MY STORY AFTER TITANIC SANK
Chapter Eleven
Three weeks had passed since my
miscarriage, and Cal had kept me tied to the bed every day while he was at
work. He untied me when the doctor came to visit, and after I had recovered somewhat,
he allowed me to participate in the social events of the upper class—so long as
he was there to keep an eye on me.
He hadn’t touched me since the
miscarriage, perhaps because I had been bleeding. For some reason, that seemed
to put him off, though nothing else did. Whatever the reason, although he slept
beside me, he made no effort to have intercourse with me. I was relieved, but I
dreaded the time when he would touch me again.
One morning, as I lay tied to the
bed, Trudy came in with my breakfast and an apologetic look on her face. We had
discovered how Cal kept me tied down so that I couldn’t get away about a week
earlier—he glued the knot so that it couldn’t be untied, and he always cut me
loose when he wanted me to be able to get up and do something. Trudy had tried
soaking the glue off one morning just after Cal had left, but to no avail.
Luckily, the rope had dried before Cal came home, but Trudy, fearing for both
of our lives, had refused to try to cut me loose herself. If she did, and Cal found
out, he would see to it that she was killed—and there was no telling what he
would do to me.
"What’s wrong, Trudy?"
I asked as she helped me sit up and put the tray in my lap.
"Ma’am…Ellie, the cook’s
assistant, is ill, so I have to go to the market for her today. I don’t want to
leave you alone, but Mr. Hockley will be very upset if he doesn’t have a proper
dinner waiting when he gets home, and the cook doesn’t have time to go
herself."
I hated the thought of being left
alone and helpless, but Trudy was right. Cal became very abusive if things
weren’t just the way he wanted them, so she had to go out to the market.
"I’ll be back as soon as I
can, Ma’am," she assured me. "I’ll make sure you’re comfortable
before I leave. It…it isn’t likely that anything will happen while I’m gone.
You’re doing much better, and of course if there’s a fire or something one of
the servants will make sure you get out of the house all right."
"I’ll be fine, Trudy,"
I assured her, though I dreaded being left alone, tied up as I was. Cal would
be furious if one of the other servants discovered how he was keeping me in
line.
"Of course you will,
Ma’am." Trudy fluffed my pillow and placed the chamber pot where I could
reach it. "I should be back long before noon—everything should be fine
until then. Now, is there anything you need before I leave?"
"Besides my freedom and a
divorce, you mean? No, Trudy. Everything is fine. I have a book to read and my
pillow is comfortable. You can help me bathe when I get back."
"All right." Trudy moved
towards the door, ready to leave. "I’ll be back as soon as I can,
Ma’am."
With that, she left.
*****
Trudy left the market, her heavy
shopping bags in her arms. She was worried about Mrs. Hockley. For all that her
she pretended to be all right, pretended to be getting better and learning to
live with her situation, Trudy knew that she was desperate to get away,
terrified of what her husband would do to her next.
She wished that she could call
the police and get them to help Mrs. Hockley, but she knew that it would be
pointless. What happened between a man and his wife was their business, and the
police wouldn’t interfere, even if someone was being hurt. Until someone was
killed, or so badly hurt that they would never be the same, the law wanted no
part of a domestic dispute.
Mrs. Hockley’s comment that
morning about wanting her freedom and a divorce, though lightly spoken, had
indicated further to Trudy just how unhappy she was. She didn’t wonder why. No
woman should be kept tied up unless she was dangerous, and certainly her
mistress was not. To be sure, she liked to go out and visit her young man—Mr.
Dawson—but with the way Mr. Hockley treated her, it was no wonder she wanted to
be in the arms of someone who cared about her.
Trudy had met Mr. Dawson, of
course, and thought he was much better for her mistress than Mr. Hockley could
ever be. If only he knew about Mrs. Hockley’s predicament—he might find a way
to save her.
This thought gave Trudy an idea.
