This is the last part! I decided to end it right before they go on Titanic, because y'all already know what happens after that!
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Part iii
Cal and I saw each other quite frequently over the next few months. On the fifth month, August, he scheduled a special dinner for us.
"Rose, darling, I need to talk to you," he had asked. We agreed to meet at Berta's Bistro. I was completely free; I had graduated my finishing school in May.
My carriage dropped me off promptly at six, the time that we'd arranged for. He was waiting for me outside in his new designer suit, leaning against the columns that were there.
"Hello, darling," he said, giving me a peck on the cheek.
"Hello, what do you want to say?" I asked, getting straight to the point. Patience had never been my virtue.
"My, aren't we ill-tempered!" he joked. "You know, I always said that redheads were short-tempered, Rose." I just gave him a playfully evil look. He ignored it and took my arm, escorting me into the quaint little restaurant. In under a minute we had placed our orders and were sipping imported water from France.
"Mother is talking about coming here to England soon," was how I started the conversation out.
"Oh, really?" he asked. "I'm glad it's soon."
"And why would that be?" I questioned. He smirked, marring his handsome face.
"I could think of a couple of reasons," he answered. Yet I remained in the dark.
"Which would be…" But he just stood up, and I thought that that was an awfully rude time to go to the facilities. But he didn't head off in that direction. Instead, he fiddled with something in his pocket and stood in front of me.
"Rose, I've known you for a long time. I barely knew you at twelve, and seeing the young, capable woman that you have blossomed into…" --oh, how romantic!-- "…I just have one question to ask you." He got down on one knee before me, and took my hand. I gasped, realizing what was coming next.
"Rose, will you marry me?" he asked, and I heard the ladies around me that were watching exchange stifled whispers. In no time, everyone in the restaurant was silent and looking at us expectantly. I couldn't possibly say no when I was in the limelight…I hadn't planned on it anyhow.
"Yes!" I told him joyfully, and he quickly pulled me into a hug while everyone clapped. People were really big on public drama, weren't they?
--
From the desk of Mr. Caledon Hockley
August 10th, 1911
Dear Mother,
You will be thrilled to know that you are reading script penned by the future Mrs. Caledon Hockley! That's right, he proposed! I am so excited; you simply once come at once to make the proper preparations. Cal insists upon it. I hope that this has found you in renewed good spirits, and hope to hear from you soon.
Your daughter,
Rose
Of course, upon receiving the letter my mother hired a planner and both hopped the next ship to England. It's not that I really wanted her here. But I had to have somebody to help me with this; men are helpless when planning big events.
Two days later, I was escorting Mother into my hotel suite. I didn't want to move in with Cal, how scandalous would that look? Besides, he's paying for my room anyway.
"Hello, Rose," she said, quite coldly I would venture to say. She and I have never seen eye to eye on anything; so she still holds a grudge for everything I've done that was wrong. Which, from her point of view, was a lot of things.
"Hello, Mother, so glad you could come," I replied, giving her a gentle hug—which she didn't return.
"This is Mr. Aiker, he will be helping you with your wedding," she said brightly, now that the subject of marriage was being discussed.
"How do you do," I said politely, shaking the gentleman's hand.
"So pleased to hear the good news," he said in a nasally voice filled with false caring. "I congratulate both you and your future husband."
"Thank you," I said modestly, hoping that Cal would get here soon. True to my wishes, he arrived not ten minutes later. He tromped through the door carrying something that he promptly stuffed in the closet.
"Ruth!" he said enthusiastically, embracing my mother and kissing her hand. "After all these years, how nice to see you again!" My mother absolutely adored him; he was like the son she never had. Of course, now technically he was going to be her son; which accounted for the bright beam on her face. I had never seen my mother beam before in my life, certainly not when Father was around.
I escorted my guests into the parlor and urged them to make themselves comfortable. We discussed many a plan that afternoon, but my mind completely left the room. I wonder why I wasn't so excited to arrange my own wedding? That thought made me feel guilty, however, so I pushed it to the back of my mind.
"How about you, Rose, what color do you think?" I had not been paying attention in the slightest, so I just uttered the first words that came to my lips.
"Lavender," I said. Any shade of purple was my favorite color. But my mother immediately scrunched up her nose in a most unbecoming manner.
"Lavender?" she spit back. "What a grotesque color! Are you quite sure?"
"Quite," I affirmed, and that was the end of that. Mother and Mr. Aiker left soon after; they each rented a suite below me.
