Into the Night: A Titanic Romance

Last night, I clicked the button to publish my first novel through KDP. This book represents almost two years of pondering, planning, writing, revising, sleepless nights, and many cups of cocoa. I got the idea for this novel in pieces. When I started, it was a plan for one book. It turned into three.

Into the Night: A Titanic Romance is the first book in The Lancaster’s Love series. I love my novel and my characters. I can only hope that some people out there will love them as well.

With that in mind, I would like to share the first chapter with you. If you like it, please check out my book on Amazon.

Chapter 1

Southampton, December 17, 1911, 6:00 pm

It never occurred to Diana to have high hopes for her life. Too much disappointment had already plagued her youth. She had learned the way to happiness was to have low expectations.

After losing her mother unexpectedly as a young girl, her emotions had been dulled. This evening would bring excitement to most twenty-three-year-old girls, but Diana was disinterested in the dancing, decorum, and conversation that were to come.

She half-heartedly looked at her reflection in the mirror as her lady’s maid, Bethany, put the final touches on her hair and gown. She knew she looked the part of a young lady. Her father’s fortune could ensure she looked the part.

She studied her gown in the mirror. It was a stunning dress. The blue, floor-length gown did bring out her features. The gold trim looked well against her olive-toned skin, and the shimmery, blue overlay sparkled along with her deep, hazel-blue eyes in the lamplight.

Her interest was briefly piqued as she saw Bethany pull out some dangly, sapphire earrings she hadn’t seen before and fastened them to her ears.

“Your father has spared no expense for you tonight, Miss,” Bethany said. “I do say you will be the finest lady at the party this evening.”

Diana gave her a reassuring but empty smile. Diana knew it really didn’t matter how lovely she looked that evening. The deal was already as good as done.

As the only child of a wealthy doctor in Southampton, England, Diana was considered a very eligible lady. However, due to her father’s condition, she and her father had decided it would be most prudent for her to find a match that would take her away from a place where she had met so much sadness.

The house in which she lived was full of memories of the mother she had loved and lost, and before too long, it would be empty. She knew she didn’t want to stay here alone, so her father had made the necessary inquiries and arrangements to find her a suitor in the States to give her a fresh start.

Diana was still absently gazing at the reflection of her fineries in the mirror when she heard a light rapping on her door.

“Diana, dear. Are you ready?” her father asked as he cautiously entered the room.

Her father’s presence brought a genuine smile to her face. “Yes, father. Nearly done,” she replied. Though she was not thrilled with the circumstances of tonight’s party, she knew it was done for her, and she was grateful.

Andrew Lancaster was not a traditional father. Many of his peers would not care about the desires of their daughter when choosing her husband, but as Andrew and Diana had drawn closer in their loneliness after the loss of Desiree, her mother and his wife, they developed a somewhat unique relationship of mutual respect. So, rather than unceremoniously shipping her off to her new husband, he had insisted she have the opportunity to meet him beforehand to give herself time to adjust to the idea of becoming Mrs. Thomas McCloud.

Also taking her feelings into account, he thought meeting him in the midst of a social gathering might help as it would be easier for her to find excuses to break away if she needed to.

Andrew waited as Bethany twisted the final jewel into Diana’s auburn-brown hair and took her leave of them. “Good evening, sir,” she said as she quickly curtsied and hurried out of the room.

Andrew turned his gaze fully to his daughter. There was no hiding the adoration in his eyes. “You look just like your mother,” he said as he appraised her. “You know, your mother was considered a great beauty in her youth. I’m still quite sure she only married me for my money, as there is no other way I could have gotten such a woman to accept me,” he said. He often used humor to try to dissolve the heightened emotions he felt.

Diana smiled and rolled her eyes. She was sure her parents had loved each other madly. Though she didn’t have many memories of her mother, the ones she did have were of her parents leaning close together at meals, parties, and behind closed doors as a young Diana spied on them through a crack in the door. She could see her mother’s face beaming with joy when her father would whisper in her ear. She could hear her mother and father’s laughter still echoing in the walls of the house. “Oh, father. You know quite well that even though she married you for your money, she enjoyed the marriage because of your wit,” she replied.

Andrew’s expression turned more serious as he grabbed both her hands and turned her to face him. “You know, Diana, you can change your mind at any time. We can figure something else out if you aren’t comfortable with this.” She knew he was terrified she would resent him for all this. Which was ridiculous. He certainly didn’t intend to become ill, and she knew he would be plagued with worry for the remainder of his days, however long that would be, if he wasn’t sure there would be someone to care for her.

“Father,” Diana was sure to steady her voice to sound resolute, “I am content with the match. I have always wanted to go on an adventure, and I can’t think of a greater one than venturing to a new world to start a new life. And as I will be wed to the son of a dear friend of yours, I am quite confident that if Thomas doesn’t see to my happiness, I can just tattle on him to the senior Mr. McCloud, and he will be sure to take care of it.” As she spoke she lovingly placed her hands on either side of his face and stared him solidly in the eyes as she spoke so he would know of her sincerity.

