IN THE ARMS OF A STRANGER
Chapter Twenty-Three

Two weeks had passed since the march, and Rose and Jack were closer than ever. One never saw Rose without Jack, and vice versa, except when he was at work. And Rose missed him tremendously then. It was like she was incomplete without his gentle presence in the room. That morning, Rose and Kate were up in Kate’s room, sewing a blanket for the coming baby, while Fabrizio was downstairs, looking at the paper, hoping to work some more on his English so he could soon get a job of his own. He knew Jack and Rose didn’t mind if they stayed with them forever, but Fabrizio was like Jack. He could only take so much charity from his friends. But he was glad that he was at the Dawson house that day, because he smelled trouble in the air, and sure enough, trouble came knocking on the Dawson door that morning.

Fabrizio got up and stretched before answering the door. He'd been sitting in that chair for too long. He gasped in shock when he opened the door to an old acquaintance of his and Jack’s from when they were in Paris. He had been hoping never to see her again, but sadly, she was here, right on Jack’s doorstep.

"What are you doing here?" Fabrizio glared at the beautiful blonde girl, who nervously smiled at him, her sad blue eyes begging him not to turn her away.

"Hello, Fabrizio." The blonde wrung her hands nervously.

"What are you doing here?" he asked again, his voice hard and suspicious.

"Jack told me I could come here if I ever needed a place to stay…if things got too bad in Paris."

"And things got bad." Fabrizio sighed.

"Very bad." She nodded. "Can I come in?"

"No."

"Fabrizio, please…"

"You shouldn’t have come here, Annette. You’re trouble, and that’s the last thing Jack needs right now."

"Jack’s here?"

"No. He’s at work, and I’m going to make sure you’re not here when he gets home."

"Fabri, please…" Annette’s voice was at a desperate pitch now, just as Rose and Kate came down the stairs.

"Fabri, who’s that at the door?" Rose came up curiously. She gasped when she saw the young woman in tears at the door. "Fabri, don’t just stand there. Invite her in! She’s obviously upset."

Fabrizio’s mouth dropped open at this. He hadn't expected this from Rose. She didn’t even know Annette and her history, and she was inviting her into her house. But then again, he shouldn’t be surprised. Jack had done the same thing for her back in Southampton, and obviously that had rubbed off on Rose. But still, Fabrizio knew this woman and just how dangerous it was to get involved in her life. He had to convince Rose to put the woman out…especially before Jack got home.

Rose reached past Fabrizio and pulled Annette into the house. "Come on in and sit down. Tell us all about it." Rose led her into the parlor and onto the couch.

"Rose!" Fabrizio hissed. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"What?" Rose turned to Fabri, then nodded. "All right. Kate…stay with her. We’ll be back."

Fabrizio led Rose into the kitchen and turned on her. "Rose, you don’t know what you’re doing, inviting that woman into your home! It’s dangerous to take her in!"

"Fabri, what are you talking about?" Rose asked, confused by Fabrizio’s behavior.

"You don’t know anything about her."

"You and Jack knew nothing about me when you took me in."

"That was different. You were in trouble…"

"And obviously, so is she. Look at her, Fabri. She’s scared. She has the look that I had when those two men were trying to assault me. Remember?"

"I remember, but you don’t understand…"

"She’s staying, Fabri, unless Jack says differently, and knowing Jack, I doubt he will."

"You don’t know what you’re doing." Fabrizio slumped his shoulders in defeat.

"I think I do." Rose sighed. Then she squeezed his shoulder. "It’s going to be all right, Fabri."

Fabri could just shrug and follow Rose back into the parlor, where Kate was telling Annette how far along in her pregnancy she was.

"I see you’re feeling better." Rose smiled.

"Yes, Kate was telling me about her pregnancy. Congratulations, Fabrizio. I know how much becoming a father means to you."

Fabrizio just nodded and took a seat in the horsehair chair, watching her warily. This, of course, was Rose and Jack’s house, and he had no reign there. He just hoped Jack was a lot smarter now than he had been three years ago in Paris. He had a family to think about now.

