LOVE LASTS FOR ETERNITY
Chapter Nineteen
June 15, 1912
Mr. Thompson's POV
For a while now, I'd wondered
about that girl. I knew from the start that there was something odd about her,
about the way she spoke, the way she held herself. She seemed to be of a higher
class than these country people. I had wondered, but hadn't said anything.
I thought of telling her to go
back to where she came from. She didn't belong here with these people. She
belonged with the rich and the famous. Not here. I prided myself on considering
myself to be the highest class person in Chippewa Falls, and this Rose was
getting in my way.
On June fifteenth, I found a
letter in my mail sealed inside a sophisticated envelope, with a Philadelphia
postmark. When I opened it, I found it to be written on personal stationery,
typed, not written, and the contents of the letter were most interesting. It
was from a friend of mine. When one wants to make it big in the world, one has
to be picky about one's friends. And the person who this letter was from was a
definite must know--the rich steel tycoon Caledon Hockley. I knew him well, had
contributed to his business, and he to mine, but we rarely kept in touch. To
have a letter from him now made it all the more interesting.
In the letter, he spoke of his
fiancée, who had gone missing after the sinking of the Titanic. He was most
anxious to find her again, as he feared her emotional trauma would get the
better of her and she would do something dangerous. He asked that any
information I had of her whereabouts be reported back to him as soon as
possible. I also noted that a big reward was being offered for her safe return.
He described her appearance--light green eyes, a slim build, and long, red,
curly hair. I suddenly had an image of Rose Smith in my head. I looked over the
details of Rose DeWitt Bukater and matched them to the details of Rose Smith.
She was a perfect match in all but one way--her name. But when I did some thinking,
I came up with the idea that she had changed her surname to hide her true
identity. Yes, it all made sense! Rose Smith was Rose DeWitt Bukater! I had
found Hockley's missing fiancée!
I hurried upstairs to my study
and wrote a letter to Hockley, explaining his fiancée’s disguise and how to get
to Chippewa Falls. I knew the girl didn't belong here right from the start, and
now I was sending her back to where she belonged.