The Lost Sister by Kathleen McGurl (i can read book club .TXT) 📕

the worst future she could imagine. She’d enjoyed sailing on the Britannic, before it hit that mine.

‘You know, I think I might apply to White Star. Do you think I’d stand a chance?’

Frank’s grin was in danger of splitting his face wide open. ‘I think you certainly would. They employ a few medical personnel.’

Lily shook her head. ‘No, I’d rather be a stewardess, like Emma was. In a way, I’d be doing it for her. She loved the sea, too.’

‘That’s a lovely thought. I fear it’s too late to sign on for the next voyage, but the Olympic is due back in Southampton in three weeks. May I visit you again, then?’

‘Of course! And you can show me where I need to go to sign on.’

‘I would like nothing better. Your shortbread is delicious, by the way.’

Lily smiled. ‘Thank you.’

Three weeks later, Lily had finished working her notice period at the hospital and had been successful at an interview with White Star. She was to be a stewardess working second class, just as Emma had, and she had signed on to work on the Olympic’s next crossing to New York – following in her sisters’ footsteps. Her lodgers would take care of her house, and both Frank and Violet had also signed on.

Violet met her on the day she boarded, with her new sailing trunk, her uniform and her discharge book, and her copy of the picture of herself, Emma, and Ruby. Violet was delighted to see her. ‘White Star ships don’t seem right without a member of the Higgins family alongside me. So glad to have you on board. As it’s your first time as a stewardess, anything you need, anything you want, you just ask me.’

‘Thank you,’ Lily said. To tell the truth she felt a little choked with emotion, as she walked the galley-ways of the ship. It all looked vaguely familiar from her short time on the Britannic, but it was more than that. It was knowing Emma had been here before her.

‘One odd thing I wanted to tell you,’ Violet continued. ‘On my last voyage, when I was in New York, I had a brief glimpse of a woman who looked the spit of your sister Ruby. Very strange, it was. I wanted to run after her, but of course it couldn’t have been her. Just someone with the same hair colour and the same way of walking.’

‘How odd. But when you think, of all the people in the world, there’s bound to be someone who looks like her,’ Lily said, wondering why Violet was telling her this. It was no comfort to hear there was someone who looked like Ruby walking around New York, when her sister was at the bottom of the north Atlantic.

‘Of course. But just for a moment I wondered – did she survive the Titanic somehow? She really did look like Ruby. The woman, whoever it was, went into an apartment building overlooking Central Park. I could show you which one, if you wanted to call and see if it really was her?’

Lily considered this for a moment. Could it be possible that Ruby had survived? Perhaps she still had a sister, after all? But if so, then it was clear that Ruby had wanted to stay away from the family, for her own reasons. Lily had been just a young girl when Ruby had left on the Titanic, but she’d been vaguely aware that Ruby was in some sort of trouble with a man. If she had survived and wanted to contact her family, then she could have done so at any time. It had been eight years since the Titanic disaster. She knew where to send a letter to. But she hadn’t done so.

Lily realised that if it was indeed Ruby, living in that apartment block in New York, then if she went to see her she’d have to tell her sister about Ma and about Emma. That would not be easy.

‘Thank you, Violet. But it can’t be her, and I’d hate to get my hopes up. If it is her, she can get in contact with me if she wants to. I’m still at the same address. If she doesn’t, she must have her reasons for not wanting to. If she comes back, I’m here, with open arms. If not, well, it’s up to her.’

Violet nodded. ‘I think that’s wise. I was probably wrong thinking it was her. Well, come on, we’ve a few hours to spare before we sail, and I believe a certain young man is looking forward to spending his spare hours with you on this voyage. Shall we go and find him, after you’ve sorted out your cabin?’

‘Yes please!’ Lily was so looking forward to seeing Frank, even though she’d seen him just two days before, when the Olympic had docked and he’d come to her house. They’d gone for a walk on Southampton Common, and about halfway round, he’d taken her hand in his as though it was the most natural thing in the world to do.

‘Well, I’ll leave you for now – see you up on the promenade deck in twenty minutes?’

‘All right, see you then.’ Lily went into her cabin and set to work unpacking.

When she’d finished putting everything away, she took out her photo of the three sisters, and placed it beside her bed, so it would be the last thing she saw at night and the first thing she saw when she woke up each morning. Thankfully she hadn’t taken it with her on the Britannic. Her sisters smiled at her from the frame, as though telling her she was doing the right thing. And as she looked forward to the voyage ahead, her free hours to spend with Frank, her chances to see new places in the world, Lily knew that the past with all its sorrows and losses was behind her and that there was much to look forward to, for the first time in years.