Caledon Hockley frowned as he read over the message that a Harold Flowers had sent him. He had read the message several times already and his mind still couldn't fathom what this man could possibly want with him. He wanted a morning meeting as well, which inconvenienced him greatly. Isabella will be unhappy since she enjoyed taking her morning meals with him when they traveled. But this could be a business opportunity that his father would kill him for if he missed out on just because his fiancee would be displeased. There was no choice but to agree to the meeting. Who knows, maybe a lucrative deal was to be had.
"Caledon, where do you think we should have breakfast tomorrow? I am most certain that this hotel has no room service," Isabella came into the sitting room, taking off her earrings and handing them to her lady's maid.
"I am afraid that I have a business meeting tomorrow morning, my love. I do suggest that you ask the clerk for a recommendation."
"Caaal!" Isabella whined in the way that Cal absolutely abhorred.
His dark eyes flashed dangerously as he grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her close. "Do not start with me, Isabella. I am not in the mood. In fact, do not eat breakfast tomorrow. You are to start the search for my darling sister instead and then report back to me. Is that clear?"
"No breakfast? And how am I to search for her?"
"Ask around. It is not that hard. Now get out of my sight before I lose my temper," Cal released her, nearly pushing her away. He felt satisfaction when she looked at him with wide frightened blue eyes and then ran back into her quarters, leaving him alone to his thoughts.
He knew that he was being cruel. That was probably why he had lost Rose in the first place. But he couldn't help it. This being forced to marry had really dampened his mood and made him more angry than content. If he had his way, he would never marry at all. He'd live his life single and among men. But no. His father wanted him to have an heir. Someone to carry on the family name, so there really was no choice in the matter.
As for this Harold fellow, he will indeed meet with him tomorrow morning. See what this meeting can be about and if there was anything beneficial to be had. After all, he had nothing to lose. Perhaps this small town can be the gateway to a whole new opportunity for Hockley Steel. Whistling a happy tune, he sat at the desk provided by the room and took out some stationary, and wrote out his reply.
Good sir. I will be pleased to meet with you tomorrow morning. I will be there by nine. I do hope that breakfast will be served.
Caledon Hockley.
Looking at the message, he felt pleased. Something told him that this meeting was going to change his life in a way he could never expect. He didn't know how, but he couldn't wait to find out.
…..
Harold had decided to stop at the Dawson's and let Jack know of his findings. He didn't like being the bringer of bad news, but there was no other news to be had.
It was Rose who answered Harold's knock. The redhead's cheeks turned a shade of pink, letting Harold know that she knew that he knew who she really was.
"Hello, Mr. Flowers," Rose nervously greeted. She wondered what Harold thought of her now. Did he think her a whore for leaving Cal the way she had? Did he think that it was well deserved? Did he think that she didn't deserve Jack after all? Did it really matter? Probably not.
"Rose, hello. Call me Harold. There's no reason to keep formalities. We are friends, right?" Harold warmly smiled, hoping to put her at ease.
"Of course. I'm sorry, Harold. Some habits are hard to break," Rose chuckled, stepping aside to let the man in. "Jack is in the dining room cleaning up. Would you like something to drink? Fabrizio made a delicious pitcher of iced tea."
"No thank you, that will not be necessary. Is Jack around? I need to talk to him?" Harold waved the offer away, his eyes scanning the room for Jack.
"I'm here. What's going on? Was I right? Is the bastard in town?" Jack asked, entering the room from the kitchen and wrapping a secure arm around Rose's waist, wanting her close in case the news was bad.
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you were indeed correct. Hockley is indeed in town, staying in The Preston Hotel."
"Fuck!" Jack cursed, his eyes suddenly widening when he realized that Rose was by his side.
"Jack, language," Harold laughed.
"No worries. I have heard it all before and have said worse," Rose grimly smiled. "Well...I can't say that I'm happy about this news. But I was expecting it. If he's not here for me, he's most certainly here for Sarah…"
"But he saw me...and frowned...probably putting two and two together…," Jack frowned, not even bothering to hope that Hockley wouldn't come for Rose.
"Well, he is here with his fiancee if that means anything," Harold replied.
"Oh, he'll show up here alright...but not for me and not for Sarah, even though she is the reason he's in town," Rose sighed, squeezing her eyes shut as she remembered the one thing that she had in her possession that Cal would move heaven and earth to retrieve.
"What? Why would he come to this house if it's not to get you back?"
Rose sighed, realizing that Jack didn't even know that she still had it. She never told him. She had the necklace hidden in Lily's things, just in case it was needed. She didn't know why she never told Jack about the necklace. It just didn't occur to her to mention it. She had been too happy and too eager to explore her relationship with Jack, to fit herself and Lily into his life.
"Rose?" Jack frowned, not liking her hesitation.
"I wasn't hiding it," Rose looked at Jack, her eyes pleading with him not to be angry, to somehow understand. "I just...forgot about it. I was so eager to start my life with you...to forget my old life and be a part of yours...but now that Cal is here...it came slamming back into my mind, reminding me that he had put it in that coat pocket that awful night. It wasn't me he was trying to get in that lifeboat...it was that blasted necklace!"
