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The doctor conferred alone with Charles eventually, and he explained
about her twin having run away just the week before, and they were in
complete agreement about the conclusion. She was suffering from
disturbed nerves, and the kind of hysteria that can happen when you
separate one twin from another. He was, in fact, surprised it hadn't
happened on their honeymoon, and he wasn't at all surprised it had
happened now. In fact, he said there were instances when a remaining, or
surviving, twin became confused and began to take on the identity, or
personality, of the other. And to Charles, it explained his wife's
recent almost imperceptible softness. She was suddenly ever so slightly
more like Ollie.

The doctor suggested complete rest for her, and hoped that in time she
would recover. But in the meantime, he wanted absolutely nothing to
upset her. No disturbing news at all, nothing in the least unpleasant.

Charles had explained to him what had happened to her when she read
about the Lusitania.

"Dreadful, isn't it? A shocking thing to happen. Rotten Jerries." And
then he suddenly remembered that Charles had lost his wife, and almost
his son, on the Titanic, and suspected it was upsetting to him too and
changed the subject. He suggested he keep Geoff away for another day or
two, until she calmed down again, and he asked rather cautiously if it
was also possible his wife was pregnant. Charles looked surprised at
that, and said that he doubted it, but then suddenly, he began to
wonder.

"I'll discuss it with her. I suppose she could be, " he said
expressionlessly. And the doctor promised to come back to see her on
Monday. He suggested Charles keep her as calm as possible, and he left
some barbital so she could sleep, but when she saw it, Olivia said she
wouldn't use it.

"I'll be fine, " she said weakly, embarrassed at the stir she'd caused.

But all she wanted now was news of the Lusitania. She could barely
contain herself as Charles sat down next to her with a pained
expression. "Is something wrong? " she asked softly, wondering if
something else had happened, if he knew or had guessed, or someone had
called from Cunard. Her heart pounded as she watched him.

"Not really, " he said quietly, "at least I hope not. The doctor asked
me a question I realized I couldn't answer."

"What was that? " Who she was? What question? She began to feel
hysterical with terror, but she tried not to show it.

"He asked me if you were pregnant." Olivia stared at him in horror.

Her sister had told her that there was nothing physical between her and
Charles anymore, what did he mean by asking her if she was pregnant?

"Of course not, " Olivia said, barely audible as she wondered.

"I know you're not pregnant by me certainly, unless we have an
immaculate conception here, which is rather less than likely. But I was
wondering if you and Toby had struck things up again. I know he sent you
flowers, but I have no idea how involved you are with him, although
perhaps you still think it's none of my business." She had certainly
stayed out late enough in the afternoon, and never told anyone where
she'd been or where she was going. But Olivia looked horrified at the
suggestion.

"How could you say a thing like that to me? " She looked incensed, but
she was also shocked to hear that Toby Whitticomb had had the audacity
to send her sister flowers. "How dare you accuse me of such a thing.

I've never seen him again, " she said, hoping she was telling him the
truth, but she couldn't imagine her sister being stupid enough to fall
into his trap again, and she felt sure she wouldn't do it. "No, Charles,
" she said, aghast. "I am not having an affair with him, and I am not
pregnant." She was certain her sister wasn't either. She was too hurt by
the past, too angry at all men now, and too hungry for her freedom.
Olivia felt in her soul that Victoria would have died sooner than go
back to Toby after his I l betrayal. That much she knew about her
sister. And Olivia also knew that she herself was not pregnant, and
could not be, she was a virgin.

"I apologize if I've insulted you, but you have to admit, it's not
beyond the realm of possibility. You fell into his clutches once, you
might have done so again, " he said, looking mildly relieved. For some
reason Charles didn't think she was lying to him and he believed her.

"I may have been naive, " Olivia said coldly, thinking of how Victoria
would answer him, and trying to stick to it. "But I'm not stupid."

"I hope not, " he said, and left the room, hoping he hadn't upset her
too much, but she looked a little brighter. But when he came back to
check on her again later that morning, she was crying. She was beside
herself over the Lusitania. And that afternoon, she snuck downstairs
when he went out and read everything she could about the ill-fated ship.

She even sent the maid out to buy an evening paper for her, and read the
little they had added. They knew nothing yet, except that hundreds had
drowned just off Queenstown, Ireland. Bodies had already begun washing
up onshore, and Olivia felt her knees go weak again as she read it.

But she also knew that all she could do now was wait until Monday, and
then go to Cunard and hope they had a list of survivors. And all she
could cling to now was the thin hope that her sister would be among
them.

And in the meantime, she had to keep Charles at bay, and pray he didn't
think she was completely crazy.

Chapter 21.

