Page 65 of The Missing Pages
“I might have other plans.”
“With whom?” She looked at me incredulously, as if I’d stolen something right from under her.
“With a friend of Quaritch’s.”
“Well then, Harry… you could certainly invitehim, too.”
Father and I smoked cigars after dinner, while I eyed the clock. At nine o’clock, I told him there was a book I wanted to take out from the library.
“I know better than to keep you, then,” he said as he blew blue circles of smoke into the air.
Major Archibald Butt had joined us after dinner, and he and his good friend, Frank Millet, a painter, were involved in a lively conversation. Father would be in good company and not be left alone.
Ada was already waiting for me when I returned to the library.
“I apologize for my delay,” I said as I sat down. “I hope your first meal on board was a good one.”
“Very. I sat with a woman named Ella, who was traveling alone like me. And an elderly gentleman, a Mr. William Stead from London. What an interesting man he was! A former newspaper editor turned spiritualist. He told Ella and me how he was headed to New York to give a talk about how the soul lives on after death. He’s had his own personal experiences hearing from people who have communicated beyond the grave.”
“How interesting,” I commented dryly.
“Honestly, Harry, it was exhilarating to hear him speak,” she said, sensing my cynicism.
“Well, I found it fascinating. I want to believe we can still communicate with our loved ones when we’re gone.”
“Fair enough,” I said. “But let’s hopethat’snot for a while. And in the meantime, there are more pressing things to concentrate on. I want to introduce you to my parents. They’re planning a party with the captain on Sunday night.”
Ada looked at me softly. “I would very much like to meet your parents. But perhaps it wouldn’t be the best time to do that when your mother is throwing a party and all of her friends are there.”
I was grateful she had the same reservations as I about the party not being the ideal backdrop for a first meeting. I wanted to be a gentleman and make sure she knew she was invited, but we both knew that unkind gossip at the onset could derail any potential future we might have.
“Perhaps I could arrange for us to all have dinner on Saturday? That would still give my parents a few days to adjust to the voyage, and then be their best when they meet you.”
“I think your mother might be distracted the night before her party,” she said sweetly.
“But I hate to think of you dining by yourself all that time.”
“Don’t be silly,” Ada said. “The maître d’ will make sure I’m not sitting alone. There isn’t a boring person on this entire ship. It’s invigorating meeting new people.”
“How about Monday?” I suggested. The boat was scheduled to arrive in New York on Wednesday, so a dinner then would still give enough time for my parents to learn for themselves why I’d become so besotted with Ada.
“I would like that,” she said.
“And you must promise that I’ll be the only one you’re gazing at the stars with at night. We’ll find a place on one of the rear decks where no one else can see us.”
“I promise,” she said, smiling.
There was no one in the library now but us. I leaned in closer, my fingers caressing her cheek. She tasted like cinnamon and honey as I kissed her.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
The archives speak to us,” Madeline told Violet. “True scholars understand that it’s really a dialogue. And what’s missing from it often reveals something, too.”
“I’ve started to realize that, actually,” Violet agreed.
Madeline’s curiosity seemed piqued. “So tell me, then… what are the archives saying to you?”
“You might think I’m way off the mark here, but I’ve been wondering about something that’s completely missing from the Harry Elkins Widener archives.” Violet took a deep breath. “Obviously because of you, I’ve been lucky to read so much of Harry’s correspondence with Rosenbach. The men clearly bonded over their love of books.” She hesitated before continuing. “But did anyone ever investigate if there are anylove lettersout there?”
