SHIP OF DREAMS
Chapter Nine

"Good morning, Anne." Megan entered the stateroom with a cheerful smile. Anne had asked her to address her by her first name. Or rather, her middle name.

"Good morning, Megan." Anne smiled, though it was a bit forced. She had slept for no more than four hours all night.

"Late evening?" Megan asked, looking for a dress for Anne.

"Mmm-hmm." Anne groggily rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"I take it you’re friends with Mr. Murdoch again?" Megan asked, her back to Anne and her voice muffled.

"Do you really need to ask?" Anne genuinely laughed, rising from the bed.

"No." Megan grinned. She held up a long-sleeved pink gown with a thick white sash around the waist. "Will this do?"

"Perfectly," Anne replied.

Soon after, Anne left her stateroom. She went to the library for a few hours, where she finally finished reading Jane Eyre. If only my life could end up like Jane’s did. I suppose we already share the beginning. Afterwards, she lunched in the Palm Court with Rose, who couldn’t stop talking about Mr. Dawson. Or, as she now called him, Jack.

"You should meet him. Will you come to dinner this evening?" Rose asked.

"No," Anne replied with a shake of her head. "Absolutely not. I suppose Jack would take some of the pressure away, but still."

"All right." Rose sighed. "I understand. Perhaps I’ll come find you after dinner. Really, I must introduce you to him."

"He sounds pleasant enough." Anne took a sip of her tea.

"Well, I suppose it depends on your definition of pleasant." Rose laughed. "Mother looked ready to tear him to bits when she heard about him!"

"Yes, well, she always looks like that," Anne tersely added, then immediately apologized. "I never did learn how to hold my tongue."

"Well, if you did, you’d be like the others." Rose smiled. "Don’t worry about it. After what they said to you last night...well!"

"Speaking of Mr. Dawson, where is he?" Anne looked around. "I assumed you would be with him."

"Well, I’m going to meet him later today to talk with him. He’ll be coming to dinner later. Oh, I already said that. Anyway, I’d better be going. I don’t want him to think I’ve forgotten about him. I’ll see you later, then." Rose smiled. She gave her stepsister’s hand a reassuring squeeze, then rose from the table.

Anne remained at the table. She stared blankly at the wall opposite her. I love him. Well, perhaps love is too strong of a word, but I really do...enjoy his company. He’s the kind of man that I would have liked to have courted, that I would have liked to have danced with. He’s the kind of man that I’d like to court and dance with now. What am I thinking? Anne, you’ve gone too far. He’s an officer. You’re a tutor. Your classes are not meant to mix. Just as Rose and Jack are not meant to be together and mix. Nothing good will come from either relationship. You should probably just stop it right now before it goes too far...but it already has. You’re wearing the shawl he bought for you, aren’t you? The one he purchased with his own money? You’re only setting yourself up for heartbreak when we arrive in New York. This is bad, Anne. Bad, bad, bad. Slowly, she rose from the table and left the restaurant.

The rest of the morning and afternoon passed rather slowly for Anne, who found herself with nothing to do. She wandered around the ship and became increasingly familiar with her surroundings. She saw Rose and Jack from a distance, but did not bother to approach them. Finally, the time came for dinner, and Anne returned to her stateroom. She would not endure dinner with them, and she could not dine with the crew any longer. And so, Anne spent six o’clock to 7:30 Saturday evening confined to her room.

Afterwards, she went in search of Rose. Anne found her with Jack at the top landing of the grand staircase, near the clock surrounded by honor and glory crowning time. Rose immediately saw her and waved her over to them.

"Elizabeth, I mean Anne, this is Jack Dawson, the man who saved my life. Jack, this is my stepsister, Anne Stewart." Rose smiled proudly.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you." Jack lightly kissed the backs of Anne’s fingers, which made Rose giggle.

"The pleasure is mine." Anne smiled.

"Now, I was going to take Rose down to a party. Care to join us?" Jack asked.

"Oh, I don’t know. I don’t want to impose, and—" Anne shook her head.

"You’re not imposing." Jack grinned and took Anne’s hand before she could protest. "Come on."

A few minutes later, Anne found herself in the third class general room. There was a raised platform in the center, and several tables were scattered throughout. The atmosphere was a bit hazy and smoky, and Celtic music played above the continual din of talk. The entire room smelled of beer, sweat, and smoke. As Jack led Rose through the crowds, Anne hesitantly followed. She couldn’t understand half of the languages she heard, but of course so many were shouted that she probably heard English more than she thought, but couldn’t understand it among the others. Anne felt rather out of place. She didn’t quite belong with first class, but neither did she belong with third. Rose, however, seemed to fit right in with everyone else. Anne searched the room for someone she might know, but soon gave up. This was third class. She hardly knew anyone in first class, let alone third.

"Anne!" Rose grinned and waved her stepsister over. She smacked her hand across the table, motioning to a chair across from her. "Come on!"

"What?" Anne teased, yelling loudly. Above the bagpipes, Irish flutes, spoons, singing, dancing, and talking, their small voices were drowned out. She smiled.

