the easy answer.
"They do have a mess hall you know," he reminded.
"And the food there is shit sir. If I bring them good food, then they'll do what I want," his protégé grinned.
"At least you aren't bribing them with money. Judging by the smell, it's Rafaela's famous chili and that it has to do with whatever you're doing with Erik," he asked again.
"Yes sir. I have access to some… ship plans and since I don't trust anyone in the BOS to keep their mouth shut about these plans I went to Erik. He's better than 95% of those idiots anyway," Roland looked past him at the wall.
Jackpot Christopher thought before saying aloud, "I don't recall giving you any orders to break into the German embassy recently. Though since you're using Erik, the plans are in English since he doesn't have your linguistic abilities. You've been keeping things quiet, so you're waiting for more information…" Trailing off as the pieces began to fall together even though it should be impossible.
"Lieutenant Lethbridge, if you have the plans I think you do, how in the Hell did they get off that ship and are they genuine?" This had the potential to blow up in their faces.
Roland went to the door of his office, looked up and down the hall to make sure no one was around. Once he was satisfied, the door was shut and locked.
"I still haven't figured out the answer to your first question and as for your second question, they are genuine, they have the signature of original owner, everything. Erik had seen it before," Roland explained in one breath.
Rubbing his face with one hand, Christopher inquired, "I suppose they came along in the possession of one of your father's guests?"
Roland nodded again replying, "And I told them that I would have to tell you eventually or more likely that you would figure it out on your own."
"What are they hoping to get out of what Erik may find," he asked.
"Keep their jobs and seniority. If that isn't possible, not get blackballed by White Star," Roland answered before continuing, "Truth be told, from what Erik has already told me they should be able to manage that. And much more." His subordinate's grin turned smug.
"Your father and Master Sergeant McLewis will be handling Mr. Ismay won't they," Christopher asked.
"Yes, sir," was the gleeful reply.
"I still wish he'd chosen the Marine Corps when he had the chance," Captain Torrey muttered before asking, "Are there any members of the RNR among your father's guests?"
"The entire White Star contingent actually is," Roland was rifling through the papers on his desk.
"What's the highest rank," he asked.
"Lieutenant, two full stripes," Roland answered.
"I definitely need to get involved right now. Do you have any kind of report on the findings," he queried.
"I do, but it is not complete yet sir," his protégé admitted.
"Just give me what you have so far. Our day just got busier," Captain Torrey said.
###
Harry could not figure out how Cecily skinned him alive at blackjack. Mina and Antin had played as well (Antin had won the game) but there was still something unnatural with how his girl played.
Once they were relatively alone, Mina was still within earshot, he asked, "Alright. How did you do it? If we were playing for money I'd have lost my shirt!"
"I certainly wouldn't have minded that," Cecily replied, eyes raking over his chest.
"I doubt Mr. McLewis would have been amused and don't change the subject," he replied ears reddening.
"It isn't cheating," she began defensively before continuing, "You simply have to pay attention to what cards are up and figure out the odds of what cards are in play and what cards are still in the deck. You also have to keep in mind the number values of the cards."
"So you count the cards," Harry stated hoping he understood correctly.
"That would be correct yes. It takes time and practice to do it well and not be obvious about it," Cecily answered.
"So if she's counting cards, what are the rest of you doing," Harry asked some of the others who had filtered in to watch.
Charles barely glanced up from his letter to his wife, "Cheating, depending on how you look at things."
Sitting back down on her favorite couch and dragging Harry along with her, Cecily replied, "You, Erik, and my brother need to play cards sometime."
"As long as they don't mind getting fleeced," Lights answered.
"It'd be an interesting game to watch. Who do you think I learned how to play like that from," Cecily burrowed into Harry's side, he put his arm around her shoulders.
"My money is on that aunt of yours. She plays like a shark, from what I could see," Will remarked. His letter was approaching novel length.
"She taught me some, but it was mostly Roland and Erik. They were the one who taught me how to count cards," Cecily replied.
The day couldn't get any better.
###
A/N 2: That was quite fun to type. Looking forward to seeing what you all think! SSD
Scottish Gaelic Translation:
"Tha thu math gu leòr, ach chan eil thu math gu leòr. Dè cho fada bhon a tha thu air cladaichean ar dùthcha fhaicinn?": You are quite good. But not good enough. How long has it been since you've seen the shores of our homeland?
"Tha dìth ùine agam airson leantainn air adhart leis a' chòmhradh againn. Thig na dìomhaireachdan agad chun uachdar mu dheireadh.": I lack the time to continue our chat further. Your secrets will eventually come to the surface.
Welsh Translations:
"A yw ei Sbaeneg yn rheolaidd yn dda neu a yw'n dda i chi a fi,": Is his Spanish normal good or you and me good?
"Da nes atat ti a fi, ond paid a meiddio dweud wrtho fe!": Closer to you and me good, but don't you dare tell him!
Fancast:
Captain Christopher Torrey: Bruce Greenwood