Chapter Twenty-Two #2
They shared one more fast kiss, and then Cassian turned to retrieve the blankets from the bed. He handed half of them to James. Afterward, they rushed back to the boat deck, running as fast as they could.
When they arrived, Cassian found John and Ethel still waiting for a lifeboat. It looked as though the officers were nearly finished filling the second one with women and children who had been waiting nearby, while the first boat in the area had already been lowered.
Ethel, of course, must have refused to board the second one without John.
“Cassian, we still haven’t been able to—” Ethel began to say.
“I can see that!” Cassian clipped.
Nearby, the officers were helping a woman into a lifeboat, coaxing her in with gentle, reassuring words, though their efforts to comfort her seemed futile.
No matter what they said, her eyes remained wide and wild, and her body continued to shake, probably not only from the cold, but from fear as well.
“Blankets! We need blankets here!” one of the officers called out.
Cassian started over to help. He haphazardly threw the pile over to the passengers on board, his simmering fear and frustration keeping him from being more civil about it.
Then, as Cassian started to walk back to his people, he heard one of the officers say to the other, “We need one or two more men to help with this lifeboat. But it looks as though there aren’t any other seamen around. At least, no one I recognize.”
Heart stuttering, Cassian froze as hope swelled in his chest. Maybe this was their chance. Maybe he and James could finally enter a boat. After all, the officers in charge had no way of knowing that he wasn’t an experienced yachtsman of some sort. Or even that James wasn’t as well, for that matter.
But then, as Cassian opened his mouth to volunteer, his eyes found Ethel’s in the small crowd nearby.
She was clinging to the man she loved, her hands clutching one of John’s arms. John was speaking to her, and even though Cassian couldn’t hear him, he knew that the man was likely murmuring warm, comforting words to her.
Because that was who John Quinn was. He was thoughtful and honest and kind.
And if given the chance, he’d keep Ethel safe.
He’d take care of her. Here, in the lifeboats, and later, for the rest of their lives.
Cassian realized, then, who ought to be offered a spot in that lifeboat.
He whirled back around to face the officers.
“I know someone,” Cassian said to them. He then looked over his shoulder and called out to his former valet. “John! John Quinn! Come over here!”
John and Ethel came over. John’s forehead was creased with confusion.
Cassian said to the officers, “Mr. Quinn here was a cadet once. Isn’t that right, John?”
“Yes, Mr. Livingston, Cassian, sir, I was,” John spluttered. “But only for a little while. And it was a long time ago. With the Revenue Cutter Service.”
“Good enough,” one of the officers said. “Come aboard. You’ll have to row, of course, and help work the falls as we launch.”
John’s eyes bulged. “I can have a spot?!” he spluttered and then immediately looked over at Ethel. “And what about my fiancée? Is there room for her as well?”
“Yes, there is,” the officer said. “Get in, both of you. Quickly.”
John and Ethel looked at each other, and smiles split their faces. Both of them breathed out happy laughs, their eyes immediately welling with tears. But then, simultaneously, their faces fell, and they turned toward Cassian.
“What about you?” Ethel said.
Cassian shrugged. “I’ll catch another one.”
“But I thought the officer said that maybe they could use two men.”
“I have no formal sea training,” Cassian admitted. “Besides, I can’t leave now. Not . . . without James.”
Ethel’s forehead creased in bewilderment, but then her hand flew to her chest as her eyebrows shot up.
“Oh,” she said through an exhale. “I see.”
Ethel could think what she wanted of him. All that mattered now was that she was safe. Cassian lifted his chin, gesturing toward the waiting lifeboat.
“Get in, Ethel,” he instructed.
“Right.” She nodded vaguely. “Yes. Right.”
Ethel entered the boat, her face still a mess of confusion. John Quinn caught Cassian’s eye.
“Thank you,” he said. “For everything.”
Cassian nodded once. “Good luck out there.”
After a pause, John moved to enter the boat, but before he could, Cassian realized that there was one more thing he needed to do. He caught John’s arm.
“John, wait,” he said. Moving swiftly, he pulled out the cash from his pocket and handed it to John.
“It’s money. For New York. Don’t count it now.
Just put it in your pocket. Trust me when I say that it’ll be enough for you and Ethel to find your footing.
” John’s eyes blew wide, and he immediately shoved the wad of bills into his pants pocket.
Cassian smiled approvingly. “You’re a first-class man, John. Remember that.”
“I will.”
John climbed into the boat. And Cassian breathed a long sigh of relief.
He walked back over to James.
“You’re incredible,” James said.
Cassian shrugged, feigning modesty. He knew he was. But so was John.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with James, Cassian watched as the lifeboat began to be lowered.
Behind him, Titanic’s musicians played, their notes lively and resonant, and for the first time since initially coming out onto the boat deck, Cassian found that he could let himself be calmed by the lively tunes.
All that was left for Cassian was to figure out how to secure a spot for himself and James in one of the remaining lifeboats. Even though the likelihood of it, for the moment, seemed grim, Cassian promised himself that he’d succeed.
Because he was Cassian Penn Livingston.
And he always got what he wanted.
Didn’t he?