THE GRACE OF THE SEA
Chapter Two
April 10th
Cherbourg
The door to the Montgomerys suite
swung open silently on its new hinges, revealing a beautifully furnished room.
Her mother smiled approvingly at her father, who was tipping the steward who
had escorted them to their room. More stewards followed with their trunks and
such.
"Mother," Grace said.
"I'm going to the deck to see the ship off."
"If you don't want to go by
yourself, I'm sure that Mr. Wilson won't mind assisting you. The crowds may get
quite disorderly with all the commotion," Elizabeth said.
"Mr. Wilson is sailing with
us? I thought that he was going to stay here in England," Grace replied.
Mr. Lawrence Wilson was Mr. Montgomery's assistant, his right hand man. It
turned out that Wilson was going to be Montgomery's assistant manager back in
the states in their family business. They thought of him as part of the family.
Montgomery answered, "No,
Mr. Wilson is coming to America, as well. Right now, though, he is settling
into his room, A-12, if ever you need him. If you want to go up to the deck by
yourself, there won't be a problem, but I would ask you to return promptly
after we set sail."
The clock read only 11:30. There
would still be thirty minutes at the dock. Grace instead headed to her trunks
and began sorting out her belongings. Her father stopped her.
"Didn't your mother tell
you? At Cherbourg, your cousin Cassandra will be boarding. We thought it would
be a good idea if you two shared a stateroom, since you are very close."
Grace's face lit up. "This
is the best news yet! Oh, this is going to be a lovely trip!" She speedily
placed her possessions back in her trunks, a wide grin still lingering on her
face. "What stateroom are we going to have? I want to unpack some things
before I head up on deck."
"B-63. It's just down the
corridor," Elizabeth replied. One of the stewards knowingly picked up her
luggage and followed Grace to her new room. It was a bit smaller than the
previous one, but it was just as beautiful. The walls had elegant moldings; the
lush carpet cradled every step, making footsteps practically silent.
"Do you need anything else,
miss?" the steward asked. Grace shook her head, and he left her alone. As
she was hanging up some of her dresses, there was a knock on her door. She
turned to see Mr. Wilson standing in the doorway.
"I understand you want to
see the ship leave the dock," he said with a smile, adding even more
wrinkles to his already aged face. Lawrence, or Larry, was about fifty-five
years old, yet he had the charm of any bachelor. He had a way about him that
said you could trust him with anything, and Grace did. He was like a second
father to her, except with him, she had nothing to hide.
He held out his arm, which she
took with a smile. They headed through the corridors, commenting to each other
about the beauty of the ship. Before long, they met the fresh air on the deck.
Many people were hanging over the railings, waving to the land-locked people.
It looked as though there were just as many people on the ground as on the
ship.
"Do you feel any more comfortable
on the Titanic since you first boarded?" Larry asked.
"Yes, I do," Grace
replied. "I also feel much better knowing that you're going to be with the
family." Larry chuckled. He checked his pocket watch, but there was no
need, for at that moment a loud whistle sounded, signaling sailing time. Grace
was smiling from ear to ear. The reality of actually being on the Titanic was
beginning to sink in.
Down on the ground, the enormous
ropes were being untied, and the small tugboats began towing the great ship.
Grace found a spot at the rail where she could see the land that was slowly
shrinking into the distance.
Once Grace returned to her room,
her mother informed her that it was time to meet with some of the other people
on the ship. The two met up with her father as he was talking to Mr. Bruce
Ismay. Quickly, Montgomery led them over to someone.
"Ah…Ruth! I would like you
to meet my family. This is my wife, Elizabeth, and our daughter, Grace,"
Montgomery told her. "This is Mrs. Ruth DeWitt Bukater. I wanted you to
meet because Ruth has a daughter around your age, Grace. Now, if you'll excuse
me, ladies," he said, adding a courteous nod.
The two women struck up a typical
conversation between first class ladies. Grace stood beside her mother, waiting
for an opportune time to excuse herself, as well. A short pause came up, and
Grace was inhaling to say something, but Ruth began speaking first. "Rose,
dear, come here," she said, directed towards a young woman with lively red
hair. She was young, beautiful, and on the arm of a handsome gentleman. The two
strode over to them, and said their usual greetings.
"Hello, ladies," the
man said, politely kissing their hands. "I'm Caledon Hockley, and this is
my lovely fiancée, Rose." Everyone introduced themselves, and it seemed as
though a nice group of friends was beginning to take shape. Cal began talking
with Elizabeth and Ruth, and Grace and Rose graciously stood there, adding a
courteous laugh or a nod when it seemed suitable. The two made eye contact
once, and it was obvious to them that they could relate to each other's
feelings. They both wanted out of this conversation.
"I'm going to get some air
on the deck," Grace said to the group.
Rose spoke up, saying, "I'll
join you, if you don't mind."