On those occasions that she had accompanied Mrs. Hockley on shopping trips,
they had often stopped by the park so that she could see her young man. He
always seemed to be there—so there was a good possibility that he would be
there now.
Looking quickly at the watch
pinned to her apron, Trudy turned towards the park. If Mr. Dawson was
there—perhaps she could tell him what was happening to Mrs. Hockley. Mr.
Hockley would kill her if he found out, but she couldn’t continue to let Mrs.
Hockley suffer.
*****
Trudy stepped through the park’s
gate, looking around casually. She couldn’t let her intentions be known, in
case someone associated with Mr. Hockley was watching, but there was no reason
why she couldn’t stop at the park, enjoy the sunshine for a few minutes and
talk to other servants from the fine families of Philadelphia.
Her eyes moving around the park,
Trudy stopped and bought a lemon ice from the vendor, looking to anyone who was
watching as though she was taking a few minutes for a treat and a stroll in the
park—lazy, perhaps, but hardly any threat to Mr. Hockley’s interests.
As she was nibbling lightly at
her ice, her eyes caught sight of a young man with sandy blonde hair. He was
sitting on a bench not far away, his attention focused on a toddler playing in
the grass. An open sketchpad was in his lap, and as she came closer, she saw a
sketch of the child on the paper, the lines slightly blurred because the little
girl kept moving.
Looking around to be sure no one
was watching, Trudy approached him. "Mr. Dawson?" she asked softly.
When there was no response, she spoke a little louder. "Mr. Dawson?"
He turned, startled. When he saw
Trudy standing behind the bench, he quickly looked around her, hoping that Rose
was there, too. She gave a quick shake of her head, indicating that she was
alone.
"Mr. Dawson, I…I need to
speak with you for a moment."
Jack looked at her, then back at
the toddler, who had found a patch of mud and was busy smearing her dress with
it. Abandoning his drawing, he turned his attention to Trudy. "What is it?
Where’s Rose?"
"Mr. Dawson, I…"
"Jack. Please call me Jack.
You’re Trudy, right?"
"Yes…Jack. Yes, I am."
"Where’s Rose? I haven’t
seen her in weeks."
Trudy bowed her head.
"That’s what I needed to speak with you about."
Jack set his sketchbook aside,
alert now. "What is it? What’s happened to her? Is it the baby? Or did her
bastard of a husband hurt her?"
"It…it’s both. Mr. Hockley
was very upset when he realized that she’d been seeing you, and…I think there
was a terrible fight. He said that she was attacked by a man outside their
house, but…somehow I don’t believe him. She…she lost the baby, and…and Mr.
Hockley…he’s been keeping her tied to the bed when he’s at work."
"What?!" Jack looked at
Trudy, his eyes filled with anger. "He’s been keeping her tied up?!"
"Yes. He told me that it’s
for the good of her health, but he’s really afraid that she’ll leave him, or
tell people what he’s done to her. It…would be quite scandalous, you
know."
"I’m sure. Tell me,
Trudy…you’re her maid, aren’t you?"
"Yes."
"Why haven’t you tried to
help her?"
"I tried to get the knot in
the rope undone—he glues it so that she can’t untie it—but it wouldn’t come
loose, and he’s threatened to have me killed if I let her go."
"And you believe him?!"
"Mr. Hockley doesn’t make
threats lightly, Jack. If he says he’s going to do something, he does it.
There’s something wrong with him…he’s crazy…bad. Don’t underestimate him."
"Is she still tied up?"
"She was when I left. Mr.
Dawson…Jack…you’re the only one who can get her out of there. Please…you’ve got
to help her. I don’t know what Mr. Hockley is going to do to her."
"What will happen to
you?"
"I’ll leave, go somewhere
that he can’t find me. I’ve saved a little of my salary, so I’ll be all
right."
"Where do Rose and Cal
live?"
"Come with me, Jack, and
I’ll show you. Mrs. Hockley will be grateful to see you, I’m sure."