Authoress Note: Welcome to Chapter 10 of Go That Far. I want to thank those who have left reviews for this story. It really does mean a lot to me that you guys are enjoying this story. I hope that I don't fail you guys with this story as I continue to write it. I know that I have a lot of stuff going on in this story and I have to admit that I'm having a lot of fun writing it. I hope that you guys enjoy this next chapter. Without further ado Chapter 10. ENJOY!
Chapter 10
Beatrice walked slowly to the Grand staircase. Beatrice bit the inside of her lip as she walked. She saw Mr. Andrews waiting for them, well in that case her for right now. She walked up to him.
"Ah Miss Beatrice..." Thomas noticed that Melinda wasn't with her and nor was her brother. "Where is Miss Melinda and your brother?" He asked, confused.
Beatrice looked at him nervously. "They will be here in a few moments." Beatrice said softly. "My sister had a little spill... it might take them a few moments."
"Is she alright?" Thomas asked slightly concerned about Melinda.
"She'll be fine. She does this quite often." Beatrice said with a small smile.
Just then Raoul and Melinda showed up.
"Sorry it took us so long Mr. Andrews." Melinda said with a smile.
Raoul smiled. "I'm Raoul Chevalier, Melinda and Beatrice's older brother." Raoul said holding his hand out to shake Mr. Andrews hand.
"Nice to meet you too Mr. Chevalier." Mr. Andrews said, shaking the gentleman's hand.
Raoul smiled. "Shall we head to lunch then?" He asked, he offered his arm to Melinda.
Melinda gratefully took Raoul's arm.
Beatrice shot Melinda a look and in return Melinda gave her an innocent look.
"Miss Chevalier..." Mr. Andrews said, offering Beatrice his arm to walk her to lunch like a true
gentleman.
Melinda smiled and mouthed to her. 'Go.'
Beatrice nervously took Thomas's arm. She shot a look at Melinda that was simply saying you had this idea.
The four of them walked to the dining room together.
Raoul and Melinda were lightly chatting in French and Beatrice remained silent which worried Thomas.
Thomas truly hoped that the strawberry blond haired woman would have loosened up some. Unfortunately before he could try to talk to her – he really wanted to ask and make sure she felt all right – Mr. Ismay began to speak.
"She is the largest moving object ever made by the hand of man in all history, and our master ship builder, Mr. Andrews here, designed her from the keel plates up."
Thomas shifted uncomfortably as their group's focus shifted onto him. He managed a small smile. "Well, I may have knocked her together but the idea was Mr. Ismay. He envisioned a steamer so grand in scale, and so luxurious in its appointments, that its supremacy would never be challenged. And here she is," he paused and thumped the table with his hand, "willed into solid reality."
Beatrice smiled softly at Thomas' words, touched by the passion he felt for his ship. Even though in her own time she had watched the movie at least a couple hundred times, hearing him say it in real life felt like she was hearing it for the first time.
The lunch hit a slight awkward patch when both Cal and Ruth scolded Rose for smoking.
Melinda looked up at hearing the discussion and looked sympathetically at Rose. She heard Cal begin to order for his fiancée and she couldn't help but roll her eyes at it. She had gotten into fights with Max over less than that. She could only imagine how much Rose was holding in.
"You gonna cut her meat for her too there, Cal?" Molly asked, joking even though she had obviously been put off by the exchange as well. Before Cal could respond Molly turned to Mr. Ismay. "So who thought up the name Titanic? Was it you Bruce?"
"Yes, actually. I wanted to convey sheer size. And size means stability, luxury... and safety—"
"Are you familiar with Dr. Freud, Mr. Ismay? His ideas about the male preoccupation with size might be of particular interest to you," Rose quipped, looking at him coolly.
Thomas choked slightly on his bread stick as he tried not to laugh, and Beatrice was suppressing a grin as well. But of course, Melinda wasn't so good at holding back. She honestly did try not to, but before she knew it she was giggling with her face hidden behind her hand.
Beatrice gave Melinda a look as if scolding her.
Melinda stopped giggling.
Raoul cleared his throat trying not to laugh either.
"Rose, what has gotten into you?" Ruth scolded her daughter.
"Excuse me." Rose quipped, getting up and leaving the group.
"I must apologize."
Bruce looked at Melinda and Beatrice. "So Madams Chevalier..."
Both women looked at him. Beatrice really never liked cowards.
"Yes?" Melinda asked, forcing a smile onto her face.
"Where um... did you two work?" Asked Bruce, he was curious about the two young women that were sitting at their table.