"Not at all," Grace
replied. Rose slid her arm out of Cal's, and he smiled at her tenderly;
however, she didn't return the gesture, and began to walk with Grace out onto
the boat deck.
Once free from the confinement of
the room and its occupants, Rose and Grace both felt more comfortable. They
started to talk at first about the ship, the weather, and then they reached
some more personal topics. Conversation flowed very naturally between the two;
there were no awkward pauses or uncomfortable remarks.
They had moved on to the topic of
their social class. "One of these days, I'm going to get away from it all.
Just move on. Live my own life," Rose concluded. "One where
everything hasn't been planned out for me already."
"What about Cal?" Grace
asked.
"Cal? Sure, he's handsome,
rich, a gentleman..." Rose sighed. "What about you? Do you have some
man waiting for you in America?"
Grace laughed. "No, but my
father certainly has some he plans to introduce me to. I'm sure there will be
at least one I'll like."
"You don't want to find
someone on your own? You're willing to let someone else practically live your
life for you?"
"Well, that's a bit harsh,
don't you think? They aren't going to live my life for me. They are just
giving it a sort of bump in the right direction, more or less," Grace
answered.
Rose suddenly became quite
serious. "Well, I'm not going to let that happen to me. No matter what it
takes."
Grace was slightly taken aback by
her sudden change. There was tension building in the air. She fidgeted with her
hat, not liking the awkwardness of the situation. Rose stared out into the
distance. Just on the horizon, a faint outline of land was visible. The ship
was approaching Cherbourg.
During their conversation, the
rest of the world had been tuned out. Now, though, since the conversation had
died, they became aware of footsteps heading towards them. They looked up to
see Cal.
"Darling, I've been looking
for you for hours!" he said. "We should be arriving at Cherbourg
soon, and dinner will be served. Your mother also wishes to see you." Rose
gave him a forced smile.
"It was lovely talking to
you, Grace. Perhaps we shall do it again sometime." And with that, the two
disappeared.
Grace returned to her cabin, and
her maid assisted her in dressing for dinner. It wouldn't be served for another
hour or so, but with her cousin coming on board, she wouldn't want to bother
herself later with dressing. She walked out into the hall and met her father
standing there. He was in a tuxedo and top hat.
"Ready to meet
Cassandra?" he asked.
They reached the area where the
first class passengers were entering the ship. Both of them looked around
anxiously for Cassandra, or for a steward who perhaps might have seen her.
"Gracie!" a loud voice
squealed. Grace turned around to see her cousin come racing down the hall. The
two embraced briefly, and then Cassandra turned to her uncle. "Uncle
George! It's been a while, hasn't it? Oh, how lovely it is to be all back
together! And on the Titanic, too! It's so grand!"
Cassandra was grinning widely,
revealing her beautiful smile. She had bright blonde hair that went well with
her large brown eyes. At a height of 5’2", she was only slightly shorter
than Grace. Her bouncy attitude made her seem years younger than her mature
seventeen years. Always a bit rebellious, Cassandra and Grace were almost total
opposites, Grace always being quiet and reserved. Nonetheless, they got along
wonderfully and always enjoyed each other's company. The two cousins seemed to
balance each other out.
In the first class dining room,
dinner was being served. The Montgomerys ate alongside Mrs. Margaret Brown,
John Jacob Astor, his wife, and the DeWitt Bukaters. After the meal, Grace and
Cassandra returned to their room.
"This room is simply
marvelous!" Cassandra exclaimed. She walked around and inspected the room.
She stopped dead in her tracks. "What is this?"
Curious, Grace walked over to see
what the problem was. Cassandra held up a copy of The Wizard of Oz, much
to the relief of Grace. She laughed at Cassandra.
"You gave me a fright. I
thought it was something vile."
"It is!" Cassandra
argued. "We're on the ship of dreams and you're planning on reading? You
spend the majority of your time on books, and I'm not going to allow you to
waste your time reading a book that you've already read countless times while
on this ship! I know it was your favorite book as a child, but you're not a
child anymore! Now, promise me this. You will not read this at all while on the
Titanic." Cassandra's eyes grew even bigger than usual.
Grace chuckled at her cousin's
silliness. "I'm serious! Promise me," Cassandra said with a straight
face. Grace slowly nodded, then placed her beloved book on her night table. She
saw Cassandra looking at her oddly, and then she understood. She opened the drawer
and placed the book there. Cassandra nodded approvingly.
Grace yawned as quietly as she
could, still trying to keep up her ladylike manner. She crawled between the
sheets of her bed and adjusted the pillow a few times before finding the right
spot. She laid her head down and closed her eyes.
"Good night, Grace!"
Cassandra whispered. Even as she was about to fall asleep, her voice still had
its cheer.
"Good night," Grace
whispered back as she turned off the light. She snuggled into the sheets, and
quickly fell asleep.