The next morning, the stewards were out and asking about Rose again. Fabrizo overheard their questions and did his best to avoid speaking to them. No-one seemed to have any idea where she was, although a few thought they had seen a woman matching her description in the dining hall. Others thought they might have seen her in the hallway. A few mentioned Jack, but no account could be called reliable. After a fruitless morning, they reported their findings—or lack thereof—to Lovejoy, who was conducting a search of his own. He'd already gotten Jack's room number, along with a spare key, but they weren't there. There was no sign of them. It only took a few minutes to see Jack's things were gone. The question was, where had he taken them? Even on a ship that size, there were still only so many places they could go. The ship itself acted as a net; all he had to go was find a way to tighten it.
….
They were squeezed onto the car seat, with Rose on the inside. Jack's head lay on her shoulder; his arm was around her, and he was so close to the edge he couldn't move without falling off. Rose's arm was curled around him, holding him up. They had lain awake for some time, neither wanting to get up. Their cocoon was warm, and the silence was soothing. If they didn't move, Rose reasoned, nothing could happen to them. It seemed like days had passed since she left Cal, but the memory of him remained as strong as ever. She hated his power over her and hated herself for being weak. If they did have to confront him, would she be able to stand up to him? The previous night she had been sure she couldn't, but now, she thought, maybe she could. Just maybe she could look him in the eye and tell him it was over. She was leaving. And if he tried to stop her—Here, her confidence failed. If he tried to stop her, there was nothing she could do.
Jack kissed the corner of her mouth. "You sleep alright?" he asked.
"Yes," she said. "Rather well, actually."
"So did I."
"We'll switch tonight," she said. "You shouldn't be on the edge two nights in a row."
"I don't mind." His stomach gave a low rumble. "You ready for breakfast?"
"I think I need to wash first," she answered. "Do you mind?"
"No. I probably should too."
…..
Rose hesitated before going into the Third Class women's bathroom. They would know she didn't belong. Would they mind? They wouldn't be welcome in First Class, so perhaps, she shouldn't expect to be welcome there. To her relief, no-one seemed to notice her. She washed and changed as quickly as possible, doing her best not to be seen. The bruises on her arms were still large and dark. It was difficult enough to let Jack see them; she didn't want strangers gawking at them.
Jack was waiting when she came out. He held out his hand with a smile. "Don't you look nice," he said.
"Is it too much?" she fretted. "It's one of the plainest things I have."
"It's perfect. Don't worry."
"I can't help feeling as though everyone is staring at me," she said, casting an anxious glance around. The dining hall was still crowded when they went in.
"They aren't," he said. "And if they are, it doesn't matter."
"Are you sure we should be doing this?" she asked. "What if they're still down here looking for us?"
"We have to eat," he reminded her. "And the only way to find out what they're doing is to come up here." He spotted Fabrizo. "Maybe Fabrizo'll know what's going on."
Fabrizo hurried over to them, an anxious look in his eyes. "They've been asking about you again," he said.
"Already?" Jack replied. "It's barely nine."
"I've heard them. The stewards. They're going around giving descriptions of Rose."
"Of course they are," Rose said. "I know he would send them back out." She looked around, sure she was about to be spotted and dragged back.
Jack squeezed her hand. "Don't be afraid," he said. "You're not alone."
"That makes me more afraid," she whispered.
Neither of them heard her. "Anybody say they say us?" Jack asked.
Fabrizo shook his head. "No-one said for sure, just maybe they had. Jack, they offered a few people money."
"So, those maybes are gonna turn to definitelys pretty fast if they keep that up," Jack said, a bitter edge in his voice.
"You know it's not personal," Fabrizo said.
"Yeah, I know. Thanks."
Rose's heart pounded; her hands felt like ice. They weren't safe even just standing there. Dozens of people could see them. Any of them could report the sighing back to Cal or his minions. They could be followed when they left. Their hiding place could be discovered. Her mind raced. Where could they go?
"Let's grab something and get out of here," Jack suggested. He glanced at her. "Rose, it's alright," he said. "You don't have to be afraid."
"I can't help it," she said quietly. "I wish I could."
He pulled her into a quick hug. "I know."
They went out on deck, eating what they could carry. It was a bright, cold day. They had their coats, but they still huddled close to stay warm. "You wanna go back?" he asked.
"No," she answered. "No, I want some fresh air. I'm not going to be afraid." But the looks in their direction—some real, some imagined—proved too much to take, so they found themselves back in the hold.
