Chapter 9

Deception

I quickened my pace as I made my way down the B deck corridor. I had left Oliver on the promenade, thinking it was time I went and apologized to my mother. But I never got there. The door to Rose's state room was slightly ajar, horribly familiar voices drifted out into the corridor.

"Anything missing?" Lovejoy asked, peering over his master's broad shoulders. Cal was standing before a large, jade green safe. His hands prodded through it for a moment, before pulling out an old leather bound tablet, looking curious. I had seen that tablet before, in the arms of Jack Dawson as he sketched little Cora Cartmell from afar. An enormous lump began to clot in my throat. What was Caledon Hockley doing with Jack's drawings? Awful scenarios flashed through my mind and I tried to focus on something else. But just then Cal opened the tablet and gazed down at its loose contents in pure vexation. He crinkled the paper in his fist, closing his eyes to ease his temper.

"I've got a better idea." He said, still angered, but there was a flicker of that same maliciousness in his steely dark eyes.

"What do you mean by it, sir?" Inquired Lovejoy, looking intrigued.

"I mean..." He said silkily, sliding Jack's drawings into its original spot in the wardrobe. "There's no way in hell I'm letting Rose abandon me, just to run off with some gutter rat. No, I have an idea." He started to pace the carpet of the stateroom, furiously.

"Since he is after all an impoverished artist, why not show his true colors to the one he loves most?" He took something out from behind the small of his back, swinging it from his thickened fingers. The shimmering necklace bore a large blue diamond in its center, shaped like a heart of pure ice. Encrusted around its perimeter and up around the chain that fastened about the neck were a series of small, brilliantly white diamonds.

"So you're saying..."

"We plant the necklace on the little thief, and when comes back around with Rose..." Cal's voice trailed off purposely.

"We have him arrested for burglary. It's genius."

I gasped, almost a little too loudly, backing away from the door. This couldn't be happening, I couldn't let Cal do this to Jack, do this to Rose. But what I hadn't realized is that Lovejoy had heard me breath and was now advancing towards the door to investigate.

I whipped around, making myself flat against the wall. There wasn't time to flee. Lovejoy would surely pursue me if he saw me running. Maybe, just maybe he would only poke his face out the door for a second. Maybe his eyes, obscured by age, would not be able to spot such a small child in a white dress crouched against a white wall.

But immediately as he reached the door frame, his eyes were drawn to my shocking hair, I didn't have a chance. He glared at me with his tarnished eyes, grabbing my arm and yanking me upwards with such vigor I barely managed to find my footing as he wrangled me into the room where Cal was waiting. I didn't go quietly.

I whimpered and thrashed at him, but his grip was firm, desperate even, embedding his nails into my skin.

"Looks like we have a little audience." Lovejoy said smoothly, tightening his grip on my arm. Cal moved forward, slowly, grinning crookedly, though his eyes still burned with hatred. He knelt so close to my face I could smell the cigars on his breath.

"So, how much did you hear?" He implored, cunningly. I wanted to slap him, to inflict such pain on him that he bled. I wanted to spit in his smug face and tell him I'd heard everything and that over my dead body would he ever see Rose and Jack torn apart. But deep down, I knew better.

"I didn't hear anything, I swear." I said indifferently, staring down Cal as if he were the only thing worth looking at. "I just...came to find Rose."

"Really." He retreated from my face and resumed pacing the room aimlessly, a wicked smile still etched on his sickeningly handsome face. "I know you're not a stupid child, Josephine." My heart stopped in my chest. "Insolent and impetuous yes, naive maybe, but stupid no."

"How did you know my name isn't-?"

"I know a lot of things, Ms. Dawson. Mostly things that certain people would rather me ignorant of." He stopped and faced me again, addressing me more like a small child than someone he was interrogating." For example, I know that you, like my fiancé, seem to favor the third class, mostly the male population." He was referring to Oliver. My head pulsed in anger, but I retrained myself from exploding at him. "I also know that you attended a party there with Rose and that you are very partial to them."

"So." I snapped, a little too harshly.

"So, because you're not daft, I know that you know that Rose and that slum dog ran off tonight, and have yet to be found." He said trying to keep his composure, but his words were bitter. I smirked involuntarily.

"Exactly," he responded," which is why I must inquire again. How much did you hear?" I couldn't help myself.

"I know your planning on distorting Jack's image by making him look like a thief!" I spat. "And it won't work! Rose knows Jack more than anyone, she'll see right through your little scheme! She won't believe Jack stole anything, that's just not Jack!"

