THE SHIP OF DREAMS
Chapter Thirteen

Mac and Anastasia immediately began giggling, once they were out of earshot, and looked at Jack, who was reaching into his pocket for his handkerchief. They had survived the long meal with flying colors, and could rest easy for the rest of the voyage…or so they hoped.

"Papa, you were wonderful," Mac praised, giving him a tight hug.

"Lucky game of poker?" Anastasia teased. "Where on Earth did you come up with a lie like that?"

Jack smiled at her as he blew his nose. He really was starting to feel terrible…his head was heavy, his throat was sore from this constant coughing and sneezing which he had luckily been able to keep at bay during the dinner. Plus, he felt a little dizzy and he could not seem to get properly warm. "I have no idea," he admitted, as they headed up to the Grand Staircase by the clock. He hoped Rose would come, though he also had every reason to think that she wouldn’t as well.

"Do you think she’ll be here?" Anastasia asked, clearly reading his mind as the girls stood on either side of him while they waited. Mac grimaced as she placed her hands on either side of her ribs, which were aching badly as the result of the dreadful posture corset. "I do wish we had time to change into more comfortable clothes for our party," she grumbled, leaning miserably against her father’s side. He put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head.

"Thank you so much for behaving, girls," he said, beaming. "I am very proud of the both of you." He gave Anastasia a kiss as well, making her blush a deep shade of crimson.

Mac nodded. "We would do anything for you, Papa."

Jack smiled. "I know."

Anastasia suddenly gasped and tugged on Jack’s sleeve, causing him to look up. Rose was timidly making her way towards them, holding up her gown a little so she would not trip on it. Jack grinned once she reached him, and she looked at both of the girls, smiling softly. "You two were wonderful tonight, I must tell you," she spoke fondly, and then looked at Jack. "Well, here I am, Mr. Dawson."

Jack laughed. "Yes, here you are. And I’m very glad you did come. Now…would you like to go to a real party?"

Rose cocked her head. "I beg your pardon?"

"Just follow us," Mac told her, taking her hand and leading her along, much to Jack’s amusement, and the group made their way down to the steerage section of the ship. In all of her life, Anastasia had never seen anything as exciting as an Irish party. The steerage salon was completely packed with people of all ages and genders. Some mothers were holding their babies in their arms and rocking to the music, while couples were up on the platform dancing to jigs. The room was very smoky, but no one seemed to mind that at all, and were just having a good time. Anastasia saw the band next…a group of five sitting on chairs and playing all sorts of odd instruments.

"Oh…my…" Rose gasped in amazement as she clutched Jack’s arm tightly. She certainly had not been expecting something like this.

Anastasia immediately wanted to jump in, thrilled that she was not to be in the shadow of her elder sisters as she usually was at palace dances, and could have all of the boys she wanted. The boys at the palace usually went for Tatiana first, who was considered the rare beauty of the imperial family. She barely gave Jack and Mac a second glance as she dove into the crowd, making them laugh as she leapt up onto the platform and started to try and dance the way the others were doing. Pretty soon she had several third class boys all around her, asking for a dance, and as Mac heard later on that night, she said yes to every single one of them.

"Can I dance with you, Papa?" Mac asked hopefully, looking at Rose for a moment. Jack chuckled.

"You don’t mind if I have a dance with my daughter, do you, Rose?" he asked, and Mac’s heart leapt as Rose grinned.

"Of course not, Jack. I’ll sit right here and watch." She took a seat at the nearest half-empty table. Jack was just about to take Mac’s hands when he heard a shout of joy and saw Cora coming towards him like a bullet at full speed. Mac stared as she watched Jack greet her cheerfully.

"Can I dance with you, Mr. Dawson?" Cora asked hopefully.

"Oh, my." Jack laughed. "I’m afraid I have a bit of competition at the moment…"

Mac scowled slightly. "But I promised Mac the first dance…and how about I dance with you on the next?"

