Information for you:
Kristiania was the name of the Norwegian capital Oslo until 1924.
Roald Amundsen (1872-1928) was the discoverer of the South Pole. The other one his rival the British Robert Falcon Scott died there in early 1912, but his body wasn't found until December that same year.
Marie-Adelaide de Nassau, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg was born in 1894, reigned from 1912 to 1919 and died later on as a nun in a convent in 1924.
Molly's cats are all named after famous linguists. The real Margaret Brown was very interested in languages and learned among them French, German and Russian, so I thought that the names might fit in.
Jakob Grimm (1785-1863) wrote the first German language dictionary, which included for the first time a system and derivation of the words.
Jean-Francois Champollion (1790-1832) was the discoverer of the famous Rosette-stone and decoded the Hieroglyphs.
John Russell Bartlett (1805-1886) was a historian and wrote a dictionary about Americanisms.
A/N: Thanks for the reviews.
"Come on, kitty kitty kitty…," Molly tried to get out one of her cats from behind the sofa.
The cat was just moving further away from her, making a loud shriek and biting Molly slightly, when she finally did catch him and took away the food from him.
"Hey, that's enough, Bartlett – you're getting fatter and fatter by the day," she lectured him, giving him a small tap, while was he angrily snorting. "The doctor already said that you need to be put on a diet."
It was true, this one, was eating too much. Molly had to see the doctor again and ask him about this. She loved this one and didn't want him to die early, because of fatty degeneration of the heart or the likes.
Another one of them was just purring outside, while Bartlett had made his way to his sleeping place.
"That's Champollion, Jack please get him inside. He's returned from his nightly amours."
"What?" Jack asked perplexed.
He had a dog once, when his parents were still alive and recalled how much it had been to take him for a walk. Of course in Chippewa Falls having pets was something else than here in a big city. Jack had been totally devasted, when his friend had died and had vowed to himself that he would never again get one.
Now he wasn't so sure anymore, if Rose wanted something - whatever it was - he would purchase it for her.
"He has got some friends outside, if you know what I mean and I assume there're already some little kittens too. He's quite a Casanova."
Jack shook his head, laughing slightly as he opened the door for Champollion, who really looked like someone, who had just had a very very good night. If only his own life would be this easy going as well. He certainly envied this one a little bit. Champollion strolled to his bed and was asleep within seconds.
It must've been a very big adventure.
"How was your meeting with Rose by the way?" Molly wanted to know once the cats were taken care of.
Jack had been gone for quite a while so Molly assumed that it been going very well. The lights were on already on the streets and Molly closed the curtain as she waited for an answer.
"Nice."
"Only nice?" she wondered.
Jack seemed to be hiding something, only Molly couldn't picture at the moment what it could be. He was so different now, from one she had once met. His appearance - thought outwardly still the same - didn't give away the same bright extravagance she rembered.
Please, Jack, you're the boy, who charmed John Jacob Astor - the richest man on the ship. You're the one, who was able to turn a heartbroken girl into a life-affirming young woman. Please, don't let this one get you down now.
"Well it was…different. I mean it's not easy for her," he told Molly.
It was really good not having to worry about food and a place to sleep anymore. Still he felt useless at times and wasn't used to doing nothing all day. Some procedure was in the works outside - Jack being ever so edgy, went over to window to look at it. It was some musician playing an unknown tune. Molly had mentioned that this was one of the way people here collected money. It was half-legal, because no one really knew how much there earned and therefore the state wasn't able to tax them correctly.
Jack found the melody quite commanding, if not to say nerve-racking.
"It's a shame that most of them can't play at all," Molly commented seemingly having read his thoughts.
"I wonder, if Rose would've liked it. I mean now with everyting going on around her...she certainly could need some distraction," Jack sighed glad the musicians had passed by.
"I can imagine. But you did tell her the truth?"
"Kind off."
"What do you mean – kind off?" Molly grabbed his shoulder turning him around "Didn't you mention a word about your relationship," Molly looked him into his eyes. "Oh, Jack, really, how you actually plan to win her back, if you're not honest with her?"
Jack made his way into the kitchen as he was kind of hungry now and placed the food on the table in front of him. Molly followed ahead, not at all getting Jack's mindset. Whatever was he thinking?
"I couldn't be truthful with her, Molly."
"Might I ask why?" she asked him taking the seat next to him.
"She wanted to know how we met," he took a sip from the tea "…and well I just…I couldn't tell her."
"You couldn't tell her that she was slipping over the railing while looking at the propellers?"
Molly found Jack's whole attitude very difficult to understand. She he thought that she first thing he would be doing was to run over to Rose, get her out of the house and claim her as his own. Not only Rose seemed to have changed completely, Jack obviously had too.
