MY STORY AFTER TITANIC SANK
Chapter Ten

I was awakened the next morning by the feeling of someone wrapping something around my wrists. Startled, I opened my eyes and came face-to-face with Cal.

He had tied one end of a length of sturdy rope to my wrist and was tying the other end to the bed. When he saw that I was awake, he finished what he was doing and stepped back, an unpleasant smirk on his face.

"Cal, what is this? What are you doing?" I asked blearily, still groggy from the sedative I had been given the night before.

"I’m making sure that you don’t go anywhere."

"What?"

He gave me an angry look. "Don’t play dumb with me, Sweetpea. I know you’ve been slipping out to see Dawson."

"No, I haven’t! Besides, I know that you’ll have him killed if I go near him."

"And you’d love to warn him, wouldn’t you? No, Sweetpea, you’re staying right here."

"And you think this piece of rope is going to keep me here?" I glared at him, fully awake now. "All I have to do is untie it, and I’ll be free."

"I’d like to see you try."

"What?"

"Am I not making sense here, Rose? You keep asking me to repeat myself. Go ahead. Try to untie it."

Looking at him suspiciously, I did as he said, only to find that rope was too tightly tied for me to loosen the knot—either at my wrist or at the bedpost.

Cal smiled triumphantly. "You see, Sweetpea? It will take a knife to loosen those knots—and you don’t have one."

"How do you know one of the servants won’t free me?"

"Because they know that you are ill, and that they should stay away."

"Then how will I take care of myself, tied up this way? If I can’t get free, and none of the servants will come to help me—I just lost a baby last night, Cal. If anything goes wrong, I’ll die here."

"You won’t die. Trudy will assist you—providing that she agrees to the conditions."

"Conditions? What conditions?"

"Why, Sweetpea, you’ll have ask her that yourself."

Cal left the room, closing the door and locking it behind him. Even if did manage to untie myself, I was still trapped inside—there was no way I could break through the door, and the windows overlooked a long drop straight to the ground—something I couldn’t risk, as weak as I was.

I heard voices outside, and strained to hear, pressing my ear against the wall, wondering what was going on.

*****

Trudy appeared at the top of the stairs, carrying a tray containing tea, toast, and fruit—a light breakfast for Rose, who hadn’t had much appetite in the morning lately.

Cal stepped out of the room, closing and locking the door behind him. Trudy looked at him curiously, wondering why he wasn’t already down in the dining room.

She was reaching for the key to the bedroom door when he gestured for her to put the tray down on one of the small tables in the hall and step towards him.

Puzzled, Trudy set the tray down and moved towards him, wondering what he wanted. She knew that things were often tense between the Hockleys, but she didn’t know what had happened this time.

"Give me the key, Trudy," he commanded, holding out his hand.

Trudy looked at him warily, wondering what was going on and why he wanted the key. Was there something inside he didn’t want her to see?

She handed it to him, and he took it, slipping it into an inner pocket of his suit jacket. Trudy still stared at him, worried now. Had something happened to Mrs. Hockley?

Cal gave her what she supposed was a reassuring smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. She stepped back, not wanting to come too close to him. Something was very wrong, and all she wanted to do was get away, but her concern for Rose overcame her sudden fear of her employer.

"Is…is something wrong, Mr. Hockley?" she inquired, her eyes darting nervously from side to side.

"Perhaps." He looked back and forth quickly to be sure no one else was around. Then, before she could move away, he shoved her against the wall, one hand pressed tightly over her mouth so she couldn’t cry out.

"Do you care about your mistress, Trudy?" he asked, all compassion and reassurance gone now.

Trudy stared at him with wide, frightened eyes. She nodded, her legs shaking. What was he going to do?

"I do, too, and for that reason, nothing that I say here is ever to be repeated. You will get the key back and be able to go to her, but if you ever breathe a word of what you see—to anyone—you won’t leave this house alive. Is this in any way unclear?"

Trudy was shaking, fear in her eyes. She had always known that Caledon Hockley had a mean streak, but since the sinking of the Titanic and her mistress’s affair with the young man from steerage—since then, he had grown crueler, even vicious at times. The servants stayed because of the high salary he paid them, and because they liked and respected the young Mrs. Hockley, and often pitied her for the way her husband treated her. But none trusted Mr. Hockley, and few would show him any great loyalty.