"It's not much warmer down here," Jack said. He wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. "If we sit over here, we can see those two doors," he added. She watched as he arranged the crates to make a kind of fort around them. "I can help," she offered.
"No, you get warm."
He hid their things under the stairs, behind another stack of crates before joining her, wrapped in a blanket of his own. They leaned against each other. "I'm sorry," she said. "You're trapped down here because of me."
"I'm down here because I want to be. I'd rather be here with you than anywhere else."
"Do you think they'll find us?" she asked.
"No," he said reassuringly. "We'll get off the ship in a couple of days, and everything'll be fine." They both knew it was more complicated than that, but neither wanted to think about that yet. Secretly, Rose feared Cal would kill her before he would let her go, and if Jack was with her, he'd kill him as well. But New York was a large city, and even Cal couldn't find them there, she told herself. They could go anywhere. They would leave no trail. They would be completely anonymous. How would he ever find them, even with all of his money? Except there was the matter of the divorce. It would have to happen eventually, unless he found a way to declare her dead. She frowned. He would certainly do it if he could.
"Hey," Jack said. "Did I ever tell you about the time I slept in a haunted house?"
"No," she said, intrigued. "You don't believe in ghosts, do you?"
"Sure I do. I've seen 'em."
Rose laughed. "Jack, you can't be serious. There's no such thing."
"Yeah, there is. I'll show you one."
"Oh, you'll show me a ghost? And how will you do that?" she asked.
"We'll find another haunted place," he answered. "There's tons of them."
"Alright, let's say I believe you," she said. "Where was this haunted house?"
"Kansas."
"Ah, Kansas. Yes, I remember now. It's known for wheat and ghosts," she joked.
"You can laugh because you weren't there, but it was real, and it was terrifying."
"What happened?" she said seriously.
"I stopped in this little town," he explained. "I was only gonna stay the night, and I didn't have much money—less than usual—so I decided to find a place to camp out. I found this abandoned farmhouse about a mile outside of town. The windows were broken; weeds were growing up around it. But the door was unlocked, and it looked like rain, so I went in." Rose leaned closer, eager to hear more. "I settled in," he went on. "And everything was fine at first, but then, I started hearing things."
"What sort of things?"
"Like footsteps. It sounded like someone going up and down the stairs. Just pacing. I heard the click of shoes and the floorboards creaking. Finally, I got up to look, but I didn't see anything. The noise stopped. There was about half a candle left on the table, so I lit it and took it back into the other room with me. I tried to ignore it, but I couldn't. As soon as I sat down it started again, louder this time. I went back with the candle, and that's when I saw her."
"Her?"
"I watched this shadow of a woman going up and down the stairs," he said. "There was no-one there, just her shadow."
"What did you do?"
"I went back into the other room and did my best to sleep," he said. "When the sun came up, I got the hell out of there. I've always wondered why she was there, what made her pace like that."
"Did you ever see any others?" she asked, forgetting she didn't believe in ghosts.
"Other ghosts?" He shook his head. "No. But I know more stories," he added, seeing the disappointment in her eyes. "Wanna hear some?"
"You can tell them," she said, feigning nonchalance. "I won't mind."
He grinned. "Alright."
…
Lovejoy reported back to Cal just before lunch. "Well?" Cal said impatiently. "You have to have found out something by now."
"Some people say they've seen her," Lovejoy replied. "With him."
"With him? They've been seen together?" Cal held his anger in check. "What could they possibly be doing?" he asked, an eerie calm in his voice.
"Very little," Lovejoy said drily. "They were seen in the Third Class dining hall and in the corridors. No-one knows where they slept or where they are now. There's no sign of either of them in his room."
It took a moment for Cal to process Lovejoy's words. "What you're telling me is," he said slowly, "They've run away together. Onboard the ship. They're hiding somewhere." His voice rose slightly. "My wife has disappeared with a vagabond. Is that what you're telling me?"
Lovejoy's expression didn't change. "Yes, that's what I'm telling you."
Cal breathed deeply and sharply. "Lovejoy, find her," he said, a threat in his voice. "I don't care what you do. Bring her back here. I trust you can be effective yet discreet."
"And him?"
Cal smiled slightly. "Bring him as well. Why not?"
….
