Chapter 36
With a punch, the emergency exit door flew open, and Emmeline and Theo burst out on deck.
He took a deep breath first, the cold night air expelling the stale, warm fumes of the shaft from his lungs.
They were by the foot of one of the funnels, next to a conglomerate of fans and exhaust vents.
Theo leaped on top of one for a better vantage point.
From this high up, the ship’s downward angle was clear, the decks leading steadily to the inky black ocean lapping at the sides.
No, worse; it overcame them already, now spilling over the deck where Emmeline had found Theo only a few days ago.
He gazed at the spot, mind unwilling to comprehend what his eyes were telling him.
They really were going under.
Yet, despite this clearly oncoming doom, there was less panic on deck than he’d expected. No rushing, and barely any cries. He swore he heard music; notes of a violin, drifting through the air. A waltz?
It was so wildly different to the time their little ship went down in the Channel, and Jean-Baptiste with it, and Theo almost, as well.
No storm, no enemy here—just the sea, as clear and polished as a mirror, and the stars sinking into it—but still, his chest squeezed, and he had to shake off the memories.
Focus on the now.
“Your family would probably have been evacuated through one of the first class entrances onto the deck,” he said to Emmeline. “We have to get down.”
She made no complaints, but she shivered as she nodded, hugging her middle.
He climbed off the fan. “Here.” He took off his jacket and enveloped her in it, regretting he’d exchanged his much warmer woolen coat for it. “Are you all right?”
“Y-you might want to reconsider our wedding preparations.” She stopped her teeth from chattering and smiled. “I think I’m getting cold feet.”
Even in this situation, he couldn’t stop himself from smiling back. Here they were, freezing in the middle of the Atlantic, and she was making a joke.
God, he loved her.
“Come.” He took her hand and helped her from the roof and over railings to the deck below, taking a moment to orient himself. Something was off about the deck. It used to feel more boxed in, but now it was too spacious, too empty …
Because the boats were gone.
The side where they used to be, spoiling the passengers’ views, has been cleared off.
Only a few people milled about, not seeming too upset about missing their ride.
As they ran past them, Theo caught a lady complaining about “Those fools going into the tiny boats, when the ship is so much safer.” But Emmeline took initiative, and pulled him toward one of the junior officers, wearing a dark blue, almost black sweater.
“Sir, please,” she said. “My parents. Have they boarded a boat already? They’d have been here. Our cabins are just below.”
“I’m not sure, miss, I wasn’t in charge of loading them,” the officer said. “You’ll have to check with Officer Murdoch. He’s gone aft to load the rest.” He pointed down in the direction they came from. “Go fast, miss. There aren’t a lot left.”
“Thank you.” They took off running again; at least, Theo figured, it kept them warm and their blood flowing.
They passed the compass platform where they’d hidden once, now cast in shadow, and the side of the promenade where they’d played shuffleboard, the chalk lines worn away by the many feet that must’ve passed them, lost with the sunny days.
More people gathered at the aft deck, but as they were about halfway to it, a shot rang out; then the second, and the third.
Emmeline yelped, looking at him with wide eyes. The shots came from further down, but he saw no other commotion, and no clear signs of people wounded.
“It’s fine. It’s fine.” He caressed Emmeline’s hair. “Let’s go.”
No boats were being loaded on this side either, but a larger crowd had gathered on the port side. Emmeline ran to another officer, beginning her descriptions once again as she tried to catch her breath.
“My mother—curly red hair, petite, she’d probably be wearing her dark blue coat—then two boys—”
“One with red hair, one with black?”
“Yes!” Emmeline jumped, pressing her hands to her chest. “Yes, that’s them!”
“They’d all boarded a while ago. Number three it was, I think.” The officer was called away, and Emmeline slumped her shoulders in relief.
“They’re fine. Thank God.” She leaned onto him, trembling as though she was about to collapse. He wrapped his arms around her, soothing her with caresses down her back.
“You should get on the boat, dear,” a voice said from nearby. Theo and Emmeline shifted gazes to an older woman, her graying hair styled in a perfect bun, a fine silk dress peeking from under her coat. “It’s the last one on this side.”
The boat in question had been swung over the side, and passengers crowded around it, but it was mostly men, and the officers held them back.
“You’re not going?” Emmeline asked.