Cal repeated the question. "Is this in any way unclear?" He took his hand from her mouth.

Trudy gulped, unable to speak for a moment. "No," she finally whispered. "I…I won’t say anything."

"Good." Cal retrieved the key from his pocket and returned it to her. "Now, Rose suffered a miscarriage last night, and is not to leave the bed. There is a prescription for medicine on her bedside table. You are to fill it this morning. Rose has been tied down to ensure that she doesn’t go anywhere. Take care of her needs, but do not untie her. Not for any reason. And if she asks you to tell anyone of what has happened, or asks you to get a message to anyone, tell her no. Don’t tell her why, just tell her no. She doesn’t need to know why."

"Y-yes, sir." Trudy edged away from him.

Cal turned to leave, then stopped at the top of the stairs. "Oh, and Trudy…"

"Yes, sir?"

"I meant what I said." He looked at the stairs contemplatively. "These stairs are steep. I’d hate to see you trip on them." He stared hard at her, making sure that she understood his meaning, before making his way to the first floor of the mansion.

*****

I jerked my head away from the wall when I heard the sound of a key in the lock. Putting my head back on my pillow, I feigned sleep, fearing that Cal was returning and would find out that I had overheard his conversation with Trudy.

Trudy stepped into the room, my breakfast tray balanced unsteadily in her shaking hands. I opened my eyes slowly, relieved that it wasn’t Cal.

Then alarm rushed through me. Cal had threatened Trudy’s life. Somehow, I had to make her understand that Cal didn’t make threats lightly, that he truly would kill her if anyone found out about what had happened to me. He might even do it just to keep her silent.

"Trudy…" I beckoned to her, pushing back the covers and revealing the length of rope keeping me tied to the bed.

Trudy’s eyes widened at the sight of the rope, but she hurried forward, placing the tray on the table beside me. "Yes, ma’am?"

"Trudy…" I indicated that she should lean close to me so that no one outside would overhear us. "Trudy, I heard what Cal said. He wasn’t joking, wasn’t just trying to scare you. He means it. He’ll kill you if anyone else finds out about this."

Trudy avoided my eyes. "It’s all right, ma’am. I know that Mr. Hockley is not to be underestimated."

"No, Trudy, you don’t understand. Look at me." I pulled back the sleeves of my nightgown, revealing the bruises. One of my eyes was swollen nearly shut, and there was a shallow cut on my forehead. "Cal did this to me…and I hadn’t done anything. But he was sure I been out visiting with Jack yesterday, and he was so convinced that the baby I was carrying was Jack’s that he hit me in the stomach and made me lose it." I suddenly remembered Cal’s threat to have Jack killed, and my face went white. "Please, Trudy…please don’t ever tell anyone what I’ve told you. Jack’s life is in danger as much as yours is…more, perhaps, because he doesn’t know that Cal is after him."

"I won’t say anything, ma’am," Trudy told me, with more conviction and sincerity than had been in her voice when she had promised Cal that she would not speak of what she learned about me. She had made her promise to Cal out of fear; she had made her promise to me because she cared about me.

"Trudy, please be careful. Cal is a dangerous man. Look at what he did to me…and I’m his wife. He won’t hesitate to kill you if he thinks you’ve crossed him." I took a deep breath. "In fact, the best thing you could do now is leave. Just…disappear. Don’t tell anyone where you’ve gone, and make sure that wherever you go is far away from here."

Trudy looked straight at me for the first time. "No, ma’am. I won’t leave while you’re in danger."

"I’ll never stop being in danger as long as I’m with Cal, but I don’t know of any way out."

"Then I won’t leave at all." She straightened, helping me into a sitting position. "Now, I brought you some breakfast. I’ll leave you to eat it while I go to the drugstore."

"Trudy…"

"I’ll be back soon, ma’am."

I stared down at the tray as Trudy left the room and headed downstairs. I was truly fortunate to have a maid who was so loyal to me, but now I feared more than ever for her life…and for Jack’s.

Chapter Eleven
Stories