Rose had never cared for ghost stories or any stories designed to frighten, but she found herself entranced by the tales Jack spun. It wasn't just that he was a good storyteller, although he was. He knew know to use his voice well. But rather, it was because they allowed her to be afraid safely. She knew nothing in his stories could hurt them, so being frightened by them was perfectly fine. It was even relaxing. They put all thoughts of Cal out of her head; they put all thoughts of everything out of her head. For a few hours, she didn't care about the need to hide, where they would go when they ship docked, or how they would survive. Jack didn't know exactly how much relief his stories were bringing her, but he knew she was less tense now. The haunted look was gone from her eyes. He kept going long after he ran out of stories, making up new ones as he went along, borrowing from books and moving pictures. Finally, he ended the last one. His throat was dry, and his stomach growled. They had no way of knowing what time it was, but he guessed it was afternoon.
"Are you hungry?" she asked.
"No, I'm fine," he said.
"You are. Weren't you going to say anything?"
He shrugged. "Eventually. You were enjoying the stories."
"Well—" Before she could get any further, the door to their left opened with a loud creak. A flashlight shone down the stairs. "Get down!" Jack whispered, pulling her down next to him. Through a small gap in their fortress, they could see two men hurrying down the stairs. Both carried flashlights and wore steward's uniforms. Rose clutched Jack's hand. They were looking for her; she knew it. They moved quickly, shining their lights into corners and behind crates. They split up, each taking one side of the hold. It was a massive room, so even at their pace covering it took a few minutes. Rose held her breath, sure they could hear it. Jack was tense, and he searched for a way out. How could they avoid being seen? They couldn't get to any of the doors, but maybe they could make it to another hiding place.
He motioned for her to follow as he moved sideways, crouching down. They kept their heads below the crates and did their best to make as little noise as possible. The search had taken the stewards to the spot under the stairs where Jack had hidden their luggage, but the man who looked there didn't look very closely. From his position, the crates appeared to be against the wall, and no-one could have fit behind them. So, he moved on.
Slowly, Jack crawled along the floor, followed closely by Rose. Just as one of the stewards was turning around, they reached the safety of another stack of crates. They huddled, shivering, behind it. Jack hated hiding; he hated being made to feel like a fugitive. But he knew it was what they had to do. He may not have shared Rose's fear of Cal, but he knew it was best to avoid him until they were off the ship. And he didn't want to upset Rose any further. Finally, after that felt like hours, the stewards disappeared back up the stairs.
Rose let out a deep sigh of relief. She leaned against a crate, pulling the blanket more tightly around her shoulders. "That was close," Jack said.
"Do you think they'll come back?" she asked.
"I don't know," he replied. "Probably not. There's no reason to."
"Unless they decide we're moving around," she said. "Then they might."
"We'll deal with that if it happens. C'mon, let's get something to eat. We can find out if anything else has happened."
As soon as they entered the Third Class corridor, all eyes were on them. There was no attempt to hide it. The other passengers stared openly; some moved closer to get a better look. Rose shrank against him. Jack put a protective arm around her. "Ignore it," he said.
"How? Any of them could be sending word back to Cal," she said. She forced herself to breathe slowly. Panicking wouldn't help at all. Why was she so afraid of him? It wasn't merely because he hit her. No, that was only part of it. It was also the way he could switch moods without warning, the way he went from calm to enraged in a matter of seconds. She never knew what would set him off, and never knew what he would do next. And each time it seemed to take longer for his anger to wear itself out. He knew exactly what to say to make her feel sick and ashamed of herself. He knew every flaw, everything she feared; it was as if he could read her mind. And when he wanted to, he knew how to build her back up again, although it didn't work quite as well as it once had. She distrusted him too much. She had never loved him, but there had been a time when she thought it might be possible to tolerate living with him. At first, she had hoped there might be something more hiding beneath his arrogant exterior, but now, she knew better.
"We can't do anything about that," he pointed out. "And we hafta eat. Sooner or later we're going to have to face him. I don't want to do it here, but if that happens, I guess we'll do the best we can." He didn't want to sound harsh, but it was the truth. Questions swirled through Jack's mind. Did Cal even know she was with him? Had her mother told him of their encounter with her? And most importantly, what story was he telling about them? Jack knew they hadn't done anything wrong, but would anyone else believe that?
Once again, they gathered as much food as they could and ate it as they walked. They looked straight ahead, trying to ignore the stares. All they had to do was make it back to their place. They had almost reached the door that led to the steps when a voice called out, "You there!" Rose grabbed his hand and began to run. Jack glanced over his shoulder to see the two stewards from before, followed by Lovejoy. He quickened their pace, pressing Rose forward.
They ran through a door and up a set of stairs and around corners, but their pursuers refused to be shaken. They hurtled up another set of stairs and down a corridor, bursting through another door. They found themselves in a Second Class common room. Oblivious to the alarmed remarks and shocked looks, they kept running, weaving through the crowd.