Cora was satisfied with his answer, and smiled thoughtfully at Mac before she went to sit with Rose, and began talking with her. Jack knelt down so that he was eye level with Mac. "You’re not jealous, are you honey?" he asked, noticing the indifferent expression on her face. She shook her head.

"Why would I be jealous?" she asked coolly.

Jack sighed. "All right." He stood up and took her hands, beginning to lead her along to the bouncy music. Anastasia watched them from where she danced and was grinning as one of her partners twirled her around. Mac realized his hands were like ice, and she felt her stomach do a somersault.

"Papa, you should go to bed…" she told him after the dance ended. "Right now…"

"Mac…" Jack warned. "Honey, I’m all right…"

"What’s wrong?" Rose asked, noticing Mac’s terrified expression, and she stood up.

"Nothing, Rose…"

"Jack, are you telling us the truth?" Rose asked curiously, raising her eyebrows at him.

Mac was standing a few inches away from them. He looked the exact same way before he had fainted during the ball at the palace…his skin was pale and sweaty, and his hands cold. "Yes, Rose, I am. I have a cold, but I’ll be all right…" He gave Mac a look. "Honey, go and have a good time. I’ll come and find you when it’s time to go back." He gave her a little nudge and sent her on her way, and she went, though reluctantly.

She wasn’t really watching where she was going, because a moment or two later, "Oh!" She whacked right into someone, and stumbled back a few steps. Once she managed to steady herself, she looked up, and gasped. Standing in front of her was the boy she had seen following them from the train. He was wearing black slacks and a red silk shirt. He was handsome with dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and rosy cheeks. Mac stepped back, her eyes wide with shock, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything.

"I thought we’d eventually meet up with each other, Miss Dawson," he greeted in a thick Russian accent that made her shiver a little. She blinked in surprise.

"You know my name!" she gasped.

"Of course I know your name," he replied. "And I know who you’re traveling with."

Mac paled. "You couldn’t…"

"Don’t be afraid of me…I’m not going to hurt you."

"You’ve been following us all this time…"

The boy pulled her into one of the corners so that they could speak in private, though Mac struggled a little in his grasp, trying hard not to cry out. "Please, just hear me out…"

"What do you want?" Mac hissed.

The boy sighed. "Nothing. Only to keep your cousin safe." He kept his voice very low. "I work with the secret police for the Tsar…my name is Michael Cross…"

All of the color drained from Mac’s face at that point. "W-what?"

"I can’t tell you much…not here…um…" He searched around. "Ah…we can go out into the hall so that we won’t be overheard as easily." Michael motioned for her to follow him, when they ran into Callista and Sam.

"What do you think you’re doing?" Sam snapped.

Mac squeaked and hid behind Michael. "We bumped into each other," Michael explained. "I’m telling her who I am so she won’t be frightened of us anymore…"

"You are Jack Dawson’s daughter, aren’t you, miss?" Sam asked, and Mac nodded. "Ah, all right then. I suppose now you know why we’ve been following you for the past couple of days. My name is Sam Reise, and this is my partner, Callista Lee Ann Kyp Solo…come, we’ll go into the hall so we can explain further…"

Before Mac knew it, they had explained the entire situation for her. Each of the Grand Duchesses had secret police following them everywhere they went so that they were guaranteed safety on outings. "So we were sent to follow her on the Titanic," Callista told her, smiling.

"Oh," Mac told them with relief. "I thought you were going to try and hurt us…"

Sam snorted. "Good God, no. He’d hang us if we ever let something happen to either of his daughters…he trusts us the most of any of his secret police, which is why he chose us to go on the ship…"

"Wow," Mac breathed. She had certainly not expected to meet up with these people.