Beatrice took a sip of her wine and choked on it. She quickly placed the wine glass back onto the table and picked up her napkin and coughed into it.
"Bea you alright?" Melinda asked concerned.
Beatrice simply nodded and continued to cough into her napkin trying to get it to stop. She wasn't expecting Bruce Ismay to ask them what they did for a living.
"We worked at the Moulin Rouge." Melinda said with a small smile.
"You worked at a whore house?" Cal said, glaring at the two of them.
Melinda's eyes widened in surprise. "Uh oh." She thought. She quickly looked at Beatrice and noticed that her expression had changed.
Beatrice had stopped coughing. Her blue slate gray eyes held anger in them. She was angry. "A whore house." She hissed out. "Is that what you think the Moulin Rouge is?"
Raoul shifted in his seat looking at Melinda for her to do something.
"The Moulin Rouge is not a whore house." Her French accent became even more harsh when she spoke angrily. "The Moulin Rouge is a dance studio. Yes, there may be whores working there, but it is not noted for whoring. Is that what you are calling my sister and I? I can assure you we aren't whores."
Cal looked at Beatrice in shock. He wasn't expecting a first class woman to say that. Then again she reminded him of his fiancée Rose. She was a pistol.
"You'd best find a husband for your sister soon, Mr. Chevalier. Women like her and my Rose need someone to keep them in line," Cal said. There was a grin on his face, but the humor in his voice was forced.
Melinda rolled her eyes again and flipped him off under the table, wishing to whatever higher power existed that she could do it to his face. Then it hit her that this was her perfect opportunity to act on the plan she and Raoul had cooked up. "Sorry I can't stay and chat, but I'm gonna split," she said automatically, but then froze when she remembered where she was. Beatrice turned a fiery glare on her. Melinda cleared her throat anxiously. "Uhm, what I mean is . . ."
"I don't believe I've ever heard that rather colorful phrase before, Miss Chevalier," Ruth said, using the same tone she had used on Rose before.
"It's just something the girls used to say around the Moulin Rouge," Beatrice lied quickly.
"Right, that's what it is," Melinda agreed. "Now if you'll excuse me." She gave Beatrice an apologetic look before rushing out of the Palm Court and out onto the deck.
Beatrice simply let out a sigh and shook her head.
Raoul shook his head. "Find a husband for her... it's her choice whether or not she wishes to marry." He told Cal coolly. He looked at Beatrice and noticed the look that she had on her face. "Excuse me... I must check on Melinda." He said, standing up and looking at Beatrice and then to Thomas. "Mr. Andrews..."
"Yes, Mr. Chevalier?"
"Would you don't mind escorting Beatrice when she is ready to leave... I wouldn't want her to get lost." He said to the gentleman.
"Of course Mr. Chevalier."
Beatrice's eyes went wide and inwardly groaned. She knew that this was Melinda's idea. "Raoul... I will be fine..." She started to say.
"Nonsense Beatrice... you get lost very easily when you don't know the place." He told her. "Do I need to remind you about what happened at the house?"
Beatrice's face flushed and shook her head.
He smiled. "I thought so. Excuse me." He said, leaving the table.
Beatrice wanted to truly run out of the room and hide somewhere so no one would find her. Her nerves were through the roof and she wanted to kill Cal.
Cal smirked. "If you are not a whore then what are you?"
"What does it matter to you?" She quipped coolly.
Cal shook his head and scoffed. "Your brother certainly does need to find you a husband. Excuse me, I must go and check on Rose." He said, getting up and leaving to go to the Palm deck.
Beatrice looked down at the food that was on her plate and wasn't hungry any more.
Thomas noticed her silence once again. She had a fire that he had never seen before in a woman. She spoke passionately about her work place. If it wasn't a whore house and was actually a place for dancing he knew where her skills had come from. He knew that she was probably embarrassed by what Cal had said to her. "Miss Chevalier, would you like me to escort you to your room?"
Beatrice looked at him. "Yes, please." She said softly.
Thomas stood up and offered her his arm after she stood up. "Excuse us." He told the group. He led Beatrice out of the room.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
This is the end of Chapter 10. I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter. I have to admit that this is one of my longer chapters for this story. Of course I had to make Beatrice a bit fiery with the whole Moulin Rouge thing. Because in her eyes granted whores worked there, but it was meant for dancing and expressing themselves through such things. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Reviews help me keep going when it comes to writing it. I hopefully will update next week with a new chapter. Until next time.