They didn't stop for breath until they were out on deck. Jack looked around; there was no sign of Lovejoy or the stewards. For the moment, they were safe. The cold air burned in their lungs. Rose leaned against the wall, gasping. "You'd think we killed somebody," Jack choked out. "And that valet guy? He's more like a cop."
"He was." Rose brushed her hair back. "How did we get away?"
"I don't know," he said. "Maybe when we went up that second set of stairs? I didn't think we ever would. I'll be glad when the ship docks."
"So will I," she said.
He took her hand. "C'mon. Let's get outta here."
….
"What do you mean you lost them?" Cal cried. "You had them, but you couldn't catch them? They outran you? There were three of you! And she's a woman! How difficult can it be to catch one woman?" Cal flung his glass against the wall. It shattered, spilling water across the floor. "I see I'll have to go get her myself," he said. "Clearly, no-one else can be trusted to do it." He slipped into his jacket. "Well, let's go," he said.
"I can show you were we found them," Lovejoy said. "But I doubt they'll go back there. Even they can't be that stupid."
"Don't flatter them. He thinks he can take my wife, and she thinks she can get away. They're both morons," Cal scoffed. He hadn't had to be told Rose was with Jack. He had just known. Where else would she be? Jack was giving her ideas. He had seen the way they looked at one another during dinner, and then there was the dancing. He clenched his fists at his side. Didn't she know who she was dealing with? If she didn't, she soon would.
…..
They found a spot in the corner of the Second Class dining room and tried to blend in. No-one seemed to notice them, so Rose decided the story of her disappearance hadn't been spread among those passengers. Why hadn't they come there sooner? It hadn't even occurred to her to hide there. She could tell by the look on Jack's face that it hadn't occurred to him either.
They held hands across the table. "So," Jack said.
"So," she echoed. "Do you regret meeting me yet?"
"No. No, of course not. I don't care how many times we get chased. I'm still gonna love you." He kissed her knuckles. "You're my Rose Petal, my Flower Girl."
"Is that how you think of me?" she asked.
"Partly. I don't mean a delicate flower," he explained. "You're a wild rose that should be growing in some garden out in the middle of the woods, the kind you stumble on and can't believe is real because it's so beautiful, but you're not that surprised because Nature's like that sometimes. She doesn't need help. And neither do you."
"If you're not careful you're going to spoil me," she warned. "Stop being so nice to me. I don't know how to respond to it." She laughed, but it was half-hearted. Part of her really wasn't sure how to respond to his affection.
"You'll figure it out," he said. "You want to go back downstairs?"
She nodded. "Sure. Will you tell some more stories?"
"Yeah, I might know a few more."
…..
Unfortunately, they got turned around in the mazelike corridors and found themselves lost. "I know we haven't done down enough," Jack said. "But I'm not sure which way we should go."
"None of this looks familiar," she replied, casting a wary look around.
They had finally found their way back to familiar surroundings when it happened. They rounded the corner just as Cal did, followed by Lovejoy. The four of them froze. Rose moved to turn and run, but Cal's hand on her arm stopped her. "Where are you going?" he said, a menacing lilt in his voice. She held tightly to Jack's hand. Cal dug his fingers into his arm and jerked her forward. "Answer me," he demanded. His voice echoed in the empty corridor.
Jack moved in front of her, still holding her hand. "Don't touch her!" he cried.
Cal's lip curled in a sneer. "She's my wife." He tried to shove Jack aside, but he resisted. Jack stood firmly. Cal pulled Rose around him, shook her roughly. "What did you think you were doing?" he hissed. She tried to break his grip, but he held her like a vise. Jack tried to get between them again, but Cal turned, pressing her against the wall. He brought his face close to hers. "He can't help you," he said. "If he knows what's best for him, he'll turn while he still has the chance." Cal relaxed his pose as other people began moving through the corridor. He pushed Rose forward, twisting her arm but managing to keep it out of sight. "Go on," he said, quietly but sharply. Jack raised his fist.
"I wouldn't do that," Lovejoy said calmly. Jack felt the muzzle of a gun press against his back.
"Walk," Cal ordered. He kept his voice low. "Both of you, and don't you even think about making a scene."
Rose looked over at Jack, tears glistening in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she mouthed. He wanted to tell her everything would be alright, but he couldn't. He didn't think they would actually shoot them, at least, no out in public with so many potential witnesses, but that was no reason to tempt Fate. Still, there had to be a way out. He just had to figure out what it was.