Jack gasped, his eyes widening in realization. "The Heart of the Ocean...you have it?"
Rose nodded. "I found it in the pocket of his coat as The Carpathia was docking. That and a whole lot of money that he was probably hoping to use to buy his way onto a lifeboat. Instead, he used poor Lily to find his way on...which is the only good thing he's ever done."
"What is the heart of the ocean?" Harold frowned.
"A necklace made with a very rare diamond. Cal was going to give it to me at our engagement gala, but instead, he presented it to me on Titanic, thinking that it'd lift me out of my melancholy. Only one thing did that, and it wasn't that necklace," Rose smiled, looking at Jack, who simply blushed and shrugged his shoulders.
"He also used it to frame me for stealing and got me locked down below decks while the ship was sinking. If it wasn't for Rose wielding an ax, I'd be at the bottom of the North Atlantic right now," Jack rubbed his wrists, remembering the ice-cold handcuffs on his wrists.
"Anyway, if he knows I'm alive, he'll know that I have it. He's going to want it back. God, Jack, I don't want him here!"
"I know, sweetie," Jack again wrapped his arms around her, wishing that he could shield her from Hockley and anything else from her former life that could show up.
Harold frowned, thinking about the situation. If Hockley only wanted the necklace...perhaps… "I've set up a meeting with Hockley for tomorrow morning. I was going to see how much he knew and exactly why he is here in Chippewa Falls. If it's the necklace he wants...why not just give it to me and I'll return it to him and send him on his way. There would be no need for him to bother you then, right?"
"That could work," Jack stared at his friend with real hope in his eyes.
"But... there are memories with that necklace," Rose frowned, remembering how Jack had first drawn her naked, wearing only that necklace.
"We're making better ones though, don't you think? Besides, there's so much pain and grief connected to that thing...do you really want to keep it?" Jack frowned, not knowing what to think about Rose's hesitation.
"It reminds me of you Jack," Rose's voice was nearly a whisper as she looked down, afraid to meet his eyes, afraid of what he'd see.
Jack gently lifted her face so their eyes met and his heart nearly stopped at the sadness she saw there. How many times during their separation had she held that necklace and thought of Titanic. Thought of what that necklace had been a part of, had led to? How many times had she found solace in its deep blue depths?
"I'm right here, Rose. You don't need that necklace to remember me because I'm right here, holding you, touching you, loving you. See?" He took her hand and placed it over his heart. "We're together and we always will be. Even when the necklace is gone."
"Do you think I'm being silly?"
Jack shook his head. "I think you're afraid to believe that you're not dreaming. That you'll wake up and this will burst like a bubble. I know, because I feel that too at times. But this isn't a dream Rose. It's real. I would have woken up by now if it wasn't."
Rose looked at Jack for a few minutes, just getting lost in his eyes and the feeling of his heart beating against her hand and just being close to him. Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright. Wait here."
Jack and Harold waited as Rose forced herself to step away from Jack and went up to retrieve the necklace.
"Will she be ok?" Harold frowned, noticing the toll that giving up the necklace was taking on Rose.
"She'll be fine. Titanic had just...affected us deeply. Anything attached to it has some sort of meaning," Jack sighed, thinking of what that necklace had meant to him. It held the memory of the first time he had seen the most perfect girl in the world nude and how he had drawn his best drawing ever, just to lose it in the end.
"Did you really draw her naked, man? You barely knew her," Harold stared, not knowing what to think about any of this.
Jack just blushed and shrugged. "What can I say? She has beautiful hands...besides, I was very professional. I didn't take advantage."
"I never said you did. You were always like that with the girls. Always so respectful. You always drove the other fellas mad," Harold laughed, just as Rose came down with a cloth bag in her hand. She opened it up and took out the coveted necklace.
"Here it is. The heart of the ocean. Tell Cal to take it and go. Sarah is happy here and I prefer not to see his face ever again," Rose handed the necklace out for Harold to take.
"I can't guarantee he'll listen to me, but I sure am going to try to get him to go back to Pennsylvania and leave you all alone. From what I've seen, you both have been through enough," Harold took the necklace and stuffed it into the inner pocket of his coat.
"Thank you for everything, Harold. Rose and I appreciate you for being our go-between with Hockley. I wish there was some way we could repay you," Jack sighed, walking his friend to the door.
Harold just smiled shyly as he stood there, looking at Jack, thinking of one way that the young man could think him, but that would be so inappropriate and it would make things awkward if he even suggested it. Besides, it was clear where Jack's heart lay and it wasn't with him.
"Just be happy, Jack. That is all the repayment I need. I'll let you know how everything goes, alright?"
Jack simply nodded and watched as Harold got into the car that brought him and disappeared into the night. Rose came up and stood behind him.
"I really do believe that the man is in love with you. I feel bad for him," Rose sighed, wrapping an arm around his waist.
"I know. I feel bad for him. He's such a good guy. He deserves to be happy...maybe someday he'll find a way with someone who can give him what he needs."
"Here's hoping," Rose kissed Jack's cheek before pulling him back into the house, their minds going from Harold, back to Cal. They hoped that Cal would just take the necklace and leave them in peace. Leave the past where it belongs, once and for all.