A DEEP OCEAN OF SECRETS
Chapter Twenty
Elisabeth ran down the corridor,
not very many people in sight. Her skirt and hair flew behind her, whipping in
the breeze she made. She was exhausted, hurting, and freezing, but she couldn’t
give up. Not now. She had promised she would get in a boat for Rose. And she
was going to. Or try to, if there were any left. In her mind, she was doubtful
that any would be left.
As she turned the corner to
D-Deck, she ran smack into a man. He stumbled backwards at the collision, but
Elisabeth fell to the ground. The man looked down at Elisabeth and his eyes
grew wide. He held out his hand and Elisabeth took it, rubbing her head. "Elisabeth!"
he cried.
Elisabeth looked up at the
man—William Thackery. "William!" she cried, and pulled her hand away.
He was wearing his tux, but his hair had come out of the pomade, flopping in
his face. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to find you," he
said softly.
"William—"
"I had to know that you were
safe. It was killing me, not knowing if you had made it to a boat. I asked my
uncle, and he said you had come to talk to him. I’ve been looking for you ever
since!"
Elisabeth was dumbfounded.
"But Annabelle!"
William was quiet. "She
won’t have me," he said. "She told her parents that she didn’t want
to marry me, and she didn’t like the idea of an arranged marriage. She didn’t
tell about…about us."
"She lied for us,
basically?" William nodded.
"The engagement is off. But
I’ve been worried about you, and I just want to know that you’re safe."
Elisabeth nodded and hugged
William. He wrapped his arms around her and breathed in the scent of her—lilacs
and lavender. "I need to get to the boat deck. I promised my sister that
I’d get in one. But I’m completely lost," Elisabeth said when they parted.
"Of course." William
nodded and took her hand. "Come on!" William ran in front of her, his
hand firmly wrapped in Elisabeth’s. He led her up the Grand Staircase, D, C, B,
until they reached the A-Deck foyer. Elisabeth’s hair was now damp, her lovely
curls turned into little crimped ones. Her skin was ghostly white, matching the
color of the coat she no longer wore. Her dress’ front skirt was ripped up to
her knee, and the bandage around her arm was gone. The saltwater stung it, and
now it had turned red again. Elisabeth leaned against a column and exhaled
loudly.
"Tired?" William asked.
"Only a little."
Elisabeth breathed slowly. "I don’t know how much more of this I can
take." William nodded and pulled Elisabeth into a hug. She didn’t really
know why he was doing this, but she felt safe in his protective arms. She was
shivering uncontrollably. William looked down at her clothes. They were dirty
and wet, yet were pretty and elegant. Elisabeth followed his gaze down and her
cheeks turned red. "I should change," she said.
"No, Elisabeth,"
William said firmly. "There’s no time. We have to get you to a boat."
Elisabeth nodded grimly and William took her hand again, leading her out to the
starboard side of the ship.
*****
Rose and Jack burst through the
double doors leading out to the port side deck. Jack had gone mad and broken
through a gate with the help of Tommy and Fabrizio. But now they were nowhere
to be seen in the panicked crowd. Jack took Rose’s hand as they looked around.
Rose was wrapped in a steerage blanket, her coat gone.
"The boats are gone!"
Rose cried, looking at all of the empty davits. She saw Colonel Gracie, the
tall bearded man who sat at her dinner table, and ran over to him.
"Colonel! Are there any boats left?" she asked desperately, staring
up at him.
The Colonel was having a hard
time getting past her ragged state of dress. "Yes, miss. There are a
couple of boats all the way forward. This way. I’ll lead you!" But Jack
grabbed Rose’s hand and sped down the deck before the Colonel could move. She
followed behind him, strength leaving her with every step. She gasped for air.
She was so cold.
Jack ran up to Boat 2, where
Officer Lightoller was putting women and children into the lifeboat. Jack
wrapped his arms around Rose, but she was still shivering. Lightoller dragged
two daughters and their mother into the boat. They were all crying, and the
father was calling out comforting words. Rose looked up at Jack.
"Elisabeth had better be in
a boat," she said softly. Jack kissed her forehead and reassured her that
she was. He looked like he was fighting a war inside his mind.
"Get in the boat," he
instructed Rose. She looked up at him.
"No, Jack," she said,
shivering. Just then, Cal walked up to the railing, next to where Jack and Rose
were, overhearing the conversation. He nodded.
