Since neither of them could nap properly, they decided to leave their stateroom to find some more food or maybe some water. Cassian thought perhaps they should have their clothes laundered, too, if such a service was available, so that they could eventually change back into them and return their borrowed outfits.
Preparing to leave, James knelt down to scoop up the clothes he’d changed out of earlier, only to realize that he had left a few items in his pockets. Exhaling a soft sigh, James first took out his wallet, and he knew without even looking inside that everything he’d been keeping in there—thephotograph of George, a letter from his parents, and a few business cards from various establishments around London—was likely ruined now. His heart sank, and he steeled himself as memories of the sinking crashed over him. Thankfully, he managed to weather them without a repeat of the shaking incident, and he set the items aside.
Inside another pocket, James found the key to the B-Deck staterooms and frowned at it, heartache twisting in his chest. It was unbelievable that all of those beautiful rooms and everything in them were now at the bottom of the Atlantic. Swallowing past the lump in his throat, he set the key aside, too. Lastly, James took out Cassian’s pocket watch. He ran his thumb over the expensive stones before clicking it open. It read2:16 a.m., which must have been approximately when he had been thrown into the water.
Cassian knelt beside him. James looked over his shoulder and caught Cassian’s eye.
“I’m sorry it’s broken,” he said, holding out the watch for Cassian.
Shrugging, Cassian took it and said, “I thought it might be.” His forehead creased as he inspected it before one corner of his mouth curled into a smirk and he let out a fast breath through his nose. “Funnily enough, I think it might be worth even more now.”
James’s stomach roiled. He hated how accurate that offhand remark probably was.
Cassian clicked it closed and shoved it into the front pocket of his borrowed trousers. Then, he clapped his hands on his knees and stood.
“Let’s find John and Ethel,” he said. “They’re probably worried about us.”
“About you, you mean,” James corrected, picking up both his and Cassian’s piles of clothes before pushing himself to stand, too. “I barely even know them.”
“So? Weren’t you worried about Jacob before? And you barely knew him, too.” Cassian took James’s hand and kissed it. “Besides, both Ethel and John liked you well enough even when you were only our saloon steward, rather than the man who informed them about the sinking, likely saving their lives. Of course they’d be worried about you now. How could they not be?”
James smiled a bit, a little flicker of warmth flaring to life in his chest. It was nice to think that maybe someone besides Cassian had been and maybe still was concerned about him.
James was still holding onto that feeling of warmth, letting it calm him and comfort him, when he and Cassian started out of the room. But after walking only a couple of steps, a realization slammed into him, one so powerful it caused him to drop their clothes.
Maggie!
Maggie still cared about him. And she had no idea that he was safe.
“Cassian, I only just thought of something. Something important,” he spluttered. “Do you think people know about the ship yet?”
Cassian crooked an eyebrow. “People?”
“Yes, people. In New York or London or elsewhere. Everywhere. Do you think that people know?”
“Hm. I hadn’t thought about it.” He pursed his lips and hummed. “Not yet, I wouldn’t think. Tomorrow, maybe. It’ll be all over the newspapers, I’m sure.”
“I have to make sure Maggie knows I’m safe before she reads one!”
“Maggie?”
“Yes, Maggie. She’s my closest friend. George’s sister.”
“All the more reason for us to leave the room, then,” Cassian said. “We’ll see if the wireless operators can relay the message to her tonight.”
James ran a hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck with his palm.
“I hope they can,” he said. “For God’s sake, I really, really hope so.”
Imagining Maggie’s future worry and heartbreak had James’s insides coiling themselves into knots, bile creeping up his throat. His breathing became shallow, each inhale and exhale becoming shorter and shorter, and soon, James started to feel lightheaded. He wondered if he might pass out.
In an instant, Cassian was there, holding him. James had been so frazzled that he hadn’t even registered Cassian coming over to hug him. But now Cassianwashugging him. And James melted into his embrace.
“I’m sure they can,” Cassian said softly. “After all, it’s their responsibility to pass bits of communication from passengers here on the ship out to friends and relatives elsewhere.”
James shut his eyes as Cassian ran a hand through his hair. After a moment more, Cassian pulled back to look into James’s eyes and then rubbed one of James’s cheeks with his thumb.
“Your friend will soon know that you are safe, James. I promise.”
