THE UNEXPECTED COINCIDENCE
Chapter Seven

Daniel moved slightly, still drugged by hours of sleep. It wasn’t until he heard a muffled scream that he decided to wake up properly.

"Keisha, you frightened the life out of me!" he gasped, clutching his heart.

"You almost squashed the life out of me!" she exclaimed, leaping out of the bed.

The pair stared at each for a few moments before bursting into unceremonious laughter. It took a few moments to subside, leaving both with pains in their sides and out of breath.

"I must go to morning service. I have no time for breakfast, but I will be back in time to order you some lunch."

Keisha nodded and left to get changed.

Following suit, Daniel clambered into some clothes haphazardly, pausing twice to make sure the clothes were on the correct parts.

Satisfied with his appearance, he left the grand room to attend services like he did every Sunday. Hopefully it will be more interesting on an ocean liner, he thought to himself, smirking.

Taking the elevator down to E-Deck, he mused on the few days he had been on board the Titanic. He had met Keisha, bumped into his old best friend, and was fast becoming friends with several people he didn’t know existed last week.

Overall, a good four days.

"Thank you," he said politely to the man operating the contraption, smiling widely.

Morning services were held in the first class dining saloon. A special table had been set out in front of many rows of chairs, recreating the church pews effectively.

Daniel had never been one for religion. He had always found church services tedious since he was little, but his uncle forced him to go, and it was unfortunately a habit that stuck.

Nodding at various passengers as he passed, he gracefully sat down in a chair next to Ruth DeWitt Bukater.

"Why, good morning, Mr. Taylor. How are you feeling on this bright day?" she asked politely.

"Much the same as yesterday, I would imagine," Cal answered for him, sitting on the other side of Ruth in a dark cream suit.

Laughing, Daniel smoothed out the creases in his dark brown suit before quickly checking the time on the watch he kept in the light cream waistcoat he was wearing.

"Ignore Cal’s jesting, Mrs. DeWitt Bukater. He means no disrespect. And I am fine, thank you, ma’am, and you?" he asked, glancing over at the redheaded woman next to him.

"Why, please call me Ruth, and I am splendid, thank you, kind sir."

Luckily, the service had now begun, forcing an end to the conversation.

Finding the service dull, Daniel’s thoughts drifted, becoming fixed on a beautiful dark-skinned girl who was sitting in his stateroom, most likely bored out of her brains.

Halfway through a hymn, while staring out to sea though one of the windows, he noticed Jack trying to get in through the reflection on the glass.

"Uh-oh," he whispered, causing Ruth to give him a peculiar look.

Ignoring Ruth, he waited for the service to end, intending to find out what Jack wanted.

Luckily for him, the service ended quickly, allowing him to walk as fast as humanly possible--well, as fast as he could in upper class society.

Jack was nowhere to be found, for he had obviously not been allowed admittance to the service. Not that Daniel was surprised. He was in steerage, after all.

Deciding to check on Keisha, he headed to his stateroom, nodding numbly as people walked by, though his attention was elsewhere.

It was inevitable that he would walk into someone, and he would have realized this had he being using the eyes God had given him.

"I am awfully sorry, kind lady. Please accept my apologies," he said to the young woman he knocked into, who turned out to be a maid.

"Are you Mr. Taylor?" she asked, fixing the white cap neatly on her brilliant blonde hair.

Confused slightly, Daniel nodded, looking at the young woman directly.

"Sir, you are required by the Master-at-Arms. It seems a stowaway managed to get into your stateroom, a black one at that!" she exclaimed, before stalking off down the plush carpet.

Groaning, Daniel headed down to E-Deck, hoping that this would be sorted out quickly.

I wonder how she was discovered. I locked the room, after all, he thought, stopping to ask a steward where the Master-at-Arms was.

He ended up being led by the steward, unable to understand his rich Scottish accent. The stark white of the walls and the plain red floor really showed that the Titanic was not luxurious in most places. Daniel was by now accustomed to these settings, but he still thought it was odd.

"Here you go, sir," the redheaded steward said, pointing into a room where he noticed Keisha sitting in a chair, smiling at him slightly.

"What is the meaning of this?" Daniel asked, gesturing to the handcuffs that kept Keisha pinned to the chair.

