Your reviews mean the world to me and really inspire me to read more, so please keep telling me what you think of this story! Here is chapter 4 for you all. I hope you'll enjoy 3

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Home Sweet Home

"You could at least try it." Elizabeth stroked her red curls gently. Rose felt like a baby, leaning against her friend and resting her head on her shoulder. She let her words sink in, not sure how to respond or what to even think about it. To travel all the way to state which she found to be in the middle of nowhere, live by herself together with a girl she now had to raise. It seamed more like an impossible task than a case of freedom. She looked down at her hands. Her fingernails still looked perfectly polished and clean. Things had to change and she could only hope they'd change for the better.

"Mabel can teach you anything you want. And besides that, she is very fun to have around."

Mabel was Elizabeth's housemaid, but she saw her more as a friend and companion so she wouldn't get too isolated in the big nature of Oklahoma. She wanted Rose to have a good start for her new life, be safe and, of course, not feel lonely now that she was all on her own. Elizabeth had to admit that she liked the idea of her house being taken care of and now that Mabel was slightly getting older, it would take some pressure off her.

Rose could feel her body starting to relax a bit more. She listened to the stories of the midwest. It was the place were Elizabeth could be her true authentic self, without the expectations of the world around her. Her animals who would welcome in the fresh hours of the morning and the mountains that surrounded her. They sang to her in songs of peace and she was happy. Rose nodded her head and pulled herself away for a moment. "All right," She said without thinking too much about it, "I will do it."

Elizabeth smiled and clapped her hands. "Oh Rose, you have no idea how happy I am to hear it. It will only be five months until I am back from Scotland and after that you can do whatever your heart desires."

But her heart desired the impossible and when it was night again, she got overwhelmed by a sense of grief once more. It was as if she felt nothing yet everything at the same time. She believed her body wanted to protect her for feeling too much all at once, to keep her from imploding into a crippling pain. But her heart physically hurt and she could feel a sharpness around her chest. In those few days they had spent together, Jack had managed to carve a place into her soul as if she felt complete. He was her missing puzzle piece, now gone again. Even when her father died, Rose managed to stay calm and emotionless. Many people had spoken out to her about how devastating the loss of a parent is for a child. Rose would only shrug her shoulders and thank them for their kind words. She had often cursed herself for not grieving him, he was in fact her father, but she knew her bond with him stopped at that title. He was a strange man, cold as ice and for some reason Rose couldn't hate him the way she resented her mother. Nothing was more easy than hating on the woman who gave you life. Screaming and crying as a toddler to trying to ignore her as much as possible when she was a young teenager. Yet, with her father, it was impossible to do. It had resulted into feeling natural over everything he said or did, even his death.

Rose tried to wipe away her tears. It was a useless task for they streamed down her cheeks seconds later. As she peaked her head over her cover she was relieved to see the other girls sleeping.

She had imagined how they would reunite countless of times over the last week. That thought alone was the one that would get her through the days and make her less anxious for the unknown. She was certain of it, she could sense him around her somewhere. Perhaps in a bed in a small room where he would be patiently waiting until the door opened and she stood there. He would reach out his arms she would melt within his touch. Safe. Home. He would put his lips on her, gently at first and getting more passionate within seconds. Now he was gone, and the strange part was that she couldn't feel him around anymore. It was as if he had vanished into thin air. Something that seemed so unlikely for him to do.

The next morning, the three of them were having breakfast downstairs in the restaurant. Luckily, it was calm and quiet for Rose to cope with her headache. She took a sip of her coffee and nibbled on a piece of dry toast whilst Cora was on her third orange juice and second plate of scrambled eggs. Elizabeth, who had checked them out already, came walking in with an urgent pace. She was holding a newspaper and placed it in front of Rose. She raised an eyebrow and followed Elizabeth's finger to a headline not far down the front page. Her stomach sank.

ROSE DEWITT BUKATER, FIANCEE OF STEEL TYCOON CALEDON HOCKLEY DIES IN TITANIC DISASTER AT THE AGE OF SEVENTEEN

The couple, who was on their way home to America for their engagement gala, lost each other amongst the chaos of the disaster. Hockley amongst Miss DeWitt Bukater's mother were one of the lucky ones to be saved by the rescue ship The Carpathia. Her body was never recovered. A service will be held on the 26th of April for close friends and family.