"But you must not let her know we are here," Michael told Mac. "You were not even supposed to know…it just sort of happened…"

Callista and Sam gave each other looks. Michael was such a bad liar. "All right, go on and have a dance…we’ll be hanging back there…" Sam pointed to the far wall of the room. "It was nice to have met you, then." He held out his hand and Mac shook it…his grip was firm but gentle enough, and she liked him. Michael looked at her, grinning. It was clear he had been trying to meet up with her all along, trying to make it look like an accident. She smiled at him, feeling her cheeks turn a bit red as she took his arm, walking back into the salon with him. Mac saw her father dancing with Rose around the platform, and Rose was laughing and trying not to fall over from the speed.

"Might I have this dance, then?" Michael asked politely, and Mac nodded. The only real boy she had spent time with was Alexei. They had spent all of the time in the world together, despite the fact that they had to be careful as Alexei had hemophilia. Hemophilia was a serious blood disease in which Alexei was missing a clotting factor, so he would bleed excessively if he ever cut himself. Mac had discovered him awkwardly, hearing him crying in the middle of the night, and her curiosity led her rolling into his bedroom, literally. She’d slipped on the carpet and rolled down one of the ramps that went to his door, which happened to be open at the time.

Mac watched curiously as Michael began to lead her in the fast-paced steps, and she realized that she had seen him around the palace.

"Wait!" Mac suddenly gasped, causing Michael to give her a strange look. "I’ve seen you before!"

He grinned. "Yes, you probably have…"

"We saw you when we tried to sneak into the kitchens…"

"Yes, I was their kitchen boy at one time…until I was promoted to secret police…"

Mac stared at him in disbelief. "How were you promoted from kitchen boy to this? You must have really known how to work…"

Michael shook his head. "I rescued Maria from a stray bullet once…"

"A bullet? Someone tried to shoot Maria?" Mac cried.

"Shh!" Michael hissed. "Not her directly, I don’t think…he was after another target at one of the balls…I saw the man aiming the gun in her direction and I leapt in front of the bullet about two feet from her head…" Mac gasped. "Hit me right in the shoulder…"

Mac grimaced. "Oh! That must have been painful…"

"You have no idea what pain feels like until you’ve been shot," he told her through gritted teeth.

Mac shook her head. "I suppose I haven’t…I’d like to see the hole sometime…"

Michael stared at her in surprise. "Most girls would refuse…"

Mac gave a huff. "Well, I’m not a…well, you know…"

He laughed. "Yes, I think I do…"

They continued dancing for a while, before eventually growing tired, and they went to sit down at an empty table by the wall. Mac glanced around for her father, but couldn’t find him at the moment, not that it mattered as much now where he was. He would by uncomfortable seeing her and Michael together, that was for sure. "Hey, Mac, I…oh…" Anastasia hurried towards their table and stopped short. "Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt…" she started to walk away, but Mac shook her head.

"No, wait. You can sit down," she promised. Michael was watching Mac with a curious expression on his face as Anastasia joined them, flushed and sweaty from having been dancing so much. As Mac continued dancing with Michael, she thought about how nice it would be to have another boy for a friend, and one without such an important status.

"Who’s this?" she asked, her eyes twinkling mischievously as she looked at Michael.

Mac thought for a moment, and then looked at her. "This is Michael…I just met him…"

Anastasia nodded. "Hello," she greeted, and Michael nodded back to her.

"Um…hi…"

She smiled. "Have you seen your father and Rose, Mac?"

"Not since I’ve been dancing with him…" Mac gave her a worried look.

"Well he said to tell you they’re sitting over by one of the tables there by the far door if you needed him…"

Mac sighed with relief. "All right…"

"This is fun!" Anastasia exclaimed. "I’ve never danced with so many boys in my life!" She looked towards the platform. "I’ll see you later…" She dashed away again. Michael and Mac looked at each other, each smirking and then they laughed. Eventually Michael went to get drinks for the two of them and brought them back. Mac began to feel more comfortable talking to him after a while, and he asked her what she thought of living at the palace.