"Do you mind telling us your name?" Rose asked curiously.

"Annette. Annette Dubois."

"She’s French." Kate spoke up.

"I’m Rose, and this is Kate." Rose smiled. "It’s nice to meet you."

Annette smiled at the polite girl who had invited her in, but she couldn’t help but wonder who was she to Jack. He had never mentioned any siblings or other close relatives before. Plus, the girl looked nothing like Jack. "It’s very nice to meet you."

"Why don’t I take you upstairs, and you can get cleaned up? That path is really dusty." Kate smiled, escorting Annette upstairs. Fabrizio just shook his head at the stairs and excused himself to go outside, leaving Rose alone in the parlor. She walked to the mantle and looked at all the figurines she had bought at one of the shops in town. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she didn't hear anyone come up behind her.

She gasped in surprise when a bouquet of roses were presented to her. A warm voice whispered in her ear. "Happy anniversary."

"Jack!" Rose turned around and hugged him furiously. "You’re home early."

"Of course. I asked my boss if I could leave early so we could celebrate." Jack smiled, lifting his wife off her feet and twirling her around. "I’m sure Kate and Fabri won’t mind watching Becky so we can go out."

Then Rose remembered their visitor. She couldn’t go out and leave her alone with Kate and an overly cautious Fabrizio. "Uh…Jack…we can’t go out tonight."

"What? Why?" Jack asked, looking at his wife in concern. "What’s going on?"

"We have a visitor." Rose sighed.

"Who?"

"Bonjour, Jack." Annette appeared at the top of the stairs, along with Kate and Fabrizio.

Jack released Rose as he looked up the stairs at Annette, his eyes widening in shock and surprise. He had never expected to see her again after he and Fabrizio had fled Paris. But here she was, in his house, smiling down at him. "Annette."

"You two know each other?" Rose asked curiously.

"We’re old friends." Jack smiled.

"Fabrizio, why didn’t you tell me that she’s an old friend? You acted like she was some kind of stranger." Rose turned to Fabri, who just shrugged his shoulders helplessly. He knew that Jack was going to let her stay, and then her husband would come looking for her, and Fabrizio hated to think of what was going to happen after that.

"What are you doing here? The last time I saw you was in Paris at the Eiffel Tower when we said good-bye…"

"And you told me if things got too bad to come to America to Chippewa Falls and ask for directions to the old Dawson place. You said I could stay here. Remember?" Annette came downstairs. "I just never expected you’d be here, though."

"Neither did I." Jack laughed. "But circumstances brought me back here to Chippewa Falls. For now, at least. So, things got that bad, huh?"

"They did." Annette nodded, a tear slipping from her hazel eyes. She bit her trembling lip. "Oh, Jack, he was horrible." Annette began to sob.

"It’s okay, Annette. You’re safe now, here in America." Jack hugged her and let her cry. "We’re not gonna let anything happen to ya."

"You’re always so good to me, Jack." Annette wiped away her tears. "You know how to treat a lady. Louis could never understand that."

"Jack? Isn’t tonight a special night?" Fabrizio interrupted. "An anniversary of a certain wedding voyage."

"Oh, Annette, have you met Rose?" Jack pulled away from the hug and took Rose’s hand, pulling her up to them.

"Oh, yes." Annette nodded. "She’s the one who insisted I come in."

"Rose?" Jack looked at her, bewildered. He had never expected her to invite a total stranger into the house. He was impressed.

"Well, she was crying and looked like she needed help. It wasn’t too long ago that I was in that same situation." Rose shrugged. "Besides, you did the same for me."

"Yes, I did, and I’m proud of you, Rose." Jack squeezed her hand. Rose just smiled up at him, adoration shining in her eyes. The way they looked at each other was not lost on Annette.

Jack and Rose really did love each other, and would do anything for the other person. She could only dream of having a marriage like that. She sighed, thinking of what could have been.

"Why don’t I get Annette settled in while you two go out?" Kate volunteered. "This is your anniversary."

"It is?" Annette’s eyes widened. "Oh, I’m sorry to have intruded. You must have plans."