The two women watched Jack dance with a beautiful little girl with dark hair and big brown eyes. Her father sat at the table beside them, and introduced himself as Bert Cartmell of Manchester.

"That’s my daughter, Cora. She’s five." Mr. Cartmell proudly beamed.

"She’s beautiful." Anne smiled as she and Rose clapped to the music.

Not long after, the song ended. Jack pulled Rose unwillingly to her feet to dance, but promised Cora that she’d always be his best girl. That brightened the little girl’s hopes, and Anne couldn’t help but smile. Then, she watched her stepsister and Jack awkwardly dance to a song they didn’t know. She laughed. Of course, I don’t know the dance, either.

"Care to dance?" Anne turned around at the sound of the voice.

"Mr. Murdoch!" Anne’s eyes widened.

"Come on." Murdoch offered Anne his hand. Not in full uniform, he wore a white shirt and dark pants with his usual perfectly shined shoes.

"I-I can’t." Anne vehemently shook her head. "I don’t know the dance!"

"I do." Murdoch pulled her to her feet. "I’ll teach you."

Anne glanced nervously up at Murdoch. However, the man seemed completely knowledgeable about what he was doing, and so Anne trustingly put one hand on his shoulder as he took the other with his. He nodded to her, as though asking permission to start. She exhaled with a rush of air, then nodded in return.

An instant later, Murdoch was twirling Anne around the room. "Loosen up!" He grinned. He felt her muscles relax a little against him when he pulled her close, and smiled. She’s a fast learner. He had to show her the steps but once, and soon they were dancing around the room.

Anne glanced up at Murdoch. Her entire face seemed aglow with happiness. The rest of the room seemed to fade away, until she was alone with Murdoch in the room, dancing happily. He’s a good dancer.

The song ended, and they both found themselves wishing that it hadn’t. However, Murdoch noted that Anne seemed a bit tired, no doubt from her lack of sleep the previous night, and the two found an empty table to sit down at.

"I’ve never danced like that before," Anne admitted as she envisioned the opulent balls at Barclay, where more gossiping than dancing had taken place.

"Well, you’re quite good at it." Murdoch smiled.

"Thank you." Anne blushed slightly. "So, you’re down here dancing when you should be resting. Why did you come down here?"

"A fiery young redhead sought me out today. She said I should try to find a certain shy first class passenger. Then the man who saved her approached me a bit later and told me where they’d all be." Murdoch smiled as he leaned closer to be heard above the crowd. "So, here I am."

Anne moved her chair around the table closer to Murdoch, who did the same. Soon, they were sitting side by side. If anyone had peered under the table, they would have seen that the two were holding hands. Above the table, they simply appeared to be happily enjoying one another’s company.

"Hi!" Jack grinned and sat down with Rose across from them. He reached across the table to shake Murdoch’s hand. "Jack Dawson."

"Nice to meet you. Will Murdoch." Murdoch smiled with a nod of his head.

"Mr. Murdoch, this is my stepsister, Rose DeWitt Bukater." Anne motioned to her stepsister. "Rose, this is First Officer Murdoch."

"Call me Will!" Murdoch shouted above the noise.

"Pleased to meet you!" Rose laughed. Then, she turned to Anne. "I thought you didn’t have any suitors!"

Anne’s mouth dropped open wide. Rose had to speak loudly to be heard above the noise, but Anne was certain the officers on the bridge could have heard Rose’s last statement. Rose was clearly pleased with herself. "Well..."

Rose started to laugh, however, and the comment was forgotten. The four leaned in close over the table to hear one another better, and talked off and on throughout the evening when they weren’t dancing.

Anne and Murdoch danced several times that evening. However, the crew finally turned out the lights in the public rooms, and the party dispersed. Anne and Murdoch waved good-bye to Rose and Jack, who disappeared elsewhere a moment later.

"You look tired," Anne observed as they walked down a passage.

"A little," Murdoch replied, still holding Anne’s hand.

"Well, let’s go to bed, then. We still have three more days before we dock in New York," Anne reminded him.

"Yes, but I have to spend a great deal of them on the bridge," Murdoch replied.

"Still, I’d rather know that you can spot an iceberg before we hit it rather than deem it some figment of your imagination due to lack of sleep," Anne somewhat pleadingly said, as they continued up stairs and down corridors. She wasn’t quite certain where they were going; they had passed the officers’ quarters a while ago. She stopped. "You would tell me if there were icebergs, wouldn’t you?"

"Of course," Murdoch said, after a moment’s hesitation.

Anne nodded. No, he wouldn’t. But can I really blame him for that? I don’t think I would want to tell someone our fate is a bit precarious. She faintly smiled. "Good."

"I’d better get some sleep," Murdoch quietly said in the silence that followed. He glanced at his pocket watch. "Actually, I’m supposed to be on the bridge right now!"

"Yes, I should go, too. Good night," Anne whispered. She half wanted him to kiss her good night as she’d seen happen at parties and balls. The handsome suitor gave his girl a slight peck on the cheek. However, in some cases, it was more than just a peck. But she closed the door and went to bed.

Chapter Ten
Stories