What Olivia had not seen, but her sister had, was the small
notice the German Embassy put into both the Washington and the New York
papers the day she sailed. It said simply that passengers intending to
embark on Atlantic voyages were reminded that a state of war existed
between Germany and Britain, and her allies. The zone of war included
the waters adjacent to the British Isles, and that vessels flying the
flag of Great Britain, or her allies, were liable to destruction in
those waters, and that travelers in those areas, on British ships,
sailed at their own risk. The notice was dated April 22, 1915, Imperial
German Embassy, Washington, and sounded quite official.

But it was equally well known that the law of nations dictated that a
ship under any flag could not be sunk without warning and removal of its
civilian passengers. Under those circumstances, the passengers on the
Lusitania knew they were in no danger. Victoria also knew that she could
have sailed on the American ship, New York, but it wasn't nearly as nice
a ship, and she liked the idea of sailing on a Cunard ship better.

The Lusitania was a much faster ship than the New York, and she had
considered the possibility that it could outrun a submarine far better.

At the time, the Lusitania was making one trip a month from Liverpool to
New York, and carried no national or even house flags, to keep it safe
from the Germans. Even her name and port. of registry had been painted
out to be completely sure. Watertight doors were kept closed during the
entire voyage, and once in the Irish Sea, lifeboats were swung out, and
lookouts doubled. Everything was done to protect the ship, and
passengers on the Lusitania knew they were about as safe as anyone could
be from the Germans. Besides, it was an enormous ship, with four stacks
painted red and black, a total of ten decks, seven above and three below
the waterline. And she had proven herself more than reliable in the past
eight years. When Victoria boarded her, she was embarking on her 202nd
crossing. The Lusitania was no Titanic.

And to be absolutely sure no risks were taken at all, they observed full
blackout, all staterooms were to draw their curtains at night, and
gentlemen were asked not to smoke on deck. And in Victoria's case, nor
ladies.

By the first night out, Victoria was completely at ease on the ship, and
she was very excited to have seen Lady Mackworth, nee Margaret Thomas.

Victoria recognized her immediately and knew she was not only an active
member of the Women's Social and Political Union, but a close friend of
the Pankhursts. Margaret herself had set fire to a post office, and had
spent time in jail, much to her respectable Liberal MP father's horror.

But she seemed in good form on the ship, after spending time in New
York, and Victoria met her the first night out, as they stood on the
deck together.

"It's brave of you to be journeying to Europe now, " she said to
Victoria, who explained that she was a young widow going to volunteer in
France, to work behind the lines with the Allies. She had been given the
names of a few contacts in the Red Cross, and some in the French army.

"We could use you in England too." She smiled at her, impressed by her
spirit, and then Lady Mackworth had gone on to dinner with her father,
while Victoria chose to dine alone in her stateroom.

But they talked her into coming out with them the following night.

The first-class dining room was extraordinary, two stories high, with
columns all around, and an ornate dome above it. There were also a
library, smoking lounges, and a huge nursery for children. There were
games for them, and as many entertainments for the young people on board
as for the adults. And Victoria was surprised to find that, despite the
war, everyone seemed to be in good spirits and spoke very little of it.

The men talked of the news certainly every day, particularly when they
gathered to smoke, as Victoria and a few other women also did, but they
didn't seem to dwell on it, and no one said anything whatsoever about
U-boats.

Victoria had noticed Alfred Vanderbilt on board, but she was careful to
avoid him, as he knew her husband. He was roughly the same age as
Charles, and she remembered that they knew each other, and Charles had
had lunch with him once that winter. And she didn't want anyone telling
Charles where she'd gone, or destroying their story that "Olivia" had
gone to California. Although she was traveling as Olivia Henderson, it
was quite conceivable that someone who knew either of them might
recognize her, and she might not even know them, if they were
acquaintances of her sister's. So she was careful. She did less
socializing than usual, and spent considerable time in the library, on
deck, or in her cabin.

Charles Frohman, the theater magnate, was aboard too, he seemed to have
brought along a coterie of friends with him, and he was considerably
older. He was on his way to London to see James Barrie's new play, The
Rosy Rapture, which Frohman wanted to bring to Broadway. Charles Klein,
the playwright, spent a considerable amount of time talking to him, and
had even brought his new play to work on. But although Victoria would
have enjoyed meeting them, she kept to herself for much of the voyage,
and even declined when she was invited to the captain's dinner.

Captain Turner had seen her on deck and thought her stunningly
attractive.

Actually, she felt surprisingly free on the ship, and after her year
with Charles, it was a great relief to be alone now. The only one she
missed terribly was her twin sister. She thought about Olivia
constantly, and prayed that she hadn't given up their secret, but
Victoria trusted her completely. And like her twin she felt the same
agony over being apart now. It was almost haunting.

The weather was pleasant during the entire trip, they met no storms, and
by the end of the week, everyone was looking forward to arriving.

On Friday, Victoria had packed her bags in the morning, and was pleased
to run into Lady Mackworth again at noon. She gave Victoria her address
in Newport, and urged her to call her.