"Oh, that’s all right." Rose smiled. "Jack and I can always do something later on."

"Oh, no. Do it now. I’ll be fine here with Fabrizio and Kate. You two go out and have fun," Annette insisted.

"Are you sure?" Jack was cautious about leaving Annette by herself. He knew Kate would be nice, but he also knew Fabrizio’s feelings about her. He noticed how Fabrizio wouldn’t stop glaring at Annette.

"I’m positive. We’ll talk later. Now, go. Celebrate your wedding anniversary." Annette smiled.

"Come on, Rose. We have to get ready. I’ve made reservations at the fanciest restaurant here in Chippewa Falls."

"You mean the Swansonette?" Rose’s eyes widened.

"Yep. And a little surprise afterwards." Jack smiled.

Rose eyed Jack suspiciously before letting him lead her into their room.

Later That Night

They had just finished dinner at the Swansonette and were now walking in the park, gazing up at the stars hand-in-hand. Rose sighed contently, stepping a little closer to her husband, wanting to feel his body heat. His presence was so soothing to her…she didn’t know how she had ever lived without it.

"Rose?" Jack asked. "Are you cold?"

"A little chilled, but I’m all right." Rose sighed, looking into his beautiful eyes.

Jack smiled. "So, aren’t you wondering what your surprise is?"

"No. Not really. But I am wondering who Annette is. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, Jack." Rose noticed how quickly he looked away from her.

"No, I want to tell you. This is as much your business as it is mine." Jack nodded, sorting out what he was going to tell her and what he was going to leave out. Only the things she needed to know. The rest of it…well…that all depended. "Annette…she was the first person in Paris who saw my drawings and liked them. You see, I used to draw in front of the Eiffel Tower, and she was there, sitting on my bench. She asked me if she could see my sketches, and of course I said sure. She thought they were marvelous."

"What else?"

"Well…she began coming to the Eiffel Tower every day, and we would sit and talk about everything and anything. It didn’t take long for us to become good friends. One day, she arrived first, and I came upon her. I was shocked to find that her face and arms were covered in bruises. Turned out she had a very violent and jealous husband."

"Oh, my goodness…did you meet him, Jack?"

"A couple of times. One time when she invited me to dinner. He was polite, but I could tell he was mean just by the way he stood and spoke. I mean, he made Ed and Sal look like Hansel and Gretel. The second time I met him, he told me to stay away from his wife…that was after he had beaten her until she was almost at the point of unconsciousness. I had begged her to leave him, but she refused. She was too scared. Then…the day before we left Paris, I saw her again. And that’s when he came for her and got really bad. He told me and Fabri that if we didn’t leave Paris, he’d hurt her real bad. So the next day, we prepared to leave. She met me one last time to say good-bye, and I told her that if he ever got so violent that she thought he would kill her, she could hop a ship to America, come to Chippewa Falls, and she could stay at my house. If anyone asked, she could say that Jack Dawson sent her. That was the last time I saw her, until this afternoon."

Rose had tears in her eyes, and she felt a little ashamed. She had thought she had had it bad, being forced to marry Caledon Hockley, but poor Annette. She had it much worse. Cal might have ignored her or mentally abused her, but he had never laid a hand on her. She could give him credit for that. Rose sighed again and her mind began to wander. It wasn’t her who had needed Jack so much…it was Annette. What if things had turned out differently? Would she have met Jack at all?

"Rose? Are you okay? You’re crying." Jack was concerned by Rose’s silence and tears. Had he told her too much?

"I’m fine, Jack. It’s just that…I thought I had it bad, but Annette…her life was a living terror. And after you left…she had no one to turn to, then. It must have taken a lot of courage to get away this time," Rose explained.

"Yeah, he must have beaten her pretty bad. He’s probably furious with her by now." His hand tightened on Rose’s hand at the thought. What if Louis Dubois got it in his head to search for his missing wife and ended up in Chippewa Falls? Nah, that was impossible. Louis Dubois might be big and mean, but he was no Caledon Hockley. There was no way he could know where Annette was, or who she was with.

