Chapter 1: Marriage
" I don't understand you, Jocelyn. Why won't you just marry him?", Jocelyn's mother, Kathleen asked.
" Because, Mother, I do not love him", Jocelyn replied. She sat across from her mother at the dinner table, and lately, she was pushing Jocelyn to marry a man named Thomas Edwards.
" Love is not something that you need. Money and a good name are what you look for in a suitable husband, and Thomas is the perfect man for that. He has a good name, and will keep you out of debt", Kathleen reminded her. It was the same words she'd heard years ago. Even being eighteen years old, she was a little over what would be the marriage age.
" I don't care about money, Mother, and you know that. You can not tell me that you didn't marry Father for love. I know you did", Jocelyn spat, as she glared at her mother.
" I did not marry your father for love. I married him because I was pregnant and my parents disowned me for it", Kathleen admitted quietly.
Jocelyn gasped in shock. She was stunned beyond anything she had ever felt. " What?", she managed to get out.
" I was pregnant. I was young. I was sixteen when I found out I was pregnant with you. My parents disowned me, so I married to spite them, and to have a father for you", Kathleen admitted.
" Father was not my real father?", Jocelyn managed as tears slipped down her cheeks.
" No, he was. I was young, and he seduced me. Two months later, I found out I was pregnant, I told my parents, and they disowned me. I was out on the streets, and then he found me. We were married a few days later", Kathleen said.
Shock swept through every nerve in Jocelyn's body. " You did not marry for love? But, what about the stories you told me when I was little?", Jocelyn asked.
" I should not have told them, but you were young, I did not think you would take it so seriously", Kathleen replied.
" How could you not think that? A child usually trust it's mother to tell them the truth", Jocelyn yelled, as she headed for her bedroom.
Jocelyn sat in her room, and she hugged her pretty pink bunny to her. It was the bunny her father had given to her years ago, but she still kept it around. Not that she really needed it. Jocelyn was of a marriageable age, and she didn't want to marry unless it was for love.
She remembered that she would be on the most luxurious ship in the world. The ship they call " unsinkable". The Titanic. A name that fit. She had no idea what it meant, but it suited the ship. She would finally be going home. She had spent the last ten years of her life in England, and now she would be going home. Jocelyn was an eighteen year old woman, and for the first time in her life, she felt somewhat happy. Now that she would be leaving poor, young Thomas behind.
As she settled into her bed that night, she thought of the days to come, and the luxuries she would find. It let her drift into a peaceful sleep.
" Jocelyn, we need to be going now, hurry up", her mother scolded. Their things were packed and she was just finishing up what she was doing, which was nothing short of putting her hat on.
" I'm coming, Mother", Jocelyn called, putting the final touches on her hat. She took one last look out the window and then headed for the stairs.
As they sat in the car, Jocelyn felt like she was leaving nothing but a prison cell. Even after ten years, Southampton just didn't feel like home.
Once they arrived at the Titanic and Jocelyn got a look at the ship they would be traveling on, she felt very small. Boarding the ship, she felt nothing but relief. When she got to her room, she let herself sink down onto the bed. Life was very good, and she felt relieved that Titanic was bringing her home.
Her maid, Ann, set the dress that Jocelyn would be wearing for dinner. It was a beautiful dress, a rich, dark midnight blue colouring. It was long with a train and gloves for her hands. The sleeves came just off her shoulder and the bodice would cling to her waist and small hips.
The midnight blue brought out her chocolate brown eyes, and brown hair. She put her up in a bun, with a few strands down the nape of her neck. " You look wonderful, Miss Jocelyn", her maid complimented.
" Do you think so?", Jocelyn asked, giggling.
" I think you will catch almost every eye out there, Miss", Ann replied.
" Maybe I will catch sights of a rather nice gentleman, Ann, oh gosh, do you think I could?", Jocelyn asked.
" I very well think you could, Miss", Ann smiled at her through the mirror.
" Thank you. Ann. You did a lovely job with my dressing tonight, as you always do", Jocelyn said, turning around to put her gloves on.
" I think any man would be crazy not to notice you, Miss. That dress always brings out the brown in your eyes. It suits you very well. I wish I could find a nice gentleman, not that I mean that I want to leave you. I would just love to fall in love", Ann sighed. How truly the young woman wanted to. Jocelyn sighed inwardly, and put her gloves on.
" You will find someone, Ann. I assure you. The right person just hasn't come yet", Jocelyn said, dazed.
" You really think so?", Anna asked, as she put the gloves the rest of the way on. There was an almost content look in her eyes. " I am truly happy to stay here. I do not mean disrespect."
" It is nothing, Ann. I would love to find the right man as well. I am just happy that Mother will not force Thomas on me. He was attractive, of sorts, but I just was not attracted to him, at all", Jocelyn frowned.
There was a slight knock on the door before it cracked open a bit. Her mother walked into the room. " Jocelyn? Are you ready yet?", Kathleen asked, giving her daughter a smile when she saw the dress she was wearing, " Oh, that dress. I always did like it."
" Yes, Mother, I'm ready", Jocelyn replied.
I'm sorry this first chapter is so short. I got the idea on a whim after I watched Titanic for the millionth time. It will get better, I promise, I couldn't exactly work on it a lot right now since I'm right in the middle of exams. But, I will continue, so R&R, and let me know what you think. Thanks guys!!