She was at a loss for words. Looking up at Elizabeth, she tried to give her a smile of sympathy. "Perhaps it is for the best. Now you can really leave your past behind you." She said. Rose knew she was right and in a way, it did feel like a big relief. Nonetheless, she was also curious about her situation at home. What would her friends all think? Would there house be filled with relatives and acquaintances like it was when her father passed away? Where was Cal? Would he stand by her mother's side or was he already on his way home. Ruth had lost everything and soon had to sell all of her most beloved possessions she had warned Rose about so many times before. To see her same this big in black in white on the front page of a newspaper, made her truly believe she was now dead. And it felt freeing.

"The service is tomorrow." Rose said. The article was already from a few days prior.

"The sooner the better. Now you can really move on."

Elizabeth ordered two second-class train tickets after Rose had refused a first-class one. She didn't want to cause to much suspicion or draw too much attention. Although New York was a big city, she knew many people from the upper classes and there would be a big chance of bumping into someone. The journey was more than two days and she still wanted her guests to be comfortable along the way. As they stood on the platform, waiting for the train to arrive, Rose wrapped pulled Elizabeth into a tight embrace and whispered: "Thank you for everything you have done for us."

"You are welcome, Rose. Take care of yourself and we will keep in touch." She then kneeled down and looked at Cora, "Will you look after Rose for me whilst I am gone?"

She only nodded her head.

"Have fun in Scotland and I can't wait to hear all of your stories once you get back."

They waved one last time and watched how their saviour disappeared into the crowd. Rose pushed Cora forward through the corridor until they had reached her cabin. She had lost track over the amounts of different bed she had slept in in the last two months. It was the smallest room she had ever seen in her life with only a sink and a bunk bed. Cora let go of her hand and crawled onto the top one.

"Can I sleep in this one, Rose."

"Yes," She nodded her head, "Of course you can." She found it inspiring how well and easily the little girl adjusted to these different circumstances. All these different rooms and surroundings was all luxury to her. At home, she lived together with her parents on the ground floor of a house. Above them lived another family with four children, who would scream and run around all day long. They were often afraid they'd burst through the ceiling. After they had installed everything, they wondered around the second-class area where there was only a dining room and a sitting room with a few leather couches. In the far corner was an older man, smoking a pipe and reading a book that looked too heavy to hold. He couched loudly and spit his salvia in an empty mug in front of him. Rose swallowed the lump in her throat and whispered underneath her breath: "You are tougher than you think, Rose."

Instead, the journey was tougher than she had thought. Cora had been whining with motion sickness the whole trip and Rose spent her time by changing cold cloths on her neck and forehead and making sure she didn't throw up all over the place. Her hair had become greasy from all the stress and different places and a line of sweat rolled down her spine as she carried the sick girl out of the vehicle. The heat of the south hit her face as she stepped out and it was only the beginning of spring. Elizabeth had given Rose a full on description of Mabel, but due to all the hectic, she had forgotten it all the way. The only thing that stuck was that Mabel had a perfect blend of both her still natural black hair and grey. Still holding Cora, Rose followed the crowd out of the station and stopped her tracks. After a minute of staring into nothingness and loud voice was heard all over.

"Hello there!" Rose looked up at the voice and saw a woman sitting in a carriage waving her arms in the air dramatically. It had to be Mable, her hair gave her away. Rose quickly headed up her and the woman smiled. "I knew you had to be Rose. I knew it the moment I saw you pretty red locks shining in the sunlight. And you must be Cora." Her accent was so think, it was heard for Rose to understand a thing she said.

"She has been sick these past days so she is a bit fussy."

"Oh you poor thang. Quickly hop in and we will get you to safety. You must be starvin'." For the first time in over a week Rose did indeed feel hungry. As she stepped in, Cora crawled onto her lap once more. Mabel was a big woman and Rose guessed her perhaps a bit younger than sixty. Looking at her face, she believed her to be a woman who beheld many stories of the past. She looked strong and sturdy, but her eyes had this spark of mischievous youth in them. The carriage moved forward and sand threw itself up in the air.

"I was actually really happy and relieved when my Lizzy wrote me you were comin'. I love the house and all the animals, but unfortunately it is a big responsibility. Lizzy is young and has the power of a stallion. And between you and me, it can get quite lonesome at times."

"Cora and I are very grateful that we get this opportunity... may I call you Mabel?"

"Course you can. That's my name."

"The only thing is that you must know that I unfortunately am not a woman of many talents." A chuckle escaped her lips, "I don't even know how to put on a kettle." Hearing herself speak was nothing but pathetic. In all her life, Rose had never lifted a finger. She'd sit inside her chair and watch how the maids rushed around the house, trying to get everything clean before her mother could start complaining about anything.

