When I had modeled my costume for Mother, she had been rather pleased. I had stood stock still, as if I was part of some tableaux, while she circled me. "I much prefer this to what anyone else will be wearing."

I laughed, shifting the trident to my other hand. "You haven't seen any of the other costumes."

"Strangely, I feel as if I'll have seen them all before." Mother had chosen to eschew a costume for the night, although she had at least insisted on her dress being accented with red, white and blue ribbon. She had even offered to have a Union Jack brought for me to wear as a cape, but I declined.

It was already apparent who I was, that would have made me into a caricature.

I held the helmet in my lap during the ride to the Vanderbilts, the trident across my lap and the shield in the other seat beside Mother. I was trying not to mar the polished gilding on the helmet, but it was all I could do with my hands. Mother noticed, "You're worried." It took all I had not to snort, and she sighed. "Yes, yes. I know, you're always worried about William. But this isn't that, you're worried about the party."

I nodded, looking out at the electric lights of the city making their way by. "Oscar said that there would be some pro-German families present."

"Ah," Mother sniffed, "Well, we have the fortune to not have a large extended family in the city, so we do not have to bow to their wishes."

I shifted on the bench, "I know."

"And you know that if Oscar had his way, he wouldn't have them come." Mother reached over, taking the helmet from me. "But his family has many friends, and Richard and Moira have to keep up appearances, as do we." She smirked, "Now, that doesn't mean I'm going to ask you to play nice with them. I simply would prefer you to avoid them."

I lifted the trident, "I think they'll be the ones avoiding me."

It took a bit of impromptu dressing on the curb to have me fully arrayed in my regalia, and I found myself incredibly glad my shield was simply painted balsa wood with some leather handles on the back. It meant that at least one arm didn't tire very easily, although the one holding the trident would be aching by the end of the night. While it was painted wood as well, it was more solid and each point was gilded, ornamental carvings running up and down the handle.

Other guests were also arriving, straightening their costumes and finery so that they could proceed in without looking a mess. I was the only one armed though, everyone else having opted for more refined costumes. I did note several guests who had quite obviously gotten their costumes from the opera, more specifically an adaptation of Wagner that had run some years back. I deliberately turned my back on a Valkyrie on the arm of Loki when we entered the house, gripping my trident tighter. A friend called to Mother, and she left me with a brief admonishment to avoid that group for the night.

A warm voice spoke up from behind me, "I certainly hope you're not planning on spearing any of my guests with that."

I chuckled, turning to take in Oscar. He'd adapted a naval uniform for the occasion, one sleeve pinned up and an eyepatch across his forehead, although at the moment he had it flipped up. "Why, Admiral Nelson, I'm afraid you've caught me by surprise."

"I am but a humble servant of my patroness," He gave an elaborate bow. "May Britannia rule the waves, forever and ever."

I curtsied, as much as I could in my costume. "I think the old Commodore would have had a stroke to hear you say that."

He gave a very inelegant snort. "He would have keeled over on the spot seeing me in this, let alone speaking. I am afraid I had to leave the hat off though, it's a ghastly thing. Couldn't find a single angle where I didn't look foolish."

I blinked, lifting my shield up to hide the tear that had spung to my eye. "Will feels much the same way, he refused to wear it for the wedding."

A handkerchief peeped over the edge of my shield. "No more of that tonight, alright? I'll let this one slide, but this is supposed to be a fun occasion."

"Alright," I dabbed at my eye, handing it back over after lowering the shield. "I promise. Now, where is Venus?"

"Preening in her vanity." Oscar snorted, looking closely at me. "I see you're still wearing that necklace."

I brought my hand up to the sweetheart pendant, curling my fingers around the silver spokes of the wheel. "I haven't taken it off since he left."

"Admirable," He gently took my arm, our usual positions reversed by the fact that my hands were full and he was hiding one of his arms in his jacket. "If only we all could have such a love."

"I grew up with good examples."

"I wish I had." He mumbled, earning himself a glare. He chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Not that my parents don't care for each other, they do, quite a lot. But not to the extent that your parents loved each other." He gave my arm a squeeze, "We all should be so lucky."

I flushed slightly. "Well, I'm sure you'll have the girls all over you tonight. Uniforms tend to do that."

"And, unlike Nelson, I still have both my arms and eyes." He grinned. "Ladies seem to like those."

"The ladies also like your bank account." A voice called up behind us, making me stop in my tracks. I could see Liz, draped in roses and a shimmering pink silk, looking at me oddly as I gripped my trident tighter. I was very glad to have it in hand as I turned around, taking in the couple before me.

Sophie was dressed very modestly in a white gown with a circlet of olive branches around her head, a small smile on her face when she saw me. I nodded to her, "I'm afraid I can't quite figure your costume out."

