Voyage in Time: The Titanic (Out of Time #9) (21 page)

“I’m sorry, sir.”

“It’s all right,” Louise said. “Robert—”

“If you can’t do the job, I’ll find someone who can.”

“It won’t happen again.”

Sheridan’s face was hard. “It better not.” He looked down at his daughter who’d slid around to hide behind her mother’s skirt. She peeked around and up at her father. She hadn’t been afraid until he’d shown up. And the way he shook her.

Just the thought of that made Simon’s blood pressure rise.

Emily looked nervously at her father, waiting for some reassurance, but it didn’t come.

“I’m sorry, Daddy.”
 

He looked at her flatly and then turned back to Miss McBride. “See it doesn’t happen again.”

Emily sniffled back her tears.
 

Simon knelt down to be eye-level with the girl. “I’m sure your father’s just worried about you.”

It was a lie, but the child deserved some comfort.

Emily wiped her nose but nodded.
 

Simon took out his handkerchief and gave it to her.
 

“It’s not safe for a young lady like you to be out here alone,” he added.

Emily smiled shyly through her lessening tears, pleased at being called a young lady.

“Emily,” her father said as he held out his hand to her, not in entreaty, but in demand. “Emily,” he repeated, his voice hard.

Her eyes dipped down and she stepped toward her father, giving Simon one last smile over her shoulder. Simon stood and exchanged glances with Elizabeth.

Once he had her hand, Sheridan yanked her the rest of the way toward him. “When I call for you, you come. You understand?”

“Aren’t you being a little harsh?“ Simon asked, reaching the end of his rope with the man.

Sheridan glared at him. “If I want your advice, I’ll ask for it.”

Simon started forward, ready to teach Sheridan some manners, but Elizabeth put her hand on his arm to stop him.
 

“He was just being kind. I don’t—” Louise started, but one sharp look from her husband shut her up.
 

She looked like the beaten wife Simon feared she was. She kept her eyes down, but she did pull the girl away from him.
 

“We’ll just go back to the rooms, all right? Play a game?”

Emily nodded. Louise gave Simon and Elizabeth a grateful and apologetic smile as she took her daughter’s hand and started down the deck, Miss McBride following close behind.

Sheridan lingered for a moment, ready for a fight if Simon wanted one. He did, very much, but he doubted knocking out a few teeth would do much to improve Sheridan’s disposition, no matter how satisfying it might be.

Finally, Sheridan seemed content that he’d won. “Cross.”

He inclined his head toward Elizabeth before turning and walking away down the promenade.

“You should have let me hit him,” Simon said.

“It would just make things worse than they already are.”

It was beyond Simon’s comprehension that a man could behave that way toward his wife and daughter. His daughter. Just the word sent a wave of emotion coursing through him. He would have his own daughter soon.
 

He didn’t need an ultrasound to know it would be a girl. He just knew. And he knew he would never make her feel the way Emily did today—unloved.

“Some people shouldn’t have children,” he said.

Elizabeth wound her arm through his and smiled up at him. “And some should.”
 

“A
ND
HE
SAID
,
A
woman’s name should appear in the newspaper only under three conditions.”

Margaret Brown had the attention of every person at the dinner table when she told one of her stories, and now was no exception.
 

“At her birth, upon her marriage, and at her death. I tend to disagree.”

“You ran for office, did you not?” Dr. Hass asked.

“For senate. I did. And I must say that if women had the right to vote nationally as they do in the great state of Colorado, you gentlemen wouldn’t have all the elections sewed up tight as a tick.”

“You are an amazing woman,” the doctor said.

She turned to smile at Hass. “We’re all amazing, Doctor.”

He raised his glass to that and everyone else followed suit. Elizabeth was only drinking water, but she lifted her glass along with the others.

“That’s bad luck, you know,” Kimball said. “Toasting with water.”

Elizabeth had heard that but it seemed silly.

“It has something to with mythology,” Niels added.
 

