BETWEEN TWO HEARTS
Chapter Three
"Okay…Siobhan…" The
woman looked up from her food and looked questioningly at Harold. "From a
First Class woman’s point of view…if you have two single men that you can
choose for a husband that are completely different, which one would you choose?
The first one has a wonderful personality that allows him to befriend anyone of
his choosing. He’s attractive, and yet he only dreams as having as much money
as…say, the Astors. The second one has enough money to rival the Astors and the
Strausses, is fair in his looks, but only mingles with those of his money
status. Which one would you choose?"
Siobhan took another mouthful of
her food--which was quite different from that served in the First Class dining
room--and looked over at him. "That’s easy," she said after she
finished it. "The one with money. After all, that’s what the First Class
woman looks for."
She didn’t notice it, but the
Fifth Officer’s demeanor changed. He was hoping that he would have a chance
with her. She didn’t seem like the kind of woman who would judge a man…or even
a person by their money. Everyone was her equal in her eyes, and he liked that
in her. He turned his attention turned to the food sitting in front of him, not
wanting to press the subject further.
Mr. Moody felt it appropriate to
disbelieve it, though.
"The man with money?"
"Of course, sir. But…Harold
did ask for a First Class woman’s opinion. Not mine."
He looked up at her and noticed
that she was looking over to him. "If you wanted the opinion of Siobhan
Andrews as a person, I’d say that I’d go for the man who has the wonderful
personality. There is nothing worse, in my opinion, than being married to
someone who does not accept the world for what it is." She took one last
bite of her food before she stood up with her plate. "Please pardon my
sudden exit. Thank you two for inviting me down here, but I must get back up to
my uncle. You see, if I am gone too long he’ll fear that I’ve fallen overboard
and will send people after me."
"Yes. In a way, that does
sound like Mr. Andrews," Moody said with a smile. "Do us all a favor,
Siobhan…try to make him realize that there is more to this voyage than finding
imperfections. Get him to loosen up and enjoy his time."
The woman laughed. "Mr.
Moody, if I knew how to do that, I would have done it from the first day."
With that comment, she bid the two good-bye and left the room, heading back up
top.
The two officers were quiet for a
few minutes before they started to talk again, the conversation initiated by
Moody. "You’ve got eyes for her."
Lowe nearly choked on his food
when he said that. "What?"
"You heard me, Harry. And I
don’t blame you--she is a beautiful woman. I knew you liked her, or else I
would be actively pursuing her by now."
He could see his friend’s
shoulders slump, as if he was trying to hide something but was found out.
"Is it really that obvious?"
"I don’t think she’s noticed
it, but myself and the others have certainly noticed a change in your demeanor
when you’re around her." He saw his friend grin sheepishly and turn back
to his food. "Harry, when are you going to tell her how you feel?"
"I don’t know," he
said. "What if she’s got eyes for someone else? Or what if she feels that
I’m not good enough for her?"
"You’ve got to calm down.
Talk to her and tell her how you feel…I’m sure that if she knows how you feel
then all of this can be taken care of. Maybe you will be lucky enough that she
shares your feelings, but for you…"
"You’re right." He
looked over at the clock, standing up. "I can’t talk to her now. I’ve got
to go meet Bride--we’re going to see if we can find those damned binoculars for
the lookouts. Maybe afterwards I’ll talk to her. Hey, I’ll see you later,
okay?"
"All right. Have fun."
"Ha…always." With that,
the older officer left the hall. Moody sighed, knowing that it wasn’t likely
that his friend would talk to her if he didn’t do it right away. Lowe was
twenty-nine and still single.
He knew that if Lowe caught wind
of what was going to happen, he would be angry at him and he could possibly
lose the friendship that they had managed to build over the last few weeks. He
picked up his things, threw away his garbage, and went to go find her. They
needed to talk.
*****
Thomas Andrews looked up from his
blueprints when there was a knock on the door. "Who is it?"
"It’s me."
He got up and went over to let
his niece into the room. "Hello," he said, opening the door. She
stepped inside and shut it behind her. "Are you enjoying the voyage so
far, my dear?"
She nodded.
"Excellent," her uncle continued. "Would you be willing to
accompany me down to the Third Class tomorrow afternoon? I’d most certainly
want your opinions on this, too."
"Yes, Uncle Thomas. You
needn’t be so obsessed with the comfort of the voyage. Enjoy it yourself,
too."
"Ah…if only it could be that
simple, Siobhan. You see, there is still another ship to be built. As of right
now, we’re calling it the Gigantic. The Titanic is the last chance for us to
get these imperfections right. If we get the vast majority of these corrected
by the time we finish the third, then Gigantic will be, literally, the best
ship in the world."
