Chapter 3

"Would you look at this, Miss? It's more beautiful than I ever could have imagined." Hannah remarked as the two of us entered the room that was to be mine for the duration of our voyage.

I had to agree with her, it was quite beautiful, far more lavish than I had ever imagined that it could be. I had of course seen Rose and Cal's suite across the hall and when I compared the two rooms mine came out looking far less opulent, but it was more due to the size than anything else.

The color scheme was of rich reds and browns and was edged in gold. A large, comfortable looking bed was in the corner and I walked over to it, ran my hands across the soft crimson quilt on the bed, and admired the soft white linen pillowcases that were leaning gracefully up against the headboard. Next to the bed, there was an elegant night table with a small reading lamp resting on its shining service. Gimbal lamps shone like golden ornaments on the walls, even two that were strategically placed over the headboard of the bed. Towards the center of the room, there was a small table and two chairs and against the opposite wall, a chest of drawers and vanity complete with a cushioned stool.

The stewards were quick with bringing my luggage in and Hannah was fast at work trying to keep it all organized. She directed them; telling them what to put into the large closet and what to leave out in the trunks. I busied myself with unpacking my own small suitcase that I had packed myself the night before. It contained mostly the schoolwork that I had been given by various teachers to keep me busy this summer, but also some mementos and personal possessions of mine that I didn't trust to anyone else; pictures of my parents, my brother George and I, and of course the journal I had been writing in since I was 15.

The pictures were all safely stowed in a small jeweled Faberge box that my father had given me as I child and I made sure that it was clasped tightly before I put it, and everything else that had been in the suitcase into the nigh table drawer then went to help Hannah put away my things.

She had just opened a trunk that was filled to the brim with new gowns and dresses that my Grandmother had ordered for me. In the last letter I had received from her before leaving school she had written that it was important for me to start becoming more aware of my appearance, this included the way I acted, communicated with others and of course, the way I dressed. Yet, as Hannah pulled out one frock after another, each more beautiful than the last I could not help but think that she had pampered me far too much. Since these gowns and many others had arrived only just the day before, I was seeing many of them for the first time myself so I hadn't realized just how much she had bought me, but this was my grandmother and I knew I shouldn't be surprised. She never spared any expense, especially when I was concerned. Yes, that did sound a bit conceited, but she had always been that way towards me. I was aware of it, I had always had been and that was most likely the only thing that kept my nose from curling up towards the sky like so many of the girls that I knew.

"Oh my look at this one…it looks like there's diamonds sew in to it." Hannah exclaimed. She was holding up a dark blue silk gown that did appear to have diamonds sewn in among the beautiful white embroidery on its round train and short sleeves.

"Your grandmother has excellent taste, this will look stunning on you." She told me with a wink. I smiled back at her and began to peer inside of the trunk to see what other treasures it held.

"Finding everything all right?" came a voice from the doorway.

Both Hannah and I looked up from the trunk and over to the opened doorway to see Cal leaning against the frame of the door in a handsome pose. His dark eyes were focused intently on me and I smiled back at him,

"Yes, thank you."

He was holding a wine glass in his hand and came into the room,

"You know," he said indicating the room with the hand that held the glass, "If you don't like this, I could try and find you something larger, I'm sure the purser wouldn't mind"

"Oh no, that's not necessary, it's perfect. After all it is just me."

He smiled. "Of course, you're right."

I expected him to leave after that, but he just stood there. Hannah looked at me and raised her eyebrows before going back into the closet area. I turned back to my cousin's fiancé,

"Cal?"

"Yes?" he asked, wandering over toward the table in the center of the room and examining it.

It would have been rude to ask him to leave, so instead I asked how long it would be until we arrived in New York, of course I had an idea. I had been traveling this route to America for years, but it was a misconception among most men that I knew that women were empty-headed and did not pay attention to such detail, so I knew that would work in my favor.

And just as I predicted he looked up towards me and smiled at me like I was a child,

"No earlier than Monday, maybe Tuesday. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I was just wondering." I replied thoughtfully.

