A FIRE IN THE WIND
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Rose and her grandmother returned home around
four to find Ruth, Cal, and Cal's father, Nathan, in the sitting room,
discussing the wedding plans tranquilly.
Cal got up and introduced himself to Mary.
"You must be Rose's grandmother. I'm Cal, Rose's fiancé."
Mary gave a fake smile. "Mr. Hockley,
Rose has said so much about you."
"Good things, I hope!" Cal laughed,
arrogantly.
"Of course."
"And this is my father," Cal said,
introducing a sixty-something man in the corner.
Nathan got up, and shook Mary's hand, firmly.
That evening, the five had a frantic dinner,
discussing the wedding plans in great excitement. At least, three of them were.
During dinner, Rose and her grandmother exchanged several looks, as Mary
realized the hell of a marriage Rose was about to embark on.
"What are the plans for after the
wedding?" Nathan asked, addressing his son.
"I think that we will just rest for a
few days, and then the trip to London for a few weeks," Cal replied,
casually.
"What?" Rose gasped with shock.
"Didn't I tell you, sweetpea? I have
some business to attend to in London. I was thinking that we could go to Europe
again, as a honeymoon, perhaps."
Rose gave him a look of horror, the marriage
seeming worse and worse. "But--but we've just returned from Europe. Surely
we can't go again."
"Nonsense," Cal replied haughtily.
"I thought you loved to travel. Anyway, I think it would be for the best
if we got back on a ship, don't you agree?"
Rose frowned. "Cal, I don't think I'll
ever go on a ship again after Titanic."
"We will discuss this later!" Cal
told her, his voice growing tense.
*****
Rose had been pacing around her room for
nearly a half-hour. It was 11:30, and she knew that her mother wanted her in
bed so she would have enough energy for the wedding tomorrow. Rose knew that
there was no way in hell that she could get to sleep. Way too much was on her
mind. Jack--Cal--and the frightening thought of going on a ship again. There
had to be a way Rose could get herself out of this situation, but nothing
seemed possible. Rose decided to sneak down to the kitchen to get herself a
glass of water, like she always did when she couldn't sleep throughout her
childhood.
Rose crept into the kitchen self-consciously
and proceeded to the icebox. The ice made Rose's fingers numb, as she
experienced an uneasy deja vu of the fateful Sunday night, nearly three weeks
ago. Rose found herself up at night sometimes, reliving the horror of freeing
Jack in the sinking ship.
Rose chipped away at the immense block of
ice, trying to keep down the volume, as another thought passed through her
mind. What was this Cal had said about going back to Europe? What of Jack? Rose
felt that she would never be able to be on a ship again. What kind of sick joke
was Cal trying to pull? Just then, Rose heard some murmurs coming from the
lounge. She dropped everything, and sneaked over to the main hallway, where she
could just make out the conversation that was in progress.
"Ruth, I assure you, everything will be
fine. I'm sure Rose will be able to cross the ocean again," sounded the
booming voice of Cal.
"Cal, I'm just worried that Rose isn't
ready to get back on a ship just yet. Besides, we just came back from Europe.
Why go back?" Ruth asked, concerned.
"Like I said earlier, I do have some
business to attend to in the mill in London and--"
"Is this because of the incident that
occurred yesterday?" Ruth asked briskly.
"To be perfectly frank, Ruth, that's
another part of the reason. This is the second time that this has happened in a
month, and by God I don't want it to happen again," Cal replied, firmly.
"I am truly mortified," Ruth stated.
"I can't believe my daughter is acting this way. If word got out--"
"Ruth, I assure you no one will hear of
these incidents. I don't know why Rose has been acting in this manner for the
past month, but I promise you, she'll be different when we return to
Philadelphia in a few weeks. I believe I have to get her away from all the
distractions around here, first."
Rose stood in the hallway blankly for a
moment, and then turned back to the kitchen. There they were, trying
desperately to take her soul away. Where was Jack when Rose needed him the
most? As if the marriage wasn't bad enough, Cal was going to try to turn Rose
into a completely different person. Tomorrow was May sixth, the day of Rose's
wedding. Was it an inevitable situation, or was there anything that she could
do to stop it? Simply say no?
After cleaning up in the kitchen, Rose crept
upstairs unseen, and then plopped on her bed. Her hands were shaky, her breaths
were wheezy and deep, and Rose found herself crying again.
'Oh God!' Rose thought. 'Oh God! What is he
doing right now? I'm so scared! The plan was perfect. It would have actually
worked. Victoria. Why did she have to come at that moment? If she had only not
seen Ali and I. What then? Would I be in Jack's arms right now, forgetting that
I ever was of high society and engaged to Caledon Hockley, or would everything
have turned out the same? I truly don't know!'
Rose hugged herself softly, trying to comfort
herself unsuccessfully. 'Am I going to forget about Jack? God, I hope not! Cal
would try everything to get me to forget. That's why we're off to Europe again.
He would do anything to see that I was all his. Will I listen to him? Will I
change? What if--what if I end up like them? Jack promised me that he'd get me
away from this life. I would like to defy all sense of reality and say that he
could still, but I know, deep in my head, that it's impossible. Will things end
up being the same as they were last month? After all Jack and I have been
through, Cal will still attempt to brainwash me. He already has. I'm in denial.
What am I thinking? If I still had that fire that Jack was talking about, I
wouldn't have followed Victoria back into my house. If I still had that fire, I
would have run away on my first visit to his flat. Is there anything I can do
at all? No. I'm already a slave, Cal's slave. Starting tomorrow, he is going to
make me do everything he tells me to do, or there will be a high price to pay.'
Rose cried silently on her bed, like she had
done so many times before. Rose sat up in bed, finding it hard to breathe.
'Oh, God,' she thought. 'Why did you bring
Jack into my life? Why did you give me love, but take it away? Why?'