One thing that was never quite off my mind after I had accepted Cal's proposal was the matter of who would walk me down the aisle. But I shoved that thought aside and tried to concentrate on something else.
--
"Rose, as you know, my father is quite famous for throwing parties," Cal began once we were alone. "He is planning a charity banquet tomorrow, and I was wondering if it is notice enough for you to go with me. And of course, your mother will join us as well!"
Mother? Won't she be thrilled to be right in the middle of English society.
"Of course I'll go with you darling," I said absentmindedly.
"Good, because my father already bought you a dress," he said with a toss of his head, walking over to the door and pulling a bag out of the closet.
It was an incredibly beautiful dress, light orange silk with embroidered pearls and such opulence. But it didn't suit me; that particular shade of orange clashed with my hair. When I voiced my protest to Cal, he grabbed my by my arms and pulled me so I was mere inches away from his intimidating face.
"You will wear the dress and you will specifically point out to my father how much you adore it, and stop being so incredibly unappreciative!" I was absolutely shocked at his tone. It was just a stupid dress; I couldn't see why he was making such a big deal about it. He realized that he still had a grasp on my arm, immediately threw me onto the couch like a discarded napkin, and walked out the door, muttering about how temperamental women were under his breath.
I quickly let out the long breath that I had been holding. Calling my maid, I ventured into my bedroom to try on the dress and its accessories so I would be completely ready for tomorrow.
--
Tomorrow came quicker than expected; I mean, I knew it had to get here eventually. Cal and I seemed a little tense due to our small riff yesterday, but none of us mentioned it. Off we went in my orange dress and a fiancé hanging from my arm.
The party—excuse me, banquet—was being given at a large mansion west of my hotel. A servant appeared to escort us out of the carriage and into the house. After all, we were the host's son and fiancée. Due to one of her "headaches," Mother was resting in bed at the hotel.
"Rose! How could to see you again!" said a voice that I hadn't heard in years; that of Cal's father.
"Mr. Hockley, and how might I find you on such a fine day?" I asked politely.
"Ah, I'm fine, dear. You simply must let Cal introduce you to everyone! What do you mean, Mr. Larson—oh, okay then…" and with that the elder Hockley was swept into the crowd of people, inspiring me to establish a firmer grasp on Cal's arm.
"Rose, this is Andrea and Nicholas Watts, Thomas Crawford and his friend Allison, and—ah! The lovely Miss Katherine…Kat, this is my fiancée Rose. Gosh, well I haven't seen you in years, either! Quite the coincidence, I must say…"
The woman that he referred to as Katherine was a very tall, stately woman with flowing raven hair, which must have looked much more elegant than my plain red hair.
"Hello," she said rather coldly, holding out her hand for me to shake. I followed suit, and added a,
"How do you do?" She didn't even bother to answer my polite inquiry; instead she looked at Cal.
"Mr. Hockley, you wouldn't mind if I tag along with you and your…lovely fiancée, would you? I barely know anyone here!" Cal shook his head.
"No, of course not, right Rose?" What could I do but nod in consent? Kat tagged along with us almost all night, which drove me crazy. Her twittering laugh sounded identical to Mother's. Good thing that Mother didn't join us, too, or she and Katherine would have been the best of friends and I would have to see Kat after tonight.
The party was a blur; it was just like all of its predecessors. Long, tedious, and boring.
"I'd love to come over tomorrow, Cal, thank you so much for the invitation!" What? She was going over to his house? Alone?
"Rose, darling, you wouldn't mind if Kat came over and took a look at my ancient sword collection, would you?"
Sword? SWORD? What kind of girl in her right mind, especially a prissy like Katherine, voluntarily accepts invitations to other people's mansions to view their ancient SWORD collection? Scheming girls, that's what.
It was then I realized that they were still waiting for an answer.
"Oh, not at all, I adore that collection, Cal, it represents the love of a good fight, a characteristic that I certainly possess. Share it with some other inexperienced soul while you still can," was my airy response. Kat grimaced, and Cal didn't even notice that something was wrong with my behavior. Were all men so unfortunate with their senses or is it just Cal?
"Rose, I think we better be heading out," he began, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards the direction of the door.
"See you tomorrow," he addressed Kat.
"I had such a pleasant time meeting you!" I shouted, slightly sarcastic. Well, I was completely sarcastic. But I only sounded slightly.
