He's Guilty

Later that evening, Robert sat in Jonathan’s quarters alone eating a meager dinner. He appreciated the trouble his host kept going to in order to ensure he could eat in his room unbothered. Not only did it allow him to avoid Victor, it gave him time to think.
From the room on the other side of the thin wood door that separated the chambers, occasionally, he heard the clank of silverware on china and knew that Carrie was sitting over there eating her dinner alone as well. It broke his heart a little to think about it. If it were up to him, the two of them would be together.
Letting out a sigh, he wiped his mouth on a napkin and pushed back from the table, finished despite having only eaten about half of what was on the plate. It had always been difficult for him to eat when he was upset, and at the moment, all he could think about was the misunderstanding with Carrie.
She’d heard him correctly, of course. He had said that he was thankful to have met Jonathan so that he could meet Mr. Ashton, and he meant every word of it. That didn’t take away from the fact that he was also quite pleased to have become reacquainted with Miss Boxhall herself. In fact, that would be the highlight of this voyage–and quite possibly the highlight of his life.
He’d been spending a lot of time thinking about Carrie ever since that first day when he’d run into her talking to Victor on the deck. He wished he would’ve realized then that Carrie was in distress. How many times had he avoided helping a woman because the lady in question was being too polite? He couldn’t go back and help any of the women Victor Anderson had taken advantage of in the past, but he vowed he’d never let another woman become a victim of the womanizer, no matter what.
He heard a sigh from the other room and then what sounded like Carrie also pushing her food away. It brought a smile to his lips, despite the circumstances. He could picture her over there, her beautiful mouth drawn into a tight line as she contemplated what to do. Hope had not left him. He was fairly certain she’d come back around after she had some time to consider the situation. She did care for him, after all. And he knew he’d never be able to walk away from her, no matter the misunderstanding.
The door to the room opened with a slight squeak, and for a moment, he hoped it was Carrie coming over from the adjoining suite. He tried not to show his disappointment when Jonathan walked in. The fragrance of roasted duck lingered on him as he flashed Robert a kind smile. “Dinner must’ve been good,” Robert joked.
“The duck sauce was to die for.” Jonathan chuckled and joined him in the sitting area. “How was your meal?” His eyes went to the half-eaten portion still on Robert’s plate. “Not that good, I’m guessing.”
Letting out a chuckle, Robert said, “Well, I suppose it’s hard to eat with a bit of a broken heart.”
Jonathan’s smile became more empathetic. “No need for that. I’ve known Carrie for a long time, and I’m certain she’ll come around. She just needs to get her thoughts together. She’s not the most confident person in the world, I’m afraid.”
Robert had figured that much out, but it didn’t stop him from saying, “Well, she should be. A woman of her beauty, her kindness and intelligence?” He shook his head. “Any man would be lucky to have her and a fool for not realizing what he had.”
“Very true, but then, in my experience there are more foolish men in this world than wise ones. She’s had her heart broken a few times, unfortunately.”
Robert let that settle. He’d never want to be the one to make Carrie cry. He hoped Jonathan was right when he said she just needed some time. That was his gut feeling as well. But time wasn’t something they had a lot of, at least, not aboard the Lusitania. Before too much longer, they’d be docking in Liverpool. Carrie and Jonathan would go on about their business in Southampton, and Robert would find his way back to New York City. After all, his only business in Britain was for a man he no longer worked for, so there was no reason for him to stay, not unless he could be of service to his new friends in some way. Since neither of them had asked him to join them on the rest of their trip, he planned to head back to New York, gather his meager belongings from his room at Mr. Anderson’s place, and find a room to board in until his circumstances bettered.
After that, well, he had some ideas about that, but at the moment, with Carrie upset at him, he thought it best to keep those ideas to himself.
“It’s a lovely evening. Would you care to go for a stroll around the deck? I can guarantee that Victor is in the smoking lounge–at least for the moment. Wiley bugger never seems to stay in any one place too long.” Jonathan shook his head. It was clear he was just as irritated at the millionaire as Robert was.
“Certainly. I’d like to get some fresh air.” Robert stood and began to clear the dishes out of habit.
With a chuckle, Jonathan reminded him, “I’ll call someone to take care of that. You’ve got to start living like a First Class passenger.”
Shaking his head, Robert said, “I’m not sure I’d ever get used to people waiting on me.”
“You will one day, when you’re rich–a famous inventor.”
Robert liked the sound of that–the inventor part. He had no need for all of the money people like Mr. Anderson kept stored up in their banks. If he had that sort of money, he’d be sure to use it to help people. “We’ll see about that.” The two of them shared a chuckle and headed out to the deck. Again, Robert wished Carrie was by his side, but she’d probably be happier in her room this night.
Out beneath the stars, several other people took in the cool breeze. The sound of soft music rolled across the breeze from somewhere inside the ship. It sounded like the musicians who’d accompanied Gretchen the other night entertaining First Class passengers. He paused for a moment, thinking of the dance he’d shared with Carrie, before hurrying on to catch up to Jonathan who walked fast for a man taking a stroll. That seemed to be his nature, always on the go.
“It’s a beautiful night,” Jonathan murmured. He had no problem looking up at the sky, but whenever his gaze shifted so that he was looking out at the body of water around them, Robert could see the hesitation.
