Serenity

An Afternoon of Sunshine and Dreams.

Rose had woken up with a start, much to Trudy's surprise. She had never seen her lady so lively. She had asked Trudy to draw her a bath and did as she requested, adding her lady's favourite lavender bath salts and bubble bath to help her relax, carrying on with her morning duties, and leaving Rose fully alone.

Hugging herself in her robe, Rose locked her bathroom door to make sure Cal would not intrude. She breathed in the lovely scent, Rose felt her skin tingle as relief washed over her. She dipped her toes in the bath to test the temperature before climbing in and submerging herself completely.

Her thoughts were swimming with the sun-kissed boy she had met the previous night.

She still couldn't wrap her head around how a mere stranger had such an effect on her. Was it love? It couldn't be, surely? What she was feeling could not be anything equivalent to that.

She laughed to herself as she surfaced, gathering a luxurious scented soap purchased in Paris, in her hand and stared into the lavender bubbles, sighing wistfully.

Grabbing her sponge, she lathered her ivory skin and scrubbed to rid herself of Cal's repugnant touch from the night before and instead thought of Mr Dawson's firm but gentle touch. She had to find him again before dinner came around. Closing her eyes, she felt her heart pound on how she would thank him for his discretion or where she would find him. She couldn't waste any time, she had already told Mother and Cal she wasn't feeling up to breakfast and they would be back soon. Not too soon, but she didn't want to risk running into them on her way to search out Mr. Dawson.

Calling on Trudy once more, she got dressed in a lovely yellow dress that her mother had helped pick out for her in Paris. Helped out, which meant Ruth had picked it out for her while Rose simply floated along behind her, a gentle smile hiding what was bubbling beneath the surface. Outwardly she was everything a well brought up girl should be. On the inside, though, she was far from that, emotional turmoil spinning inside her.

As Trudy pinned up Rose's hair, Rose smiled to herself in her vanity, despite her nerves. Trudy had noticed and gave a smile of her own, "What is it, Miss?" she asked softly, framing Rose's face with some stray curls that she hadn't pinned up. "You know, I despised the colour of this dress when my mother had picked it out. But now," she exhaled softly, "it reminds me of sunshine. Beautiful sweet sweet-smelling sunshine." she met her maid's curious glance in the mirror, her girlish grin matching her own.

"Surely, you would like to wear a hat, Miss?" Trudy offered, handing Rose her purse as she was stepping into the corridor. Rose just simply gave a gentle shake of her head, "No thank you Trudy, I would like to feel the sunshine today." She bid her farewell and started for the third class entrance, the dormant butterflies in her belly springing to life once more.

Walking along the deck, she felt as if she hadn't felt the sunshine in years. Unlocking the gate that separated her world from his, she released a shaky breath, her fingers fidgeting with the straps of her purse as she scanned the area for Mr Dawson.

She found him in the centre of the Third-Class general room, after working up the nerve to speak to him all morning. They stood opposing each other in a surreal yet comfortable silence, curious eyes searching one another.

The day appeared to be clear, without a wisp of cloud in the sky, and as they were exposed to the fresh air upon the Promenade Deck, she realised that the other passengers would still be eating their breakfast for a while. It was, after all, only a few hours after dawn. She had left rather early, she thought to herself in hindsight.

The sea breeze welcomed her, and unlike last night, it wasn't laced with icy Atlantic chill. Over her left shoulder, land was clear and the green mounds of Ireland were standing out like the beauty she was. Walking side by side, both of them were awkward and tentative for very different reasons.