UNEXPECTED THINGS
Chapter Four
"Hey, Harry, have you seen
Rose?" Jack continued to look around for his wife.
Harry shook his head. "No,
mate, I haven’t seen her for awhile."
Jack began to run, pushing his
way through the crowd. Where was she? And what about Cora? It wasn’t like Rose
to run off without telling anyone, especially when she was heavily pregnant.
Suddenly, he heard crying and a loud voice.
"Stop pulling! I’m not going
to hurt you!"
Jack spun around. He saw Cora
struggling and crying, trying to escape the grip of a well-dressed, dark-haired
man who had his back to him.
"Hey, let go of her!"
He ran towards the man and punched him hard in the face just as he turned around
to see who had shouted.
"Daddy!" Cora threw
herself into her father’s arms, clearly distressed. Jack heard a groan;
quickly, he looked up and saw, to his horror, that he recognized the man--Cal.
"What did you do with
her?" he shouted, taking a threatening step towards him. "Where’s
Rose? What did you do with her?"
Cal put a hand up to his nose,
which was bleeding. "I didn’t do anything!" he growled at him, his
eyes narrowing. Jack glared at him, and he quickly continued. "I don’t
know where she is! She went into labor. My wife and the doctor took her. I went
to get your daughter here." He nodded his head towards a still-crying
Cora.
"Where did they take
her?" shouted Jack, even more panicked. "Where?"
"To the hospital, I
imagine!" replied Cal.
Spinning around, Jack pulled Cora
into his arms and ran. He had to get help. He had to find Rose. He hardly knew
where he was running, and he hardly cared. Running wildly, he accidentally
crashed into a woman, sending her flying. Picking up Cora first, he quickly helped
the lady to her feet. "Sorry, ma’am," he quickly apologized as her
husband began to shout angrily. "I’m really sorry!"
"By God, you should
be!" shouted her angry husband. "What did you think you were
doing?"
"Please," said Jack.
"Sir, my wife went into labor. I was told she was taken to the hospital,
but I can’t get there! Please, sir," he begged. "Please, help
me!"
The gentleman suddenly changed
his tone. "Well, why didn’t you tell me?" he barked. "Come, lad.
Follow me. I’ll make sure you get there."
Jack didn’t say much as the man
drove Jack, Cora, and his wife to the hospital. The only time he spoke was to
either thank the man once again or to reassure Cora that everything would be
all right. "Did he hurt you?" he asked Cora quietly.
The little girl shook her head.
"No!" she sobbed, "but Mommy got mad. She yelled at them."
Jack wondered what Rose had said.
It must have been a shock for her to come face-to-face with Cal. He hoped she
was okay...if something happened...well, he didn’t want to think about that.
It seemed like hours, but finally
they reached the hospital. Jack rushed inside, quickly asking where Rose was.
"Mrs. Dawson?" The lady
didn’t sound a bit fazed at Jack’s worried state. "Oh, yes. We got a
telegram for you only a minute ago. She’s not here. They told me to give this
to you if you arrived." She held out a piece of paper, and Jack tore it
from her hands, reading it quickly.
"What?" he cried.
"They took her where?" But it was there, so plain in black and
white--written on the paper was the address of Cal’s house.
*****
Cal opened the door to the manor
and stepped into his house. All he wanted was to be alone and wallow in
self-pity at his bitter memories, but as soon as he entered the house, he was
met by a commotion. Maids were running everywhere, shouting orders at one
another, and then he saw Prudence, his own wife, working among them.
"What’s going on?" he
cried angrily.
Prudence glanced up in surprise.
"Cal! How long have you been here?" she asked. Then, without waiting
for a response, she shouted, "Honey, please, get some towels
quickly!"
Before Cal could answer, he found
himself obliged to carry a bundle of bright white towels into the spare room.
He didn’t know what he had expected to see when he walked into that room, but
it was not what he saw.
Rose lay on the bed, moaning in
clear distress. She was barely conscious, her red curls hanging limply, her
beautiful face white as a sheet. And as much as Cal told himself he hated her,
somewhere deep inside he felt a stab of pain at seeing her so helpless. And he
remembered that she had once been his. He had owned her once, and she would
have been his wife. But she had left him, left him for the gutter rat. She had
had his child. She was going to have another child of his--and even now she
cried out his name, and bitter pain and hatred rushed over him once more.
He stood there in the middle of
the room, watching the commotion around him, not really knowing what to do, for
this was not a gentleman’s place to be.
Finally, Prudence noticed him.
"Cal!" she called. "Cal, go and get her husband, Jack. Please.
He should be here!" She turned her attention back to Rose.
Cal flinched at the very sound of
his name. "I can’t get him. I sent him to the hospital," he replied
stiffly.
"Oh, Cal!" Prudence
didn’t even look at him this time. "Well, notify the hospital, then, so
they can send him here! Hurry!" Prudence turned back to the doctor.
"What’s happening? Is she going to be all right?"
Rupert looked at Rose, his
forehead lined with worry. "The baby is in breach position," he said
quietly, "and it is stuck. If we don’t deliver it soon, we won’t only lose
the baby, but the young lady, as well."
Prudence gasped.
"Can’t…can’t you do anything?"
Rupert shook his head. "I’ve
tried, and I’ll try again, but…" His voice trailed off.
*****
"Here you are, son. Good
luck."
"Thanks." Jack jumped
out of the car. "Thanks so much for the lift." He pulled Cora tightly
into his arms.
"That’s all right!" the
man called. "You just look after your wife! Bye!" And he was off.
Jack turned to the huge mansion
before him--and this was just a house for business? What a waste, but he had no
time to worry about the house. Cora in his arms, he ran to the door and pounded
on it.
A young maid opened the door.
"Jack Dawson?" she inquired, before quickly inviting them inside.
"Here, Alanna, take the little one," she instructed a much older
woman before showing Jack down the hall. "The door down at the end on the
right," she whispered before scurrying away.
Jack was just about to open the
door when it opened itself, and Cal appeared.