“They won’t take Isidor,” the lady said, linking hands with a distinguished older gentleman next to her. They smiled at each other. “And I won’t leave him. He’d be lost without me.”
“Next time, I’ll marry someone less stubborn,” the man said, lovingly brushing the lady’s cheek.
Emmeline turned to Theo, her face crumpling.
“Go,” he said. “Your family is already out there.”
“Any more ladies?” an officer shouted from the boat. “Ladies, please! A few seats left!”
“Maybe we can both go,” she said. “I’ll talk to them. I’ll ask—” Suddenly, she was torn out of his grasp, and swallowed by the crowd.
***
For Emily, studying the Titanic’s sinking had been one thing: heart-wrenching, but still safely removed from her time, her life. Being here was a different beast. She’d never thought the air would truly be this cold, the deck truly this eerily calm, the sea truly this close.
She’d never thought she’d be afraid for her life.
“There should still be boats aft,” Will said. “The collapsibles, didn’t you mention them?”
She gulped, trying to cool her head enough to sort out all the information she’d hammered in there over the past month.
Her legs trembled as if she was about to walk on a wire.
“There might, yeah, but …” It was going to be pandemonium.
People crawling over each other; officers shooting to keep men away, some of the collapsible boats overturning—and at the end of it all, she wasn’t sure if Will would be allowed to get into one.
And she hadn’t come all the way here to lose him.
Her mind turned to the flooded hallways a few decks below. There was another way out, but possibly no less risky. Emmeline’s portal. On one hand—stay on the dry deck, hope to get into a boat. On the other …
“I have an idea.” She turned to Will. “But you’re not gonna like it.”
***
Stunned, Theo stood there for a second or two before he realized what had happened. An officer had wrapped his arm around Emmeline’s waist, dragged her a few steps back, and quite literally threw her into the boat.
“Lower away!”
Theo rushed to the edge, standing a foot back when the officer extended a warning hand. With a creak and a lurch, the boat started lowering. Another woman helped Emmeline to her feet, and she shook the hair off her face and scanned for him. “Theo!”
He gulped down a lump in his throat, relief and desperation fighting inside him. She was safe, she got away—but he’d never see her again, and he never kissed her goodbye.
The boat had reached the deck below by now, drawing further and further away from the ship thanks to its list. Theo leaned over the railing, not taking his eyes off Emmeline.
“I love you,” he mouthed. Oh, all the things he wanted to tell her.
About how she’d saved his life so many times, not only by saving him on the beach but by making him realize the unfairness of Wescott’s rule, too.
About the light and freedom she’d brought to his existence. About the dreams she ignited in him.
She was his dream.
Emmeline pushed to the edge of the boat, gripping the side as she continued to gaze up, her pale face shining in the darkness. Even scared, with her eyes watering, she was so beautiful. If only they had longer.
But at least she would.
Suddenly, her eyebrows drew together. Breaking off her gaze, she looked to the ship’s hull, rose onto her feet, and jumped to the open promenade deck as the few sailors manning the boat yelled after her.
“Emmeline!” Theo leaned further across the railing. “Emmeline!”
Her face popped out from the deck below. “Wait for me! I’ll get back up!” She ran down the deck and kept checking for him as he followed her along the railing. “I’m coming!” And then she disappeared.
Theo ran along the deck, looking both for an exit downstairs or a door she’d pop through. There—stairs! He ran to them, meeting Emmeline at the top as she sunk into his embrace, her voluminous, curly locks smothering his face.
“No,” he said, despite being so happy to hold her in his arms again. “You can’t.”
“I sent you here. I’m not going to leave you behind.”
“That’s not fair. Your family is waiting for you.”
She separated from him, taking his hands and bringing them up to their chests. Her eyes glistened with tears, but her face was determined. “You’re coming with me, or I’m not going.”
He could argue with her for whatever little time they still had, but as he gazed upon her, he realized he didn’t want to. It was her choice and her right. Her life to give away however she wished. Hadn’t he done the same with Wescott? His uncle didn’t own him—and Theo didn’t own Emmeline.
He pressed her hands to his lips and kissed her cold fingers, and he knew she understood.
“Now what?” he whispered.
She pressed herself against him and murmured, “Home. Home. Home.” Her eyebrows dipped. “It’s not working. My powers—I don’t know how to—I can’t get us out.”