Meg took a deep breath and steadied herself to say a phrase she had only repeated to those the very closest to her over the last several years. “My Uncle Bertram began molesting me when I was seven years old.” Molly gasped, but Meg didn’t wait. She needed to power on or else she would lose her courage to speak. “I thought it was my fault, that I’d done something wrong. I tried to tell my mother, but she punished me severely for saying such things about my uncle. Anytime I tried to reach out to anyone, that person would end up hurt… or worse. I even contemplated telling Charlie, but my mother read everything I wrote to him. I had no one to turn to, and despite the fact that marrying him would provide a means of escape, all my mother ever talked about was marrying into the Ashton family so we could live by their means. My mother is a greedy, vindictive woman. I have no idea how someone as kindhearted and loving as my father could have ever seen her
They were late. Not as late as Meg had anticipated considering they hadn’t even begun dressing until almost five o’clock, but slightly late nonetheless. Dressed in a velvet and silk Chantilly lace gown in black, with a small train, square neckline, and netted sleeves, featuring red floral embroidered tulle at the waistline and splendid bead work, her hair in a low chignon with matching beads interlaced, a diamond necklace she had borrowed from Molly featuring a flor de lis and matching diamond earrings, and red, satin, beaded slippers, Meg was finally beginning to feel like herself again.She had briefed Molly on precisely who she felt she needed to avoid, as best she could tell, and they had come up with a plan for what to do should her cover be blown. Arriving a bit late actually helped in some ways, as most of the diners were already seated before she entered, giving less of an opportunity for them to linger at the bottom of the grand staircase. In fac
Before Meg could reply, a woman’s voice from the other end of the table caught her attention. “Meg, where are you from? Your accent sounds familiar. Southampton?”It was the woman who had identified herself as Mrs. Appleton. She felt Charlie tense next to her, which she thought was a bit odd, but she proceeded to answer the question the best she could without giving any contradictory information. “Yes, madam,” she replied.“Whereabouts? Eastleigh? Chilworth?”“Nursling, actually,” Meg answered, which was a lie. She had lived in Chilworth her whole life. This woman was good.“Oh, I have a friend who lives in Nursling. Perhaps you’ve heard of her. Mrs. Sarah Everton?”“No, I’m afraid I don’t know her,” Meg stated, this time the truth.“Meg, is that short for Margaret then?” the older woman pressed on.“Well, it ain’t s
As soon as he entered his room, Charlie took off his jacket and tie, tossing them on the back of the sofa before collapsing into his usual chair, his head in his hands. Despite having spent most of the last week feeling like a fool, nothing could possibly top this level of idiocy.Molly was perched on the arm of the sofa nearby, giving him a moment to collect himself, no doubt. When he didn’t speak, she finally said, “Listen, Charlie, there’s a lot more to this story than you realize.”“I hope so,” he finally muttered. “Otherwise, I am simply the biggest imbecile ever to walk the face of the earth.”“Oh, come on now,” she scolded, “that’s not true. Charlie, when you hear her side of the story, I think you’ll realize this has a lot less to do with you than you think it does.”“Less to do with me?” he asked, sitting up straight. “Molly, we were engaged for
It wasn’t as if Meg hadn’t had plenty of time to prepare herself for this. She’d known all along that he would react precisely the way he had, though she was actually surprised he had let her go without chasing her down and yelling at her. Maybe that would still happen, though she doubted it. He was an extremely level-headed person, and while she still expected to face him, she was fairly certain he was more likely to be disappointed than angry. In a way, she had actually wished he would have followed her, called her every name in the book. At least then she’d know how he was doing. Now, she could only assume he was somewhere cursing her name. Or perhaps she had meant so little to him that he was able to shrug it off and go on about his way.She didn’t think that was the case, however. No, she was quite confident that Charlie was brokenhearted again—at her hand. The feelings of despair and guilt she was wallowing in now were well deserved,
“What do you mean you think I should go talk to her? Are you mad? You of all people should know everything I’ve been through. The last thing I need to do is go talk to her!”“Well, no, not right now,” Jonathan admitted. He had only been in Charlie’s stateroom for a few minutes, but he had easily ascertained that his friend was hammered, a rarity. “Right now, what you need to do is put that bottle of Jameson down and go sleep this one off.”“You don’t understand, Jonathan. She. Lied. To. Me. Again!” He was standing on the outside deck, bottle in one hand, glass in the other, his shirt mostly unbuttoned, shoes off, still in his suit pants, and Jonathan was doing his best to ensure he kept his voice low enough that the other First Class passengers nearby in their staterooms couldn’t hear him.“Why don’t you come inside, and we’ll talk about it in there?” he asked for abo
Charlie heard a stirring from the main living quarters and emerged from the bathroom to find Jonathan with an array of potential brunch items. “Good morning,” he said. “I’m guessing you’re probably not hungry, but I did order some dry toast—which I think is probably your best option. And possibly some orange juice.”Charlie waved both items away and dropped onto the couch on his back. “Why is the sun so bright?” he asked, tossing a pillow over his face.“Let me turn it down for you,” Jonathan said sarcastically. He did, however, adjust the blinds to make sure they were closed as tightly as possible.“How much did I drink?” Charlie asked, pressing the pillow against his eyes.“From what I can tell, about a bottle of brandy, and most of a bottle of Jameson.”“Don’t ever let me drink alcohol again, all right?” he said, muffled by the pillow.
Meg had just dozed off when a knocking on the cabin door jarred her awake. The family had come back briefly after breakfast, delivering the promised food stuffs, and then set out again. This time, Ruth was determined to see an “ocapus,” and even though her parents warned her that Uncle Charlie probably wouldn’t be around to help her find one, she was hopeful he would show up.She wasn’t the only one.But Meg was fairly certain when she reached the door, it wouldn’t be him on the other side. Pulling it open to find Jonathan standing in the hall, therefore, was not disappointing.“I think you should come with me,” he said, not even bothering with a greeting.Meg ran a hand through her disheveled hair. “Does he want to see me?” she asked, confused.“Not necessarily,” Jonathan admitted. “But I think you should still come with me.”“To Charlie’s stateroom?&r
Even at this distance the piercing nature of Charlie’s green eyes locked on Meg in such a way made it very challenging for her to think, and even under normal circumstances it was extremely difficult for her to tell the story of what had brought her to this point. She wasn’t quite sure what to say or where to start. She certainly didn’t want to rehash exactly what she had conveyed to Molly. Rather than starting at the beginning, she decided to start at the end. “The reason I told you I wasn’t good enough for you, the other night, after the dance, was because it’s true. I haven’t been good enough for you for quite some time. And over the years, that knowledge has caused me to make some terrible decisions, many of which, I’m afraid, were made without even taking you into consideration, for which I’m truly sorry, but I would be lying if I didn’t say that I don’t think I ever really saw you as a person until I glimpsed yo