Titanic Affair by Amanda P Grange Read Free Book Online

cabins she saw through a few open doors she guessed she had wandered into third class, for the cabins were smaller, and bunks were provided instead of beds.
    She went on, hoping to find her way to a staircase leading back to second class. She walked through a large communal room, panelled in pine. Instead of comfortable chairs, interspersed with potted plants as there were in first-class, there were only wooden benches, whilst exposed pipe work hung from the ceiling, but it was clean and fresh.
    A number of people were talking or playing cards. Over in the corner a group of women, some wearing plain skirts and blouses, and others wearing dark coloured dresses over which they wore woollen shawls, were talking animatedly about the new life they hoped to find in America . Nearby, a group of men, coatless, with their sleeves rolled up and their braces stretched tightly over their rough shirts, were playing dominoes. Between the benches ran children, the girls in dresses with white aprons and the boys in knee length trousers with rough jackets, enjoying the relative freedom of the room after the confines of the small cabins.
    As she had not come across a staircase, Emilia decided to ask for directions. She doubted if any of the passengers in steerage knew the way to first class, but if they could direct her to the deck then she could walk along it until she came to the first class section, and from there she could find her way back to her room.
    She found the women friendly and they soon told her the way. Thanking them, she set off towards the stairs. But just as she turned a corner and came in sight of them she stopped suddenly and shrank back against the wall, her heart hammering in her chest. There, standing at the foot of the stairs, was Silas Montmerency’s henchman, Barker.
    Her heart began to pound in her chest. What was Barker doing on board the Titanic ? she wondered. He must have seen her get on board, and followed her. But how? He didn’t have a ticket, and he would not have had time to buy one. She had boarded the ship with only ten minutes to spare.
    Her mind returned to more pressing concerns. She could go no further. If she continued on her way towards the stairs he would see her and it would be all over with her.
    She began to back away, and had almost managed to slip round the corner, out of sight, when he turned round. She froze again, hoping the shadows would hide her, but it was no good. His eyebrows shot up, then his mouth curved into a crooked smile.
    Their eyes locked for a tense minute, and then she turned and ran, neither knowing or caring where she was going, driven only by a need to get away from him.
    She knew without looking that he was following her, for she could hear the steel caps on his shoes tapping on the floor as he ran after her. If she could just get away from him, then lose him in the labyrinthine passages of the ship, she might have a chance of escape. She had only to return to her stateroom and collect her luggage and then she could disembark. The ship would be docking at Queenstown in less than an hour. As long as he did not see her, the ship would be heading for New York before he realized she was no longer on it.
    She threaded her way through the third-class passengers, past gossiping women and men playing fiddles, avoiding children’s hoops and balls, every few minutes glancing over her shoulder to see if he was still following her.
    She could see no sign of him and stopped to catch her breath, but the tell-tale sound of steel on wood alerted her to the fact that he was near and she ran on again.
    She was becoming afraid. She recognized none of the corridors. With their uniform doors they all seemed the same. She had hoped to be able to double back on herself, reaching the stairs once Barker had left them, but she had lost her sense of direction.
    The further she went, the more lost she became. She threaded her way through a further maze of passages. One of the cabins had its door