"Concordia, goddess of peace." She brushed her fingers over the olive leaves. "You make a lovely Britannia."

I shifted my shield, uncomfortable for a moment. Sophie was dressed as the personification of peace, her deepest desire, while I had come as a representation of Britain's navy, her army, every bit of military might that country possessed.

A blade entered my vision, Zachary inserting himself between the two of us. "Stand back, fair Concordia. I shall protect you." His remark quickly drew the attention of the other guests, circling around us like we were a pantomime put on for them. I looked him up and down, taking in his costume. Typical Greek armor, although the horsehair crest of his helmet and his cape were done in red, white and black.

The colors of the German flag.

He waved his sword, drawing even more people over. "I can handle these two, a cripple and a woman are not a match for Mars, god of war! I shall save the party!"

Oscar sneered, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Liz come to his side. "If our party isn't to your satisfaction, Zachary, you are more than welcome to leave." He quickly bowed to Sophie. "Of course, your wife is welcome to stay."

Zachary almost growled, "Oh, I'll be staying. You and that overreaching harpy can't chase me off that easy."

At that I leveled my trident at his throat, remembering Lights' lessons with the sword. "it appears I enough reach to finish you before you even get close to me."

He flicked a finger against the wooden tine, "Such a fearsome Amazon, using wooden weapons." He cut his eyes to Liz, "And where's Vulcan, Venus? Or are you looking for your usual lover tonight?"

The mythological connotations were not lost on Liz, who immediately screwed up her face and would have lunged at Zachary if Oscar had quickly turned and caught her around the waist. Her toes barely touched the ground, and I gave Zachary one last glare before moving after them.

By the time we managed to reach a side room off of the ballroom, Liz's face was several shades darker than her dress. She was fuming as Oscar finally set her down. "You know what he was implying!"

"Of course, I do." Oscar shifted his arm inside his jacket. "Everyone does!"

"So why didn't you let me hit him?"

"Because you can't just go around assaulting guests, even if he does deserve it." I muttered, earning myself a glare from Oscar. "Oh, come on, Oscar. Look at what he came as! He's as subtle as a brick to the face."

I could swear I heard him mutter under his breath, "And you're one to talk." But then he spoke directly to his sister. "You need to take a moment to cool off, before you make more of a spectacle of yourself." He squeezed my shoulder as he moved past. "Watch her for me?"

The door had hardly closed before Liz was spitting fire. "Watch me, watch me, oh he can watch me later when I hurl Zachary over the banister." I let her go on in that vein for several minutes, until she had finally worn herself out. Although she was eyeing my trident, "I don't suppose I could borrow that?"

"Not tonight." I pulled it a bit closer. "Although if you really wanted to be a scandal you could go change into the dress you said you were going to wear for James."

She blushed at that. "Well, I mean, I only wore it for the pictures."

"At least you wore something," I beckoned her closer. "I sent Will some pictures at one point, and I wasn't wearing a stitch in some of them!"

Her hands immediately went over her mouth, "No!"

"He was most appreciative." I smirked, wondering if Will had those pictures at the moment. "I felt I could get him to do almost anything after that."

"Oh, I don't know about what I could get James to do."

"I do." I leaned forward, "And I could give you a bit more, if you do something for me." She was immediately all ears, so I continued. "I don't like that Will's letters to me get read, and censored, before they reach me. Apparently, that's standard measure for the Royal Mail at the moment, so I've an idea to get around it."

Liz's eyes were starting to glaze over. "And how does this involve James and I?"

"Because if you can stand James staying over in Britain for a bit to give Will my letters and pick up his, I'll let you two have some alone time at my house." I held up a hand to silence the excited cry that was about to come out. "You will have to swear to me that you won't have a reason to not wear white at your wedding, and I promise that I won't use James for this again. Once he tells Will what I have planned, I'll have a man from our British offices come up."

Liz was nodding so fast that she dislodged some of the roses in her hair. "I can get him to agree! I know it!"

"You also need to not go after Zachary tonight, even though he's an ass." I rolled my eyes as she kept nodding. "Now, let me fix your hair."

Venus was perfectly resplendent when we emerged, and Britannia was her faithful protector throughout the night. Attended by Admiral Nelson, the three of us made quite the trio. Between the two of us, Oscar and I were able to make sure that Liz never heard the snide comments about how Love and War were sure to sneak off.

Those comments subsided when I left Liz with my trident and shield when Oscar asked me to dance. It was a bit odd to dance a rag with only one hand, and he made a gallant effort for a moment before he gave up and retired. He was laughing as we came back to Liz, "Honestly, if I had even thought about the limitations, I never would have worn this!"

"Admitting defeat?" Liz rolled her eyes, "I bet him five dollars he'd be out of it by the end of the night."

