Cassian raced back toward the other staircase, shoving past slow-moving stewards, stewardesses, and other crewmembers, most or all of whom must have been unaware of the incredible danger they were very likely in.
Titanicwas one of the most, if notthemost, luxurious, impressive ships in the world. Could she really sink?
Heart hammering, Cassian rushed up the stairwell. All that mattered was finding James. And then finding Ethel and John and Jacob and Ingrid and Helena. He had to make sure that every single one of them made it to the boat deck to await instruction.
When Cassian reached his stateroom, he banged on the door, but no one answered. Hopefully that meant Ethel and John had followed orders. But, still, where was James? Cassian raked a hurried hand through his hair, mussing it up completely as he blew outa breath. He curled his hand into a fist and hit the wall. Dammit, where was he?!
Just then, his nighttime cabin steward came around the corner carrying a pile of lifebelts.
“You should be up on the boat deck. Or at the very least on A-Deck. Some folks are congregating there in the lounges or the Smoking Room, because of the cold,” the man said. “Where’s your lifebelt?”
“I never received one,” Cassian said.
“Here.” The cabin steward thrust one into his hands. “Now, put that on and head up with everyone else.”
Cassian put his head through the neck hole and began securing the ties around his midsection.
“Did you happen to see the man I was with the other evening?” Cassian asked.
“Yes, I did. In fact, he was the first one to communicate these orders to me,” he said. “I’ve heard them echoed several other times since, so the man must have been in the right place to hear them early, wherever he was.”
“Did you see where he went?”
“Last I saw him, he was with that woman friend of yours and your valet.”
Cassian nodded to himself. Hopefully James was still with them, then.
After securing the final tie, Cassian left for the boat deck, fear nipping at his heels, though he fought to keep himself composed. Every once in a while, he stopped and searched the clusters of people for James’s pinchable face. He hoped that his years of maintaining a façade of stoicism in stressful situations would serve him now. He knew how few lifeboats were required for vessels such as this one, and he knew, too, how fast ships were said to sink. Selfish though it was, Cassian preferred that most of his fellow passengersremain unaware of the absolute urgency of the matter, oblivious to the need for them to secure a spot in a lifeboat. All the better for the people who were his responsibility. He prayed that they’d all find safety before the potential chaos.
When Cassian finally reached the boat deck, he went around to the port side, where several groups of people were waiting, most of whom were not only wearing their lifebelts but their overcoats and other outerwear as well. Cassian shivered from the cold as he began scanning the faces of the men and women around him.
And then, miracle of miracles, he spotted James.
His heart nearly flew out of his chest.
“James!” he shouted, starting toward him.
It began as a walk, but the moment he and James locked eyes, Cassian started to run, and as soon as they were within reach of each other, it took every Goddamned ounce of strength that Cassian possessed not to pull James in for a crushing hug.
“Dammit, James, where were you?” Cassian said instead.
“Where was I?” James balked. “Where were you? I came looking for you in your section of the ship.”
“Yes, well, I was looking for you inyoursection of the ship,” Cassian countered.
James smiled. “Great minds.” He huffed a light, somewhat uneasy laugh. “Or maybe not so great in this particular situation. Thank God we found each other, though. It looks like they want to put people in boats. Can you believe it? It’s been... what, maybe close to an hour since we stopped moving? I mean, the ship, she seems fine, though I admit, Iwasa bit worried at first. I mean, the fellow who instructed me to put on a lifebelt looked—”
“She isn’t fine,” Cassian clipped through a harsh whisper, leaning in close. “James, when I was looking for you on Scotland Road, I spotted water.”
James’s face fell. Even in the yellow glow of the nearby electrical lights, it looked as though he had gone pale in an instant.
“What?!” he blurted out.
“She’s flooding,” Cassian said. “Titanicis sinking.”
“But... but the passengers here, the other stewards, everyone is saying that it’s only a precaution.”
“It isn’t. It can’t be.” Cassian’s stomach tightened as an image of the water flashed in his mind. “We have to catch a boat.”