“Greek,” Simon said, “some believe.” He raised his eyebrows and then frowned. “The dead would drink from the River Lethe in Hades and forget their lives above. Supposedly, it consigns the subject of the toast to a watery grave.”

Elizabeth felt a chill and put her glass down. Not that she believed that stuff, but better to be safe than sorry.

“Don’t you worry about it, honey,” Margaret said. “Take a lot more than one little old glass of water to sink me.”

Elizabeth laughed, as did the others, but the chill persisted. Leave it to her to make that gaffe on the
Titanic
of all places.

Kimball checked his watch. “Looks like it’s just about time for Sergei’s. We’re all going, aren’t we?”

Tonight was Katarov’s after dinner cocktail party. He’d somehow managed to convince the staff to let him take over most of the First Class lounge for it.

Kimball caught Simon’s eye. “Your invitation should have been delivered this morning. I spoke to Sergei about it this morning.”

An embarrassed steward had delivered it earlier that day. Simon nodded and tapped his breast pocket where he’d stashed the invitation.

“Shall we all walk up together?” the doctor suggested.

Margaret put her napkin down on the table. “Wouldn’t miss it.”

Niels stood and pulled out Margaret’s chair for her. She wound her arm through his.

Across the room, Edmund saw them leaving and, with a quick nod, set off to follow.

Simon helped Elizabeth up and frowned down at her. “Don’t tell me you’re actually worried about that nonsense.”

“If it were anywhere else.”

“It would still be complete rubbish.”

“So,” Kimball said, insinuating himself into their conversation. “How do you know about this mythology stuff?”

Simon looked at him with one raised eyebrow. “They’re called books.”

Kimball didn’t see the insult and laughed. “Right. Very good. But I mean, really. You study it or something?”

“Something like that.”

“You know, I met a professor today and he said that
Titanic
, the name, it’s from this race of gods that ruled the world before man. Crazy, right?”

“Technically, the Titans ruled the world before the Olympian gods.”

Kimball laughed. “You sound just like him. You gotta meet him.”

He scanned the room and called out, “Professor!” to an elderly white-haired gentleman.

Simon looked at Elizabeth for help, but she was enjoying his discomfort. “I’ll catch up. You go ahead.”

Simon’s look promised retribution as he was dragged across the room by Kimball. That left Elizabeth alone with Antonio and the countess, who looked a little more pinched than usual.

Antonio leaned down to listen to something she said and then nodded. “Yes, of course.”

“Is something wrong?”

He nodded. “Lady Trauttmansdorff is just tired. Needs to rest.”

The countess muttered something Elizabeth couldn’t hear.

“Rest,” he said again. “
Schlaf
.”

She shook her head. “
Luft
.”

He summoned a steward who brought over a wheelchair for her.
 

Antonio frowned. “She wants to take the air. I tell her it’s too cold, that she must rest, and she defies me.”

He looked down at the old woman fondly. Theirs was an odd relationship.

When the steward arrived with the chair, he helped the countess into it. Elizabeth took her other arm and together they got the older woman situated.

“Thank you,” he said and then put a blanket across the countess’ lap.

He eased the woman’s chair around. “We are heading up to A Deck, as are you. We can go together?”
 

Remembering what Simon had said earlier about keeping a closer eye on him, Elizabeth didn’t want to miss an opportunity.
 

“All right.”

He wheeled the countess out of the dining saloon and through the reception room toward the bank of elevators on the backside of the grand staircase.
 

Elizabeth doubted Antonio was the sort to murder someone. He was the classic “lover not a fighter” type, but Simon had made a fuss about the countess’ allegiance to her country. Maybe there was something there.
 

The three elevators were as elegant and elaborate as the rest of the great ship. Three cars sat behind intricate grilled gates. Lavish woodwork framed each with carved pilasters on either side and a detailed pediment above. A column of illuminated panels showed where each car was.

Theirs arrived and the attendant opened the interior gate, then the outer. Antonio wheeled the countess inside. With the lounging sofa at the back, there was barely room for all of them.

Elizabeth squeezed in and pressed up against Antonio when the operator moved past her to close the gates.
 