Victoria was going to be traveling to Dover from Liverpool, and from
there by ferry to Calais, and after that she had to make contact with
the people whose names she had, and begin moving slowly toward the
trenches.

Victoria had lunch alone that day, and it was unseasonably warm as they
entered the Celtic Sea and the stewards opened every possible porthole
in the dining room, and many of the first-class cabins. By the end of
lunch, people were going to their cabins to get changed. Land had been
sighted, and they were a mere dozen miles offshore, just south of the
lighthouse at Old Kinsale, Ireland. There was an atmosphere of
celebration and excitement. They'd made it.

Victoria went out on deck after lunch, and she was standing at the rail,
looking out to sea as they headed toward Liverpool when a thin white
trail raced just under the sea to starboard. She happened to look down
at it as she listened to the animated strains of the "Blue Danube, " and
wondered if it was a fish of some kind coming at them.

She was wearing a red dress Olivia had bought her ages before, and she
had left her hat downstairs, as the sun shone down on her, and suddenly
the entire ship jarred, and she was flung against the rail as a column
of water shot up all the way to the bridge deck, and the whole bow
lifted right out of the water. It was the most extraordinary thing she'd
ever seen, and she stared at it as she clung to the rail, wondering
vaguely if she'd be thrown overboard, but she wasn't. She was wearing
high heels and she felt unsteady on her feet as the bow of the vast ship
settled down into the sea again as a blinding cloud of steam shot up,
and they headed straight toward the lighthouse in the distance.

But within minutes as people exclaimed about what they saw, the ship
began listing severely to starboard. Victoria's cabin was on B deck, and
all she could think of was getting back to it for her life vest and her
money. But there were huge crowds of people everywhere suddenly, and as
soon as she started downstairs the ship began listing even more severely
to starboard. It was extremely difficult to walk now.

"We've been hit! .. ." she heard someone say. "Torpedo! " An I t i . =.

alarm sounded somewhere and the noise was deafening, and beyond it she
could still hear music, and all she could think of suddenly was Susan on
the Titanic.

"Not now, " she said to herself, as she hurried downstairs, fighting to
keep her balance as she fell against the walls of the ship repeatedly.

It was slowly turning sideways. But she reached her cabin in time to
grab her life vest, her wallet, and her passport. She took nothing else.

She had brought no jewels with her, and she had nothing of value, except
her passport, and the funds she'd brought to sustain her.

She struggled to put her life vest on, as she left her cabin again and
rushed upstairs, and in the distance she could hear people screaming.

There were people panicking all around her, and when she reached the
stairs, she almost collided with Alfred Vanderbilt, carrying his jewel
case.

"Are you all right? " he asked, perfectly calm. She wasn't sure if he
recognized her or not. As usual, he was smiling and courteous.

He seemed completely unruffled and he had his manservant with him.

"I think so, " she said in answer to his question. "What's happening?

" She hadn't even had time to panic. It was all so confusing. But as she
spoke to him, they both heard the sound of another explosion far below
them.

"Torpedoes, " he said pleasantly, "lots of them. You'd best get up on
deck quickly." He urged her forward and she went ahead of him, and then
lost sight of him. They had already swung the lifeboats out in their
davits, but as the ship listed ever more heavily to the starboard side,
the boats on the port side were useless. They dangled above the ship at
a crazy angle, and those on the starboard side were dipping rapidly
toward the water. The Lusitania looked like a child's toy, about to turn
entirely on its side in the bathtub. But this was no toy, and they were
just far enough out to sea for a real disaster.

Victoria glanced toward the shore, suddenly wondering if she could swim
it. They could see the shore from where they stood, and the people of
Queenstown could see the bow of the Lusitania go down sharply, as the
stern rose in the air.

And the. screaming on the ship sounded almost like seagulls.

And as the ship began to slide down, the many portholes that had been
opened nullified the watertight doors, and took in the rushing water.

Victoria was watching the scene of utter chaos around her, her high
heels cast aside by then, her stocking feet on the deck as soot and
smoke enveloped them, and she suddenly had trouble breathing. She wasn't
sure if it was smoke or panic, but the nose of the ship was well down,
and she had to fight to keep her balance. People were literally falling
into the sea as the radio antenna fell, nearly killing several people.

People were leaping off the ship, and then shouting for help, children
were crying and mothers were frantically trying to get them into
lifeboats. And then she saw Alfred Vanderbilt again, helping children
into the boats. She saw him take his own life vest off and give it to a
little girl, and as she watched him she pushed her wallet deep into her
dress, secured by her life vest.

And as Victoria watched the lifeboats lowered, she saw the first two
overturn and heard people screaming, just as one of the giant funnels
fell and engulfed a woman. It was like a scene from hell, as a little
girl slid right past her legs on the deck and into the ocean.