Titanic -The Heart Never Lies HL Griffiths
Assimilation?– Chapter Eight
Rose
My head hurt, my eyes hurt, nausea rose in the throat, I was lying wrapped in silk sheets I could feel them against my bare legs
"Open your eyes" a belligerent voice said. I raised my eyes and saw a stout white uniformed sour faced nurse looking at me. I wondered was I on Carpathia? No I had been accosted by Cal and brought to his house and was locked in some sort of nursery and I could recall no more other than frantically calling through the door.
"So Miss you are awake, Mister will wanna see yer" She informed me, she went to the door and said " She's awake, yer can come in"
I struggled to a half sit position, the effort to move and my breathing laboured I was wearing a cotton night shift lying in an ornate bed in a palatial children's nursery, there was a rocking horse and a dolls house
A shadow fell across my face. Narrow cold gleaming eyes, a sarcastic grin. CAL!
"Hello my love" he purred, "Back where you belong, with your family"
"You are not my family" I spat back. His face changed. "Oh but we are are Rose, Dont you remember, I told you we are Royalty..." he laughed. "Oh and I have the necklace back in my safe. Thank you for that"
"I want to leave, when I am well" I shouted. The Nurse looked at me crossly "Enough of that Miss Respect for Mister please" she scolded. His eyes turned wintry and his mouth settled into a harsh line.
I bit my lip. I knew Cal capable of anything, he was a control freak.
Images of being in the dining room in Titanic, Cal treating me like a china stuffed doll "We'll have lamb please, and rare" Picking my food
Sweeping the china off the breakfast table when I dared to voice an opinion.
Telling me what to wear "No Rose you cannot wear black on a sailing day".
Well I could wear black for ever now, mourning my new future dead in the cold waters of the Atlantic.
"Now Rose" he continued, enjoying himself, arrogance leaking from every pore "About our plans, When you are on your feet we'll have our engagement party and then we'll marry"
"No" I shrieked, "I don't want to be your wife, I would only ever be JACKS WIFE"
Jacks face swam before my eyes, his smile, the brilliant blue of his gaze, eyes you could dive into, his warm tenderness, and now he was gone...
He stepped forward, and slapped me hard across the face, my head turning sharply.
"You will be my wife, you will be a lady, you will do as your told, as will your mother or there will be consequences, And you will never mention that steerage swine by name again, he's gone, and I'm here and your MINE!"
I started to sob, I was trapped, trapped, what could I do.
From the moment My mother had pushed me towards Cal in the beginning I was a meal ticket and I had been prisoner since that moment. Oh he'd been utterly charming, swept me off my feet, been lovely and attentive but the cracks started to show, by the time we boarded Titanic I knew I would have a miserable loveless violent future with him.
"You'll learn, you better learn, I'll send your mother to you, any messing about and Nurse Williams will sedate you. Its for your own good" his voice softened and he walked over to me and ran his fingers through my hair and touched my cheek.
"Nurse he said "Give her a bath and wash her hair, she stinks" he abruptly turned and left the room. I lay back in the bed weakened and broken, sleep overtook me.
Jack
"Now young man" the white coated man said; the Doctor I presumed " You have made an excellent recovery", he took my pulse as I lay there.
I looked blankly at the Doctor from my hospital bed. "Where are we?" I asked "What happened?" I was so confused.
"Cant tell you too much Son" he replied, "You were the last soul to be pulled into the 2nd life boat from the Titanic, but all I know as they pulled you in to the boat, you caught you head badly, you stayed unconscious till New York was reached then they brought you to St Jude's Charity Mission, person unknown, family unknown"
"Who am I?" I asked "Who am I?"
"We don't know" he said puzzled. "You had no identification on you, however by the cut of your clothes I would say you were steerage class!" he paused. "I must tell you I hope that you will recover your memory, all the better if you do, but theirs a chance you might never"
I lay back, my head whirring "Look son" The doctor carried on "I'll leave you to sleep and we'll talk when you are more with us, you took a nasty crack to the head"
He left the room quietly. My thoughts hurt my brain.
What was I? Some sort of freak? An invisible man? Did anyone care for me? Who was I???? I just prayed my lost memory would come back.