A Week Earlier
April 23, 1912
The sick feeling came over Rose once again as she heard the knock on her bedroom door. Inside her en suite bathroom, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Here she was, the perfect society girl again.
Her hair was pulled back into a French roll and she wore a burgundy evening gown, complete with diamond earrings and bracelet and, of course, her wedding and engagement rings, which she refused to ever take off. The gaudy jewelry that she owned was nothing compared to the tiny rings that Jack had given her as a token of his love.
The knock sounded again, but this time louder and more impatient. Rose knew she was going to have to play Little Miss Perfect. She was dreading opening the door, for she knew who it was—Cal. He had returned from New York and had come to see Rose. The last time she had seen him, he had been unconscious after Maria had whacked him over the head.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and walked to the door. Opening it shakily, she revealed Caledon Hockley, wearing a black tuxedo and with his hair perfectly combed as always. He wore a grin on his face, and as soon as Rose answered the door, he invited himself into her room, closing the door behind him.
Rose backed away slightly, feeling her heart race, but knowing that her mother was downstairs with Lovejoy and the maids, he wouldn’t dare touch her here.
“Hello, Miss DeWitt Bukater.”
Rose felt her stomach sink. “It’s Mrs. Dawson,” she told him firmly, but it still didn’t wipe the grin from his face.
“I hear your husband, Mr. Dawson, didn’t survive the sinking. I do apologize.”
Biting her lip, Rose tasted blood. She didn’t want to be here. She wished she had died with Jack in the middle of the North Atlantic. She said nothing in reply to him. She simply stood with her hands behind her back. She didn’t wish to show him in any way how much she feared him.
“What is it like to be home, Rose? To be living somewhere that isn’t surrounded by gutter rats?”
Cal came towards her slightly and her breathing quickened. She knew he had come here for revenge, but she wouldn’t show him any weakness.
“I rather prefer the rats, Mr. Hockley. Better than your company, I assure you.” She smiled at him rather sweetly. His smug smile faded. “Why have you come here? You know that I cannot marry you, as I am already a married woman.”
Cal came closer to her and backed her against the wall. “No, Rose, you are not a married woman. Your husband died with the Titanic, remember? You are no longer married.”
Rose’s breathing quickened and she struggled slightly against his grip. “Maybe so. But I won’t marry you, Cal. Ever. I’d rather die first.”
Cal laughed at her childish words. “You will marry me, Rose. For your mother and for yourself. Remember, when your father died, he left you and your mother with no money. What do you propose to do?”
Rose found the strength from somewhere to laugh right in Cal’s face. Money was all he cared about. “I will live my life like I did with my husband, without money, without luxury, because I certainly don’t need it. You, however, don’t have the strength to live without your precious money.”
Cal grabbed Rose’s face with his left hand and squeezed it. “This isn’t a game. You left me humiliated in Paris. Do you really think I could just let that go? I awoke to find myself naked in the streets of Paris.”
Despite fearing Cal, Rose couldn’t help but be slightly amused by the fact that Maria had left Cal naked in the street, although she didn’t show this to him. He was that delusional? He believed that she would marry him? “Do you really think that I would marry you? I have a husband, and even though he’s dead, I will always love him…forever.”
Cal smirked at her childish thoughts. “Exactly, Rose. He is dead. Face that. You have to marry me for the sake of yourself and your mother.”
Rose felt as though she was banging her head against a brick wall. Would he ever listen to her? She attempted to get away from his grip, but she was backed against the wall.
“Cal, please, just accept it. I will never marry you.”
Cal backed away from Rose, taking in her appearance. He knew that she wasn’t a young girl anymore than he could just use to his advantage. She was harder to break. This Dawson must have really had an effect on Rose.
“I think you will marry me, Rose, because I can speak of you in a way that would make everyone think you’re contaminated.”
Rose laughed a little. What was he going to do? “Big threats now, Mr. Hockley? That will not work on me.”
“Oh, it’s no threat, Rose. I will make everyone think that you have gone insane, driven mad by the sinking.”
The smile on Rose’s face faded at his words, though not because she particularly cared what Cal said about her. She didn’t care about the opinions of anyone around here. She felt sick because of the fact that innocent people had died. Some survivors had gone insane after what they had lived through.
“You unimaginable bastard.”
Cal smirked a little, turning to leave. He took one last look at Rose. “You take your time to make up your mind, darling.”
“I won’t marry you, and never will.”
