DANGEROUS GAMES
Chapter Seven
Savannah woke up to the sound of
Bruce talking to a woman.
"What the hell?"
Savannah said to herself softly as she pulled her crème lace robe over her
shoulders.
Stepping into her slippers, she
smoothed her hair and pulled open her bedroom door. In the sitting room, she
saw Bruce sitting in the wingback chair he had claimed for himself. Across from
him, daintily sipping tea, sat Rose. Savannah was surprised to see her this
early, but smiled slightly just the same.
"Good morning,
Savannah." Rose beamed, setting her cup and saucer down on the cherry
table.
"What time is it?"
Savannah asked.
She was very confused about the
whole situation.
Rose chuckled and replied,
"It’s only seven."
Savannah nodded and said,
"Let me dress and I will come out and talk to you."
Rose nodded, that giant grin
still spread across her face. Savannah retreated back into her room, closing
the paneled door quietly behind her.
Once inside, Savannah gave way to
an onslaught of tears. Her shoulders sunk to an impossibly low level while her
hands shook. Unable to remain calm any longer, Savannah stepped out of her
slippers. Taking the left one in her right hand, she wound up and threw it
against the wall as hard as she possibly could. The dull thud resounded through
the room, a sound that she was sure no one in the sitting room paid any
attention to. Savannah was proven wrong when, ten seconds later, Jane rushed
into the room.
"Ma’am, what happened?"
Jane asked in a panicked voice, much like one a mother would use with her
child.
Savannah wiped a tear away from
her eyes and asked in a wavering voice, "Why does she get to be so
Goddamned happy?"
Jane raised an eyebrow at her,
but kept her mouth shut, knowing it was a rhetorical question, most likely the
beginnings of a rant.
"I mean, she’s sitting out
there with this giant grin on her face, drinking tea with my despicable
husband, and I’m in here, throwing…slippers at walls! Why?"
Jane rubbed Savannah’s back and
shoulders while she coaxed her into starting to dress for the day. For some
reason, Jane had always been able to calm Savannah down when she found herself
behaving like a petulant child.
"Come on, now, ma’am. I’m
sure she will tell you why she is so excited. And I’m sure that will put a
smile on your face as well."
By now, Savannah’s tears had
stopped flowing and her cheeks had dried. As Jane helped her into her dress,
Savannah thought of all the possible reasons Rose could be so excited. Finally,
the daunting task of dressing out of the way, Savannah re-entered the sitting
room. Rose was still there, but Bruce had disappeared.
"Where did he go?"
Savannah asked as she sat next to Rose.
Rose gestured to the door and
said, "Off to join Cal and the others in the smoking room."
They sat in silence for a few
moments, something they never once had done before.
Rose finally stood and said,
"Come. Let’s go walk the deck. I have to speak with you about
something."
Savannah nodded and followed her
out to the hallway, shawl and gloves in hand.
Outside, the sun warmed the deck
and all the happy passengers who walked it. Strolling in silence, Savannah
avoided eye contact with everyone she passed. Finally, out of the blue, Rose
said something Savannah never would have expected.
"Savannah," she began
slowly. "Mr. Andrews told me what Bruce did to you the other night."
Savannah came to a halt.
"What? You mean you know
about…"
Rose nodded, sparing Savannah
from actually articulating the horrible deed.
"I’m sorry, Savannah, but I
was worried about you. I wanted so badly to make you feel better," Rose
pleaded with her.
Savannah shook her head and said,
"It’s no use, Rose. I’m grateful for your compassion, but there’s nothing
you can do to fix me."
Rose nodded and said, "Forget
I said anything." She continued to walk, Savannah falling in at her side.
"Savannah," Rose began again, though this time, it seemed as if she
were fumbling for words. "After dinner last night…I met someone."
Savannah looked at her
incredulously. Why is she telling me this? she wondered as Rose
continued to say something about the stern of the ship and a man named Jack…or
was it John...no, definitely Jack.
