Samuel stared through the control room window at an endless sheet of shining black ocean, his thoughts swimming with possible explanations of why Amelia had asked him to meet her. What did her request mean? Did it mean anything at all? Did he even want it to mean anything when a ship-bound romance would undoubtedly bring more problems than satisfaction?
Amelia might be a working woman, but she was also a woman of class and strength. Yet, her quiet sophistication, soft voice and beautiful smile contradicted the pain he’d seen in her eyes when she had spoken with such fervour about nothing standing in her way of building a good life for herself.
How in God’s name did someone who had been orphaned retain the spirit and heart to rise? Not just rise, but forge a successful occupation at one of the country’s most illustrious department stores. He was by no means a shopper, but even Samuel had heard Pennington’s mentioned in the same sentence as Harrods and Selfridge & Co while aboard the Titanic.
The woman should be dressed to the nines and sipping a cocktail in first class under the admiring glances of a millionaire or two, not wandering around with a seaman in tow.
‘Penny for them, Sam?’
He started. ‘Archie. How are you?’
‘Good. All the better for seeing you. I looked for you after lunch but couldn’t find you anywhere.’ He wiggled his eyebrows, his brown eyes teasing. ‘Didn’t duck out of your entertaining shift, did you?’
‘I was around.’ Samuel turned his attention back to the ocean. ‘Not that I find everything about those shifts entertaining.’
‘No?’
The teasing in Archie’s voice caused Samuel to face him. ‘What?’
‘I heard you went walkabout with a certain lady.’ He nudged Samuel’s shoulder. ‘I hope you weren’t up to no good.’
Samuel made a show of checking some switches. ‘I was escorting Amelia around the deck, if you must know.’
‘Amelia, eh?’ Archie grinned. ‘Wasn’t that the name of the lady you couldn’t take your eyes from when she boarded? Hair the colour of melted chocolate and a face that would give an actress a run for her money?’
For the first time ever, Samuel didn’t find Archie’s jesting about a woman Samuel might be taken with remotely amusing. Amelia was different. Intelligent. Kind. Caring. She deserved the utmost regard… from everyone.
‘As a matter of fact, it was her. Her name is Amelia Wakefield and I’d thank you not to speak about her in any way other than respectful.’
Archie’s eyebrows shot to his hairline as he let out a low whistle. ‘Whoa, someone is a little smitten, I’d say.’
Samuel glared, protectiveness for Amelia and himself unfurling inside him. ‘So what if I am? She’s a nice girl. A great girl, in fact.’
‘Well, you won’t get any interference from me, my friend.’ Archie slapped Samuel’s shoulder. ‘We’re aboard this ship for three more nights, why not enjoy some female company if you can? Could be two nights, considering the way the captain keeps pumping up the speed. You should tell her about your plans to stay in America, she might join you.’
‘Don’t start with that again.’ Samuel turned to check some papers beside him. ‘I’ll be back on the return ship, same as you.’
‘For the love of God, man.’ Archie’s smile vanished. ‘Why don’t you stay? Jobs are going begging, people making money hand over fist in America. I know you think it’s none of my business what you do with your life, but I’ve got a strong feeling America will be the making of you. You could create a life of dreams there, Sam. Why waste this opportunity? When I get back, I’ll visit your family and tell them you’ve decided to stay. You can wire some money as soon as we come into dock. Keep them sweet for a while until you find work. Nothing could be simpler.’
‘Nothing could be simpler…’ Samuel murmured, frustration simmering as he gripped the papers harder. ‘There is nothing simple about my family. You know that. They need me, Archie. Ma, especially. I’m the only one bringing money into the house. I can’t just up and leave her without warning.’
‘Why not? When does she ever wish you luck, Sam? Ask when you’re going to settle down and marry? Never, because she scared when you do, you’ll be lost to her. She’s never going to give you a choice to leave so you have to damn well make it yourself. Stay in America. I mean it.’
Archie stormed away and Samuel closed his eyes.
He hated the rare arguments he had with his friend. Archie was his constant. A friend and ally in Samuel’s work and personal life.
If it really mattered that much to Archie that Samuel stayed in America, could his friend be right? If he didn’t take this opportunity, would his entire life begin and end in Bath or Southampton? Alone and unhappy, potentially working year after year on the docks and aboard ships without building any sort of personal happiness?
The next shift crew slowly filed in and Samuel gave a final check over the statuses in front of him, noting them down for the officer who came to stand beside him. ‘All yours. I’ll see you in the morning.’
