Trouble
“What sort of trouble?” Mr. Halsey asked Charlie.
Rather than answer, he deferred to Meg, glancing in her direction to let her know he assumed she could respond for herself. “The papers are reporting he is being investigated for money laundering amongst other things.”
The lawyers looked at one another for a few moments before Mr. Halsey cleared his throat and said, “Generally speaking, under such circumstances, a convicted criminal appoints someone to handle his finances. I would assume your uncle would choose your mother, in which case she would essentially receive all of the contracted amount.”
Meg thought that would likely be the case, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. She knew she could simply wait a bit longer before marrying Charlie so that neither of them got any of the money, but that was becoming less and less of an option with every moment she spent with Charlie.
“What other questions did you have?” Mr. Whicksmith asked in his caring voice that made Meg feel more at ease than the tone in which the other lawyers addressed her.
“Obviously, I am alive, while my mother and the Southampton police continue to look for me. Will I be in any sort of trouble for running away?”
“You’re twenty, yes?” It was Mr. Brubaker this time, this being the first time he had addressed her at all. Meg nodded. “Then, by British law, you’re an adult. You can come and go as you please.”
“The fact that your mother has sent the police off to investigate your whereabouts under false pretenses is not your doing,” Mr. Overton added.
“There is another girl missing, though,” Meg reminded them, and all of the gentlemen nodded along, as if they were aware of Charlotte’s disappearance, which she found odd since none of them seemed to know of her uncle’s legal problems. “I feel that announcing that I am safely residing in America will give the police more information so that they can continue to search for her. Do you think I could be linked in any way to whatever has become of her?”
“I wouldn’t worry on that,” Mr. Halsey said with a chuckle that made Meg feel as if her question was silly. “They should know you weren’t involved. They found the auto well after Titanic had set sail.”
“That doesn’t mean that they won’t suspect I had something to do with it,” Meg reminded them.
“Did you?”
The question came from Mr. Overton, and Meg’s eyebrows raised in offense. “Of course not,” she replied quite quickly.
“Then I should think you wouldn’t have anything to worry about.” He wiped his brow with a handkerchief from his breast pocket.
“I plan to travel back to England soon, and I want to be sure that I won’t be in any sort of trouble with the law when I arrive there,” Meg further explained.
“I can vouch for her whereabouts from the moment Titanic sailed. That should be enough, don’t you think?” Charlie was looking at Mr. Halsey, but all four of the lawyers nodded.
“Miss Westmoreland, you may rest assured that you have the best legal counsel in all of New York at your service, and we work quite closely with Mr. Ashton’s attorneys in London as well. You will be fully protected.” Mr. Whicksmith smiled confidently as he looked into her eyes.
Meg was happy to have the soft spoken man as part of the conversation, and she absently wondered how he even became a lawyer in the first place. “Thank you,” she said with a nod.
“Is there anything else?” Mr. Halsey seemed to be in a rush.
“As far as letting the world know that Meg was aboard Titanic and was among the survivors, how do we proceed?” Charlie asked, looking around the room.
“I believe it would be best to make a simple statement to the newspapers. I know a reporter at The Times. He can help us put out a press release. I think mentioning it further back in the paper is the best way to go, not to aim for a headline,” Mr. Overton suggested, wiping at his brow again. Meg wondered if it was really that warm in the room or if he always had this sort of perspiration problem.
“We certainly don’t want a headline,” Charlie agreed. “But how do we prevent that from happening? Isn’t any reporter going to jump at the opportunity to announce Miss Westmoreland was aboard Titanic?”
“And that she’s with Charlie?” Jonathan asked, suddenly becoming part of the conversation.
“Must I make any sort of announcement? Can’t I simply telegraph my mother and the police station in Southampton?” Meg wondered.
“You will have to make some sort of a statement,” Mr. Halsey said, looking at her as if she’d gone half mad.
Meg scooted her chair back a smidge so she could turn to look at him better. “Why is that exactly?”
“It’s to be expected,” the larger attorney replied with a shrug. “Anyone could send a telegraph to the authorities. We’ll need photographic evidence.”
“So a statement and a photograph?” Jonathan asked, looking from the lawyer to Charlie.
Meg shook her head. “No, I don’t want to make a fuss. I just want the police to know that I’m not with Charlotte and that the blood they found in my uncle’s motor coach isn’t mine.”
“I’m afraid the only way they will know that for sure is if you go there and tell them. In the meantime, a photograph will be enough to show them that you are here.” Halsey had a way about him that made Meg want to wipe the self-righteous smirk off of his face.
“Meg, we can ask one of the photographers to come here. It doesn’t have to be a production,” Charlie said quietly, his hand sliding up her arm to rest just below her elbow. “It will be all right.”
“I’ve spent my entire life trying to stay out of the papers,” she said between clenched teeth.
“Perhaps you shouldn’t be marrying an Ashton then,” Mr. Halsey laughed.
“Perhaps you should reexamine that document in your hand,” Meg shot back, bringing his laughter to an abrupt halt. Her eyes met Charlie’s to make sure she hadn’t offended him; obviously, she wanted to marry Charlie—now.
He looked amused, perhaps proud of her ability to put the pompous lawyer in his place. “It will be more difficult for you to stay out of the papers now that you’re here, Meg, but we will make sure that whomever we invite to take the photograph is trustworthy.”
“I have a fellow in mind,” Mr. Overton said.
Meg met his eyes and then returned her gaze to Charlie, who was clearly waiting on a response from her. “Fine,” she managed.
“Very well, then,” Charlie said. “We’ll arrange it. In the meantime, Jonathan will send a telegraph to your mother and to the police in Southampton to alert them that you are here. If you have anything specific you’d like the messages to say, let him know.”
Meg shook her head. “I trust your ability to be concise and tactful more than myself.”
Jonathan offered a weak smile.
“We have other business to attend to,” Charlie said, surveying a sea of nodding heads before he turned back to Meg. “I’d like for Jonathan to escort you home.”
“That’s not necessary,” Meg began. “Carrie is here.”
“I’d like Jonathan to go with you.”
Jonathan was already up, and Meg wondered why it was so important to Charlie that he send his man with her. “If you insist,” she said, knowing there must be some reason. Turning to the attorneys, she said, “Thank you all for your assistance. It was lovely to meet all of you.” She nodded at each of them in turn but held Mr. Whicksmith’s gaze a bit longer, hoping he realized she was more thankful to him than the others.
“I will see you soon, Meg,” Charlie said, squeezing her hand once more as she stood. She rested her hand on his shoulder for only a moment before turning to take Jonathan’s arm. He led her out of the room without a word.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