"I liked it," Mac told him. "There were so many rooms that I could go into and explore…" Mac loved the libraries, which she would lock herself in for hours on end just sitting in the overstuffed chairs and reading. In the winter, the fireplace was lit, so the room was nice and toasty.

"Were you allowed in Alexandra’s mauve room?" Michael asked. As the kitchen boy, he had not had the same privileges as Mac, only able to stay in, obviously, the kitchen areas or his room in the basement. He had been allowed outdoors, but only during certain times of the day. It became boring after a while, which was why he was glad to become a member of the secret police force. The two kept their voices very low as they spoke about all of this, just to be careful not to arouse suspicion.

"Yes…she always invited me to sit with her. Sometimes we wouldn’t talk at all…she’d just lay on her sofa and knit and I’d sit and read…it was very nice, like having a mother…" Mac paused.

"You do not have a mother?" Michael asked in surprise.

"No…she died when I was born," Mac told him gravely.

"Oh, I’m sorry to hear that…"

"Yes, well, it’s not as if anything can be done about it…" Mac looked at him pleadingly, and he settled back on the topic of the palace. "I don’t think Olga or Tatiana liked me very much at the beginning…they were always teasing me, locking me into closets, that sort of thing…I don’t think they knew what to make of a peasant girl moving in and being treated just like them…Anastasia and I were kind of indifferent to each other at first, too…I punched her once, because she wouldn’t stop tormenting me…she knew not to do that again…"

Michael grinned. "Someone needed to show her who was boss…"

"Yes, though she certainly didn’t expect it to be me…" Mac grinned back.

"Oh, would you care to dance again?" Michael asked. "I’m not sure how long you will be allowed to stay, and time moves quickly…" He pushed his empty soda glass away, and stood up. Mac looked up at him and nodded, before standing up herself. A reel started to play, and the two of them danced in circles, Mac tripping over his feet every so often and vice versa. When the song ended, Mac glanced up at Michael, grinning.

"I think I’m going to go and find my father…I want to sit with him for a bit if you wouldn’t mind…unless you feel brave enough to come with me to meet him," she teased.

Michael shook his head. "Er…no…you go ahead. I’ll see you another time, I’m sure." He watched as she waved and scampered off, before taking a seat again. Mac pushed through groups of people—drunk and not—until she found her father sitting with Rose, Tommy, and two other men she did not recognize. Anastasia was still with her new crowd, so Mac came up behind her father and put her arms around his shoulders.

"Hey," he greeted. "Are you having fun?" He pulled her onto his lap and kissed the top of her head. Mac nodded, glancing at Rose, who was chatting with Tommy. They were certainly an interesting pair…Tommy with his thick Irish accent and Rose in her quiet, Philadelphian one. She really is pretty, Mac thought, as she watched her. It was too bad she was already engaged, or she would have been perfect for her father. "Good." Jack glanced at the two strangers and nodded towards them. "Olaus and Bjorn, honey. They’re from Sweden," he explained, and Mac watched as both of them looked at each other and then smiled at her. Rose turned back to Jack, and grinned when she noticed Mac sitting on his lap.

"Jack, she certainly is your daughter…she looks just like you."

Mac was always pleased when people said this. "Well, except her eyes…they came from her mother. And her cheekbones."

Rose chuckled. "Whenever I look at Coddie Anna I see so much of myself when I was that age that it’s frightening."

Jack laughed. "Speaking of Coddie Anna…I didn’t do anything to upset her, did I?" Jack asked. He remembered the way she acted during the dinner, how she had not said a single, solitary word all evening, and tried her best not to look at him. Rose looked down at her hands, a small blush creeping into her cheeks.

"Oh, Jack, it’s nothing you did. She’s…"

Jack raised his eyes, absentmindedly enveloping his own daughter’s hands in his. "Yes?" he asked, wondering why she paused.

"I think she’s afraid that you’re trying to take her father’s place…you know how it is…"

Jack nodded. "I understand…."

