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“Mummy!” Ruth yelled, rushing into her mother’s arms just as soon as Meg had the door open, despite the fact that Baby Lizzy was sleeping, as were her parents.

“Shhh!” Kelly scolded, still smiling at her little one as she flung her small body into her arms. “We mustn’t be so loud when Baby Lizzy is asleep,” she reminded.

“Sorry!” Ruth whispered sharply, almost as loudly as her normal volume. “Guess who I met!”

Meg took a deep breath and tossed herself onto her bunk. The furniture in the room was sparse, and there wasn’t much space between the five occupants. Daniel was snoring on the top bunk above where Lizzy and Kelly were sleeping, and Ruth had the bunk above Meg. Though she had been tempted to ease back out the door, she knew this conversation was inevitable, and she may as well get it over with.

“Who did you meet?” Kelly asked as Ruth climbed into the crowded bed atop her mother.

“Uncle Charlie,” she whispered, her hands on either side of her mouth. “And he helped me look for dawfins. We didn’t see any, though.”

Kelly looked from Ruth to Meg, puzzled. Meg was staring at the underside of the top bunk again, avoiding eye contact. “Uncle Charlie?” Kelly repeated. “Who is Uncle Charlie?”

“I told you,” Ruth sighed over-dramatically. “He is my friend. We looked for dawfins. Then, Aunt Meg came, and he gave me back.”

“What’s that?” Kelly asked, clearly alarmed. “He gave you… back?”

“I’m sorry,” Meg offered, rolling over to look at her friend, her head propped on her hand. “She just got away from me for a second. She’s fine, though. She’s perfectly fine.”

Again, Kelly’s eyes darted from Meg to Ruth and back again, finally coming to rest on her daughter’s face. “Now, Ruthy,” she began, taking her small hands in her larger ones, “you know how important it is never to run off, especially in a strange place. You could have gotten lost.”

“Yes, Mummy,” Ruth replied, her eyes downcast.

“What if this Charlie person had been a bad man? What if he would have hurt you?”

“No, Mummy, he isn’t,” Ruth insisted.

“How would you know?” Kelly questioned.

“I knew,” Ruth replied. “As soon as I saw Uncle Charlie, I knew he was kind. And he is, Mummy. You’ll see.”

“And why are you calling this man you just met Uncle Charlie?” Kelly inquired.

Ruth shrugged and then leaned over to rest her head on her mother’s neck, suddenly very tired from her excursions. “I’m sorry I scared you, Mummy. I love you.”

“I love you, too, my angel,” Kelly assured her, lovingly stroking her hair. “If anything ever happened to you, I don’t know what I’d do. You and Lizzy are my everything.”

Meg felt a tear trickling down her face. “I’m so sorry, Kelly,” she whispered, knowing Ruth was falling asleep.

Kelly offered a smile, which Meg realized meant she was forgiven, even though the fear of speaking and waking slumbering children prevented the words from being said. Nevertheless, Meg vowed to make sure that Kelly’s daughters were always safe. As long as she was breathing, she would protect those girls.

“Are you absolutely certain?” Kelly asked as she and Meg sat on a bench near the Third Class Dining Hall.

“I think I would know,” Meg assured her. Third Class dining was nothing like the events she was used to, and she could only imagine what Charlie and the rest of the socialites were preparing for in First Class aboard such a majestic vessel. Though dinner would start promptly at six o’clock, First Class dinners could last for hours, whereas Third Class could dine early and return to their chambers with sleeping children, as Daniel had, or stroll around the deck, as several other families were doing now. First Class diners would be up half the night pretending to be well-versed on topics of the day in order to impress each other. Though some Third Class passengers might be up partying until the wee hours of the morning, most of them would be asleep early, used to long days of hard work.

“But why would Charles Ashton be on the Third Class promenade? And of all people, why would my daughter run to him?” Kelly continued.

Meg shook her head. “I don’t know, Kelly,” she replied. “But I saw him two days ago outside of my house. I know what he looks like. And, unlike my mother, his parents constantly sent updated photographs. I’m quite certain it was him—especially since he told both of us his name is Charlie.”

Kelly continued to play devil’s advocate. “You saw him out your bedroom window, two floors up, peering through drawn shades.”

“He looked right at me,” Meg insisted. “I’d recognize those eyes anywhere. Even though he couldn’t see me, I certainly saw him.”

“But he didn’t recognize you?” Kelly clarified.

“No,” Meg stated, pulling the shawl she had borrowed from Kelly tighter around her shoulders. Though she wasn’t quite used to wearing these less restrictive clothes, she was very happy not to be completely cinched up in a tight corset and a formal gown.

Kelly continued to shake her head in disbelief. “It’s all so peculiar,” she said. “Did he ask your name?”

“No,” Meg replied. “But his valet did. At least I think he was his valet. He said he was his friend. Anyway, no, Charlie didn’t ask.” She was temporarily distracted by the memory of that inquisitive expression Jonathan had plastered on his face, one that made her feel as if he was somehow on to her little charade.

“But what did you say when this other fellow asked?”

“Ruth answered for me,” Meg explained. “She said I was ‘Aunty Meg,’ and then we walked away.”

“Do you think he’ll put two and two together?” Kelly inquired.

Meg had been pondering that same question for hours. Ultimately, however, did it really matter? “I’m not sure,” she admitted. “But I don’t think so. The thing is, if he didn’t recognize me when I was standing right in front of him, that means the photographs he’s received of me are so old, I no longer look like Mary Margaret Westmoreland to him. So, he would never suspect that I’m me. And he has no reason to think that a Third Class Steerage passenger would be me anyway. Does that make sense?”

“Yes, although you’re not explaining it well,” Kelly chided.

Meg gave her a slight shove. “Chances are I won’t run into him again. I’m more worried that other First Class passengers, ones that have seen me at social events more regularly and recently, might recognize me. Those are the passengers I need to be leeriest of.”

“Such as Lady Duff Gordon?” Kelly asked.

“Precisely, as well as the Strauses. They knew Father through the industry for a long time, and I’m fairly certain they would recognize me. As would Madeline Astor, for certain.”

Kelly nodded. “All right. That shouldn’t be too much of a problem. It’s not like you’ll be attending dinner in the First Class Banquet Hall.”

“Heavens no,” Meg agreed. “That is certainly not going to happen.”

“With any luck, we’ll arrive in New York without seeing Uncle Charlie again, as well,” Kelly added.

“Yes,” Meg nodded. “We’d be very lucky never to see Charles Ashton again.” If only her heart agreed with the words coming out of her mouth. Despite everything, actually meeting Charlie in person had raised questions she had never even considered before. What if her parents really did know best? What if everything she had been fighting against for all of these years really was how her life was supposed to be? Meg pushed those thoughts aside. It didn’t matter anymore. Her mother and her uncle had ruined any chances she had ever had of being a proper wife. The choices she had made after that may have cemented the damage they had already done, but it had begun there. And she knew she truly couldn’t blame herself for their sins, though every time she closed her eyes that is precisely what she did. Ultimately, she didn’t deserve Charles Ashton, and she knew it. It may have taken him a bit longer to figure it out, but the fact that he was here, and not in a Southampton hotel room waiting for her to reappear, assured her that he had drawn the same conclusion. He was certainly better off without her in his life.

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