Mabel laughed hysterically loud and slapped on hand on her knee. "You don't even know what kind of disaster it was with my Lizzy when she first came to the farm. She made everything worse than it already was."

Rose looked down at Cora and placed her hand on top of her forehead. "Are you feeling any better, darling?"

She groaned and leaned her head back against Rose's chest.

"Poor thang," said Mabel, "She must have been through a lot. And you too of course."

"We will be fine, Mabel. Truly." She tried to smile, but it hurt. It took almost an hour to get to the farm, but the road was beautiful. As they drove out of the town, which looked. exactly like ones in a western novel, they drove into what seemed like paradise. Despite the heat, everything around them looked so green and burst with color. The view was so big and endless, as if you could inspect the whole world from up her and as each second passed, Rose came to understand Elizabeth more and more. A group of men on horses passed them by and they lifted their hats, greeting them. "Ladies."

Mabel chatted on about her life and Rose listened thoroughly whilst taking the beauty of it all in. The farm used to belong to Elizabeth's great aunt whom Mabel had worked for until her death a few years ago. Afraid they had to sell it, Elizabeth bought the place with every penny she had left and turned it into a wooden paradise. And it did look exactly like that. Mabel drove the carriage onto the property and they were greeted by a baby blue wooden house with white shutters at the window and a white couch swing on the porch.

"Home sweet home!" She almost yelled into the open air. As they came to a hold, Rose jumped out and let the scenery sink in. She could hear the horses neigh from out of the stables and a chicken casually walked past her feet.

"Isn't it wonderful, Cora?" She asked the little girl who had finally returned into the land of the living. They followed Mabel inside of the house which was a perfect combination of Victorian antique furniture and items from exotic places. She envied Elizabeth in a way. She was the perfect example of someone Rose longed to be. Strong but true. She could feel her adventurous spirit roaming between the walls of the house and she laughed once more.

Mabel had set the table with all the leftovers in the house. Cora, who hadn't been able to eat anything during their train ride attacked the table like it was the Last Supper.

"Do you have any orange juice?" She asked Mabel. She she shook her head. "But we can make some fresh juice in the morning."

Rose took a tin of biscuits, opened it and dunked as many of them inside her tea before devouring as many pieces of toast she could. Her mother would have pulled her by her hair and dragged her back towards civility if she had seen her daughter behave in such an unladylike manner. Mabel didn't seem to care whatsoever. She leaned back in her chair and simply enjoyed the company she was in. She had always wanted to become a mother. It was a role she knew she was destined to fulfill, but God had other plans for her. When she gave birth to her daughter, a stillborn, her family had accused her of murder and her husband left her for another woman. Out of pure desperation, Mabel also left everything behind when she was young. She had just turned twenty. Along her lonesome journey of self discovery she came in touch with Mrs. Thomson, Elizabeth's great aunt, who had kept her from getting out of trouble and kept her on the right tracks. Mrs. Thompson took the young Mabel in and watched her grow from a bird with a broken wing into a beautiful swan. Mrs. Thompson was like a mother to Mabel, and keeping this farm alive was something she simply had to do.

As time passed on quickly and after they had eaten everything they could possibly devour, Mabel's eyes met Rose's and she smiled. "You really don't have to worry, darlin'."

Luckily, it didn't take much time for the girls to settle down. The calmness of the surroundings certainly helped with it. One Friday afternoon as Rose sat down by the fireplace she called Cora and asked her to join.

"We got a letter from Elizabeth. Would you like me to read it to you?"

My dear Rose and Cora,

I am sorry it has taken me such a long time to write to you. After a long and tiring journey Europe, I have finally arrived at my friend's estate in Scotland. It was a strange feeling when I arrived in Southampton. It is af is the whole city has turned into a ghost town. The docks are empty and no one wants anything to do with The White Star Line. They are in big trouble. Anyway, our first hunt is tomorrow and we have taken a bet on who will shoot down the big stag. I bet you would have liked it too, Rose.

I hope you are adjusting well in my little paradise and I hope Mabel is taking good care of you. (I told her not to bother you too much with all her strange stories, because she has a mouthful of those) Please write to me as soon as you can, I want to know everything about your lives now as cowboys.

Take care and I will see you all very soon.

Elizabeth.

She put the letter down onto the side table and put a blanket over Cora, who had fallen asleep, before heading outside.