"Jack…I know what Annette really needs. She needs some lady friends. Susan, Kate, and I…we were going to go shopping this Saturday. How about I invite Annette along?"

"That’ll be great." Jack happily grinned. He was really proud of Rose. She sure had grown from that shy, lost rich girl he had rescued in Southampton. "I think she’ll like that a lot."

"Now, about my surprise…" Rose grinned up at her husband.

"Right this way, Mrs. Dawson." Jack led her over to the lake. He pointed to the sky. "See that star there?"

Rose nodded and was confused when he handed her a packet of papers. "What is this?"

"Documents confirming that that star belongs to one Rose Dawson. I want to give you the moon and stars. Rose, this is just the start of them."

"Oh, Jack, I love it!" Rose laughed, throwing her arms around him. "That’s the most wonderful gift anybody’s ever given to me!"

"The Rose Star." Jack smiled, looking up at the star-filled night sky.

"Let’s go home, Jack." Rose pulled on his hand. "I want to go visit my star…with you."

"Okay." Jack laughed, allowing Rose to lead him out of the park.

*****

Annette sat in the kitchen with Kate and Fabri, peeling onions when Jack and Rose returned. Both were obviously unaware that they were being watched. Jack kissed Rose passionately and picked her up in his arms.

"To the stars?" he asked seductively.

"To the stars." Rose giggled as he carried her up the stairs. All three people looked up as they heard a door slam closed and Jack and Rose’s voices disappeared.

"Them two." Kate shook her head. "If they’re not careful, they’re going to have another baby. Mark my words."

"They’re so in love," Annette whispered, her eyes showing no emotion.

"They’re soulmates. That’s what it is. You can tell just by looking at them. Rose and Jack…they complete each other." Kate nodded. "I saw that the moment I saw them. That’s why I agreed to be a bridesmaid at their wedding."

"That’s way Jack doesn’t need big Louis Dubois coming around looking for his wife. Jack has a family now. Responsibilities."

"Fabri…" Kate warned.

"Don’t worry, Fabri…Louis has no idea where I am. Or with whom. He won’t be coming around here anytime soon."

"I hope you’re right, because if you’re not…I hate to see what’s going to happen."

*****

Rose and Jack cuddled together in the afterglow of their recent trip to Rose’s star. Each was caught up in their own world. Jack couldn’t help but think about the situation with Annette. He felt extremely sorry for her and wanted to help her in every way he knew how, but he couldn’t help but be worried. He worried about what he hadn't told Rose about Annette. She wouldn’t be happy if she did know what had happened on the day before he had left Paris. In fact, she’d probably be angry with both him and Annette. He’d have to ask Annette to keep that moment between them to herself. He didn’t know if Rose thought she was his first or not, but he didn’t want her to know about the past that he and Annette had shared. Besides, it was just one time, and it had meant nothing.

Rose stared up at Jack and noticed he wasn’t really paying attention to her. Was he thinking about Annette? She knew there was more to the story than he was telling. She wondered if he had had feelings for her back then, and if he had, did he still have those feelings? Did he regret marrying her and not rescuing Annette from her lunatic husband?

"Jack?"

"Yes, Rose?"

Rose was going to ask for the whole story, but decided not to. Not tonight on their anniversary. Jack loved her. Rose was positive about that, and she wasn’t going to ruin the anniversary of the day they took vows to be together forever. And really, she didn’t want to know. What if it was something she wouldn’t like…like in truth they used to be lovers…Rose cringed at the thought of someone else besides her being that close to Jack. To her…she was his first love…just like he was hers.

"I love you." She had a hint of tears in her voice.

"Rose, are you all right? You sound like you’re going to cry." Jack looked at her in concern. He tenderly touched her cheek. "What is it, darling? You can tell me."

"I just needed to tell you that I loved you. Just in case you didn’t know it." Rose smiled weakly.

"I know that you love me, Rose. I’ve always known that." Jack laughed, pulling her closer to him. "And I love you, too. You’re my entire world. You and Becky."

