Forget Me Not Read Online Free PDF

Instead of just wood, the balustrade was made of iron too, and opposite it were two elevators. “Hugh, I think we are in first class.”
    “So we are.” Hugh ran his hand over the handrail. “Isn’t this staircase spectacular? Shall we?” Hugh climbed the stairs.
    This time Thomas didn’t hesitate to follow. Thanks to his daring new friend, he knew he was going to see every inch of the splendid
Titanic
.

12
EVE GILMORE
    Here’s to the train that runs on wheels

And never runs into danger

Here’s to the girl that’s true to one boy

And never goes out with a stranger
.
Queenie Dobson, Southampton, 6/04/1912
    Mother stood over the writing desk. “Time you were done, Eve. Up to the promenade with you to care for Bea.”
    “Why can’t Thomas do it?” I asked, folding my letter and placing it in the addressed envelope.
    Mother glared.
    Without another word, I walked from the library, only stopping to leave my letter with the steward to post.
    Why did Bea have to be my problem? What if I had other things to do? On the promenade deck, frustration simmering beneath my skin, I searched for Bea and Thomas. Bea was squatting with the two girls she’d befriended the previous day, but Thomas was nowhere to be found. I slumped in a deckchair near the girls.
    Bea rushed towards me, holding a doll with long lashes. “Evie, isn’t Nina’s doll beautiful?”
    “Very,” I said, my voice flat. “Where’s Thomas?”
    “He went for a walk with his friends. Come and meet Nina and Winnie.”
    How could Thomas have made friends so soon? I heaved myself out of the chair and settled on the deck beside the girls. Mother’s voice flashed into my head, “An unseemly way for a lady to sit”, and I tucked my legs under my skirt. A woman wrapped in a coat, standing by the ship’s rail, smiled and nodded. I returned the greeting.
    “That’s Nina’s Aunt Jessie,” said Bea.
    While the girls chatted and played with their dolls, I watched the other passengers on the deck. Gentlemen played quoits, ladies rested in deckchairs with rugs over their legs. Couples strolled, the sea breeze lifting their hats. Before long, I needed to stretch. I went to the rail overlooking the deck at the stern of the ship, where children galloped like ponies and played jumping jacks.
    “Aren’t the children enjoying the sea air?”
    I jumped at the voice. A woman, wearing a cap and white apron over a black dress, stood beside me. She looked down at the galloping children. I wondered if she was a stewardess or was perhaps employed on the ship in some other way.
    “Yes, they are,” I said.
    “Are you travelling with family?” she asked.
    “My parents, brother, sister and I are going to America. To live.” My voice cracked a little.
    “A tricky business.” The stewardess’s accent was hard to place. “I left my family behind when I moved to England.”
    My heart skipped. Leaving your family would be worse than just leaving your home and friends. “Where do they live?”
    “A very different country to England – Australia. South Australia to be exact, just north of Adelaide.”
    “Do you miss your family and friends?” As soon as I uttered the words, I regretted it. “I’m sorry, that was rude.”
    “Not at all,” said the stewardess. “I miss them very much, but I have made wonderful new friends. You will too.”
    Something about this stewardess made me feel at ease. She extended her hand. “My name is Evelyn Marsden.”
    “Evelyn is my name too, though most people call me Eve.”
    “Lovely to meet you, Eve,” said Miss Marsden. Her openness was soothing.
    “Am I correct in thinking you are a stewardess, Miss Marsden?”
    “Call me, Evelyn,” she said. “I
am
a stewardess and a nurse for first-class passengers.”
    I glanced back at Bea playing with the girls. “Is there a nurse or a doctor for second class?”
    Miss Marsden looked from me to Bea. “Is someone unwell?”
    “My sister, Bea’s lungs are …” No one had