“You don’t like to talk about it, do you?” He hoped his tone was friendly enough that Jonathan wouldn’t feel obligated to discuss Titanic now–or offended.
Shaking his head, Jonathan said, “No, not really. Most of us don’t.”
“I can’t imagine what that must’ve been like.” The two of them leaned against the railing for a moment as Jonathan took a few slow, deep breaths.
“It was utter hell,” he finally said. “The only thing worse than watching that ship go down was the aftermath of it all.” He bit his bottom lip for a second, an expression Robert had never seen from the confident man. “All the screaming. The crying from the people in the boats. The not knowing.”
“Were you with Mrs. Ashton?” Again, Robert hoped he wasn’t prying.
“No, I was with Mrs. O’Connell and her youngest daughter,” he explained. “Charlie had gone back to find Meg, Ruth, and Mr. O’Connell. He insisted I get on the boat with Kelly. That was the hardest decision of my life. Once she was on the boat with her baby, and safe, it would’ve been easy for me to duck out and go find Charlie.”
With a solemn nod, Robert asked, “Why didn’t you?”
Watching him swallow a lump in his throat, Robert gave the other man a moment. Finally, Jonathan said, “Because the chances of all three of us men getting home safely were slim. I had a feeling, if I got on the lifeboat, and Charlie managed to get Daniel–who had a cast on his arm at the time–on a lifeboat with Ruth and Meg, then Charlie’s chances of surviving were greater than if I were with him. That’s just how he is–always worried about someone else.”
Nodding, Robert thought about what he would’ve done in a similar situation and prayed he’d never find out. “You made the right choice,” he finally said. “I’m sure it meant a lot to Mrs. O’Connell to have you there.”
“It did,” Jonathan said. “But if Charlie would’ve stayed dead, I probably would’ve never forgiven myself.”
“Stayed dead?” Robert asked, confused.
Turning to look at him, he said, “Yes. That’s right. He died, but he came back to life.”
“However did that happen?” Robert had never heard of such a thing.
“Mrs. Ashton’s love brought him back.” Jonathan spoke as if it were obvious, as if it should’ve been clear to anyone that love could do such a thing.
Shocked at the explanation, Robert needed a moment before he could respond. But just then, the two of them heard a commotion behind them and turned around. It sounded like a woman’s voice. Shrill, and full of intensity, she said something that sounded like, “I told you no. I’m a married woman!”
Exchanging glances with Jonathan, Robert moved quickly to the dark shadow around a corner where the voice seemed to be coming from. He paused when he saw a familiar form lurking in the darkness, hovering over a much smaller shape of a woman.
“Come on, baby. Your husband isn’t on board. What he doesn’t know can’t hurt him.”
Victor’s voice cut through Robert’s eardrums like a shard of glass dragging over a chalkboard. His fists automatically clenched at his sides.
“Leave me alone. I don’t care who you are!” The girl tried to pull away, but Victor had her by the arm. He began to laugh as she desperately tried to put some distance between them.
That was enough for Robert. He looked at Jonathan who gave him a nod, which assured Robert he’d be there if he needed him, but this fight was his.
“I think the lady said no.” It wasn’t the first time Robert had made such a statement to Victor, but he hoped it would be the last. As his former employer turned to face him, Robert cocked back his fist and rammed it into the nose he’d nearly broken only a few days earlier. The woman screamed as blood squirted everywhere.
“What the hell!” Victor shouted, reaching for his newly shattered face. “You ass–”
Before he could finish the insult, Robert punched him again. He connected with his cheek, then his jaw, and finally punched him in the stomach hard enough to send him doubling over. “Go ahead and try contacting Constable Pierce,” Robert spat at him. “I don’t give a rat’s ass if I’m arrested for the rest of the trip. This is your final warning that when a woman doesn’t want your advances, you need to back the hell off!”
With all of the noise drawing in a crowd, Victor backed away, his arm around his stomach. “You’re going to regret this!” he shouted.
Robert stared after him as he slunk away into the night. Then, he turned to the woman. The petite redhead threw her arms around him, crying. “Thank you. Thank you so much!”
“What in the world is going on?”
Constable Pierce’s voice was recognizable to Robert, and even though the poor woman was still sobbing against his chest, assuring him he’d done the right thing, dread filled the pit of his stomach.
“Victor Anderson was assaulting this woman,” Jonathan explained to the constable. “We happened upon it. But he’s gone off now.”
The constable bent down to look at the deck where a few drops of blood were spattered. He shook his head. “Didn’t I tell the two of you to leave one another alone?”
Before Robert could answer, the woman said, “This man saved me, sir. That horrible Mr. Anderson wanted his way with me and wouldn’t take no for an answer. If it hadn’t been for this man, well, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”
“Beg your pardon, Mrs. Hildegard.” Constable Pierce bowed his head politely.
“Hildegard?” Robert repeated. The Hildegards were one of the richest families in all of New York. He’d had no idea who she was, and it didn’t matter, so long as she needed help.
“Come by in the morning, Mr. Crawford.” Constable Pierce sounded a bit exasperated. “I’ll take your statement. Again.”
“Yes, sir,” he answered as Jonathan offered to walk Mrs. Hildegard to her room. Robert took a deep breath and shook out his aching hand. It seemed that Victor Anderson was going to be the death of him.