THE SHIP OF DREAMS
Chapter Two
Coddie Anna DeWitt Bukater grimaced as she
felt her mother, Rose, tighten her posture corset strings. They had just woken
up, and were preparing for the day. "Ouch!" Coddie Anna gasped, once
the tightening of the strings stopped, and a white gown was set out on the bed
for her. "I can scarcely breathe!" She walked stiffly over to the
bed, lifting the dress and stepping into it.
"As your grandmother says." Rose
sighed. "You must suffer to be beautiful. So say the French." She
turned up her nose, causing Coddie Anna to laugh.
"Well, I say the French are crazy,"
Coddie Anna retorted. "Are we picking up the tickets for the Titanic
today?"
"Yes. Cal is taking us to the shipping
office after breakfast, and we’ll get them."
"I can’t wait to get back to
Philadelphia," Coddie Anna admitted. "I’m tired of England. It’s so
gloomy here." She frowned, realizing what she was saying. Caledon Hockley,
a very wealthy Pittsburgh steel tycoon, was her mother’s fiancé, and once they
arrived in Philadelphia, the two were to be married. Normally, a wedding would
be a wonderful occasion, but not in this circumstance. Rose had been married
before, and had given birth to Coddie Anna, but not long after her husband had
died in an automobile accident. Rose’s mother, Ruth DeWitt Bukater, had
insisted upon finding Rose another husband to help support her and her
daughter. Unfortunately, Cal had been the final choice, and Rose personally
despised him.
"I’m sorry, Mother," Coddie Anna
apologized.
"It’s all right, sweetheart," Rose
replied, starting to brush and braid her daughter’s thick, curly auburn hair.
"Why did Nana have to choose Cal?"
Coddie Anna whispered. "He’s dull as powder!"
Rose chuckled. "You are quite right, but
we have no choice in the matter. There." She fastened a white bow to the
end of the braid and stepped back, surveying Coddie Anna with great pride.
"You’re perfect."
Coddie Anna beamed. "Thank you."
Suddenly, both jumped as they heard a few
sharp knocks on the door, and Cal’s overly cheerful voice intruded from the
other side. "Are you ready to go, ladies?"
"Yes, your highness," Coddie Anna
whispered, receiving a slight nudge on the shoulder from Rose, who finished
putting up her own hair. Eventually, they grabbed coats and opened the door,
revealing a tall, dark-haired man who was smiling. Ruth stood in the hotel’s
hallway and nodded in approval as her daughter and granddaughter appeared. No
words were exchanged as the family made their way down to the lounge for a
quick breakfast.
"You two are awfully quiet this
morning," Cal pointed out. "Is everything all right?"
Coddie Anna stared at him, wondering if he
truly cared or was just asking for the sake of asking. She turned to her
mother, who shrugged. "We’re fine. Still tired, that’s all."
"I see." He raised an eyebrow
before turning to face forward again.
Coddie Anna had spent most of the past week
daydreaming about the ship that they were going to be taking back to America.
It was the White Star Line’s new liner called the Titanic, and was said to be
unsinkable. They were going to be staying in the first class section of the
ship, which, Cal had told Coddie, had everything she could possibly imagine. This
is going to be fantastic, she thought, as she sat down next to her mother
at a table by the window. And tomorrow cannot come soon enough.
*****
Callista Lee Ann Kyp Solo wearily gazed out
the window of her train car, her hazel eyes watching as the countryside whipped
past. For the first time in her life, she hated to admit that she was very
nervous. She wore a long, sleeveless black gown and a pair of black leather
boots, with a golden knife strapped around the ankle. Her long, sun-streaked
blonde hair blew in the gentle but chilly early spring breeze, and she
shuddered. She jumped when she heard the door to her car slide open, and sighed
with relief when a young man with mouse-colored hair dressed in a pair of black
slacks, a black silk shirt, and a black overcoat entered.
"I saw them," he whispered, after
closing the door again. "They’re sitting at the front of the car."
Callista nodded. "Good. We just can’t
lose them. Where’s Michael?"
"Not sure exactly. How long has he been
gone?" The young man, Sam Reise, took a seat across from Callista and
frowned. Michael Cross was the third and final member of their party, and he was
the youngest. Callista had just turned twenty-two, Sam twenty-three, and
Michael was fifteen. The three were undercover bodyguards for the Tsar, and
were on a mission to protect his youngest daughter, the Grand Duchess
Anastasia, while she was living with Jack and Mac in America for six months.
Callista, however, was not too keen on having
to take the Titanic, but they had no other choice. "Only twenty
minutes," Callista replied thoughtfully. She, unlike Sam, had been working
as an undercover guard since she was fourteen, and Sam had only recently been
hired two years before. Michael had originally been the Romanovs’ kitchen boy,
but had been promoted after a very long time to an assistant bodyguard.
"I just went to speak with the
conductor." The door opened again, and in stepped Michael, his dirty
blonde hair tousled from the breeze. He wore an outfit almost identical outfit
to Sam‘s, but his silk shirt was red, the mark of an apprentice. He sat down
next to Sam, stretching out his legs. "We should arrive in Southampton
late tonight."
"Not bad." Sam laughed.
"That’s good," Callista added.
"The Titanic sets sail tomorrow at eleven, and we still have to get
through the inspection que before we even board. And who knows how long the
lines will be?"
"Imagine Anastasia having to go through
an inspection que!" Michael sniggered.
"Hah," sniggered Sam. "Listen,
you two. This is a very important mission. I want to make sure each of us is
alert and know where Mr. Dawson is at all times."
Callista rolled her eyes. "Sam, I’ve
been doing this kind of thing much longer than you!"
Sam frowned. "You seem a bit jittery.
That’s why I said something."
"Oh. Well, this is just the first time
we’ve had a case on a ship before. You’re probably nervous, too, but you’re
better at hiding it." She grinned mischievously at him.
"Oh, really?" Sam stuck out his
tongue.
"Will you act your age and not your shoe
size?" Michael snapped in irritation, and both guards sniggered, raising
an eyebrow at him.
"Well, just sit back and relax,"
Sam told them. "We still have a long ride ahead of us."
Michael and Callista looked at each other
before turning away, and Callista turned her attention back to looking out the
window. She had no idea why she felt more nervous than usual going on this
journey than she had other times. Like, for example, when she and Sam had to
accompany the Grand Duchess Tatiana to a ball, and had to rescue the princess
when she was kidnapped and threatened with a gun. That was the assignment that
had brought Callista and Sam closer, when they proved they could work well
together. You weren’t traveling so far then, Callista thought to
herself. You were still in St. Petersburg, and only had to travel for about
ten minutes by horse and carriage. She gave a slight shudder and tried to
clear her mind, thinking of the new ship and how enormous and beautiful it was
going to be. Unsinkable, she promised herself, remembering what she had
read in the Titanic’s brochure. It had better be, she thought bitterly,
finally closing her eyes. For all of our sakes.