Chapter Text
April 1912
Dearest Danny,
Oh, my sweet boy. I miss you so much it aches.
I'm with Mr. Channing in Southampton. I doubt you'd like it here. It's all drab and gray, as if all life has been sucked out of it.
We'll be going to the States for the second half of our honeymoon. I know you don't like him, I don't either- but I want you to know it's all for you.
Everything has been for you, Danny. Even if you don't know it just yet.
I hope you're having a swell time at your university. Having fun with your mates. Getting pissed. Doing university things that I'm not familiar with.
I love you, darling. I will write you again soon.
All my love,
Mum
*
"Marie!"
Derek's voice cuts through the warm spring air like a knife, and Marie's head whips around in surprise.
"Can you move your arse, for Christ's sake?" he hisses through the crowd, waving his arm like the buffoon he is.
A green eyed, brown haired girl casts Marie a brief look of sympathy, and Marie swears she mouths the word arsehole .
Despite herself, Marie grins.
She grins until Derek wraps his filthy paws around her and drags her through the crowd.
"Derek, would you please not touch me like that?" the blonde murmurs, trying to wrench her way out of Derek's hands.
"You're my wife, Marie, I can touch you however I please," he snarls as they get in the line to board the ship.
There it was again- that sharp feeling of dread in Marie's chest.
Admittedly, it was more anger than dread- anger at Derek for being Derek, angry at Derek's mother for birthing him, angry at herself most of all for marrying the bloke.
But she'd been left close to destitute after being terminated at Melbourne Uni, after Danny's father had died, and she didn't have much of a choice but to marry the nice businessman who lived across the street from her.
The beatings and the bruises Marie endured from him were manageable, tolerable- he was sending Danny to Uni, he gave Marie a place to sleep every night, a comfortable lifestyle.
She could survive this, she had to.
The staff checked their tickets, checked their luggage, and they were being herded onto the ship- first class, of course, only the best for my darling wife.
Marie made her way to their suite, and Derek fucked off to talk to his rich mates, and the moment she was alone she finally, finally let herself cry.
*
"We're some lucky fuckin' cunts, aren't we Franks?"
"Oh, yeahhhh !" Franky drawls, taking another swig of the vodka she'd managed to sneak in.
"Don't get too pissed," Lou gently reminds her with a wink. "We've got to go to dinner later."
"Who's we, Lou? I'm going to stay here, get pissed off my arse, then try to find a lonely bird on her third divorce going through an experimental phase."
The redhead grins. "Mate, you've got a one track mind, you know that?"
Franky wiggles her tongue.
"While you're in here being a little piss pot, I'm gonna have a smoko," Lou says, fishing out her lighter from the back pocket of her slacks.
"Have fun, Lou!" the brunette calls after her.
Lou clicks the door to her suite shut, pushing past a flurry of red cheeked ankle biters, a slurring Englishman, and a teenage boy who reeked of whiskey.
"Have a fuckin' shower, will ya mate?" Lou murmurs under her breath, nose wrinkling in disgust.
Lou finally makes her way up to the front deck, where she sees a group of blokes playing cards and smoking cigs.
My kind of fuckin' people, the redhead thinks with a grin.
"Any of you fellas need a light?" she asks as she walks up to the group, holding her lighter.
A boy with brown curls nods his head and takes out a cigarette. "Sure thing," he mutters as Lou lights it for him.
"Lou Kelly." Lou sticks out her hand, and the boy shakes it firmly.
"Tommy Ryan. It's a pleasure. Hey, you ought to sit with us. You like cards, girlie?"
Lou's upper lip twitches with restrained rage at being called girlie, but she nods her head.
"Perfect. Boys, give the lady her cards."
Five rounds and countless cigarettes later, Tommy roars with laughter and claps her on the back.
"You can carry your own, can't you girlie?"
Lou shrugs with a smile. "Yeah, I suppose I fuckin' can."
"Hey, how'd you end up here anyway?" Tommy asks after a moment.
Lou gnaws on her bottom lip. Prick asked a lot of questions.
"Just wanted to see the world. Been everywhere except for the States."
She decided it would be a far better idea to not mention just how she and Franky got the tickets.
Tommy seems to accept this answer with another drag of his cigarette, then narrows his eyes as he looks at something behind him.
"Oh, lordy. Look at that ."
Lou furrows her brow and turns around.
And that's when her world stops and starts spinning all at the same time.
She's breathtaking.
That's the best way, the only way to describe her, with striking blue eyes bluer than the ocean that rumbled beneath them. Her nose, her cheeks, the curve of her jaw, the swell of her breasts beneath her embroidered silk dress.
Then she looks at Lou.
Her face is unreadable. Neutral. Lou wants to do something to elicit a reaction, smile at her. mouth something vulgar, but she is frozen stuck by those eyes on her own.
The beauty looks away again, but only for a moment.
And when she looks back, Lou swears she sees intrigue in those eyes.
Then a man comes up behind the beauty and grabs her arm, saying something Lou can't hear. He's clearly angry about something or the other, and fury pools at the bottom of the redhead's stomach.
The man drags her away, and the spell is broken.
"Ah, you're a lezzo, girlie. Aren't ya?" Tommy teases, wiggling his tongue.
Lou stands up and punches him right in the mouth. "I'm not your fuckin' girlie , you pig," she snarls, brushing her hands off on her slacks before turning around to leave.
She was going to see that woman again if it damn well killed her.