"I see…" Siobhan sat
down in her uncle’s armchair, pulling up her legs and leaning back into the
fabric. The best ship in the world, eh? she mused. I wonder if Harold
would want to try to obtain a job as a senior officer on her. Maybe I can get a
ticket for the maiden voyage on that ship, too. Then we could sail together.
"Okay…who is it?"
She looked up to her uncle, who,
in turn, was grinning down at her. "I don’t know what you’re talking
about."
"I know that look, Siobhan.
I haven’t seen that look since the little Conway boy when you two were about
fifteen. Who is the lucky one? Who have you met on the ship?"
"Uncle Thomas…" She had
an exasperated tone in her voice as she tried to protest the prying that was
being done.
"Siobhan, if you are worried
about what I will think, I don’t want you to worry. If you are happy with the
choice you have made, then that is all Helen and I care about." He set
down his pencil and turned to her. "Who is it?"
"It’s Harold, Uncle
Thomas."
"Harold Lowe? The Titanic’s
Fifth Officer?" It seemed that he was surprised to hear this.
She nodded her head. He was
silent for a few minutes, trying to let everything soak in, but a smile grew
onto his face. "Siobhan, I am proud of you. Lowe is a wonderful man and he
fully deserves you. Next time I see him, remind me to offer my
congratulations."
"Well, he kind of doesn’t
know how I feel…"
"You mean you haven’t told
him yet?"
She shook her head. "I don’t
know what to do…what if there is someone waiting for him back in England? What
if he doesn’t think the same about me?"
They both heard a knock on the
door. "I’m sure an answer will come along," he said while moving
towards it. Opening it, he saw Moody standing there.
"Hello, Mr. Andrews. Is Miss
Andrews with you?"
"Um…yes…" He turned and
stepped off to the side. She stood up and saw that Moody was standing there.
She got up and walked over to join the two men.
"Miss Andrews, I need to
talk to you. Do you mind if we go for a walk?"
"No."
She began to step outside, but
was stopped by her uncle. "Is this him?" he asked quietly.
As she shook her head, she walked
out of the room and turned to Moody. "Let’s go out onto the promenade. We
can talk there." With that said, the two walked towards the door.
*****
The A-Deck promenade acted as a
wind tunnel for those people who were out on it that afternoon. Moody had to
hold the door open for the woman, and it slammed shut behind him as he went
through.
She looked back at it and smiled.
"Uncle Thomas would have a fit if that door broke."
"I would certainly think
so," he said as the two moved over to the railing. Siobhan leaned out over
the railing and turned her face towards the wind as her red hair blew back
behind her. She almost felt like flying…but a hand on her shoulder brought her
back to reality. "Miss Andrews, this is a rather serious matter."
"Okay," she said.
"I apologize--I have just wanted to do that since we left Southampton, but
I knew my uncle would have a fit if I did. Anyway, what’s so important that you
had to seek me out at my uncle’s room? Is something the matter?"
"It’s about Harold."
She sharply turned to the Sixth
Officer and looked him in the eye. "What about him?"
"Okay. I just want to make
it clear that whatever you hear right now did not come from me." She
nodded. "Okay. Harold seems to…he…well, he seems to have developed eyes
for you."
She was silent for a few minutes,
trying to comprehend the words that he had told her. "Miss Andrews?"
"He has eyes for me? Why
didn’t he even mention it?"
"He was afraid that if you
didn’t share the feelings he had, he would be made a fool. He’s twenty-nine and
still single. Please believe me when I say that his demeanor does change when
he’s around you. The other officers and I have most certainly noticed it."
She giggled to herself.
"That’s funny…"
"What?"
"I was just having the same
conversation with my uncle. It was something that I questioned for awhile, but
I’ve long since realized that, as you said, I share in his feelings."
"Now, he does need to know
this…the only question is how you’re going to tell him."
"I have an idea. Tomorrow my
uncle and I are going down to the Third Class to take notes on improvements.
Tomorrow night, there will be a party in the Third Class dining hall. See if
you can get him to go down with you. I’ll talk to him then and let him know how
I feel, since it’s obvious that he’s not going to do it."
"Okay."
Not a moment too soon, he heard
someone call his name from farther down the promenade. "It’s Harry…he’s
patrolling the ship. Get out of here! Quickly!" He turned around and saw his
friend coming towards him.
"Hey, Jimmy. What are you
doing out here? I’m almost done with my watch and you’re not even ready
yet."
Moody turned towards the sea and,
out of the corner of his eye, saw that Siobhan had disappeared--and without
Harold’s notice, he presumed. "Just taking in the sea air, Harry."
"Come on. I’m going back up
top. Would you like to come with me?"
"Sure." The two started
to walk back towards the bow. "Hey, Harry. Did you hear that there is a
party down in the Third Class area tomorrow night?"