"A lady found her in your room, sir, claimed she was a stowaway. I’m not so sure. She seems awfully clean and well-fed for a stowaway," the portly man said, fiddling with the brim on his cap.

"And you would be right. She is my maid, after all. My other one died on board this ship and Keisha is an old friend of mine. She agreed to the post, so I upgraded her third class ticket to first so she could travel with me." Daniel hoped that they would buy the lie, and he showed them the ticket he had bought for her earlier, knowing they wouldn’t bother to check on the third class passenger list.

"A native, sir?" the Master-at-Arms asked disbelievingly, nodding in distaste at Keisha’s dark skin.

"No, an Englishwoman," Daniel stated firmly, anger flaring up in him. After all, Keisha was much different from most natives.

Nodding in a distracted manner, the officer released Keisha, who at once felt her wrists, which had deep impressions in the otherwise smooth skin.

"And what about the woman who broke into my stateroom? It was locked; I knew for a fact that she broke in," Daniel said, motioning to Keisha to stand beside him.

"I didn’t let her in," Keisha supplied helpfully, ignoring the dirty look the officer threw at her.

"She was a lady with bright red hair, part of the Hockley party, I do believe. Quite aged, dare I say," the officer said, obviously not wanting to arrest a first class lady.

Ruth, he thought in distaste, nodding at the man before turning away and taking Keisha with him.

"I should have known it was her," Daniel said, not really talking to anyone, least of all the girl beside him.

Keisha kept her brown eyes glued to the floor, the dark curls shielding her face.

"What did she say to you?" Daniel asked eventually, as they went up the elevator from E-Deck. They both tried to ignore the curious glances the blonde steward gave them.

"Not a lot, really. The usual. That I should not befoul the ship. There is another black family on board. I wonder if they get this," Keisha said in her usual colloquial manner, ignoring the shock on the steward’s face.

Nodding, the dark-haired man escorted her out of the elevator and along to their stateroom, ignoring the shocked glances and whispers from the other first class passengers.

It was a mutual decision to have lunch in the rich stateroom, not wanting to go outside and enjoy the April sunshine. They both ate silently, devouring the food he had ordered quickly.

"I am going for a walk. Will you be all right in here? I presume that Ruth will not attempt such antics again," Daniel said, setting his knife and fork down and calling a stewardess to take away the dishes.

He gave her a smirk, and softened his eyes and his words.

"It feels good to be around someone real. I hate talking like a posh person all day," Daniel said, allowing his rich London accent to come out in its pride.

Keisha looked up at him, laughing.

"Well, even the posh people have faults," she said, bemused, smoothing the crinkles out of her dark blue dress.

"Indeed we do," Daniel agreed, converting back to his dull speech.

"When the ship docks, I am going to travel the world. I can not take this society anymore," Daniel said, grabbing Keisha’s hand and tugging her along to their private deck.

"That’s crazy," Keisha whispered, leaning on the metal rail.

"Maybe, but it will be worth it. Would you care to join me?" he asked, looking at her with unmasked longing.

"I would be delighted," she said, giggling slightly.

Smiling again, Daniel leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. No lust, no desire, just a sweet kiss. After all, they were outside, and kissing alone was bad enough.

Drawing away, he smiled again and left the stateroom, leaving a bewildered Keisha in his wake.

He almost collided with Rose as soon as he reached the corridor, but luckily he dodged her just in time.

"Everyone’s talking about it. Scandal of the year, some say," Rose said, linking arms with him.

Smiling slightly, the two friends walked to the poop deck, Daniel giving Rose all the details that most didn’t get.

She was disturbed to find her mother was the person who found his secret, but not surprised. She was vindictive, no doubt about it.

"I need to talk to Jack. I haven’t seen him since earlier, since I told him…" Rose didn’t complete her sentence, and she didn’t have to.

Smirking, Daniel reached out to touch her arm. "Do not tell Cal I said this, but you should follow your heart. Don’t think. If I have learned one thing on this ship, it’s that. Check the bow."

Leaving a thinking Rose behind him, Daniel left to get ready for dinner.

I hope they work things out, he thought, enjoying the sunset before entering the inside of the ship.

Chapter Eight
Stories