Free No Greater Love by Danielle Steel Page A

and Bert walked into the gym for a minute then, to get warm again and escape the agonies of the tears and good-byes and the visible tension as Lightoller loaded another lifeboat. Phillip stayed outside on deck, with Jack Thayer and Charles, who were helping the women and children into the lifeboats. Dan Martin had just put his bride in the same lifeboat with Edwina, and another man had just sent his wife and baby off with them. And in the gym, Kate and Bert noticed that the Astors were still sitting on the mechanical horses and quietly talking. She seemed in no hurry to get off, and he had their maid and valet on the deck, keeping an eye on the situation.
    “Do you suppose the children are alright?” Kate looked worriedly at Bert in the gym, as he nodded, relieved that Edwina had found Alexis, and that at least five of the children had gotten off. He was still worried about getting Phillip and Kate off, and he was hoping that Lightoller would take Phillip in the end. There was less hope for Bert and Charles, and they both knew it.
    “I think they’ll be alright,” Bert reassured his wife. “It’s certainly an experience none of them will forget. Nor will I,” he added with a serious look at Kate. “I think she’s going to sink, you know.” He had been sure of it for the last half hour, although none of the crew would admit it, and the band played on as if it were all in good fun though a slightly crazy evening. And then, Bert looked at her pointedly and took one of her long, slim hands in his own and kissed the tips of her fingers. “I want you off in the next lifeboat, Kate. And I’m going to see if I can bribe them to take Phillip with you. He’s only sixteen, they ought to be willing to take him. He’s barely more than a child.” The problem wasn’t convincing her, it was convincing Lightoller.
    “I don’t see why we don’t wait until they start boarding the men too, and I can go with you then. I can’t help Edwina now anyway, we’d be in different lifeboats. And she’s a very capable girl.” Kate smiled, it was a terrible feeling not to be with them, yet she was sure that they’d be alright. She had to believe that. And Edwina was like another mother to them. All Kate had to worry about now was the safety of her oldest son, and her husband, and Edwina’s fiancé, Charles. Once they were in a lifeboat with her, she didn’t give a damn what happened to the ship, as long as everyone got off safely, and she saw no reason why they would not. Everything seemed to be moving ahead calmly, and the lifeboats weren’t even full as they lowered them, which had to mean that there was plenty of room for everyone, or they wouldn’t have lowered them without filling them completely first. And she was sure they had hours before anything serious happened, if anything serious happened at all. There was a false aura of calm that led her to believe they had nothing to fear.
    But on the bridge, Captain Smith knew the truth. It was well after one o’clock by then and the engine room was flooded. There was no doubt that she was going down, the only question was how soon. And he was sure now that it wouldn’t be long. Wireless Operator Phillips was sending frantic messages everywhere, and on the
Californian
, their radio still turned off, they watched the rockets high above the
Titanic
without dreaming what they meant. They still thought she was celebrating. At one point, they noticed that she had begun to look very strange, and one of their officers thought she was sitting in the water at an odd angle. But still it never dawned on them that she was sinking. And the
Olympic
radioed and wanted to know if the
Titanic
was coming to meet them. No one understood what was happening, or how fast they were going down. It was inconceivable to allthat the “unsinkable” ship, the biggest ship afloat, was actually sinking. In fact, she was already halfway there. And this time, when Bert and Kate stepped out of the gym again,