"Well, I do think that I've intruded on you long enough." He suddenly announced, but kept that smile plastered to his face. He started for the door, but suddenly turned around to face me again,

"Oh yes, I meant to tell you that you need not worry about your Aunt while on this voyage, your grandmother has graciously decided to put you under my care not Ruth's and I have no problem with you coming and going as you please. You are a sensible young woman and have never given me reason not to trust you, so if Ruth decides to give you grief about that just come to me and I'll make sure to take care of it."

My shock was visible and I apologized, "I'm sorry, my grandmother never mentioned anything to me about it, but I appreciate your kindness, Cal."

He waved his hand back and forth as if telling me in his own way 'Your Welcome',

"I'm sure you will find there are many young girls your age on this vessel for you to associate yourself with, I believe the Graham's have a daughter who's your age…Margaret, I believe her name is and then of course the Ryerson's daughter…they will be boarding in Cherbourg." He paused, "As I was saying, you should have no trouble finding ladies your own age to keep you occupied."

"Thank you very much." I told him, feeling as if that was the only thing I had been saying in this conversation.

"My pleasure." he gave me another smile before leaving the room. I wasted no time in shutting my door right after he was out of sight, then just for safe measure I locked it too.

"Oh that man makes my blood boil!" Hannah proclaimed. She had reappeared from the closet and her face was red with aggravation.

"Hannah, really." I replied, acting as if I had not been uncomfortable by his presence. I had, but that was of no consequence to her.

"Miss, did you not see the way he was looking at you? Just like a cat does to a mouse before snatching the poor thing up into its clutches."

"Hannah, how dare you even suggest such a thing! Mr. Hockley is engaged to my cousin and he's never been anything but a perfect gentleman towards me." I snapped at her, but in typical Hannah fashion, she let it roll gracefully off her skin.

"Right" she scoffed, she grabbed up the rest of the dresses,

"Miss, your Grandmother sent me here to keep an eye out on you and I intend to do just that. The only reason she put him in charge is because you are young and she has a strong distaste for your aunt. If you want my advice, I would watch out for that one...there's something about him that just-" she looked at me, pausing, and shook her head, "Just be on your guard, Miss Sarah, that's all I ask." She finished and then took an armful of gowns into the closet.

As much as I hated to admit it, a part of me knew that Hannah was right. The way Cal had been looking at me had made me feel uncomfortable, but I quickly dismissed that thought. It was just my mind playing tricks on me and it did not help that Hannah had informed me of the thoughts that her wild imagination had come up with. I had nothing to worry about.

Yet, even with that thought, I couldn't help looking around the room and suddenly feeling claustrophobic. I decided some fresh air would do me good and I reached for my hat and coat and found the pair of gloves I had been wearing when we had boarded only minutes ago. I called to Hannah to let her know that I was leaving and unlocked the door and went out in the corridor, slipping the key into the small yellow handbag that I wore around my wrist. I followed the corridor until I reached the beautiful staircase that we had passed when going to our staterooms and climbed it. This led me to A-Deck and I quickly found my way out onto the First Class Promenade Deck.

It was crowded with passengers, just as I had expected it to be, all them waving with smiles painted on their faces to the people below. The excitement that radiated from them was contagious and I could not help but smile myself. I wandered behind them though, making my way up as high up as I could possibly go on the ship, to the Boat Deck.

It did find it to be more crowded, but was able to find any empty place on the railing and looked down at the sea of well-wishers below me. Then the ships whistles sounded and I could feel the vibrations of the engines come up from under my feet. The Titanic slowly began to move away from the dock, in quite a graceful manner considering how large it was. Both the passengers and the crowd on land began to holler with more excitement including a young boy next to me, who could not have been more than ten years old,

"Don't you know anyone?" he asked, taking notice that I was not waving like the others.

I shook my head and he smiled,

"Neither do I."

His comment brought a smile to lips and I watched with amusement as he turned back to the crowd and began to wave more ardently then before. I watched only for a moment or two before I began to do the same.