“Sorry,” she said.

He smiled down at her, amused and pleased. Somehow she knew Simon would be neither. She edged away from him as far as she could.

“A Deck, please,” Antonio said.

There was no buttoned panel inside. Instead, the operator rotated a lever inside a round brass metal casing. Left was up and right was down. How he stopped it, Elizabeth had no idea.

“Any luck with the stolen jewels?” she asked, hoping to distract Antonio from wherever his mind had gone.

“No, but Lady Trauttmansdorff is well insured. I assume you are as well?”

She wasn’t, but it wasn’t the jewelry she missed. “Of course,” she lied. “But some pieces … there was a key, not worth anything really, but … sentimental value.”

He frowned and nodded. “Yes, I understand.”

The ride was surprisingly smooth. She’d expected it to creak and lurch, but it didn’t. Before she knew it, they came to a stop with a slight bump. She was pressed up against Antonio again as the operator moved to open the double gates. She stepped out quickly and he followed.

She opened the door to the deck and Antonio wheeled the countess out. He positioned her near some of the wooden deck chairs and set the brake.
 

Elizabeth waited by the railing. Once he’d finished, he joined her.
 

“Beautiful.”

It was. And strange. On a clear night, like it was now, the stars weren’t just in the sky above, but all around them. They weren’t lost in the lights of the city as they were at home. Here, stars covered the entire sky all the way down to the horizon in a sparkling dome.

Elizabeth felt Antonio move a little closer and she eased away, making it look like she was admiring the view, which wasn’t hard.

“How did you meet the countess?” she asked.

He glanced over at her. “A mutual friend.”

“And you live in Vienna? Is that right?” She’d heard as much from Mrs. Eldsworth.

He smiled, pleased. “Some of the time. You have been making inquiries?”

“No, I was just—”

He moved a little closer. “Curious. About me?”

It took her a moment to understand what he meant. “No, not like that.”

“Are you sure? I’ve heard Englishmen are selfish lovers, are they not?”

“I’m very happily married.”

“Many of the women I know are. But satisfied …?”

“I really don’t think we should talk about that.”

“We don’t have to talk at all.”

Here she’d thought she was going to be clever and examine him for clues and he had a very different sort of examination in mind. It was clear he hadn’t taken her earlier rebuff seriously. To him, it had simply been foreplay.

She glared at him now. “I think we do. I’m very happily married. You shouldn’t have sent the flowers. I don’t know what you think is going on, but it’s not going on.”

She moved her hand in a circle to encompass the space between them. “There’s no here … here.”

He tilted his head to the side. “I do not understand.”

“This,” she gestured to the space between them again, putting a little extra in for emphasis, “isn’t. I’m not in the market for a … paid companion.”

“Ah,” he said, smiling. “No, no, I did not mean that. Forgive me if you have misunderstood. What I am saying is, I would make love to you just for the pleasure it would bring me.”

There was a short moment where Elizabeth could only stare at him, not sure she’d heard correctly. But something in his smile assured her she had.
 

“Ooookay.” She shook her head and took a step away. “That’s not going to happen.”

He pulled back surprised. “Really?”

“Really.”

“You’re sure?”

She nodded slowly.

He frowned. “You are declining my offer?”

Elizabeth shrugged. “There’s a first time for everything.”

He laughed. “It’s not my first time, but perhaps my most regretful.”

She was skeptical. “Really?”

“Yes. I find that I actually like you.”

“And you don’t like most of them? What a horrible way to live.”

He shrugged. “Always a lover, but never loved, I’m afraid.”

His tone was light, but there was a hint of sadness in his expression. A hint of truth. Despite his advances, Elizabeth wanted to reassure him, but what could she say?
 

“There must be someone.”

“There is always someone, but I am weak. How else can a man such as myself afford such elegance?”

The countess gave a loud snorting snore then and they both laughed.

“I should take her to her room,” he said.

“And I should go join my husband.”

He nodded. “Tell him he is a very lucky man.”

She smiled. “I’m the lucky one.”