THE DIARY OF MRS. TOMY RYAN
Chapter Thirteen
Time seemed to be frozen as I watched Rose
kneeling over Jack. I could see a puddle of blood. Tommy had Cal held. Fabrizio
had gone for an officer, or someone with authority. Rose’s sobs could be heard
lightly, and she was mumbling something to Jack. Cal was standing in disbelief.
I guess he realized what could happen to him for killing a man. There were too
many witnesses for him to buy off. He wouldn’t be able to buy us off anyway.
Mr. Andrews came up and looked around.
"What happened here?" he asked.
"Nothing," Cal said.
Rose’s head snapped up, and I turned towards
Mr. Andrews, trying to think of what to say. Words wouldn’t come, though.
"I would hardly say nothing, Mr.
Hockley. Jack looks as if he has been shot," Mr. Andrews replied.
Cal went to respond, and I was sure that he
had a story all ready to tell. But Tommy kneed him in the back and all he did
was grunt in pain.
"Cal shot Jack, Mr. Andrews. He was
upset that I had told him that I was leaving him for Jack."
"Let me look at him, Rose. Is he
dead?"
"I…I don’t know. He won’t respond to
me."
Rose got up, and I saw that there was some
blood on her dress. She looked scared, so I went over to her and put my arm
around her shoulders. Mr. Andrews knelt by Jack and started to take his coat
off. "He’s alive," he said. "It’s only a flesh wound. He was hit
in the arm. They bleed a lot, but he isn’t going to die. He is in shock, though."
We all seemed to breathe a little easier. Cal
tried to get out of Tommy’s grip. But Tommy had him held too tightly.
"Let me go, you filth. He’s not dead,
and so you have no reason to hold me."
"No, Cal. You’ll still be held
accountable for shooting him."
"No."
"Oh, yes. It will make all the
headlines. I can see it already," Rose said. "Mr. Caledon Hockley
shoots a man as Titanic sinks."
"It doesn’t have to come to that,
Rose."
"Oh?"
"Come back to me, and I’m sure we can
pay him enough to forget."
"You just don’t understand, do you? I
will never be your wife."
The stewards came up with the Master-at-Arms,
and they talked quietly to Mr. Andrews. One was sent to fetch the ship’s
doctor. The Master-at-Arms came over to Cal and put handcuffs on him. They took
him away and we waited for the doctor.
The doctor pronounced Jack fine, if a little
shot-up. "I want this man on the next lifeboat."
"I’ll need to go with him," Rose
said.
The doctor looked at her. "Are you his
wife?"
"Not yet. We were planning on getting
married after we docked."
"All right, then." He turned to the
stewards. "Make sure this man and his bride-to-be get on the next
boat."
The doctor left, and I looked at Rose.
"Jack will be fine. And you’ll get to go on the same boat." I tried
to smile. I was happy for Rose and Jack, but I still wanted Tommy and I to be
okay, too.
Rose came over and squeezed my hand.
"You two will be all right. I’m sure. I can feel it."
A few minutes later, Tommy and I watched as
they put Jack in a lifeboat. Rose climbed in after him. Fabrizio had helped
carry Jack, and they let him stay on the lifeboat. I held Tommy’s hand as they
lowered the boat to the water. The drop was only about forty-five feet now. The
Titanic was sinking, but it was sinking evenly. And it might even stay afloat
well into morning. I wasn’t worried, because whatever happened, I was going to
have Tommy by my side.