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Rescue
Meg had lost consciousness somewhere between the dispatch of the two rescue lifeboats and the arrival of the Carpathia. It wasn’t until Mrs. Appleton shook her softly to let her know it was their turn to mount the ladder to the new ocean liner that she fully came to. Her dress was stiff with ice particles, as was her hair, and as she began to move just to straighten up, every part of her body protested. She glanced over at Ruth, who was sleeping on her father’s shoulder, and Daniel managed a small smile. Her initial thought, her continuous thought, was a simple one. I’ve lost Charlie again. This time, it seemed, it would be for good.
Getting aboard the Carpathia required a lot of help, but she managed to do so. Once aboard, the survivors were immediately ushered away from the Boat Deck to the interior of the boat where several public areas had been prepared to receive them. At first, Meg insisted on being allowed to stay on th
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Ghosts of Southampton Search
As Meg took her first few steps, overwhelming pain shot through her feet and up through her legs. She wondered if, perhaps, she didn’t have some frostbite. But with each step, the pain dulled, and soon she was able to make some semblance of a normal gait. Jonathan had offered his arm, and she could tell he was growing a bit impatient with her as she struggled to keep up, but as she grew stronger, her speed increased, and soon he began to tug on her less as they made their way through the throng of people.“Do you want to speak to Kelly first? She’s just over there?” he asked gesturing across the crowd.Meg could see her friend and her family off in the distance. Though Daniel was very pale, Ruth was dancing around her mother’s feet, and Baby Lizzy was cooing at her. She caught Kelly’s eyes and held them for a second, a small smile flashing between them. “No,” she replied. “Later.”Jonathan seemed reliev
Ghosts of Southampton Found
“You what?” Meg asked, not sure she’d heard correctly.“I found ‘im. I found Mr. Ashton, like you asked. I’ve been lookin’ everywhere for you,” she continued.Meg looked from the woman to Jonathan and back again. “What? Where? Are you sure? Is he….”“Come along, then,” she said leading the way out of the crowd and back the other direction toward the First Class passengers’ cabins.“Most of the crew don’t know the doctor arranged for a few of the more critical, higher priority patients, if you will, to have their own cabins. The doctor’s been so busy, as you can imagine. The whole medical crew has been….”Meg was hurrying to keep up with her. “Are you saying he’s alive then?” she asked once again.“To the best of my knowledge,” she replied, “though the gal I talked to said he wasn’t doin
Ghosts of Southampton Forever
Meg stared down at Charlie through tear-blurred eyes, her body heaving, each breath a struggle. “I’m so sorry, Charlie,” she whispered. “I should have made you get on the boat. I should have prayed harder.” She began to realize there was nothing more that she could say, nothing she could do, and the feel of Jonathan’s hand on her back indicated he thought she needed to go. She couldn’t imagine walking away from Charlie again. She didn’t think she could do it. She began to wish she’d stayed aboard the Titanic as well.“Come along, Meg,” Jonathan said quietly. “Ruth will be missing you.”Of course, there was Ruth. She needed to be strong for Ruth. She nodded, though she still could not tear her gaze from his handsome face. Even in death, his skin pale, his lips blue, he was still so very handsome. “I can’t let go yet, Jonathan,” she said quietly.“All rig
Ghosts of Southampton Residuum-Prologue
“The water was so cold, little crystals of ice immediately formed atop anything and everything that crested the surface. The sensations below weren’t any better, however. It was as if a thousand tiny pins were plunged into my flesh all at the same time. Even through my leather shoes, my coat. It didn’t matter; so I took them off. The entire Atlantic Ocean was already pulling me down. I didn’t need anything else hastening my journey to the abyss.”The man in the brown leather chair cleared his throat and adjusted his spectacles. “And then what do you remember next?”There was a long pause of consideration as thoughts fought to both spring to the surface and hide deep in the recesses of his mind. At last, a sentence was formulated. “I didn’t have a lot of time to decide what to do. There’d been plenty of chances, mind you, to climb into one of the lifeboats. I’d declined. Even though I’d been below d
Ghosts of Southampton Residuum--Prologue continued
“You were able to find a spot somehow, and to grab hold?”“Somehow,” he agreed. He began to strum his fingers on the arm of the couch intermittently, as if typing out a message using Morse Code.“And you’ve no idea how long you were there, you say?”“No.” The answer came quickly, unlike all of the other words that refused to form coherent sentences.“Do you remember being plucked from the water, then? When the lifeboats finally returned?”“No.” Equally as easily accessible. “I don’t remember anything again until after I awoke on Carpathia.” He was quiet for a very long time again, before he reconsidered his statement. “That’s not true. I do remember something else.” His voice was soft now, just above a whisper, and the man across the room leaned forward in his chair, straining to hear. “It’s the true reason I’
Ghosts of Southampton Arrival
April 18, 1912The silence was deafening. There had to be over a thousand people on the deck surrounding Meg as she peered off into the distance at New York City as it grew larger, but no one seemed to be saying a word. Only the gentle pitter patter of raindrops as they hit the metal railings and the sodden wooden planking broke the torturous sound of nothing ringing in her ears.She still wore the same white shirtwaist and plaid skirt the stewardess who had been so helpful when they’d first come aboard three days ago was able to find for her, but she wasn’t much worried about how she looked. Her hair was pinned up more to keep it out of her way, but she noticed it was starting to fall out, and she tried not to touch it for fear her hand would pull away a fresh clump.For three days, she and Jonathan had taken turns sitting alongside Charlie’s bed. He was lucid at times, very much aware of where he was, of who he was. Other times, he had no ide
Ghosts of Southampton Anxiety
Meg nodded and took a deep breath. Worry that something might happen to Charlie was a constant state of mind for her now, with these spikes in panic each time something else presented itself as evidence that he might not be all right, and her heart would be happy when there was no more reason to suspect the worst. “Was he awake when you left?”“He was,” Jonathan confirmed, stepping up to lean against the wet railing beside her. There was no sense in attempting to stay dry at this point, and Meg had given up hours ago, though she did have a shawl wrapped around her shoulders. “He asked about you. He wanted to know if you were planning to go to the hospital with him, and I said I’d ask.”She swallowed a lump in her throat. “He didn’t even know who I was when he awoke this morning. I had to remind him. Again.”“I know,” Jonathan said, adjusting his hat. “I believe his memory loss is due t
Ghosts of Southampton Information
Jonathan Lane made his way through the crowds to find a porter or an officer who looked like he might know what was going on. There was one in particular who had been a constant force of good information, and he knew if he was able to find Briggins he’d know precisely why Carpathia had passed the Cunard piers.He found the officer where he expected to, over near where the lifeboats from Titanic were being stored. He was giving directions as the lifeboats were being shifted about on the deck. The man saw Jonathan coming and offered a small smile of recognition. Jonathan was a master at finding out what he needed without troubling anyone or making his existence exhausting. “Briggins,” he called out as he approached. “Do you happen to know where we are headed?”“New York Harbor,” the older man said with a chuckle. He looked tired and the laugh was forced. The entire crew of Carpathia had been worked to t
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