Truth be told, it wasn't pleasant to find out that one was so clumsy, but Molly could think of some tougher things to hear. At least with Jack telling her, Rose would've been surely able to laugh about it.
Sometimes she really didn't recognize the behaviour of young people nowadays.
"No, I couldn't tell her that…," Jack prevented himself from continuing remembering that he had once sworn to Rose never to utter a word to anybody about it.
Rose had been very adament about it and Jack knowing how it was for everybody to earn her trust, wasn't about to lose it now. Of all he knew Molly might tell Rose something or even Ruth or...however, unlikely this idea was, he didnt want to risk anything.
"What, Jack?"
"Nothing," he said standing up, leaving Molly wondering. "I'm going out. I need time to think."
"But Jack, have you looked outside. It's cold and raining…"
"I'm not made out of sugar," he simply replied.
Molly shook her head. How strange people acted, when being in love. Jack didn't even think of taking a coat with him.
"Jack, what about your...remember your pneu...," she shouted after him, but didn't receive an answer.
I just hope that he knows what he's doing.
"What about the food?"
He had left everything standing on the table. How strange young people were acting these days. The last one of her cats – Grimm – jumped up on the table to put the knife back in order.
"Hey, careful," Molly laughed – seeing Champollion sleeping. "That womanizer," she smiled.
….
"Mr. Weingartner, I'm so glad you could arrange this meeting. It is really a pleasure," Cal faked a smile holding his hand out.
"The pleasure it entirely on my side, Mr. Hockley and I must admit that I couldn't wait to see that lovely fiancée of yours again."
Rose didn't engage herself in the conversation, thinking about Jack proved to be much more interesting. She hoped that he wouldn't be too angry with her for not keeping her promise to meet him today, but Cal had only told her an hour before that they would be having a quest. With the elder Mr. Hockley being there too, she simply couldn't just leave. She owed it to her betrothed to stay and portray the perfect housewife.
"How do you like the oeuvres?"
"They're delicious, Mrs. Dewitt Bukater."
"So tell us, Mr. Weingartner, what can we expect next from the most prominent journalist of Philadelphia?"
"I'm not sure, if I'm this popular, Mr. Hockley," he said towards Cal "…but to answer your question my redactor wants me to travel to Europe to make an inside story about the new Grand Duchess of Luxembourg."
Mr. Weingartner was appearantly working for the Philadelphian Gazette as their star-correspondent. Rose was slightly envies of him - if only she would be a man too, she'd be able to travel and see all these wonderful places he was speaking about. She recalled him from the engagement interview - Cal hadn't seemed very pleased that it was him recording it. Rose wouldn't know why, she found Mr. Weingartner nice and agreeable and would've loved to ask him some more question about his job.
Possible he could get her mind off of her worries? But as she realized that Cal would find this shocking - she would just continue to sit there decoratively and listen to her mother's drudging babble.
"I didn't even know they were a monarchy," Ruth laughed up.
Rose found her mother's acting over the top. Why would anymore deliberatly wanted to be seen as an idiot? Did women have to belittle themselves every time they were talking to men about certain topics? Why wasn't a woman supposed to know something about the ongoing processes in the world?
"Mrs. Dewitt Bukater has never been interested into politics," Cal explained.
"Not a very appropriate theme for women at all, if you asked me," his father added. "So how's she doing, the Grand Duchess I mean."
That's it, yes - Rose smiled her anger burning up inside of her. They would never take her for full - now would they? Nathan, certainly did not. The old man seemed to be totally in his element, smiling warmly at her at this very second.
Did they have a good relationship?
"Young…very young…she isn't even eighteen and has inherited the throne just about two months ago. It's not exactly the most fascinating subject I can think of, but I'm nonetheless going to enjoy the journey to Europe."
"A woman made a leader – what a jest," Cal commented.
Rose, who hadn't been paying any attention to their conversation on the outside, felt the need to defend her gender. Enough was enough even for her. No one should be allowed to talk like this about other persons and narrowing them simply because they were women.
"I still think that Queen Victoria was better than King George IV," she spoke up being immediately told off by her mother, who glared at her.
"Rose, whatever has gotten into you?" she hissed at her daughter. "Please excuse my daughter, Mr. Weingartner. She doesn't know what she's saying."
"Quite the contrary Mrs. Dewitt Bukater, your daughter has the wonderful gift of truthfulness – very rare these days and very delightful that this," he nodded towards Rose "Miss!" he took his glass "To the truthfulness!"
Cal, Nathan and Ruth though angry felt committed to join in to this toast. Mr. Weingartner grinned sympathetically at Rose.
I could imagine that being engage to him would be much different from Cal.