"So, Mac, who have you been hanging out with all this time?" Jack asked, noticing his daughter had suddenly grown fairly quiet. She jumped…her mind had been on another planet…that tended to happen sometimes. Especially when she sat in church when the sermon was all in Russian…she had actually dozed off once, nearly knocking Olga off of the bench. Mac was lucky that Olga rarely held grudges...

"Oh…just…no one."

Rose laughed. "Oh, come now. You don’t have to be embarrassed…"

"Just a boy," Mac finally finished.

Jack looked at Rose, who gave him a warning glance. "A boy, huh?"

"Yes. Now be fair, Papa. Ana’s dancing with all of the boys and you’re going to give me a hard time dancing with just one?"

Rose nearly spit out the mouthful of beer she had just taken. She waited anxiously to hear Jack’s response, wondering just how strict he was with her. As it was, Jack was quiet for a moment, but then he turned Mac towards him. "I am being perfectly fair, honey, but there is a difference…Ana is not my daughter."

Mac stared at him. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

"It means, Mac, that you are too young to be thinking too deeply about boys…"

"But I wasn’t…"

"All right, you two, calm down." Rose laughed. "Jack, a dance or two wouldn’t hurt her…"

"She’s right, Papa. I’m not dating him or anything…we just met tonight…"

Jack cleared his throat. "Well, just as a future warning…I want you to watch yourself, all right?" He gave her a kiss, and she hugged him.

"All right…"

Rose tried not to show how amused she was. At that point, Anastasia practically fell against the table when she came back over to them. If she was smiling any wider, Mac was certain her face would break, and she was panting very similar to how Tatiana’s dog Ortino did. Jack laughed at the sight of her and watched as she nearly fell into and out of one of the empty chairs, being caught by Rose just in time. Anastasia thanked her before using Rose’s shoulder to steady herself again, and stumbled over to Jack. "Wow!" She gasped.

"Now this is a party!" She was giggling.

"I take it you’re enjoying yourself?"

"I’ve never had such fun!" Anastasia giggled. "I’ve never danced with so many boys before! Speaking of boys…where’d yours go?" Anastasia asked Mac curiously once she’d managed to calm down a little. Mac was giving her a look and shook her head, her eyes telling her, I’ll tell you about him later…

"Not sure…he went back to his cabin, I think…"

"Ah, I see…"

Jack glanced at his watch and looked at Rose. "Well, I think it’s time we started to head back…I’m sure Cal’s fuming at this point…"

"Oh, let him," Rose sneered. "He deserves it…"

Mac’s mouth dropped. "Well, shall we all get a bit of fresh air before going back at least?" Jack suggested, not wanting to get Rose into anymore trouble than he probably had already gotten her into. The others agreed to this…the pub was becoming unbearably stifling, so they bid good-bye to the others at their table, who were disappointed to see them go, but were not surprised either. Rose followed behind Jack up the stairs and to the corridor, and they slowly made their way onto the boat deck. Once out in the fresh, chill night air, Jack lifted Mac onto his shoulders and began singing quietly a lullaby that Mac loved.

"Come Josephine in her flying machine, going up she goes…up she goes…balance yourself like a bird on a beam…in the air she goes…" Jack lifted Mac into the air, making her shriek with delight and then lowered her to his shoulders again. "There she goes…"

Rose grinned. "So you know that one, too? Up, up a little bit higher…" She offered Anastasia a lift, who accepted, and, quite pleased, went up into the air with a squeal as well. "Oh my, the moon is on fire…"

Jack grinned back and the two of them sung together, "Come Josephine in her flying machine going up all on good-bye…"

"I do like that song," Anastasia spoke up, once she and Mac were on the ground again. "It’s one of my favorites…I especially like this verse—Oh, say! Let us fly, dear. Where, kid? To the sky dear. Oh, you flying machine! Jump in Miss Josephine. Ship Ahoy! Oh, joy! What a feeling. Feels cold, thru the ceiling. Ho, high! Hoopla, we fly! To the sky so high…"

"Oh, Papa, look!" Mac cried out, looking up at the sky. "It’s a long one, see?" She pointed, and Jack glanced up in the direction she was showing him.

