MY STORY AFTER TITANIC SANK
Chapter Six
"Hello, sweetpea. I trust you had a good
walk?" Cal asked me. His voice was even, but I could sense tension in it.
Now what was wrong?
"Of course, darling. It was a beautiful
day," I replied, wondering why he seemed so edgy.
"Undoubtedly." The tension in his
voice increased. "Especially after you saw that gutter rat again."
"What?" I tried to pretend that I
had no idea what he was talking about.
"Don’t play games with me, Rose! I know
that you saw Jack Dawson today!"
"Cal, I don’t know what you’re talking
about. Trudy and I just took a walk to the park—"
"One of the delivery boys saw you when
he took a shortcut through the park. You were with a young, blonde man.
Naturally, he told me when he returned. Your behavior has been nothing short of
scandalous, and everyone knows it."
I laughed uneasily, trying to think of a way
to diffuse the situation. "You mean the vendor I stopped and bought a lemon
ice from? Good heavens, Cal. It was a warm day, and I thought it would taste
good. Don’t tell me I’m not allowed to eat now."
In a flash, Cal grabbed my arms and shook me.
My head snapped back, and my teeth closed painfully on my tongue.
"Cal!"
He shoved me against the wall. "Don’t
lie to me, sweetpea. The delivery boy saw you standing beside a bench
with him, hugging and kissing!"
"He was lying! He probably just thought
that it would be fun to create more scandal!"
"I don’t think so, dear. He
doesn’t know you. He only knows of you from the papers, and he knows that his
name would never be mentioned. Why would he make up lies about you?" He
slapped me, his rage growing. "I told you that you were never to see him
again, didn’t I? You are my wife, and you will obey me!"
"Cal, stop!" I pleaded.
"Don’t—"
He pulled me away from the wall then and
drove a fist into my stomach. I doubled over in pain, but he pulled me up and
hit me again. And again.
"I wonder what else you’ve been doing
with him," he told me, looking down at me as I huddled on the floor in
pain. "You are my wife, Rose, and any child you bear will be mine! You
will not leave this house again, except for when I escort you, until you are
with child and I am certain that it’s mine!"
He looked up then to see Trudy in the
doorway, a look of shock on her face. Immediately, his gentlemanly manners
returned. "Excuse me."
He strode toward Trudy, who backed away from
him nervously. "See to your mistress, Trudy. She won’t be coming to dinner
tonight; she isn’t feeling well."
With that, he pushed past her and strode in
the direction of the stairs to change for dinner.
Trudy hurried toward me. "Miss
Rose!"
With her help, I got to my feet, but my
stomach hurt so badly that I kept doubling over. I wondered if I had been
pregnant, and if Cal had killed it by hitting me.
"Miss Rose, let me help you…"
Walking slowly, Trudy helped me up the stairs
to the room I shared with Cal. He was inside, getting dressed for dinner, but
he ignored us as we came in. Trudy helped me to the bed, and I collapsed on it,
trying not to weep out loud as I clutched my stomach. Trudy removed my shoes
and pulled a blanket over me, her eyes darting angry, frightened glances at
Cal.
As Cal was about to leave the room, he
stopped and turned to Trudy and I. "Thank you, Trudy. I trust she’ll be
feeling better later."
He left the room, closing the door firmly
behind him. I stared after him in disbelief, knowing what he had in mind for
later.
Finally, I looked up at Trudy. "You can
go now, Trudy. Cal’s right—I’m just not feeling well. I’ll be all right."
"Miss Rose…"
"Really, Trudy, I’m fine." I
blinked hard, trying to hold back more tears. "I think I just need to be
alone for a while. Go on. You can have the rest of the evening off." I didn’t
want her to see how badly I was bruised, or for her to witness my tears of
despair.
"If you’re sure, Miss…"
"I’m sure, Trudy. Go. Have a good
evening."
When she was gone, I curled up more tightly,
sobbing openly in pain and despair. My future had once looked so bright, but
now it seemed hopeless.