"So where were you really headed when you decided to eavesdrop?"

"My mother." I said earnestly.

"Well I'm afraid, since you know so much, I can't very well send you back to your mother can I." Cal reasoned, still smiling unpleasantly. He turned back to his safe rummaging through its contents. There was a flash of silver through the heavy air and suddenly the barrel of a pistol was pressed to my forehead.

"Make any sound, and you may just find a bullet in your head, do I make myself clear?" I nodded rapidly, keeping my eyes on the trigger. "Now, get in the coat closet, quickly!" He demanded, his voice turning ominous. But instead of letting me act on my own, Cal lifted me under the shoulders and shoved me roughly in the closet. "And do anything to attract attention while there's company and I'll shoot your beloved Jack dead. No one will blame me after all he did steal from me!" He added triumphantly. "And once they're gone I'll waste you too, do we understand each other?"

"Yes." I said darkly.

"Good." He said, before slamming the door shut, lock clicking behind him.

Being alone in the darkness was a vaguely familiar experience. I could barely make out my hand in front of me, but I could still hear everything going on outside. The two of them, Cal and Lovejoy, congratulated themselves for a moment, complementing them on how well they had taken care of "the little problem." Then, I heard the door open and click shut, and I was truly alone.

I sank down against the closet door, listening to my heart beat in my ears. Were they coming back? What would happen to Jack? How would Rose react? But most of all, Was I ever going to make it out of here?

Suddenly, as if some higher power was answering my silent inquisition, the closet began to tremble. The walls, the floors, even the ceiling of the enclosed spaced trembled, shuddered as if shivering from cold. The coat hangers clanked against each other like wind chimes and I thanked god Cal wasn't here to shoot me dead. Then the trembling stopped, and everything was still.

What was that? It had been so subtle yet so violent due to the fact I was sitting on the floor. But just as I had finished my thought, I heard the door open. Cal walked in, followed by numerous others as I could tell by the many footfalls I heard as they entered.

"Very well, Mr. Hockley." Spoke a deep, accented voice. "What was the extent of the robbery?" I recognized the voice. It belonged to the Master at Arms.

"Just a very valuable diamond necklace." Said Cal with a forced rage. "From this safe, here." Hard footsteps walked towards the wardrobe to examine the safe; there was a rustle of paper as the master at arms examined the drawings.

"I think they're very good, sir." said the master at arms, admiring the drawings. There was a sharper rustle of parchment as Cal snatched them away.

"Don't touch anything!" He growled. "I want the entire room photographed!" I slid down so I laid flat on my stomach, watching the scene unfold through the crack beneath the door. Suddenly, two new sets of shoes appeared in the room, heels and leather work boots. The whole room went silent as they entered.

"Something serious has happened." Said a low, melodic voice I knew to be Rose's.

"Yes it has." Said Cal sternly, breaking the silence. "Two things dear to me have disappeared this evening, now that one of them is back, I have a pretty good idea where to find the other. Search him!"

"Take your coat off, sir."

"Now what!" Said a very annoyed, boyish voice. Jack Dawson was here. There was the sound of fabric wrinkling as the steward and the master at arms frisked Jack.

"Cal, what are you doing?" Rose implored. "We're in the middle of an emergency. What's going on?" The pitch of rose's voice was horribly urgent. So something really had happened with the ship.

"Is this it?" Said the steward, there was a small tinkling noise as the necklace dangled in midair, taken from Jack's pocket. Cal responded positively, taking the necklace in his palms.

"Don't you believe it, Rose! Don't!" Jack said beseechingly.

"He couldn't have." Said Rose in disbelief. "I was with him the whole time. This is absurd!"

"Perhaps he did it while you were putting your clothes back on, dear." Cal uttered to Rose, under his breath. My hand flew to my mouth to stifle my gasp.

"Real slick, Cal. Rose they put it in my pocket!" Jack insisted to Rose in a whisper.

"Shut up!" Cal snapped viciously.

" Tisn't even your coat, is it son." Scoffed the Steward. "Property of A.L Ryerson."

"That was reported stolen today." Stated the master at arms.

"I just borrowed it; I was going to return it! Replied Jack, indignantly. "Listen Rose, you know I didn't do it Rose, you know it!" Rose didn't respond, as the two men started to hull jack out of the room.

"You know I didn't do it, Rose! You know me!" Jack desperate cries faded from ear shot. He was gone, taken, dragged off. And for the thousandth time in my life I felt completely alone in the world.