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The family walked in, discussing what the newspapers were saying about the sinking, and Meg tuned them out. She had no interest whatsoever in learning the misinformation being spread across the world as if it were fact.
“Charlie, you’ve got some color in your cheeks,” Pamela noted as she returned to her spot on the sofa. A small smile played at the corners of her mouth as if she thought she could guess why that might be.
“Meg’s presence always makes me feel better,” Charlie assured her. Grace let out a small scoffing snicker and was met by another sharp look from her mother. Charlie either didn’t notice or didn’t care to acknowledge it. “We actually have some information we’d like to share with you, but first we want to caution you that what we are about to tell you cannot leave this room.”
“My god! Is she carrying your child?” Grace leaned forward in her seat so far, Meg thought she m
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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
Ghosts of Southampton Carriage House
Meg was thankful that the carriage house had been completely converted to a guest house since there were absolutely no carriages or horses kept here, and Charlie had an attached garage where he kept his automobiles. (She was shocked when Jonathan said he owned four.) The apartment above the carriage house was nearly as large as her entire house would be if it were placed on one story, and she couldn’t imagine why anyone would call this an apartment.It was immaculate, which didn’t surprise Meg at all since she knew Jonathan to be impeccably tidy. The view from one side was of Charlie’s house—which she couldn’t fathom would soon be her own home—and on the other side she could see the expansive back garden of the house behind them, though there was a large hedge obstructing part of the view. Charlie’s own garden, complete with a small pond and fountain, was nestled between the two buildings, and Meg thought it was quite lovely.J
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Charlie was all alone in his own bedroom, sitting on the edge of his own bed, looking out the back window at the carriage house, wondering what Meg was doing. There was no way he could see her from here, partially due to the heavy drapery that covered the windows of the second story across the yard, but he imagined she was resting or possibly reading a book. He wondered if she felt all alone when there was no one with her or if she was suffering from the same sensation he was experiencing.The voices wouldn’t stop. Even when other people were talking to him, even as he formulated responses to their questions, he could hear the constant noises of screaming, crying out, in the back of his mind. While having other people nearby lessened the effects to some degree, it never made them stop. When he was completely alone as he was now, there was nothing to dull the effect, and he could distinctly hear the individual voices, make out what they were saying, and envision their fa
Ghosts of Southampton Dinner
Charlie’s dining room table was large and opulent, like most of the other furnishings in his house. However, Meg had come to learn that his mother had chosen most of the décor, and when Charlie said he’d just as soon be surrounded by simpler things, Meg believed him. Nevertheless, seated next to him at the baroque revival dining table made her feel small and insignificant. Luckily, whenever he smiled at her, she felt like the most important person in the world.“How was your day?” he asked as they sipped bowls of freshly made soup. Meg had learned that there would be at least four courses, sometimes as many as seven depending upon who was present, so she paced herself. “Did you do any shopping?”“Not today,” Meg replied, setting her spoon aside to take a sip of water. She’d declined the wine she’d been offered. Drinking anything stronger than tea made her head ache. She was happy to have Charlie to hers
Ghosts of Southampton Fate
Meg swallowed hard. Charlie had made other such statements, but this time he had that far off look in his eyes again. “It could’ve been one of them in my seat as well. Or Jonathan’s or Daniel’s. There’s no way to say how God decided who lived and who did not.”At the mention of God, Charlie’s head whipped around and his eyebrows raised. “Do you think He chose?” he asked. His voice was calm, but there was an air of amusement in it. “Do you think He was looking down at the Atlantic that night and put us into categories of who deserved to make it and who did not?”She put her hands in her lap, absently tugging at the stitches in the hem of her dinner napkin, not sure how to respond. She had little knowledge of Charlie’s religious beliefs except for the few he’d mentioned in a letter from time to time. Since they’d arrived in New York, he had given no indication as to whether or not those s
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“Well, tonight, if you can’t sleep, telephone me, and we’ll talk,” she said with a shrug.A half grin pulled at one corner of his mouth. “Telephone you? In the middle of the night?”“Why not?” she asked. “It’s not as if I have something I need to do tomorrow. No one cares if Meg West has important information about Titanic to share.” She had been lucky to escape the inquisition. None of the men running the interviews seemed to realize who she was at this point, and she wanted to leave it that way, though Mr. Ashton had informed her that her mother had sent him a telegraph a few days ago asking if he’d heard from Mary Margaret. He had yet to respond.“You really wouldn’t mind?”“Not at all,” Meg assured him. “In fact, I’d say come over, but something tells me Jonathan would immediately awaken and appear in my apartment the moment your
Ghosts of Southampton Call
Meg was reposing on the sofa, in and out of sleep, letting the worries of the day wash over her, sometimes more than one at a time, when an alarming buzzing noise jarred her fully awake. She jerked upright, thankful that she wasn’t on the bottom bunk of the Third Class passenger accommodations any longer or else she would’ve surely knocked herself unconscious on the bunk above her.She looked around the living room and realized the irritating noise was coming from the telephone. A glance at the grandfather clock across the room told her it was past two in the morning. She assumed that meant it must be Charlie calling, and she gathered her wits and crossed to pick up the receiver as Jonathan had demonstrated for her, hoping she reached the device in time.Clearing her voice, she spoke into the piece protruding from the wall. “Yes?” she asked. An operator, she assumed, said something that sounded like, “One moment please,” and then she
Ghosts of Southampton Therapy
“Can I ask you something? Something personal?” he asked, his green eyes seeming to peer right through her.“You can ask me anything.” Her voice was a whisper fluttering on the wind.His lips didn’t move for a long while, as if he still wasn’t sure whether or not he should ask. Eventually, he said, “When I kiss you, when I touch you… is it… difficult?”Her answer came quickly. “Not at all,” she replied, and she could see surprise in his eyes at first but then acceptance that she was being honest. She broke the trance and looked away. “I thought at first it would be. That is… for all of those years, I thought I would never be able to be intimate with anyone. But then, as you know, there was Ezra. And that was not at all what I was expecting either. But it wasn’t the same as… before.” The box was attempting to open, and she needed to find a way to slam it shut
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