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“Now, will your lady be returning to your side, or will you need to keep Carrie?”
The question was another good one. “If you say Kelly’s new home is far away, then it wouldn’t be easy for her to attend to me here. And, I believe she was planning on staying home with the girls.” She was looking at Charlie, but she would’ve accepted a response from anyone.
“I plan to give Daniel that foreman’s position that just opened up,” Charlie said to his father. “His arm is currently in a cast, but he’s a fine young man, and I know he will be able to do the work.”
Mr. Ashton nodded. “Of course, I trust your judgment.”
“That position will come with an apartment, and he will make enough so that Kelly can stay home,” Charlie explained to Meg.
“Very good then,” Pamela stated. “That solves that. I’ll let Carrie know.”
“But wouldn’t you rather I found my own help?” Meg asked. “That is, Carrie works for you, doesn’t she?”
“She does, but when I hired her, I had you in mind. I thought you might need someone when you came here. I didn’t know if you’d bring your own girls or not. Carrie is just right for a young woman like you, I think. Wouldn’t you agree?”
It had never occurred to Meg that while she was in Southampton planning to escape her marriage to Charlie, he and his family were in New York City making arrangements and accommodations for her. “Yes, she’s lovely,” Meg said quietly.
“Originally, we’d assumed you’d simply stay in a hotel for a few days if the wedding were here in New York and then move straight into this home. But now that you are here, and we don’t know precisely when the wedding might be, we’ll make adjustments.” She exhaled loudly with a smile, as if she were breathing out after stopping to smell the roses.
“I appreciate all of your assistance, and your understanding,” Meg said meekly.
“Absolutely,” Mr. Ashton assured her. “Henry was my greatest friend, and you were—are—his pride and joy. Anything I can do to assist you, I will do.”
She knew he meant it sincerely, and it warmed her heart. Knowing her father was looking down on her always made her feel more secure.
“We will need to find a dressmaker, of course. You can use mine if you like, though Grace might have a better one for a young woman such as yourself.” Grace snorted, and her mother ignored it. “Or we can simply go down to the shopping district.”
Meg nodded. “I’ll need to stop by a bank. I found out quite recently that my father actually left me an account.” She looked at Charlie, realizing he didn’t know that. “I can pay you back some of the money you sent my mother before I knew about the savings.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said. “You don’t owe me anything, and you won’t pay for anything either. You’ll be my wife soon enough.”
The thought of never having to pay for anything again—never having to worry about anything again—was a bit foreign to her, and Meg didn’t realize Mrs. Ashton was still speaking to her until she was halfway through her statement. “We could have lunch in that little restaurant over there on the corner.”
Meg had no idea what she was talking about, but she nodded, even though the idea of going out shopping soon made her stomach tighten. These people were going on about their lives as if Titanic had never happened, and while that was all fine and good for them, Meg wasn’t ready for that just yet.
“Perhaps Miss Meg would like to get settled into her new place before the shopping spree,” Jonathan chimed in, and Meg looked at him with great admiration. “She looks a bit drained to me.”
“Oh, yes, dear, I’m sorry. I didn’t think… why you must be exhausted as well. It’s hard to tell when you’re so radiant, but certainly you must be anxious after what’s happened. Not just the ship, but leaving your family.” Pamela looked at her as if she were a newborn kitten.
“I would love to go shopping and have lunch soon,” Meg said. “However, I am rather tired today.”
“No explanation necessary,” Pamela replied shaking her head and waving one hand in Meg’s direction. “Of course you are. Perhaps when Dr. Shaw comes to pay Charlie a visit later this afternoon, he can check in on you as well.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Meg said quickly. “I’m not ill—just weary.”
“I know that, darling, but the last thing we need is for you to come down with something.”
“I think she’s fine, Mother,” Charlie interjected, squeezing Meg’s hand.
Pamela looked at him and seemed to bite her tongue for a second before she forced a smile onto her face and said, “Well then, Carrie can go out this afternoon and pick up a few more things for you. That way you’ll have some choices in attire for the next few days before we can go out together.”
“That would be quite lovely,” Meg said, smiling in return.
“I’ll take Meg over to the apartment then.” Jonathan was on his feet, a signal that this conversation had ended.
Meg was thankful to have it over with. A little over a week ago, she assumed she’d never even meet these people since she’d been planning to run away from her arranged marriage with Charlie. The last few days, she’d been dreading sitting across from them and giving them a full explanation of what she’d done. Now, thanks to Charlie’s insistence on being less than fully forthcoming, she was glad to have the conversation over with and be able to move on with her life.
“Come along, Meg,” Jonathan insisted. He was already standing on the other side of the sofa.
She stood, as did everyone else in the room except for Grace and Charlie. She still held his hand, and she knew he wished he could rise to tell her goodbye. “I’ll see you soon,” she assured him, and he drew her hand to his lips and smiled at her. Thoughts that he might not recognize her the next time she saw him were pushed aside as she turned to face the rest of the room.
“It was lovely to see you again, Grace,” Meg said.
“Yes, as always,” Grace managed with a fake smile.
Peter hugged her and told her to take care, and Meg thought his hands lingered a bit low and a bit long.
“I will come and check on you soon,” Pamela said as she embraced her soon-to-be-daughter-in-law.
Mr. Ashton held her at arm’s length for a moment and peered at her face. “It is wonderful to see you again, Meggy.” He smiled warmly, and for a moment, Meg thought she knew what it must be like to have a father. Her heart suddenly longed to belong to this man’s family. He wrapped his arms around her, as if he were holding a long lost child, and Meg fought to hold back tears as memories of her own Da filled her head.
Once he let her go, she said quietly, “It’s wonderful to finally meet you, Mr. Ashton.” He chuckled in glee. Meg stepped around the sofa and took Jonathan’s waiting arm, one last glance at Charlie over her shoulder as he led her out of the room. He was smiling at her, and she honestly thought he was returning to his former self. Perhaps this nightmares would all be over soon.
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