"That’s wonderful, Rose. I’m
glad you’re excited to see him," Savannah said, quietly wishing Rose could
take her cheerfulness somewhere else.
Rose placed a hand on Savannah’s
arm and said, "I want you to meet him, as well."
It seemed as if Savannah had no
choice in the matter, because as Rose spoke to her, a man who was decidedly
from third class was approaching them.
Rose smiled brightly and said,
"Mr. Dawson, this is my close friend, Mrs. Savannah Ismay."
Savannah smiled and shook Jack’s
hand.
The rest of her day was spent
walking silently beside Rose as she and Jack engrossed themselves in conversation.
As they rounded the deck for the second time, Savannah broke into the
conversation.
"Rose, I think I’m going to
head inside. I’m not feeling very well," she lied.
Rose nodded and said, "Oh,
of course. We’ll see you at dinner."
Savannah nodded and said,
"Yes. I’ll see you both later. It was nice to meet you, Mr. Dawson."
She and Jack shook hands one last
time before she stepped aside and watched them continue on their way.
Savannah found her way to the
front of the starboard side, near the bridge. She rested her arms against the
railing and let out a soft sigh. Around her people were bustling around the
deck, enjoying the last few hours of warmth before the sun went down and the
cold wind moved over the deck. Savannah sat and watched the waves, a habit she
had fallen into when she needed to think.
"How are you this afternoon,
darling?"
Savannah turned when she heard
her name. Bruce was standing beside her, dressed to the nines in one of the new
suits he had purchased while they were on their honeymoon in Italy. He leaned
in and kissed her cheek. Savannah remembered the conversation they had had the
other day and stayed put, allowing his lips to make contact with her skin.
"Good girl," he
muttered as he pulled back from her.
He offered her his arm and led
her off around the boat deck for a stroll before dinner. As they rounded the
stern of the ship, they passed Jack and Rose.
"Mr. Ismay, how are
you?" Rose asked, sounding as if she was genuinely interested in what he
had to say.
Bruce nodded and began to speak
to her. All the while, Savannah stood silently at his side. While she stood,
she could feel Jack’s eyes on her. She tried to figure out what he could
possibly be looking at, but before she had the chance, she and Bruce were on
their way again.
"Come inside, darling. It’s
time we dress for dinner," Bruce said to her softly as he opened the door
to A-Deck for her.
*****
Down in her bedroom, Savannah
gripped her bedpost as Jane tugged on her corset strings once again. While Jane
was pinning Savannah’s hair up, there was a knock on the door. Without knowing
or caring who it was, Savannah called to them to enter. Bruce entered the room
and waited for Jane to finish with Savannah’s hair before extending his arm and
whisking her away to dinner.
Throughout dinner, all anyone
wanted to talk about was Rose’s hero, Jack Dawson. Rose could not keep her eyes
off him as he regaled them all with his story, his views on life and luck.
Savannah could see that Rose was falling for this man and, from what she could
see, Cal could, too. Savannah glanced around the table and looked at the
riveted faces as they listened to Jack ramble on about sleeping under a bridge.
Her eyes came to rest on Thomas, who was sitting directly across from her. She
caught his eyes for a second, only to have him rip them away. All she wanted to
do was look into his eyes one last time, but clearly, he was not going to allow
her that.
"Are you ready to retire,
darling?" Bruce asked as he stood, preparing to retreat to the smoking
room for the second time that day.
Savannah shook her head and said,
"No, thank you. I’ll stay out here for a while."
Bruce nodded and kissed her cheek
before leaving the room with Thomas at his side. She looked over at Rose, who
was in the middle of saying her good-bye to Jack. He bent and kissed her hand
softly, as he had done when he first arrived. Rose watched him leave, every now
and then receiving a backwards glance from him. Suddenly, she stood and grabbed
Savannah by the hand.
"Come with me," was all
she said as she pulled Savannah out of the room.