"Not yet." Oscar grumbled, looking out over the ballroom. More guests had arrived, throngs of people in evening dress and costumes, jewels glittering under electric lights and perfumes mingling in the nose. It was quite a heady scene, although he started when he noticed a couple. "Alfred, over here!"

A hand was raised in reply, and Oscar's cousin made his way through the crowd. A few dangling grape vines from his head made him into Dionysus, and his wife wore a jeweled crown and carried a spindle, wound with thread, in her hand to make her Ariadne. Trailing them was a gangly youth in evening dress, looking as if he would prefer to be anywhere else at the moment. Alfred extended a hand, "It's good to see you, cousin."

"And how is dear Margaret?" Oscar leaned in, kissing her cheeks. "Only a month from your newest."

She giggled, "Dear Margaret is ready to enjoy the party, if only for a little bit."

"Yes, our dear little George was quite upset that his mother wanted to have a some fun." Alfred simpered, although he looked back over his shoulder. "William, come up here and greet everyone."

The youth shuffled forward; he was at the awkward age where one had to begin putting in appearances even though he couldn't enjoy most of what went on at them. He nodded sharply to all of us, then stepped back.

Oscar, ever the observant host, could see Alfred about to snap at his son, and rushed in. "Actually, I was wondering if William here wouldn't mind taking Mrs. Murdoch for a tun around the dance floor? I tried earlier," He waggled his loose sleeve, the pinned-up portion flapping. "But it's rather hard in this get up."

I held out a hand to the young boy, "Come on, I bet you can show him up." He barely touched my hand as he took me out, and while he was able to dance passably well, he didn't speak even as I tried to draw him into conversation. He shuffled off to his father after, still with a sour look on his face. I gave Oscar a shrug, "I tried."

"Alfred says he's missing his mother." Liz handed back my armaments. "He saw her last month, I mean, the boy had been with her most of the year, and now Alfred's worried she's going to try and have him sent back before he's supposed to be."

I winced; everyone knew Alfred's sordid history. His first wife had divorced him for adultery, which he was guilty of, and now the two of them seemed to view their son as some poker chip to play their little game over. Not to mention Alfred's various lovers, two of which had killed themselves after the scandal that had erupted around them. It just wasn't done to bring that up though, and Alfred hated when it was discussed. Instead, I twisted my trident in my hands as I looked back to Oscar, "I don't suppose he's excited about his new brother?"

"Half-brother." Oscar sighed, "As he will always point out. I did go to see them after he was born, and asked him if he was. He said, and I quote, 'Why would I be excited about some mewling little pile of filth?'."

"Jesus." I muttered, "And Margaret?"

"She tries, but he's at that age where boys like to be contrarian." Oscar glanced out at the crowd. "Now, come along, let's see if we can't rescue the night." Champagne was brought, drunk, and we set out to make a night of it. Mother, as well as the elder Vanderbilts, eventually emerged and were quickly drawn into our efforts. Richard danced with Liz, Mother and I, Oscar shed his jacket and did the same, after slipping a bill to Liz, and suddenly everything seemed bright and fun for once.

I gossiped with Liz over finger foods about the various meanings behind the guest's costumes, and her plans for James. She had quite a few ideas on how to convince him to go along with my scheme, although she told me I was a horrible friend for making him stay away longer than usual with it.

I shook my head, "Well, if you want me to make it worth your while, I can give you some advice on what to do with him."

She had turned beet red after I had whispered in her ear, and I gave her assurances that nothing I told her would lead to an early wedding. She could hardly look at me the rest of the night, and I counted that as a job well done.

The night wore on, and when I started to flag, Mother had the car brough around. After the gaiety of the party, the quiet of the Fifth Avenue house was a welcome relief. Mother had wanted an entire rundown of the night, given that she had spent most it going over wedding plans with Moira. We had chuckled about everything over sherry, and I deliberately left a few parts out of the story.

After all, there was no need to make trouble for Liz.

Louise was more than willing to help me out of my costume, laughing as she lifted the helmet off and set it by the trident and shield. "I suppose I'll have to give these to Reggie to polish, he could use more work!"

"Don't let him get too lax." I remarked, glad to have the weight off my head. Fortunately, the dress was simple to get out of, and I gratefully slid into bed in the dark. A fire was crackling in the hearth, I had spent the entire night with my friends dancing, and Mother had promised after I had behaved so wonderfully at the party that we could move to the dock house and she would slowly allow me to resume living away from her. Warm, relatively content, and having been distracted the entire night, I expected to fall asleep quickly.

What I did not expect was a cold breeze brushing over my shoulders, and a voice with a slight accent speaking. "Oh, wake up, will you?"

"Papa?" I blearily opened my eyes, taking in the woman standing before me. She had dark hair, drawn up to display the tall white collar of her lacy summer dress. I ducked my head, "I'm sorry, are you-"

"Dead?" She laughed, "Yes, I am. And I'm good friends with your father, so I won't tell him you called me Papa."

