No Greater Love Read Online Free PDF Page A

rendering the passage for the
Titanic
extremely narrow. There was a sudden sound of what seemed almost like pistol shots, and with no warning the lines tying the
New York
to the
Oceanic
gave way, and the
New York
drifted toward the
Titanic
to within a few feet until it looked as though she would ram the
Titanic
portside. With a series of quick maneuvers, one of the tugs assisting the
Titanic
out of the harbor passed a line to the
New York
and deckhands were able to stop her drift before she collided with the
Titanic.
The
New York
was then towed away, and the
Titanic
was able to steam out of port and head for Cherbourg. But it had been very close, the
Titanic
had almost been rammed. And it was a most impressive series of maneuvers that had spared them. The passengers who had seen it all felt as though they had witnessed an exhibition of remarkable skill. But the
Titanic
seemed invincible, invulnerable to all. The
Titanic
was four city blocks long, or eight hundred and eighty-two feet, as Phillip had precisely informed them earlier, and she was anything but easy to maneuver.
    “Was that as close as I thought it was?” Edwina inquired, mesmerized by what she had just seen, and her fiancé nodded.
    “I believe so. Shall we have a little glass of champagne at the Café Parisien to celebrate our safe departure?” Edwina nodded happily and they headed back to the “sidewalk café,” where, within minutes, a breathless and slightly rumpled George managed to find them.
    “What are you doing here, Sis?” He appeared on the “boulevard” of the café, with his cap askew, his shirttails out, and one knee of his trousers filthy dirty. But he had never looked happier in his life.
    “I might ask you the same question. Mother was looking for you everywhere. What on earth have you been doing?” Edwina scowled at him.
    “I had to look around, Edwina.” He looked at her as though she were extremely stupid, and then cast a winning glance at Charles. “Hello, Charles, how are you?”
    “Very well, thank you, George. How’s the ship? Sound? Are you pleased with her?”
    “She’s great! Did you know there are four elevators and they each go nine floors? There’s also a squash court, and a swimming pool, and they’re carrying a brand-new motorcar to New York, a Renault, and there are some pretty fantastic machines in the kitchen. I couldn’t get in to steerage when I tried, but I checked second class and it seems all right, there was a very nice girl there,” he reported, as his future brother-in-law looked vastly amused, and Edwina was horrified at the performance of her younger brother. He had absolutely no self-control, and wasn’t even embarrassed by his disheveled appearance.
    “I’d say you’ve had a good look at everything, George. Well done,” Charles congratulated him, and the errant child grinned proudly. “Have you been to the bridge yet?”
    “No.” The boy looked disappointed. “I haven’t really had much time to have a good look at the bridge yet. I was up there, but there were too many people to really see what was going on. I’ll have to go back there later. Do you want to go for a swim after lunch?”
    “I’d like that very much, if that suits your sister’s plans.”
    But Edwina was fuming. “I think you should be put down for a
nap
, with Fannie and Teddy. If you think you can run all over this ship, acting like some wild young hoodlum, you’ve got another think coming, from me, if not from Mama and Papa.”
    “Oh, Edwina,” the boy groaned, “you don’t understand anything. This is really important stuff.”
    “So is behaving properly. Wait until Mama sees the way you look.”
    “What was that?” Her father’s voice spoke from just behind her, and there was a ring of amusement to it. “Hello, Charles…. Hello, George, I see you’ve been busy.” There was even a small smear of grease across his face, and George had never looked more pleased with life or more at ease, as his father