CHAPTER ONE
As Cal gazed up at the grandest
ship in the world, he glowed with pride that he was able to impress his
beautiful young fiancée with this experience. His arrogance, as Rose saw it,
was a mask for his insecurity. God forbid anyone see him as he truly felt.
"Useless boy!"
Cal winced, unconsciously
touching the buckle-shaped scar on his hip.
"It doesn’t look any bigger
than the Mauritania!" Rose mused. This was not the reaction he had hoped
for, but he had half-expected his feisty Rose to play it this way, which
slightly amused him, diluting his feelings of disappointment at her outward
show of disinterest.
Alone at last in his suite, Cal
poured two glasses of champagne and passed one to his beautiful Rose. Planting
a kiss tenderly on her forehead, he told her he loved her. Rose looked into his
eyes as if to seek out his inner feelings. Did this beautiful girl really doubt
his true feelings? Perhaps she questioned his motives? He’d heard the rumors.
He knew that people suspected him to be marrying in such haste in order to
adhere to the conditions of his father’s inheritance. It hurt him. He wanted
the bastard’s money, yes, but he wanted Rose more. Without Rose the money would
mean nothing. He told her that time and again, but doubted she believed it, and
he couldn’t admit it to anyone else, as it would be a sign of weakness…
"You weak boy! Act like a
man, for God’s sake! You’re behaving like a little girl!" He was six years
old, and his father, Nathan Hockley, had just returned from a business trip.
Young Caledon ran to his father and hugged him with excitement. The subsequent
blow to his head knocked him to the ground. His bottom lip quivered, but he
dared not cry as his father reminded him, "Showing your feelings is a sign
of weakness, boy!"