Her words were entirely true. She was content with the match.

She had never been a particularly romantic person, so why wouldn’t Thomas do as well as any other man?

Diana knew the conversation could easily take a much more depressing turn, so in anticipation of that and in a desperate attempt to avoid it, she moved toward the door with her grip still on one of her father’s hands. “We must be sure to be ready for when the guests arrive. We can’t have them thinking we don’t know how to throw a proper party,” she said as she pulled her teary-eyed father through the door.

They couldn’t both fall apart. So tonight, Diana would be the level-headed one.

Diana sat in the parlor as people stirred around her. The ornate room seemed to glitter and glow as the wine and brandy glasses shuffled about the room. The lantern light shone off each glass along with a generous amount of jewelry adorning the men and women in the room. Barrettes, bracelets, rings, and cufflinks, all particularly crafted to demonstrate the wealth of their owner. She subtly rolled her eyes as she thought of the pointless extravagance around her.

As so many milled about, she watched their faces. She could see the excitement, the longing, the joy, and the hope. All of these people had something to look forward to. Romances, acquisitions, adventures, whatever they liked. She couldn’t relate.

Her father’s house wasn’t normally so full of people. They technically belonged in this world based on their social stature, but like her, her father wasn’t interested in performing for the benefit of others. It was normally just the two of them. Both were content in the silence of an empty home.

Diana had been raised in this society, and therefore knew very well how to navigate it. She knew how to talk and carry herself in an elegant party. The fact of the matter was, she just really preferred not to. She would prefer to be left alone with her thoughts, to read a book, or perhaps to take a walk with someone she trusted, like her best friend, Noelle.

Most of the time, her wish was granted. Due to being an only child and her father’s busy schedule, she was often alone.

Though Diana and her father lived in the same house, they often only saw each other in passing. When he wasn’t at the hospital or making house calls, he was in his study logging his findings or continuing his research. It was comforting to her. Even though they often passed hours without speaking to each other, she knew he was there. And she knew he would always come to her aid should the need arise.

There had rarely been a need before now.

She needed a husband. And she needed one soon.

Her father’s illness created a greater sense of urgency than would be the case for a girl of only twenty-three. As a doctor, her father knew they were running out of time to get his affairs in order.  Because of his fortune, partially earned and partially inherited from his father, they knew it wouldn’t be hard to find a husband for Diana, especially if it was known how desperate the situation was. There were plenty who would be more than happy to inherit Andrew Lancaster’s fortune and tolerate his daughter in the process. But it was important to Diana that whomever she married did not do so out of pity or merely for her fortune. Thankfully, no one other than Diana and her father knew of the circumstances. He had a kind, loyal, and more importantly, discreet doctor over his own care who could be trusted to keep this a secret. If it were common knowledge, his competitors in business would surely jump at the chance to use this information to undermine his reliability with his customers, or worse, he would be looked on with pity. That couldn’t happen.

Despite his immense love and adoration for his daughter, he knew his business and property could not pass to his female heir. He needed to make sure she was settled before he died, so he could leave everything to her husband.

Only a select few knew the real purpose of this party. Andrew had found a suitable prospect for her. As she had no romantic notions, she agreed to the arrangement with little hesitation. There had been a few letters exchanged over the last few months.

From those, Diana had ascertained Thomas was clever, well-educated, and had a passable sense of humor. There had been no red flags from the letters or from the reports she and her father had gotten from Thomas’s father and a few of her father’s contacts in the States. By all accounts he was a nice, albeit a bit bland, young man.

Other than fleeting crushes she had as a child, she had never fallen in love or anything near it. The odds of her marrying for love were miniscule anyway, so she had made up her mind that she may as well marry for convenience.

If nothing else, she cared for her father, and she knew his mind would never be at rest if he didn’t know she would be cared for after his passing.

These and other thoughts occupied her mind as she sat in an armchair in the corner of the study. She felt bored with the charade of this Christmas party. Yes, she loved the holiday, but never had she felt the need to share it with fifty quasi-strangers in her home.

It was all a cover to make the meeting of her suitor less uncomfortable and to put less pressure on her.

She had always been a quiet girl. In her earlier years, the boys she grew up with barely noticed her. Sure, they had occasionally pulled at her braids or whispered sweetly into her ears when they had no other occupation to keep themselves busy, but it never lasted long as there would always be another girl: prettier, more charming, or wealthier to pull their interest.

She looked up and noticed her father waving his fingers at her to get her attention.

She met his eyes and nodded in acknowledgement. It was now time for her to do her duty. It was time to meet her future husband in the flesh.