Gill Paul - Women and Children First - Bravery, love and fate - the untold story of the doomed Titanic

They survived the Titanic, but their lives were changed forever…

The facts surrounding the sinking of the Titanic are portrayed accurately in this novel, but otherwise it is a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

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A Paperback Original 2012

Gill Paul asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST. Copyright © Gill Paul 2012. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

ISBN: 9781847563255

EPub Edition © FEBRUARY 2012 ISBN: 9780007453306

Version: 2018-06-05

For Ana, Rhuaridh, Barnaby, Harvey and Florence

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Prologue

Reg’s hands were shaking so hard he couldn’t hold the…

PART ONE

Chapter One

It was one in the morning and first-class victualling steward…

Chapter Two

Lady Juliette Mason-Parker knelt on the bathroom floor, acid scorching…

Chapter Three

Annie McGeown sat on the edge of a bunk and…

Chapter Four

Reg lay awake mulling over what he’d seen on the…

Chapter Five

Next morning at breakfast, Reg couldn’t meet Mrs Grayling’s eye,…

Chapter Six

After breakfast Margaret Grayling found a deckchair on the promenade…

Chapter Seven

At luncheon, first-class passengers could choose from a set menu…

Chapter Eight

The stewards were free from the end of lunch service,…

Chapter Nine

By dinner time on Saturday evening, Juliette was restless in…

Chapter Ten

Most tables in the first-class dining saloon seated eight people.

Chapter Eleven

After breakfast on Sunday morning, Annie McGeown went with her…

Chapter Twelve

As passengers began arriving for breakfast on Sunday morning, Reg…

Chapter Thirteen

John was worried about Reg. He seemed distracted on this…

Chapter Fourteen

‘I hope there isn’t some kind of illness being passed…

Chapter Fifteen

The engines had stopped almost immediately, and the silence that…

Chapter Sixteen

Annie McGeown was lying in her bunk unable to get…

Chapter Seventeen

As Reg walked along B Deck, passengers were beginning to…

Chapter Eighteen

When she woke, for a few seconds Juliette couldn’t remember…

Chapter Nineteen

‘Annie? It’s Eileen.’ The words were accompanied by urgent knocking.

Chapter Twenty

Reg walked over to the port side of the boat…

Chapter Twenty-One

A surge of third-class passengers arrived on the boat deck,…

Chapter Twenty-Two

The water came faster than Reg had expected and he…

Chapter Twenty-Three

Annie sat huddled on a bench in Lifeboat 13, so…

Chapter Twenty-Four

As she watched the Titanic sliding beneath the water, Juliette’s…

Chapter Twenty-Five

Reg was shivering convulsively and if it hadn’t been for…

Chapter Twenty-Six

‘Was that a shooting star?’

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Throughout the night, Annie sat still and silent, her chest…

Chapter Twenty-Eight

In the doctor’s consulting room, Reg was stripped of his…

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Annie stood on deck watching until the last lifeboat had…

Chapter Thirty

Juliette found that she couldn’t stop crying. It was humiliating…

Chapter Thirty-One

Reg was badly shaken by his conversation with Annie. He…

Chapter Thirty-Two

The first-and second-class areas on the Carpathia were much smaller…

Chapter Thirty-Three

When Reg opened his eyes, he was momentarily confused to…

Chapter Thirty-Four

Mildred persuaded Annie to share her first-class suite, which had…

Chapter Thirty-Five

Reg returned to the doctor’s surgery to have the bloodied…

PART TWO

Chapter Thirty-Six

Reg was wakened by a man’s voice, an American. ‘If…

Chapter Thirty-Seven

On arrival at New York’s Pier 54, Robert Graham led…

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Reg poured his heart out in the letter to John’s…

Chapter Thirty-Nine

The apartment that Seamus had found for Annie and his…

Chapter Forty

When Juliette told her mother that Robert wanted to take…

Chapter Forty-One

On Sundays, when Reg wasn’t working, he explored the city…

Chapter Forty-Two

‘My goodness! What brings you here?’ Mr Grayling looked startled…

Chapter Forty-Three

A date was set for Juliette and her mother to…

Chapter Forty-Four

Annie found life in Kingsbridge a struggle. The practicalities were…

Chapter Forty-Five

The night following Mr Grayling’s offer of employment, Reg lay…

Chapter Forty-Six

‘It appears to be about two carats.’ Lady Mason-Parker eyed…

Chapter Forty-Seven

Reg was astonished but pleased when he saw a story…

Chapter Forty-Eight

The morning of her departure for Saratoga Springs, Juliette woke…

Chapter Forty-Nine

A couple of days after starting work for Mr Grayling,…

Chapter Fifty

Reg liked to keep busy and there wasn’t much to…

Chapter Fifty-One

Mr Frank came into the kitchen holding a newspaper. ‘Your…

Chapter Fifty-Two

A sign announced ‘Welcome to Saratoga Springs, district of Saratoga…

Chapter Fifty-Three

Reg had very mixed feelings about his flirtation with Molly.

Chapter Fifty-Four

Annie hadn’t realised how hot it would be in New…

Chapter Fifty-Five

Reg let everyone think the cut on his hand was…

Chapter Fifty-Six

‘This is John,’ Molly said, to fill the stunned silence…

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Mr Grayling was in his office. Mr Frank tapped on…

Chapter Fifty-Eight

In Saratoga Springs, the temperature shot up into the nineties…

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Mr Frank insisted that Mr Grayling’s chauffeur drove Reg downtown…

Chapter Sixty

Annie couldn’t stop thinking about the séance and analysing everything…

Chapter Sixty-One

Reg completed the letter to his mother – a simple…

Chapter Sixty-Two

Mr Grayling hadn’t been to the house since the previous…