"What’s a long one?" Rose asked curiously.

"A shooting star." Jack chuckled. "That’s what my father used to call them…long ones. Did you remember to close your eyes and make a wish?" he asked Mac, who quickly did so, grinning. Anastasia and Rose also closed their eyes, waiting for Jack to give them the cue to open them again. When they did, Jack led them over to the rail so they could all gaze out over the water, where they could see the silvery reflection from the full moon in the sky.

"Isn’t it magnificent?" Rose asked, sighing dreamily. "So grand and endless…" She leaned on the rail, looking remarkably like Alexandra, who often did that on the Standart. "They're such small people, Jack...my crowd," Rose began, after a moment of awkward silence. "They think they're giants on the earth, but they're not even dust in God's eye. They live inside this little tiny champagne bubble...and someday the bubble's going to burst."

Jack glanced at Anastasia, who was humming to Come Josephine again, and leaned on the rail beside her, his hand nearly touching hers. Mac saw this, and she felt her heart flutter. Her father had been so sad for so long that he needed someone to love again. It was as though a strange spell had been cast upon him after his wife died. "You’re certainly not one of them, Rose. There’s been a mistake…"

Rose stared at him in confusion. "A mistake?"

He laughed. "Mmm-hmm. You’ve been mailed to the wrong address…"

Everyone giggled. "I did, didn’t I?" She smiled at him.

"By the way, Rose…" Jack asked. "What did you wish for?" He was now standing barely an inch away from her.

Rose looked at him sadly and pulled back. "Something I can’t have," she replied. "I really must get going…Coddie Anna is probably worried. Good night, Jack…" She glanced at the girls. "And good night to you…" She looked at Jack again. "Thank you." She lifted her dress a bit and hurried back into her world.

Jack stood watching her disappear, shouting, "Rose!" just as the door closed behind her.

Mac and Anastasia stood watching him with curiosity. "What just happened there?" Mac asked. Jack glanced down at her.

"Do you think she likes you?" Anastasia asked. "And that maybe she’s thinking about leaving her fiancé?"

"Oh, I hardly think so." Jack chuckled. "What would she want with a poor artist like me when she could have all the riches in the world?" He lifted both girls into his arms and they started to make their way inside again.

"But you aren’t poor!" Anastasia told him. "You have plenty of money!"

"She doesn’t know that," Mac reminded her friend with raised eyes. "She just thinks he’s a starving artist…"

"Was," Jack laughed. "So it technically was not all a lie…and I won’t be as rich as I am now once all expenses are paid…your father didn’t give me a life supply of rubles…"

Anastasia looked at him. "He didn’t?"

Jack laughed. "Of course not. He only paid me for how long I worked, which was fair enough…he didn’t have to take me in and treat me as he did. But once we’re back in my parents’ house, we’ll have to pay for repairs, I’m sure…and the cost for Miss Mac and you while you’re here to go to school, food, and electricity…"

Anastasia frowned. "You should not have to pay for me to go to school…" she told him in a quiet voice.

"Oh, I insist…you shouldn’t stop learning just because you happen to be in another country for a few months…" He smiled. "All right, girls, I think it’s getting late…I’m feeling a bit lousy tonight and want to get to bed."

"Ah-ha!" Mac shouted. "I knew it!"

"Mac, I’ve been feeling like this since our first day on the ship…"

"You should spend the day sleeping tomorrow," Mac told him. "So you feel better…"

He kissed her cheek. "We’ll see, honey." He brought the girls down below, and they made their way to their cabin for the night.

Chapter Fourteen
Stories