"Are you coming?" I stood in the doorway with my nightgown in hand. I was wearing my evening dress; a deep green with lace and satin. My dinner dress was back in my room and I had changed after an evening with my mother, aunt and Jon as well as Thomas, the Cornel and Ruth Dewitt Buckater. Rose had not been there but Cal had.
"Yes, I'll be there soon. It's starting to get cooler so go ahead. I'll be there I just need to go over these."
"Clear." Said Captain Smith
"Yes, I don't think I've ever seen such a flat calm."
"Like a mill pond, not a breath of wind." Smith responded though his humor had a tinge of agitation in it.
"It will make the bergs hard to see…with no breaking water at the base."
"Mm," said Smith. He fidgeted with the lemon in his tea. "Well, I'm off maintain speed and heading with the light on."
"Yes, sir."
At eleven thirty pm I woke up for some unknown reason. I hadn't changed and I was still in my evening dress. I went to the window in the room.
The stars sparkled like the diamonds on my necklace and the ocean was still. I looked at the clock 11:40pm a sudden jolt and a grinding noise. I noticed the lamp was shaking on the bed stand and everything else in the room for that matter. I hurried out o the room Thomas was sitting at his desk holding a wine glass and papers down looking up at the crystal lamp which shook. "I believe the ship hit something."
"Yes," he hurried to the wardrobe. "I must see the Captain, immediately." He put on his coat and went across the room towards me, gazing in my eyes with worry he said. "Darling, stay here, I'll be back in a moment's time."
"Alright."
"This is most unfortunate Captain!" said Mr. Ismay as he entered the room. "Water, fourteen feet above the keel in ten minutes, in the forepeak, in all three holds, and in boiler room six." Thomas' voice was tinged with fear, beads of sweat appeared on his face. He knew what was going to happen. Titanic was a doomed Maiden of the Sea.
"When can we get underway, damnit?"
"That's five compartments! She can stay afloat with the first four compartments breached, but not five, not five. As she goes down by the head, the water will spill over the tops of the bulkheads at E deck from one to the next. Back and back. There's no stopping It."
"The pumps... if we opened the doors..."
"The pumps buy you time, but minutes only. From this moment, no matter what we do, Titanic will founder."
"But this ship can't sink!"
"She's made of iron, sir! I assure you, she can... and she will. It is a mathematical certainty."
"How much time?"
"An hour... two at most."
"And how many aboard, Mr. Murdoch?"
"2,200 souls on board, sir."
"Well, I believe you may get your headlines, Mr. Ismay."
I was still in the room changing back into fresh garments, a pale pink dress with a lovely body design, one of my personal favorites. I hoped that the ship had just had ruttier problems but Thomas looked scared when I saw him. I heard a knock on the door and thinking it was Thomas I rushed to answer it. The door had been locked and the key was with me.
To my dismay, a steward stood at the door. "Oh, Miss _! What are you doing here? No time, no time. Here, put your lifebelt on, not to worry. I'm sure it's just a precaution." He hurried away. I put on the lifebelt, this was certainly no precaution. Thomas knew the ship was sinking; lifebelts would not be issued otherwise.
"Thomas!" I cried looking left and right for the man.
…..
Thomas Andrews left the room quickly with many crew members on his heels. The Captain left to send out an SOS and the rumor about the ship sinking was spreading quickly. All crew members knew what had happened by now and were going everyone on the ship banging on doors and walking down halls telling people to put on their lifebelts. He went outside to see that the Crew was quickly cutting the chains off the lifeboats, no passengers. "Mr. Wiles!" He called desperately. "Where are the passengers?" "They all went back inside…" Thomas looked at his watch, God damn, so little time left.
"Put your lifebelt on, sir!" a steward hurried down the hall.
Many crew members were lacking lifebelts but almost all first class passengers had them on or were putting them on despite their weariness and questions.
Thomas Andrews went back to his room. Seeing that I had left, he hurried down the halls. Into the dining room he walked, looking this way and that trying to find me.
"Care for a drink, sir?" asked a plump steward. Thomas proceeded out into the grand hall where the grand staircase was before him.
He began to walk up the stairs when a voice said, "Mr. Andrews, I saw the iceberg, and I see it in your eyes. Please tell me the truth."
He stepped down, he must tell Rose, and she was a good friend. "The ship will sink."
She looked strained, "You are certain?"
He looked to the grand staircase. "Yes, in an hour or so, all this will be at the bottom of the Atlantic."
Caledon Hockley looked at him in dumb confusion. "What?"
"Please, tell only who you must, I don't want to be responsible for a panic, and get to a boat, quickly, don't wait. You remember what I told you about the boats."
"Yes, I understand." she said. He proceeded up the stairs, slowly. Foolish, My God, what have I done? Fear was inside him but so was concern, for me. He heard a voice calling his name. Turning he saw me and dashed down the hall to me. "Thank God! Where were you, _?" He kissed me and I responded with, "Steward told me to put on a lifebelt and I knew then that it was true, the ship hit something and were sinking. How much time?"
He looked deep into my eyes, "An hour maybe two."
"My God…"
"_, you must get to a boat, right away."
"What? Without you?" I was taken aback; I would not get on any boat without Thomas. "Yes, _ you must. Please, dear get to the boat deck right away!"
"Thomas, I won't go without you. I won't. Please, I want to help."
He shook his head in dismay but said, "Very well, but you will stay on A deck and tell people where to go depending on where they're at. You remember the maps I showed you of the decks?"
"Of course, Thomas."
"Good. I will be going to B and C decks to warn second class passengers."
"What about third class?"
Oh God, the gates… He paused for a moment, Mr. Ismays requested that the gates be close, surely they would be. "I'll go down their when I've cleared out the second class passengers."
"Very well." I turned to leave but he called out "_!"
I turned his lips touched mine; it was as if he couldn't get enough of me. "I love you. Please, be careful and for God's sake put on a lifebelt! You also must promise me that you will get on a lifebelt when the water reaches at most 'B deck.' Even if you don't see me get on the boats, do you understand?"
"I promise."