Rose smiled as he kissed her again. She sighed happily, laying her head on his bare chest, listening to his beating heart. "I love you, Jack. I really do. You’re my everything."

"Rose." He hugged her tighter. "I love you, too. I want you to always remember that. Okay?"

Rose nodded and sighed once more before drifting off into a comfortable sleep, listening to her husband’s heartbeat.

*****

Louis Dubois stretched as he stepped off the ship that had docked in New York. This was where his wife was…he knew it. Where else could she have gone? She didn’t know anyone from this country that would take her in…did she? Then he remembered. There was that artist she had been involved with three years ago. He was American. What was his name? Dawson…something Dawson. He had told the kid that if he ever caught him with his wife again, there’d be trouble. Surely Dawson had taken him seriously, because he had left Paris with his Italian friend in a hurry and he hadn’t heard from them since.

But what about Annette? Had she taken him seriously? He had found the whore looking at one of those drawings the Dawson kid had given her. That was what had caused the whole mess. He had ripped the picture from her hands and given her a good beating. She had laid on the floor crying, spitting out blood onto the floor. That had taught her good and well. Was he surprised the next morning when he had woken up and found her gone. He had looked everywhere, all over France for her. He had finally run into an old pal who worked on the docks and mentioned seeing his wife boarding a ship heading to America. And now here he was, right behind her. But he was still no closer to finding her than he was in Paris. America was a big country…she could be anywhere.

But he was pretty sure she was with Dawson…wherever he was…which he was going to find out one way or another. Someone in this city must know something. With a sneer, he headed for the city and began his search for information.

*****

Annette was in the kitchen, making breakfast, when Jack entered, ready to go to work. He was surprised to see her up so early, but was glad that they had some time alone.

"Morning, Jack." Annette smiled when she spotted him. "I hope you slept well."

"I did. Uh…Annette…we have to talk." Jack sighed, taking a seat.

"About what?"

"The night before I left Paris." Jack sighed again, not daring to look at her.

"Oh, that." Annette nodded. "I had a feeling that’s what you wanted to talk about."

"Annette…you do know that what happened…it didn’t mean anything. It was just something that happened."

"Of course I know that, Jack. I’ve always known that, but I don’t regret it. I never will." Annette smiled.

"Rose can’t know, Annette." Jack finally looked up at her. "It’ll kill her if she knew that we had been together like that. And the last thing I want to do is hurt Rose. She’s…she’s everything to me."

"Is that what this is about? You’re afraid I’ll tell Rose that we slept together? Oh, Jack, I would never tell her that. I’d never do something that cruel."

Jack smiled, relief shining in his eyes. "Thank you, Annette."

"Rose has good taste in men, you know." Annette got up and ruffled his blond hair. "I wish I had that same taste when I met Louis."

"Well, I’m sure you’ve learned your lesson." Jack smiled, then noticed the time. "Oh, I’d better go. I’m gonna be late if I don’t leave now."

"See you later, Jack, and don’t worry. I won’t tell Rose."

"Thanks!" Jack waved, heading down the path.

*****

Louis Dubois glared out at the passing landscape. He was on a train heading towards Chippewa Falls and would be there within the week. Thanks to a nice girl at the station, she had confirmed that a woman fitting his wife’s description had boarded a train to that exact town not too long ago. Louis had shouted in glee. He had found his wife, but another question lay in his mind, as well. The girl had nodded at his description of a young blond man heading that way. She had confirmed that, but she said that it had been well over a year since she saw him. The only reason she remembered him was because he had these beautiful eyes that stared right through her. Louis had thanked her and felt his anger grow. So, Annette had indeed run to Dawson. Well, she was going to pay for what she had done, and so would Dawson…for being with his wife, if nothing else. Heck, maybe they were shacked up together now. Laughing at how well they had fooled him. Pretending that Dawson was leaving her life for good…then her taking off when he least expected it. They must have thought he was pretty dumb, that he wouldn’t put two and two together, but they were wrong. Oh, were they wrong. He had indeed put two and two together, and now he was on his way to their little safe haven, and he was going to set things right.

Chapter Twenty-Four
Stories