Plans

“And Charlie offered Daniel a job at his father’s company. I was certain he’d lose that job for sure. But I ran into Jonathan on the way back here, and Jonathan said not to worry about it. They’ll find him somethin’ he can do with just the one arm for now. Here we were, hopin’ and prayin’ God would lead us in right direction, and the same man we’re runnin’ away from is the one to offer us a solution. What are the chances of that?”
“I have money,” Meg reminded her. “We have enough to last a while, until we find work.”
“Oh, I know, Meggy, but we didn’t want to take your money. And Charlie has offered us a place to live nearby the factory. You, too, of course. He even said you could work there if you wanted to, though I didn’t think you would,” Kelly explained.
Meg grew a bit alarmed. “What did you tell him?”
“Nothin’. Only that I didn’t know—that we’d have to ask you,” Kelly replied. “Why?”
Meg realized she’d grown a bit snippy, and she didn’t mean to. “No reason,” she replied, trying to keep her voice calmer. “It’s just, Jonathan was asking about me working as well, and I want to make sure we are consistent, that’s all. I don’t want him growing suspicious. I told him we aren’t really sisters.”
“You did?” Kelly inquired, her freckled brow creasing.
“Yes. He asked, and well, it seems pretty obvious just by looking at us that we aren’t really related. We don’t even have the same accent,” Meg reminded her.
“True,” Kelly said. Hesitating at first, she finally continued, “Well, he referred to you as my sister a bit ago, and I didn’t correct him. I’m sure he’ll just assume that I obviously think of you as a sister. It’s nothin’ I’m sure.”
Meg wasn’t quite as positive, but she was glad to have that information. “You’re probably right,” she agreed. “But if he says anything else, be sure to let him know we aren’t attempting to cover anything up—not that anyway.”
“All right,” Kelly agreed. “But Meg, if Daniel is to be workin’ for Mr. Ashton, you do realize it will be quite difficult for us to keep up this charade indefinitely.”
“I know,” Meg agreed. “But we’ll figure it out. It’ll be easier if I can find my own place and employer sooner rather than later. If we’re not together, there’d be no reason for him to keep asking questions, and you can just forget about your old life in Southampton.”
“What? And forget about you. That’s rubbish, love. You know I wouldn’t have even come to America if it weren’t for you,” Kelly reminded her.
“No, not forget me. Of course, not,” Meg assured her, though on the inside she wasn’t certain of her words. “Just separate us, that’s all. We’ll sort it all out. I am thankful that Charlie offered Daniel a job, however. And I want to do everything I can to make sure I don’t mess this up for the pair of you.”
Kelly nodded. The thought had certainly crossed her mind. If Charlie were to discover Meg’s true identity, he could become so angry that he no longer wanted to employ Daniel, which would put them right back in the tough spot they’d been in before. No, it was best if Meg kept her secret. And if that meant avoiding Charlie, then, perhaps, Meg was right about that after all. “Well, I’m exhausted from all this,” Kelly said, patting her friend on the arm. “I’m gonna hoist myself atop Daniel’s bunk there and take a wee nap.”
“All right then. Sweet dreams,” Meg replied. The idea of taking a nap seemed a bit appealing to her as well, except for sleeping always brought the threat of the nightmares, even during the day time, so she turned her attention back to her book. Soon, the sound of Kelly’s soft snoring filled the small space, and she couldn’t help but chuckle at how familiar the sleeping patterns were of all three of the O’Connell women.
A soft rapping at the door a bit later brought her back from the book. She was expecting either Daniel’s return or an update at some point, and since Daniel would not knock on his own door, she was praying it was Jonathan. Of course, upon opening the door, she quickly ascertained that it was not. “Charlie,” she said quietly. He was smiling at her but didn’t speak, and she realized he had considered the fact that the baby was sleeping. She glanced back over her shoulder, hoping perhaps Kelly had awoken and could rescue her. All three of her roommates were still sawing logs. She stepped out into the hallway, carefully closing the door behind her. “How is Daniel?”
He stepped to the side a bit, as if attempting to put more distance between himself and the sleeping baby before answering. “He’s in a lot of pain, but Dr. Simpson was able to set the break. He said it will take quite some time for the cast to dry, possibly up to six hours.”
“Six hours?” Meg repeated in a harsh whisper. “My goodness. What’s he going to do for six hours? Can he come back here?”
“No, the doctor said he couldn’t move until it’s dry. Hopefully it won’t take longer in the humid air,” he replied.
So far Meg had avoided looking directly into his eyes, but she caught them just then, and the response she was about to give was lost somewhere between her mind and her mouth. She caught her breath, looked away somehow, and began to reformulate a coherent sentence.
“Are you all right?” he asked, innocently placing his hand on her arm.
Meg’s eyes immediately went from his hand to his eyes and then back again. Rather than remove his hand, he gave her arm a gentle squeeze, and she realized he wasn’t deterred at all by her hesitation. Eventually, she said, “I’m fine, thank you; it’s just …a lot to take in.”
“I know,” he agreed. “I guess Kelly told you about Ruth?”
She nodded, aware that his hand was still on her arm, though her eyes were now transfixed on a dirty spot on the floor. Her words caught in the back of her throat, her emotions overwhelming her. Thoughts of Ruth plunging overboard, of the pain Daniel must be in, of this man she was supposed to marry standing before her, his hand innocently resting on her arm, having no idea she was a liar… a cheater… a coward.
“Meg?”
She looked up at him again, another mistake. His eyes showed nothing but concern. As she continued to stare, speechless, his free hand came up and gently pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, his fingertips softly brushing her cheek as he did so.
“It will be all right, I promise.”
She nodded as he withdrew his hand from her hair. And unlike Mary Margaret Westmoreland, Charles J. Ashton kept his promises. “I should go…” she finally managed to choke out.
“Okay,” he said softly, a bit of confusion evident on his handsome face.
“Kelly, um, will want to know,” she continued.
He nodded, his hand sliding down her arm, taking her hand, interlacing her thin fingers in his. Despite the desperate need to pull away, she continued to stand there, wondering if, with one step forward, perhaps, he might lean down and kiss her. As much as she wanted to take that step, she knew regardless of his motivation, whether he was genuinely attracted to her or simply sowing some wild oats, she had already visited enough misery upon this kind and considerate gentleman. What Charlie didn’t realize was it was in his best interest to forget he’d ever known Mary Margaret, that he’d ever met Meg. It took everything she had not to press on, but, eventually, she was able to slip her hand out of his, and fumbling for the door behind her, she managed to say, “Thank you, Charlie,” before she ducked back inside.
Charlie stood in the hallway outside of her door for a long moment, contemplating what had just happened. For some reason, Meg was hesitant to let him know how she felt, but he was quite certain that she was just as attracted to him as he was to her. Perhaps she was leery of getting involved with someone of a higher social class. Perhaps she was on her way to meet some beau in America. He wasn’t quite sure, but he was determined to find out what her reservations were and overcome them. While Jonathan and others might be encouraging him to have a bit of a tryst whilst on the boat, a girl like Meg warranted more devotion than that, and he was no longer in a situation where he cared what the other socialites thought of him and his relationships.