Read By the Light of the Silvery Moon for Free Online

manner—not anything like the type of woman he wanted to spend his life with. Besides, he’d accepted his fate long ago. As long as his father needed him, he’d have to put off his own pursuit of a wife and family. Maybe next year—when his father had some time to realize his brother was lost to them forever—he’d be able to follow his heart. Even then, only the most stunning, most caring young woman would do.
    “Father.” Damien cleared his throat. “Why don’t we head to the back of the boat ferry? We needn’t rush to board the great ship. Ladies first, isn’t that what you always told me?”
    His father nodded, approval reflected in his eyes.
That’s my son,
his gaze seemed to say.
    As the boat ferry approached the
Titanic,
ten stewards stood at the gangplank, a small army of troops ready for service, but Damien’s eyes were not on the stewards. Instead he was drawn to a spot of yellow. A beautiful woman in a buttercup yellow dress stood like a rose among a meadow of thistles. Unlike most of the high society ladies who hid their hair under extravagant hats, her blond hair was pinned up on her head, and a few soft curls slipped from their hold and blew in the wind. As he watched, her head tossed back, and although he couldn’t hear her laughter, he saw the way it brightened and transformed her face. He wished he knew the joke her friend at her side shared. Wished he could see that laughter again. He envied her joy and her easy manner. An ache stirred deep inside wanting that for himself.
    “Is it everything you expected?” his father asked, speaking of the great ship.
    It wasn’t a difficult question, but Damien felt himself at a loss for words. “Yes … no. I expected this … but it’s also so much more.”
    His answer, of course, not only spoke of the ship, but of the woman. He’d lived among the same circles for so long he usually wasn’t impressed by those he met on voyages. Yet this woman. He knew he hadn’t seen her before. A face like that—her fine features and smile—those he would not forget. His heartbeat quickened, and he wasn’t sure if the sun had brightened or if it was simply her presence that caused him to warm.
    Damien looked at the long line of people ahead of him and willed those walking up the gangplank to hurry. He knew he couldn’t make his introduction yet, but …
    Please look this way.
    He wanted to get close enough to look into her eyes. To see if there was any spark of interest as she looked at him. One thing Damien had learned was that the best business deal was one with mutual interest and investment. He wasn’t one to chase a customer, and he had the same opinion about finding a woman to share his heart with. Yet even as he neared, the woman’s eyes weren’t on him. Instead she looked to his father’s maids with an interest that Damien could not understand.
    Look this way. Look this way,
he willed. But as he neared, the woman lowered her wistful gaze and then turned to her friend who was standing by her side.
    His only consolation was they had the whole voyage to get to know each other. And Damien made it his goal to do just that.

     
    Amelia watched as the group of men and women climbed aboard. Men in their proper gray coats and matching caps. Women in dresses that looked fine enough for tea at Windsor Palace. Her knees buckled slightly, but she resisted the urge to curtsy as they passed. And then there were the maids. She saw the eagerness in their eyes. Yes, they boarded as servants, but they, too, experienced the same luxury. Had her mother felt a similar hint of excitement as she traveled to distant places? Mother had served those who traveled upon the seas, but she’d been carried along just the same over the rippling waves.
    She glanced to Ethel. The woman’s mouth dropped open at the sight of the maids who followed, clutching fresh flowers to their chests. “Even they dress finer than the rest of us,” Ethel muttered under her breath.
    One of the