Somehow I knew that this was the beginning of us drifting apart…
--
The next few months passed slowly yet surely, the visit from Kat came and went and of course there were many more like it. The month of March came, and in like a lion it was.
"Rose," began my mother (who had moved into my hotel suite to conserve the money that she had spent frivolously on dresses and parties), "Guess what I have for you!" I was not in the mood for another designer label, so I pretended like I didn't hear her.
"Rose!" her shrill voice just got higher. "Cal bought us all tickets on Titanic!" Okay, there were so many things wrong with that sentence. Let's start with the first one.
Cal and I hardly spoke anymore. I had acquired a frothy disposition towards his behavior, quite altering our relationship; while I'm sure he in turn was unfaithful to me more than once. Oh, we both hid it, of course, not wanting to admit to the other; but there was a definitive wall that seemed to grow higher and higher day by day.
The second was covered in one inquiry.
"Titanic?" I asked. My mother looked at me in awe.
"You have not heard of the great ocean liner Titanic?" she asked. "The one deemed utterly unsinkable?"
"Mother, surely you jest. There is no such thing as unsinkable; ships are made from iron, and mass is an obvious property of iron, and so much pressure pulling on that iron could cause fluctuations--" But I was cut off by her shoving a newspaper in my face.
"Hush! Just read it, the Gazette, no less!"
"White Star Line's Newest Spectacle, a "titanic" ship deemed Unsinkable!" read the headline. The article went on to talk about the ship Titanic and its amazing sumptuousness, comfort, and versatility.
"And why do we need to board this certain ship, Mother?" I asked politely.
"Why, for your engagement gala in Philadelphia, of course!" she responded. What? No one mentioned this to me! Why am I always the last one to know these things? I couldn't even answer my mother from shock and anger all at once.
Instead of just classically arguing, like I normally would have done, I got up and walked out of the room and into my bedroom, sprawling on the bed in a most unladylike manner and bawled my eyes out. I was vaguely aware of the maid coming in and bringing me a cup of tea. What good would that do? What good would anything do? I could do nothing anymore; it all went over my head.
Cal had changed; he was not the man I once loved. Or did I ever love him? I think I just admired him. Kat never made me get the mandatory twinge of jealousy in my stomach. She just made me really annoyed. Same with Cal; I never loved him—I admired him. Love and admiration are not the same thing, no, not at all.
Ironically, Cal chose that moment to visit. I heard his voice from the hallway, and I quickly rushed in the bathroom to throw some cold water on my face and brush my hair up a bit. I had barely done so when my fiancé walked through the door of my bedroom.
"Rose, why are you crying? You'll mess up the imported silk pillows!" he exclaimed, referring to the plush objects that were slightly askew.
"Crying is the body's natural way to release and control sadness or anger," I said hotly.
"Crying is for lower class, Rose. We are by no means lower class!" That remark got me seething mad.
"Crying is by no means restricted to impoverished beings!" I protested. I saw a flash of anger radiate through Cal's eyes.
"A woman is supposed to agree with a man, no matter what!" he exclaimed. I rolled my eyes conspicuously. That set him off.
"Don't you DARE roll your eyes at me!" he yelled viciously. "You are my inferior, and therefore should be respected as such and nothing more. You hear me, Rose? NOTHING MORE!" He made move to strike me, but then realized what he was doing and backed down. I took the opportunity to interject my opinion.
"I don't think we should get married," I whispered softy. Cal's head immediately snapped up to where his hands had been cupping it.
"We are getting married. That is final." He thought that that would close the subject, but I was persistent.
"But we are no longer--" I was interrupted by his slamming his fists against the wall.
"Tarnation, Rose! Listen to yourself! Do you think that this is what your father would have wanted?" he sputtered, getting worked up.
"Don't you dare bring my father into this!" I said vehemently. But he ignored the warning.
"Who was with him in his last moments? Certainly not his daughter—but instead me. Caledon Hockley, to whom you owe your life!" he uttered dramatically.
"I don't owe you my life, I just owe you my thanks! You didn't save his life!" I screamed.
"But I can absolutely destroy yours," he threatened maliciously, pinning me to the wall. "What do you think, Rose, are you ready to give in?" he said, specifically fingering the diamond enclosed around my finger. I looked up into his eyes, silently giving my compromise.
"I thought so," he said; and with that, he left the room.
I realized at that moment that I would never escape Caledon Hockley. He was engraved in my fate, and there was nothing I could do about it.
Except pray.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters……………
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Thank you for reading!
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