*****
Pulling herself out of bed the next morning was something Rose hated. She was attending dinner with the Greens, along with her mother. The Greens were childhood friends of Ruth’s and Rose had grown up with their daughter, Harriet, although they had never seen eye to eye.
She had very little interest in actually dining with them, but she had to get out and find something to do with her life. She wanted to find some sort of work, something which her mother would fume at if she found out—but she was living her life the way she wanted to.
Wandering to the vanity mirror, Rose looked at herself. She appeared older than she actually was. Her nightgown was expensive lace. She felt as though she had gone back in time to the years before, except the disaster was still fresh in her mind.
The recurring nightmares had lifted a little, but dreaming of Jack’s dead body floating frozen in the North Atlantic caused her to cry herself back to sleep most nights. Looking at the wedding ring still on her finger, she touched it tenderly, not wanting to think too much about Jack and bring the memories back. She had to get through the day.
She reached for the doorknob and twisted it—but the door wouldn’t open. Frowning, confused, she pulled the handle with more force, but still it didn’t open. She was locked in.
“Mother?” she yelled loudly, hoping her mother would hear her, but the house was four stories high. “Mother!” she shouted again.
She felt anger. Who had done this? Cal? Did he think it was clever to lock her in her own bedroom? After yelling several more times, she began to physically bang on the door until her hand was red and sore. Finally, she heard footsteps coming towards her and she stepped back from the door, hoping she had been heard. A key could be heard turning in the lock and her maid, Trudy, shuffled in, locking the door behind her. She appeared frightened and timid.
“Trudy?”
Trudy Bolt had been Rose’s personal maid since she was fifteen years old, and was one of the only friends she had had before leaving for finishing school.
“Miss, you have to keep your voice down. They will hear you.”
“Who will?”
“The Greens. They are dining with your mother and Mr. Hockley as we speak. Mr. Hockley had a private word with me. He told me to stop your yelling,” Trudy said quietly.
“The Greens are here? Why am I locked in my room?”
Trudy shuffled to the wardrobe and quickly pulled out the first dress she could find, so if either Cal or Ruth came up to find her, it would look as though she was doing something other than talking to Rose.
“I’m really not supposed to say…” Her eyes darted to the door, scared of someone hearing her. “…but I will tell you.”
Rose pulled Trudy to sit on the bed beside her and gave the maid her full attention.
“Mr. Hockley has informed the Greens and your mother than you are certified insane. The sinking made you go crazy and you cannot cope with anything. It is for everyone’s safety that you are kept in your room at all times.”
“What?” Rose felt tears welling up in her eyes. Cal had followed through with his plan. He had told people that she was mad. “What am I supposed to do?”
Trudy touched Rose’s arm with a steady hand. “You have to get out.”
Rose narrowed her eyes, intrigued by Trudy’s words.
“Mr. Hockley has told everyone that the two of you are engaged…”
Rose stood and put her head in her hands. This was worse than a nightmare. She felt sick and dizzy suddenly. “What? But I am married to Jack…I said nothing about marrying Cal…he’s a lying bastard!” Rose spat.
Trudy attempted to calm her down. “Listen to me, Miss Rose…tonight Mr. Hockley has arranged for your engagement gala to be held at the Grand Hotel in town. You’ll say that you will attend, but when Cal’s attention is turned, you’ll run out of there. Don’t look back. I will pack a bag for you and will meet you somewhere safe.”
Rose looked at Trudy as if she had lost her mind. She was willing to help Rose get away from the life she had returned to. She felt her stomach churn. What if the plan didn’t work? What if she was found, or if Cal never turned away from her at all?
“Trudy, we can’t.”
Trudy took Rose’s hand. “Of course you can. You go and live your life how you want to.”
Rose felt tears stream down her face. “I want to go to Santa Monica and do the things Jack and I wanted to do together.”
Trudy stood and began to straighten out a green dress for Rose. She looked at Rose, a girl she had known well for a while. In the time she had been away, she had missed Rose terribly and, while she was happy to see her again, she knew she had to help her find happiness.
“Miss Rose, what was your Jack like?” she asked, breaking the silence.
Rose looked up at Trudy, remembering Jack’s smiling face. A smile came across her face. “He was beautiful, just handsome and kind. He saved me every day. He was an artist. He had rough hands, but they had such a gentle touch.” Tears fell from Rose’s eyes. “I loved him so much. Every day, I ache for him.”
Trudy almost regretted asking Rose about Jack, not wishing to upset her. “Maybe we can at least get you away from here to the places you wanted to go with your Jack.”