A FAMILY AFFAIR
Chapter Three
The family was still upset after
hearing the news that Thomas would have to travel on the Titanic in his uncle's
place. Elizabeth had taken the news rather hard, and she left the room before
hearing her father out.
"Maybe you should go find
Elizabeth," his mother suggested.
"I've broken her heart by
breaking a promise to her. I have never broken a promise to Elba," Thomas
said sadly. He felt a firm, warm hand enclose the one resting on his thigh.
"She'll understand. Elizabeth
is just upset. That's all," Helen reassured him. There was nothing for her
to understand. He had promised her that he would not have to go with the
Titanic, and it felt as though now he simply told her that to get her off his
back. He had now broken that promise. That was the only thing she'd be able to
see. Thomas inwardly cursed himself for hurting his little girl, but what
choice did he have? With Mr. Ismay, there were no options, no matter who you
were. Being born into a very prominent English family where money dominated his
rearing, what kind of person was he likely to become? Mr. Ismay was damned to a
life with no love, just money. And Thomas knew very well that there was no
saying no to money. He decided that he needed to see if he could make Elba
understand why he had to break her heart, although he knew that wouldn't be
easy. He took leave of the parlor in search of his daughter.
*****
Elizabeth found her way into the
massive gardens behind her grandparents’ house. She was so angry at her father
for breaking his promise to her. But to make matters worse, she had yelled at
her father. A sickening feeling filled her heart. Tears formed a heavy mist in
her eyes. Finally, she lost control over them altogether. She collapsed on a
nearby bench and wept. Elizabeth heard footsteps coming toward her. As she
looked up, wiping the tears from her eyes, her father emerged from behind a
tall bush. Elizabeth turned away from him in disgust. Thomas could see her
tear-streaked face in the moonlight.
"You've been crying, haven't
you?" Thomas asked her.
"Yes, I have, but why would
you care? You're the reason I'm crying in the first place. How could you do
that to me? You broke your promise to me that you would not have to be with the
Titanic past her sea trials," Elizabeth stated. Thomas approached the
bench on which she sat.
"May I?" Thomas asked
her, gesturing to the empty place next to her. She nodded somewhat unwillingly.
"Elba, I have to go with the Titanic because Uncle Pierre cannot be with
her," Thomas began.
"I know. I heard the same
story that everyone else did in the parlor," Elizabeth answered.
"But there is something that
you don't know," Thomas said, reaching into his suit pocket. He pulled out
a small white envelope and handed it to her.
"What's this, Daddy?"
Elizabeth questioned as she took the envelope from her father's hand.
"As I was coming to look for
you, Mrs. Greer stopped me and handed this to me. She told me that it was
delivered earlier today. With the events of this evening, she had completely
forgotten to give it to me," Thomas said.
"Who is it from?"
Elizabeth questioned.
"It's from Aunt Pierre. She
wrote and told me of Uncle Pierre's condition. According to the letter, your
uncle has taken a turn for the worse. He was not allowed to travel anywhere
because, according to the doctor, the demands of sea travel could kill
him," Thomas explained.
"And that's why you had
to..." Elizabeth's voice trailed off.
"Break the promise,"
Thomas finished.
"But why didn't you tell me
that this was the reason you had to break your promise? I never would have
reacted the way I did if I had known," Elizabeth replied.
"Because I could not speak
of this in front of everyone else. Aunt Pierre said that I should keep the news
to myself. There was no reason the entire family need get upset," Thomas
said. Elizabeth felt only guilt in her heart. She should have known that her
father would never break a promise to her if it wasn't for a really good
reason. How could she have doubted her father like that? She cursed inwardly at
her behavior. The tears once again began to form in her eyes as she looked up
and met her father's gaze.
"Now you know why I had to
break the promise I made to you. When I knew that I would have to hurt you, my
heart ached like never before. Please forgive me, dear Elba," Thomas
stated, holding back a huge sob that had suddenly formed in his throat.
Elizabeth could feel that she was losing the battle to her tears. She threw
herself into her father's arms, crying harder than she ever had before. Elizabeth
could feel the warmth of her father's embrace, the same embrace that she had
known since the day of her birth.
"Oh, Daddy, please forgive
me!" Elizabeth cried as her father held her.
"Elba, I should be the one
to be apologizing to you. After all, I did break a promise to you. I'd rather
be here with you and your mother than anywhere else in the world," Thomas
replied as he lifted her head and wiped a tear from her cheek.
"If you have to go, is there
a way that we can come with you?" Elizabeth inquired. She looked at her
father hopefully.
"Mr. Harland did mention
that I could bring my family with me if I chose, but..." Thomas started.
"I think that everyone would
like to come. Daddy, we've only seen your ships stationary. We've never sailed
on one before. What a great excuse for a vacation, even if you have to work for
part of the time. At least we will all be together," Elizabeth finished.
Thomas looked at his daughter. He could never deny her anything.
"All right, Elba. We'll ask
everyone if they'd like to go on the Titanic," Thomas said as he let go of
Elizabeth.
"The maiden voyage of the
Titanic will be a memorable family affair for all of us," Elizabeth
stated.
"Yes. I'm sure it will
be," Thomas replied as they began walking back to the house.