The shipbuilder's daughter

A nice afternoon in third class

Thomas Andrews spent all morning showing the more affluent passengers the various rooms of first class facilities. It is now noon, so he and Mr. Ismay head to the restaurant where they will have lunch. "Where is your daughter, Thomas?" asks Ismay as they entered the room, both noticing that Lily was not around. "She's probably still working on the lower decks" replies Andrews. "I hope she will take some time for lunch, wherever she does" he adds, a little concerned that she might skip lunch to continue her duties.

Navigation bridge

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Andrews" Captain Smith politely greets Lily. She had insisted on stopping by the navigation bridge to formally meet the Captain and the various officers on board. She wanted to know who was in charge and to make sure that the ship was comfortable and practical for the crew as much as for everybody aboard.

"Allow me to introduce you to the various officers on board" Smith adds, turning to his men. "This is the Chief Officer Henry Wilde, the First Officer William Murdoch, the Second Officer Charles Lightoller, the Third Officer Herbert Pitman, the Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall, the Fifth Officer Harold Lowe, and finally, the Sixth Officer James Moody" Smith lists, as each of them steps forward to shake hands with Lily, as their names are called. All were very kind and respectful of Lily's status on board, and of the tasks she performed. She even wondered if they had been instructed not to express any surprise at the sight of her, or any sign of judgement.

"Pleased to meet you, gentlemen. I don't want to take too much of your time, I know you have a lot of work to do" says Lily. So she turns to the two youngest ones, Lowe and Moody. "I'd just like to chat with you two gentlemen for a moment, if that's okay?" she asks politely. The two officers nod in agreement, leaving the rest of the team get on with their work. Captain Smith greets Lily politely, before taking his leave of her in turn. Lily spent a few minutes in the company of Lowe and Moody, to whom she asked her usual questions about whether the crossing was going well, whether they felt comfortable on the Titanic, and whether they had any recommendations regarding the practicality of the ship. Of course, Lily could only take into account the physical aspect of the Titanic. As their employer was the White Star Line, any comments about their position itself were not up to her. During this short time, she gets to know two very nice and respectful young men. She could attest that she had only experienced a few situations like this in her life.

"Please give my regards to your father, Miss Andrews" says Lowe when the discussion ends. "He's a great man" he finally adds. Touched, Lily smiles at him with great sincerity. "I will, Officer Lowe" she replies. "By the way, you can call me Lily" she says. "In that case, call me Harold" Lowe replies, returning an equally sincere smile. They then nod to each other and go their separate ways.

❇

Lily leaves the navigation deck to continue her duties in third class. Noticing that the outer decks are less crowded than earlier, she glances at her watch and realises that it is time for lunch. She sighs, she doesn't want to go back to first class only to have to come all the way back here once she's finished her meal. It didn't take long for her to decide that she'd better go to third class to see if they could serve her something to eat, just to get through the rest of the day. So she heads for the third class dining room and enters it. Since it was time to eat, it was obviously quite full. Lily looks around the room and begins to walk towards the counter where the meals are served.

For once, her attitude is not as confident as usual. Indeed, she feels a little bad about coming here to eat, as the third class passengers may feel that she doesn't belong here. Or that she is taking their food from them when she has everything she needs up there.

Several eyes are now turning towards her, which does not help the situation. She comes and stands in front of the counter, while giving the kitchen staff a smile. They were amazed to see her here and wondered what she wanted.