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Chapter Six

An Invitation to Dinner

I was badly shaken and too scared to realize what was going on. The sailors helped me to my feet as I stumbled over to the nearby bench. I told them my name and I was immediately recognized as the fiancée to Caledon Hockley. As I waited for his arrival a blanket was put around my shoulders to ward off the cold. I glanced over at Jack and wanted to express my thanks to him but before I could get a word out, Cal, Lovejoy and Colonel Gracie arrived and my intentions were cut short. It was only moments later that the Master at Arms arrived and they pulled Jack away from where I was sitting.

"Are you alright? What happened?" Cal immediately inundated me with questions.

"Sir, if you'll step over here for a moment," one of the sailors said to him. Cal did and the man explained the scene to him as he knew it. I wanted to badly speak up but if Cal knew, or even suspected at what I had tried to do there was no telling what would happen. Colonel Gracie offered me a sip of brandy, but I declined it watching for Cal's reaction.

As I had predicted, as soon as the sailor recounted the story he immediately went into a tailspin.

"This is completely unacceptable! What made you think you could put your hands on my fiancée'?" Cal thundered as the Master at Arms clinched Jack in handcuffs.

I couldn't stand it any longer. Jack was being accused of something horrible and I had it in my power to stop it. I only had to speak up.

"Look at me you filth!" I heard Cal snap at Jack.

"Cal," I called him.

"What do you think you were doing?" Suddenly he grabbed Jack and began pushing him.
"Cal!" I jumped up and ran over to them. "Stop! It was an accident."

Cal looked down at me as if I had lost my mind. "An accident?" he repeated, clearly not sure what to believe.

"It was. Stupid really," I decided to play ignorance. It was my only defense at this point. I made a point to look at Jack as I spoke. "I was leaning over and I slipped. I was leaning far over to see the, uh…" I looked at Jack who was looking at me waiting for what I would say, "the, uh, uh, the, uh," I sputtered on and circled in my index finger in the air to further enhance my act.

"The propellers?" Cal finally finished for me impatiently.

"Propellers, and I slipped and I would have gone overboard but Mr. Dawson saved me and almost went over himself."

"You wanted to see the… she wanted to see the propellers," he said aloud to the others and began to laugh at the ridiculous of the situation.

"It's like I said, women and machinery do not mix." Colonel Gracie declared superiorly.

"Was that the way of it?" The Master at Arms jerked Jack around and asked him.

I looked pleadingly at him, hoping he would keep my secret. Our eyes met and I knew then without any doubt that he would.

"Yeah," he answered firmly. "Yeah, that was pretty much it."

Colonel Gracie smiled and nodded. "Well, the boy's a hero then. Good for you, son, well done. So, it's all well and back to our brandy."

The Master at Arms released Jack from the cuffs at the same time Cal looked down at me. "Look at you, you must be freezing," he said rubbing my arms. "Let's get you inside."

"Ah, perhaps a little something for the boy," Colonel Gracie suggested charitably. I felt Cal stiffen next to me and I knew what he must have been thinking. He turned back to Colonel Gracie and hesitantly nodded.

"Of course. Ah, Mr. Lovejoy, I think a twenty should do it."

For some odd reason I was completely insulted. Why did these men have to think of every situation in monetary terms? This was my life and to have it whittled down to twenty dollars made me feel uneasy. "Is that the going rate for saving the woman you love?"

Cal stopped for a moment and smiled slightly down at me. "Rose is displeased. What to do?" his smile became wider then. "I know," he nodded and then made his way back to Jack. "Perhaps you could join us for dinner tomorrow evening… to regal our group with your heroic tale." He glanced over at Colonel Gracie with a smirk.

"Sure, count me in," Jack answered unperturbed at Cal's obvious snobbiness.

"Good, it's settled then," Cal proceed back towards me. "This should be interesting," I heard him say to Colonel Gracie, who gave a superior chuckle at the idea of someone like Jack joining our group.

Wrapping his arms around me, he led me back to our suite of rooms. Colonel Gracie left us then and we were alone as we walked down the empty corridors.

"You really should be more careful, Rose." Cal admonished me. I listened as he slightly scolded me about appearances. "No harm done, I suppose. Still, I wonder… what in the world prompted you to want to see the propellers?"

"I don't know," I told him as we entered the sitting room. "I was restless and it seemed like a good idea at the time. I'm sorry I worried you."

He smiled and kissed my forehead as my mother came out of her room. "What in the world happened?"

"Nothing of consequence, Ruth," Cal answered smoothly. "Everything is fine. You can go back to your room now."

Seeing the hesitation on my mother's face, I wanted to reassure her as well. "It's nothing, Mother. I'm fine. I'm just tired and I'm going to get ready for bed."

My mother stared at me for a moment, but then nodded and excused herself leaving Cal and I alone again. "Go have Trudy undress you. I'll be in momentarily to say goodnight."

I nodded and started to step away, but Cal pulled me to him, pressing his body intimately against mine. "If anything ever happened to you, Rose, I don't know what I would do," he whispered and lowered his head to kiss me, but I turned my face so it landed on my cheek. I quickly covered my action by saying how tired I was. He let me go then and I entered my room, shutting the door on him as he stood watching me. I shuddered for a moment and called for Trudy.