Samuel walked from the control room, taking the stairs two at a time, and entered the maze of corridors and stairs that eventually brought him to the Boat Deck. He and Amelia had agreed to meet on the promenade, close to the second funnel.
As he stepped through the door, apprehension stole through him and he sucked in a breath from the drop in temperature. He looked to the sky. It was a sheet of black, a million and one stars sparkling like diamonds, no clouds marring their beauty, the ocean a dark, motionless sheet. Still and unmoving, not a single wave breaking its crest.
Samuel shivered and rubbed his hands together, hoping Amelia wasn’t outside waiting for him in these near-freezing temperatures.
But she was.
Although the deck was practically deserted, she sat on one of the benches, a stole tightly drawn around her shoulders and one of the ship’s complimentary lap blankets tucked around her legs. She stared across the sea, her brow furrowed and expression grave. Samuel had no doubt she was working, her mind whirling with plans and ideas.
He had never met anyone so industrious, so passionate about their work and it made him want to find his vocation. A job that might light him up from the inside, too.
Samuel smiled as he approached her, touched that she would keep to their plans regardless of the cold.
‘Amelia, what are you doing?’ Fondness for her swelled behind his chest. ‘You should have waited for me inside. I would have found you.’
She smiled sheepishly. ‘There’s every possibility I could be hiding from Mr Weir more than waiting for you. All the second-class public areas are closed and most of the lights extinguished but, thankfully, he met with Mr Parker who invited him to first class for a drink. He wasn’t happy when I declined to join Mrs Parker in the first-class lounge, but I insisted he stay. I am almost certain we have at least an hour before he comes to my cabin to check I’m readying for bed.’
‘Seems I’m going to have to be mindful of your tactics.’
‘There’s not much people can make me do against my wishes anymore.’ A flash of determination burned in her eyes before it dissolved, and she tossed the blanket from her knees to stand. ‘Have you ever seen the water so still? It’s like a sheet of ebony.’
He followed her gaze across the ocean. Nothing stirred. Not a wave. No ice. Nothing.
‘It’s kind of eerie,’ he said, quietly. ‘In all my years at sea, I don’t think I’ve ever seen water so completely calm.’
‘It’s beautiful.’ She sighed and faced him. ‘Let’s go inside. We’ll find a quiet spot somewhere.’
‘A quiet spot? Do you think that’s such a good idea?’
She briefly dipped her gaze. ‘I want us to be alone somewhere so we can talk and not have Mr Weir descend on us the moment we’re not looking.’
Before he could protest or give her a hundred reasons why them being alone was a bad idea, Amelia stepped towards the door beside them. Samuel stared after her, his feet welded to the deck and his mind reeling. If a senior officer caught him alone with a passenger without a feasible reason, he would be reprimanded. Possibly given a much lowlier role than he had now.
Cursing, he followed her. What other choice did he have when he already cared so much for her and desperately wanted to hear what she had to say?
She led him through the empty lounge and along a corridor where she stopped.
When she lifted her eyes to his, they were filled with worry. ‘I don’t want you to think me presumptuous or improper asking to be alone with you like this, it’s just…’
Her uncertainty was palpable, but Samuel didn’t think her presumptuous or improper. He took her confidence to be alone with him as a sign she trusted him and that pleased him more than she could ever know.
‘It’s fine.’ He smiled, hoping she saw the sincerity in his eyes. ‘You can trust me, Amelia. I’d never do anything to upset you.’
A strange look passed through her gaze that he couldn’t decipher.
The skin at her neck shifted as she swallowed, indicating her heightened nerves, but Samuel also recognised her familiar determination as she stared resolutely ahead, her jaw tight.
Then she smiled back at him and his heart stuttered.
Christ. Despite trying to be a gentleman at all times, imagining how it would feel to make love to Amelia rushed into his mind. Worse, so did the horrible notion of how it would feel when they had to go their separate ways when they reached America. She mattered. He had no idea why she should so quickly or so deeply, but who was he to dictate his heart?
A young couple arm-in-arm passed by, giggling and whispering, their intentions absurdly plain. He glanced at Amelia and she held his gaze.
Rare heat travelled over his neck. ‘What?’
‘You’re blushing.’
‘So are you.’
She quickly looked to the floor. ‘I didn’t ask to see you alone to…’
He looked into her eyes. ‘I know.’
‘I just… enjoy talking to you. Want you to be happy.’
‘And I am. Especially now, like this. With you.’