Titanic Affair by Amanda P Grange Page A

been lost for much longer than she had realized, and she was now trapped on board Titanic . Even worse, she was trapped with Barker, and she would not be able to get off until they reached America .
    ‘It must have been something pretty bad to make you lose all track of time like that,’ he went on.
    ‘Yes . . . no . . . ’ she stammered.
    He walked towards her and put his finger under her chin, lifting it so that she was looking into his eyes.
    ‘You’re still shivering.’
    There was something caring in his voice that made her heart stand still. It was mellifluous. Deep and rich, she found it hypnotic, and against her will she felt herself weakening.
    ‘I’m . . . ’
    ‘And don’t tell me you’re cold. The stateroom’s heated, and I won’t believe you.’
    ‘Mr Latimer, do you always cross examine your fellow travellers?’ she asked, stepping back and trying to make light of things, though inside she was almost at her wits’ end with worry.
    ‘No. My fellow travellers rarely interest me. But you do.’
    The stateroom seemed suddenly too small. Despite the fact she had taken two steps back he still seemed alarmingly near. He was not a very tall man - no more than five feet ten or five feet eleven inches - but his personality was so large and his presence so strong that it seemed to fill the room. She had never met a man like him before. He annoyed her and exasperated her, but at the same time he set her nerve endings on fire.
    Taking a hold of herself, she felt she must give him some explanation for her nervous state. Not the real one of course. Confiding in him would make her vulnerable. And vulnerable was one thing she did not want to be around Carl Latimer.
    She straightened her shoulders and smoothed her skirt, then said, ‘I lost my way. I wanted to explore the rest of the ship before leaving it, and somehow I found myself in steerage. I tried to find my way out again, but the corridors were all the same and I became anxious. I twisted and turned, trying to find my way up on to the deck, before realizing I was lost.’
    ‘And you were worried about being unable to find your way back to first-class in time to get off the ship?’ he asked, looking into her eyes as though he could read the truth written there.
    ‘Yes,’ she said.
    She returned his gaze. It was, after all, partly true, even if it wasn’t the whole truth.
    ‘I see.’
    Whether he believed her or not she could not tell, but he said no more. Which in a way was worse, because she could no longer concentrate on her conversation with Mr Latimer and was instead forced to think of her terrible predicament.
    ‘If the ship has already left Ireland then I have no choice but to remain aboard,’ she said, sinking into a chair.
    ‘No. Like it or not, you’re bound for New York .’
    ‘My poor godmother. When I don’t arrive at her house as arranged she will be sick with worry. I have no way of letting her know what has happened. Oh! It is too unfortunate.’
    ‘It’s not as bad as you think,’ he said, pulling up a chair and sitting down opposite her. ‘There’s a telegraph office on board the ship —’
    ‘A telegraph office?’ she asked in surprise. ‘On board Titanic ?’
    He nodded. ‘Yes. You can send a message to your godmother and let her know what has happened.’
    She felt a huge flood of relief.
    ‘Oh, thank goodness. As long as she knows I’m safe, she won’t need to worry.’
    ‘Would you like me to show you the way?’ he asked.
    A part of her wanted to refuse his offer but another part of her was wary of wandering round the ship alone. She did not know where the telegraph office was, and she did not want to run into Barker again.
    ‘Thank you.’
    He looked at her curiously.
    ‘Is anything wrong?’ she asked.
    ‘No. Not really. It’s just that I didn’t expect you to agree so easily.’
    ‘Why not? It’s very kind of you.’
    ‘Kind?’
    ‘Yes. Kind,’ she said.
    He looked puzzled, as though he found