A FATHER'S RESCUE
Chapter Eighteen
A chill breeze stirred Rose's flowing
tresses. She looked around Titanic's deck, and was mildly surprised to find it
free of passengers. An eerie silence hung in the air. "Jack!" she
called out, and her voice echoed. She began to walk slowly toward the bow, the
clicking of her heels as noisy as gunshots.
All around her deck chairs were strewn,
apparently abandoned in haste. The lifeboats were missing. She still saw no
people, but Rose had the uneasy sensation that she was being watched.
She half expected not to find him, but Jack
was waiting at the bow, staring out to sea. She reached out to touch his
shoulder, and he turned to her. He wore a sad little smile.
"This will be the last time I see you
for a while," he said.
"No." She shook her head. "You
can't leave me. I need you, Jack."
"I'm not leaving you." He clasped
her hands in his. "You won't see me, but I'll always be here."
"Why?" Rose felt the sting of
tears.
"You have your father now, Rose. You two
can depend on each other."
"My father's sick."
"That's why you need to be strong.
You'll have to take care of him, and if you can't take care of yourself,
well..." He hesitated, frowning, as if he'd heard something.
"Jack, what is it?"
"This is very important," he
instructed quickly. "Do whatever your father says. Go to California with
him. And take that fellow David with you."
"W-what?"
"He loves you, Rose. Maybe not as much
as I do, not yet anyway, but he'll take good care of you." Jack frowned
again, and looked up slowly. That's when Rose heard the footsteps.
"Cal," Jack said.
Her name was being called. Someone was
shaking her.
"Rose!" her father said.
"Rose, it's time to go home."
Even after being shaken, Rose woke up slowly.
"Now?"
"Yes, Princess. The doctor has released
you. For now we will go home. I do have names of several different doctors.
We'll decide on which one later."
"All right." Rose sat up, then
climbed out of bed. She found the clothes she had come in, which were the only
ones she had with her. Michael stepped out while she changed, then they set out
for the exit.
Rose still seemed pale and tired, but the
outside air seemed to do her good. The carriage ride was smooth and brief. When
they reached the boarding house, Rose climbed out quickly to head inside.
Michael supposed she was anxious to see if David was home. They were met
instead by the landlady, who seemed strangely anxious.
"Mrs. Wallace," Rose said softly.
"Is something wrong?"
"There's a fellow waiting for you,
upstairs. Louie let him in and I only saw him because I went up to put
something in your room as a welcome home. David told me you should be getting
out soon. But that man up there...he's...twitchy, and I think he's up to no good.
I tried to get him out, but he said he was waiting for you and he was not
moving. I wanted to call the cops but he sure looks like he has money, enough
to pay anyone off to get his way."
David, who had just come downstairs, looked
at Michael with a puzzled expression on his face. Michael was watching his
daughter. "Rose?" he asked.
Rose stood absolutely still and did not
respond. Her face had once again drained of color.
"Rose," her father repeated,
"I'll take care of this."
"No!" she said. To everyone's shock,
she'd regained her composure immediately and her eyes held a look of
determination. "This is my problem. I'll take care of it."
"I'll go with you," David offered.
He was still unsure of what he'd be protecting her from.
"No. I'm through hiding." Rose gave
him a confident smile that she hoped didn't betray her nerves, and began a slow
climb to the second floor. Her entire body quaked and she gripped the railing
to steady herself. Easy does it. He can't hurt me anymore.
But oh yes he could, or else she wouldn't be
so terrified. As she took out her key with unsteady fingers, it slipped to the
floor with a betraying clang. She cursed as she bent over to retrieve it.
The door flew open.
"Allow me to get that for you."
"I'm doing fine, thank you." Rose
herself was surprised at how steady her voice was. That was a plus at least.
She slipped the key back in her pocket since she no longer needed it. Then, she
stood up as straight as possible, looked him in the eye and said, "I'm
sure I can guess what has brought you here. I'm sorry, but you're wasting your
time."
Cal scowled, stepping aside so she could
enter the room. He closed the door behind her so their discussion would be
private.
"I don't think so, Rose. You are still
legally my fiancée. And this is a filthy, run-down place. Don't you think you
deserve better than this?"
"I like this just fine, for now. I won't
live here forever. I'm not afraid to work. I'll get a job and save my
money."
Cal had not yet mentioned the cash he had
left in the jacket pocket. Rose supposed that would have been the first thing,
if he remembered it. If he had forgotten, she wasn't about to mention it.
Cal just laughed. "You? Working? I don't
quite think so!"
"You'd be surprised, Cal, at what I can
do," Rose said quietly.
His lips curved upward into a leer.
"Perhaps. Judging from the type of ladies who reside here--"
Before he could finish the sentence, Rose's
hand flew through the air and connected with his cheek. Cal stumbled backwards
and stared at her, dumbfounded.
"Why, you little tramp! I see that
good-for-nothing Dawson has really corrupted you." His face had flushed a
deep crimson and he spat the words at her with increasing venom. "Well,
this little temper tantrum of yours is over, Sweetpea. As of now. You're going
back to Philadelphia with me."
He thinks Jack is here, Rose had time to
think, and she decided not to let on otherwise.
"No one's corrupted me, Cal. At least
not the way your money has corrupted you. But I'm not going anywhere with you.
I made that clear on the ship." She reopened the door. "Please tell
Mother that my father and I are both doing well."
Cal snorted. "You think you're going to
be rid of me that easily?"
"She's asked you to leave,
Hockley." Michael appeared in the doorway, and though illness had shrunken
him, his voice was no less commanding than it had been at the height of his
career. "You get out of my daughter's home right now or we'll all be rid
of you."
Cal knew Michael was quite serious, but could
not resist some parting shots as he left...for now. He didn't intend to give up
this easily. Only when Cal was out the door and it was securely locked did
Michael's face soften.
"I'm sorry about that, Rose. What an
unpleasant surprise. That man is such a scoundrel. I don't know what your mother
was thinking, pairing you up."
"She was doing the best she knew how,
that's all. I disagreed with her, of course, and I know if I went back she
would make me marry him. That's the only reason I'm not going back. I never
thought I'd say this, but sometimes, I miss her. I'm very glad to have you, you
don't know how much I've missed you. But...she is my mother. There are days I'd
like just one more chance to explain things to her. To help her understand
me."
Michael hugged his daughter briefly.
"I'm sure you do. Perhaps one day we can go home to see her. But not
soon."
"I know that, Daddy. If it's all right,
I think I'd like to go have a nap. It seems like such a long day already."
"You go right ahead. I'll see you when
you get up, Princess."
Rose also spoke to David, who was looking on
silently, then went up to her room and fell on the bed. Less than five minutes
later, she was asleep.