"Oh," I worried my lip, I hadn't thought that Father would have made ghostly friends. Or that there were other ghosts around. "Thank you."

The woman came and sat on the bed, smiling as she looked at me. "You deserve a bit of kindness, after all you've been through. I swear, I want to wring that stupid husband of ours's neck. Such a pigheaded, idiot of a man."

I could hardly move after that. Our husband, Will, which meant that this ghost, this woman sitting by me and chatting as if we were old friends, was Ada. If I looked closely, and remembered the pictures of her, I could see it. It was obvious, glaringly so now. I fumbled over my words, "Ada, I, I don't-"

"It's quite alright, Ana." She waved her hand, "You don't mind if I call you that? Seeing as we're family of a sort." I shook my head, and she barreled on. "Really, what he was thinking leaving you and this place to go fight I will never know. Everything was so perfect; it was everything I wanted for him."

She stood, beginning to pace. "A loving wife, a secure future, a comfortable life. Honestly, if I knew he would have done this, I never would have tripped you getting onboard that ship!"

I started at that, "Wait, you tripped me? On Titanic?"

"Only a bit," Ada chuckled, "You were pretty, you seemed nice, and I was just so tired of seeing him so sad all the time. I promise, all I did was trip you. Everything after was him, stupid man that he is."

"Ada!" Another figure, so familiar to me, materialized by the fireplace. Father's voice was firm. "Quit trying to turn my daughter against her husband." He came forward, taking Ada's place on my bed. Unlike when I saw him in my dreams, his hand passed through mine this time. "Hello sweetheart."

"Papa," I threw my arms around him, not caring if they passed right through him. "You're here too?"

"It's easiest this time of year, when the veil is thin." He chuckled, shivering slightly as I brought my arms back. "Which is why this one was able to come over so easy."

Ada shook her head, "I still had to get on a liner to get close enough. She deserved an apology from someone, especially since that idiot won't give it."

Father grunted, "It's a man's duty to defend his country when he's called." He cast an acerbic gaze at Ada, "And by doing so protect his wife."

"It's also his duty to take care of his wife at home." Ada spat, "His duty to see that she isn't left alone, suffering and dreading getting word that he's gone. Look at what he did to your daughter! She can't even live on her own, he's hurt her so much."

"Papa," I tried to take his hand, "Could you come back later? I think this is a lady's only discussion."

He cast a glare over in Ada's direction. "I'll be back, soon, so don't let her carry on too long." He stood, sighing. "And you know William had to go. I knew he was an honorable man when I met him, and an honorable man doesn't stay behind." A light appeared in his eye, and a grin on his face. "I shall go and visit with your mother; she'll be glad to see me."

Ada waited until he had passed from our sight before continuing. "I hope when he comes back you aren't going to immediately fall all over him."

I shifted, "Well, when I see him again, I'm going to be very happy. We both will be."

"And you're going to take him right back into your bed." She cackled as I brought my hands up to cover my face, feeling my cheeks begin to burn. "Oh please, we both married him. William is an excellent lover, and he needs to use all his skill to earn that forgiveness."

I peeked over my fingers. "And what do you recommend I do?"

"Whenever he comes back, you make sure you punish him well. Make him sleep on the settee, keep the dog in the bed, and wear the ugliest nightgown you can. Don't even kiss him, not until he apologizes properly."

"And what is an appropriate apology?"

"Well, him kissing your feet for starters. And then you should just throw your skirt over his head and not let him up until you can barely move." Ada smiled fondly, "He should use his tongue for more than just saying nice words to soothe you."

I smirked, "He really is good at that."

"Isn't he?" She joined me on the bed, grinning. "And you know what drives him mad? Dragging your nails down his back, enough to scratch him. He almost threw me into bed when I did that one time."

"Oh, he absolutely loves to see me in trousers." I blushed, remembering his ardor. "I wore them almost all last winter and he couldn't keep his hands off me."

"Then no trousers when he comes back." Ada did her best to pat my hand. "Not until you've abused him sufficiently. And then wear nothing but trousers until he gets you pregnant." She must have noticed how I flinched at that. "I've struck a nerve there, I know. Will did much the same thing when I first saw him." She reached out, her hands cold on my shoulders. "I'm going to tell you what I told him. Ghosts can't see the future, not crystal clear, but we can get impressions. Things change, events don't go as we thought they would, but sometimes you feel something so strongly you just know that it's going to come to pass." Her hand brushed through my face. "I saw the both of you, curled over a crib with a healthy baby. I always wanted that for Will, and I want it for you too. If there is anything that I can do from the other side to see it done, I will."

But then the smirk was back on her face. "But still, don't let him off to easy. He has to earn that."