“Shit!” Charlie quickly gets up and starts hastily rummaging through the tangled sheets for his pants. I quickly put on my breakfast dress. It’s a pale lilac silk dress with a lace overlay. I look over at Charlie and can't help but be amused as he scrambles trying to find his shirt. Part of me hopes he never finds it, so we can stay here, suspended in time, forever. The sight of him in my room, topless with his suspenders hanging from his waist, has me wanting to return to bed.
I see his shirt poking out from under the bed and casually toss it to him before putting on my shoes. I can hear Ben in the hallway with Eric. Their voices are moving further away, so I assume they’ve stepped out for the morning. There is movement in Ben’s room and I realize Sarah is on her way over, likely to ready me for today's agenda. I motion for Charlie to keep quiet and I rush over to the adjoining door to cut her off. I swing the door open and hold it behind me, blocking the doorway into my room.
“Good morning!” My tone is way too excited, and not at all genuine. I realize immediately this is going to tip her off. My breath is short and jagged after sprinting to the door. I attempt to smooth my hair into place with my free hand. The mixture of bed head and sex hair might be what blows my cover right now.
“Jesus, Ali. What are you doing?” Sarah appears startled by my decision to cut her off. She looks annoyed, but also confused. I move and block her as she attempts to look around me. She lets out an exasperated sigh. “Ali, what’s going on?”
I’m trying to determine if I can trust her. I realize Charlie potentially being late for his duties is only half the battle. I also have to get him out of the room unseen. A steward leaving our room isn’t really that scandalous. He could, after all, be simply performing some kind of duty for us. But I don’t want to risk Eric or Ben potentially seeing him when my bedroom, which was an oasis a short time ago, is now disheveled. I need Sarah’s help. I just have to let myself hope for her trust.
I look through the crack in the door. Charlie is fully dressed, his jacket is on but unbuttoned.
I lean forward sheepishly. “I have a boy in my room,” I whisper, as though a parent has caught me.
I immediately regret telling her. No doubt she will tell Ben. I look back at her, expecting to meet a lecture or a face full of disapproval. Instead, she’s laughing. And not just a small chuckle, but a full laugh from down in her belly.
“Good morning, Charlie!” Sarah says gleefully between laughs as she pushes the door open behind me. He looks as nervous as I am. Neither of us is sure what her play will be. I cautiously step out of the way for her to enter the room, positioning myself next to the doorway as if ready for inspection. She looks around the room at the bedsheets and pillows strewn around and smiles. “Well, I’d ask if you had a good night, but it looks like you did.” I turn every shade of red possible. I can feel the warmth flushing my cheeks.
Before I can even say anything, there’s a hard knock at the door of my cabin. I frantically look at Sarah, my eyes widening and pleading for her help. She puts her finger to her mouth and then points toward the left side of the room, motioning for us to be quiet and move into the corner so we stay unseen. Charlie moves first and I follow. I stand up against him and he wraps his arms around me as we try to make ourselves as small as possible. Sarah walks toward the door and opens it, but remains careful to block the doorway.
I can tell by the way Sarah’s body stiffens with a cold professionalism that it isn’t Eric or Ben. They would have likely entered on their own, anyway. “Good morning, sir. How can I help you?”
I hear a voice I recognize and abhor. Edward. Why is he here? “I’d like to escort Miss Alice to breakfast.”
Shit. This is it. I don’t want to go with him, but if I do, it buys Charlie enough time to get out of the room unseen. I wish I knew what Sarah was going to do. I stand in the corner at her mercy. One swing of the door and everything falls apart.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Harrison, but Miss Alice has already stepped out for the morning.” She covered for me. I can’t believe it. I hear Edward walk away. He doesn’t even acknowledge Sarah.Fucking asshole. She watches him leave the hallway and shuts the door. Still in his arms, Charlie and I breathe a collective sigh of relief. I can feel Sarah watching us, and when I look over at her, she’s smiling.
“Thank you, thank you so much.” Charlie follows and nods in her direction with silent appreciation. I’m grateful that she covered for us, even more so that she didn’t sacrifice me to a morning of Edward’s extravagant bragging. It’s hard enough in the evening, and there’s at least some alcohol at dinner. She looks surprised that I’m thanking her. Or perhaps she’s surprised that I assumed she wouldn’t help me.
“Ali, I’ve got your back.” Sarah smiles at me. I know we’ve had moments where it’s felt like the ice has thawed between us, but I suppose I never realized she was forming a friendship. I thought we were being friendly, but I wasn’t sure if that meant we were friends. I’m not used to having many friends, especially female ones, and I find myself completely at a loss with how to navigate this.
Sarah presses her ear to the door. “I don’t hear anyone. Charlie, I think this is your chance to slip out.”
He nods at her affirmatively before turning back toward me. “I’ll see you later, love.” He slides his hand around my waist and kisses me. “I promise.”
Sarah quickly opens the door and Charlie slips out into the hallway, buttoning up his jacket as he leaves. I have only a moment of relief before I hear Ben’s voice in the hallway greeting Charlie. Though it is muffled, there is obvious confusion in his voice. “Good morning, Charlie?” He has to be wondering why the steward is leaving our cabins while buttoning his jacket. He opens the door to his room and I can hear him briskly coming toward our adjoining door.
Sarah and I stare at each other with matching deer in headlights expressions. I suddenly don’t know what to do. I stand there completely frozen, partially in disbelief at the turn of events that have brought me to this moment. Sarah, clearly more quick thinking than I am, sprints to the adjoining door and blocks the doorway. It’s quite similar to the way I blocked her just moments ago.
“Ben! You’re back! I didn’t expect you back so soon.” Her voice is energetic, albeit lacking sincerity. She tries her hardest to distract him.
“I forgot my pocket watch,” he says as he pushes past her. He looks at me standing up against the wall and then looks at the unmade bed. I can see his face deducing out what he’s walked into. His tone shifts and he speaks flatly, without looking away from me. “Sarah, can you leave, please? I need to speak with Ali alone.”
She takes a step toward us, positioning herself between Ben and I, as if she’s going to battle with me.
“I think I’d like to stay.”
“I think you’d like to go.” His stare grows icy as the words narrowly escape his clenched jaw. He looks like he’s about to burst.
Sarah looks at me with empathy, her eyes searching mine for approval. As much as I would love her to stay for moral support, I want to spare her from any more involvement. I nod at her, indicating that it’s okay to go. I’m ready for whatever he has to say. I’m prepared to take it on the chin. There’s nothing he can say at this point that I don’t already know. I’m well aware of my recklessness, but I am not ashamed.
He stands silently, staring down at the floor as he waits for Sarah to leave. Once the door shuts, he shifts his attention toward me. His tone isn’t cold or irate, but serious. More serious than I’ve ever seen him before.
“Ali, what the hell are you—”
“I know what I’m doing, Ben.” I cut him off. There’s no use lecturing me. I know the risks and the consequences, and I did it anyway. I’d do it again, and truthfully, my entire body yearns to do it again.
“Come on, Ali!” Ben shakes his head furiously. His fists are clenched and whitened. “This is fucking risky.” I walk from my room into the adjoining sitting room, trying to get away from the scene of the crime.