"Yes, Rose, get in the
boat," he said. He looked at Rose in shock at what she looked like and
what had happened to her clothes. "Look at you. You look a fright!"
he said. "Here." He took off the steerage blanket, throwing it to
Jack, and wrapped Rose in his black overcoat. She didn’t protest, but enjoyed
the warmth it provided. Jack looked at Cal, then took Rose over to the side,
grasping her shoulders.
"Go on," he said
demandingly. "I’ll get the next one!"
Rose stood her ground.
"No!" she said forcefully through gritted teeth. "Not without
you!" Jack looked down at her sadly. He was about to say something, but
Cal interjected.
"Rose, I have an arrangement
with an officer. Jack and I can get on a boat safely. Both of us," he said
quietly. Jack looked grim. He tried to smile comfortingly at Rose.
"See?" he said.
"I’ve got my own boat to catch."
Cal was getting impatient, but he
tried to hide it with a false smile. "Get in…the boat’s almost full,"
he said, giving her a small push. Rose’s eyes darted from Cal to Jack.
Suddenly, Lightoller grabbed Rose by the arm and pulled her into the boat. Rose
reached out her hand and grabbed Jack’s. They tried to hold onto one another as
long as possible, but when the boat started to lower, they were ripped apart.
To Rose, it was all a big blur.
Cal had now turned back in to his
normal self. "You’re a good liar," he said quietly, looking down at
Rose, who was staring up at Jack.
"Almost as good as
you," Jack replied in the same tone. "There’s…uh…there’s no
arrangement, is there?"
Cal half-smiled to himself.
"No, there is. Not that you’ll benefit much from it." Jack had never
believed him in the first place. Cal looked at Jack and made Jack want to punch
him. "I always win, Jack. One way or another."
Suddenly, somebody knocked into Jack.
He turned around and saw that it was Elisabeth. She turned to apologize and her
eyes grew wide when she saw it was him. "Elisabeth!" he cried.
"You’re supposed to be in a boat!"
Elisabeth was out of breath and
she moved to the railing next to him. William stood next to her. "We
couldn’t find one. They were all gone!"
*****
From the lifeboat, Rose looked
around. Everything was in slow motion for her, everything so sad and
haunting…Lightoller was commanding the boat to be lowered, the ropes were
creaking down the ship, the mother and daughters were wailing and reaching for
the father still on the ship. Hair falling in her face, she looked up and saw
Cal, then Jack, then Elisabeth. Tears pricked at her eyes when she saw her
sister, herself in the boat and she not. She had promised she would be safe,
and yet she was standing on a sinking ship! Sweet, darling Elisabeth hadn’t
made it. Her wonderful sister, who she confided in, laughed with, and cried
with. Best friends…and Jack…her heart poured out to him, with his deep, icy
blue eyes and beautiful blond hair. Rose had tears streaming down her face, but
yet she wasn’t really crying. Just…longing. She looked around again. I can’t
be here! Rose looked to the overhead promenade they were passing and
decided to jump. She pushed past people in the lifeboat, and with all of her
might, threw herself out and onto the side of the railing. She hung there and a
couple men helped her over.
*****
Back on the top deck, Jack
couldn’t believe it, and neither could Elisabeth. "Rose!" they cried
in unison. They looked up at each other for a brief moment, and Jack ran down
the deck, hoping to catch up with her.
William grabbed Elisabeth’s arm
and pulled her to the side. "What’s going on?" he demanded softly.
"Elisabeth, you need to get to a boat!"
Elisabeth kept trying to look
over William, trying to get a glimpse of Jack or Rose. "That was my idiot
sister who jumped from safety!" Elisabeth cried. She grabbed William by
both elbows. "William, that was the last boat!"
William shook his head. "I
think I saw some collapsibles farther down," he remembered. Elisabeth
nodded, and William took her hand, leading her down to the crowd.
*****
Jack pushed through the double
doors leading inside, sprinted down the stairs, and met up with Rose in the
A-Deck foyer. They collided in an embrace, and Jack kissed her and cried, all
the while saying, "Why’d you do that? You’re so stupid, Rose.
Stupid!" They cried in each other’s arms. Then he broke away, holding the
sides of her face. "Why’d you do that, huh?" he asked through tears.
Rose smiled. "You jump, I
jump, right?" Jack kissed her and pulled her into an embrace again.
"Right."