Cal vowed to himself however, that he needed to speak with Rose about certain matters and to remind her that he wouldn't tolerate this performance from her in public. Ruth too was staring at her daughter, thinking of a way to get her on her right mind again.
….
"I really can't stand this family, Mrs. Brown. They're all so phoney and tiresome," he laughed. "Save for Mr. Hockley's fiancée Miss Dewitt Bukater. She's such a sweet girl indeed and I always wonder what she sees in him."
Well I do too.
"I guess we will never know, Mr. Weingartner," Molly said as if she didn't know "…here have another cookie."
"Your servants are also better cooks."
"I made them myself."
"In this case they're extraordinaire."
"You flatter me, Mr. Weingartner. But now tell me what's going on in the world. I read your article about the Hockley wedding it was really good."
Molly surely was a great hostess. Her parties in Chicago had been legendary. Still she never lost focus on her main purpose. Mr. Weingartner was currently the most prominent journalist in Philadelphia - he had to know something. He had already noticed the incompatibitily between Rose and Mr. Hockley - surely the rest would be easy.
"If you think so…I don't like to write about that society stuff. At the end of the day all these well-to-does are normal people with normal problems just like us."
"Well said, Mr. Weingartner."
He then told her about the Luxembourg request.
"So you're not going to do it?"
"Of course I will, but then I will travel on to Kristiania and make an interview with that Norwegian Amundsen. You'll see Mrs. Brown one day I'm even going to publish my own newspaper."
"I'm sure you will. Everyone has started slow right. Even the Hockleys."
Molly though having originally invited him to find out, if he knew anything about the engagement and the marriage, still felt sorry for everyone having to endure Cal and his family. And this one here was her friend so it counted double.
"Might be…but unlike them, I intend to do it with legal methods."
Molly's head shot up.
"Are you suggesting that…?"
"No, never, they're a decent family, aren't they?"
Both shared a laugh, when the door suddenly opened, Jack coming back from his nightly walk. Molly wasn't very happy with this, but she hadn't been able to talk him out of it.
"Mr. Weingartner, I'd like you to meet Mr. Dawson. He's been of some assistance to me and is how living here with me. He's really good with the arts."
Jack shook hands with him. Mr. Weingartner must only be slightly older than himself. Just his name – it sounded familiar, but Jack simply couldn't place it at the moment.
"Mr. Weingartner here wrote a remarkable article about the wedding of the months...of Mr. Caledon Hockley."
That rang the bell on Jack's memory. This was the guy, whose name he had read above the newspaper article.
"I'm sure not about the remarkableness, Mrs. Brown, but I did my best. It's sometimes hard to please my editor. Mr. Hockley is a too important society figure to be ignored however. You know him as well, Mr. Dawson?"
"A little bit, yes."
"And his betrothed?"
"Yes, her too."
"She's very beautiful isn't she?" Weingartner laughed at himself.
"I don't think Mr. Hockley would like your talking," Molly held up a finger as if warning him of something.
"That's for sure, Mrs. Brown. She's very headstrong as well…I particulary like that at women…better than one who's always following ahead."
Do you think that he's done something bad to her – hit her maybe? Jack wanted to ask him, but didn't know how. This Mr. Weingartner was nevertheless a stranger, even if he was supposedly Molly's friend.
The other one meanwhile wondered, if he should tell them about the incident with Rose and Queen Victoria. It was clear to him that this girl and her fiancée didn't have much in common - how she was mostly playing a role for her environment. Rose had something more to offer to the world, just with this family she would accomplish to anything.
"I do get the impression, Mrs. Brown that you invited me slowly to pump information about Mr. Hockley out of me."
"Why, what do think of me? I called you, because you're a good colleague of mine."
"You've always been a bad liar, Mrs. Brown, but I forgive you. Cheers!" he raised his glass at this and Molly quickly followed.
"Cheers!"
Molly continued to request some further evidence about Rose careful not to sound too prying. When they were told that Rose had looked a bit far away and sad, Jack was getting slightly depressed himself. He wanted nothing more, but to see Rose happy, even if it wasn't with him.
It didn't look like the Hockley's were doing her any good however.
"So her mother is still as distantly as ever? I met her briefly on the Titanic you know."
Mr. Weingartner nodded. He would think that those two hadn't gotten along very well with each other.
"She is. Ruth Dewitt Bukater is the epitome of an antique statue, always perfectly dressed and that…like her daughter is. I only wonder if that's the life the young woman is longing for."
Jack bit his lips at this, marvelling if he should've been honest with her after all.
"In fact it's even like she's hiding something not just from the outside world, but from herself as well."
Jack and Molly shared a look at this. If only he knew.
