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handkerchief for several minutes, Beth glanced about. Several round white life preservers hung along the railing. Each bore the name of the ship in large black letters.
    RMS TITANIC.

Chapter 4
     
    Beth found the staterooms quite elegant: three connecting rooms plus a private lavatory. Several rectangular windows—larger than the portholes she’d also seen lining the side of the ship—provided plenty of natural light to all rooms except the lavatory. Richard had a private bedroom, whereas Beth’s contained an alcove with a double bed and draperies that could be closed for privacy. Kathleen, she presumed, would sleep there. Her cabin also featured a built-in couch that converted to a bed for her, plus a desk, chair and wardrobe.
    A large sitting room occupied the space between the bedrooms, and everything was decorated in Queen Anne period furniture, similar to that of Lady Wheatley’s home rather than the Chippendale style she’d seen in the rooms of their New York house. Not that her family owned such elegant furniture. Her knowledge, as usual, came from reading.
    Richard, apparently focused on more practical matters than room decorations, pointed out that all connecting doors could be locked from inside. Always the perfect gentleman.
    She supposed those cabins had been assigned to them because she traveled with her employer. According to what she’d read, John Jacob Astor and his wife would be boarding at Cherbourg. Mrs. Astor’s personal maid would enjoy quarters similar to hers.
    After inspecting everything inside the staterooms, Richard and Kathleen took off on their own again, the child, as always, clutching her doll Toby. Beth found ample time to unpack her and Kathleen’s clothing; then, it being a warm and sunny day, she left her coat behind in the cabin and ventured out. She noticed the elevators on board but instead chose to climb the Grand Staircase to an upper deck on the port side where she could watch the lines drop off and the dock slowly recede from view as they departed.
    At noon, with much fanfare—including loud whistles that Beth was certain could be heard all over Southampton—the ship, pushed and pulled by five tugs, moved out into the River Test. When the tugs dropped their lines, the engines started to turn the Titanic’s propellers, sending the ship down the river toward the English Channel. As Beth hurried toward the stern, she saw the giant wake formed by the hull push against two other ships docked in the river. One of them, the New York, rose up in the water because of the Titanic’s wake and, when it dropped back, its mooring lines snapped. At that, the stern of the New York swung toward the Titanic. The other ship closed in and Beth’s heart pounded. She held her breath, expecting a crash at any moment.
    But, almost at once, another tug came near and its crew got a line on board. The Titanic was only four feet away from the New York, when she slipped past the other vessel without damage to either. Beth let out her breath. She should have known those captains were experienced sailors, too skilled to let bad things happen.
    She walked the promenade deck slowly, enjoying the sights and sounds of the moving ship. Lunch was supposed to be served at one, but it was an hour later when she heard the bugle play the call. She supposed that, this being the first voyage of a new ship, delays could be expected. She found Richard and Kathleen back in the stateroom.
    Kathleen rushed to her. “Are you hungry, Miss Beth? Pa-pa says lunch is late because we almost bumped into another boat.”
    “ Yes, isn’t it lucky they didn’t hit each other?” She glanced at Richard. “I am hungry. May we go to the dining saloon now?”
    “ By all means.”
    Once in the vast, beautiful room, they decided to forgo the regular menu and instead go to the buffet, where they chose from lobster, roast beef and shrimp, as well as cheeses, pudding and pastry.
    After lunch Beth suggested Kathleen might need a