Chapter 58
A/N This chapter is a bit intense, with some violence. Reader discretion advised.
November 27, 1912
Ruth took a long, hard look at the paper in her frail hands, as tears were now beginning to come to her eyes. She was finally glad her daughter was at least safe, but by looking at the postmarked stamp on the envelope it sounded like it came from a different part of the country, or even that Rose and that boy were really in a different country, and they had indeed left America. She slowly reread the paper once more before beginning to cry softly. Her daughter, at last was found, or the least she has contacted her mother and demanded that she give up everything she possessed if she wanted to be part of her daughter's life. She was also engaged to that Dawson boy, and was pregnant with his child.
Ruth takes out a small handkerchief from her delicate-looking handbag and slowly dabs her eyes with them, then she sniffles. She had so many questions swirling in her head.
Why was she doing this?
Didn't the family name have any meaning to her at all?
Who were the people she was staying with?
Any chance that Dawson boy had also survived the sinking?
Was Cal's outbursts really true? And lastly, why did Mr. Williams suddenly leave her house and his well-paying job with the Hockleys?
She was brought to New York on behalf of Cal, after Cal told her he had important news about the whereabouts of Rose. She realized she still had Rose's letter in her hand, and quickly stuffs it in her handbag. The letter was brought from the house back in Philadelphia to New York by her maid, after Ruth told her the address she will be staying in with Cal. She now wanted to go back to the house and to think. She wanted very badly to find the whereabouts of her beloved Rose, bring her back and hug her with all her might. She had been missing for over six months now, after Cal told her officially that she was missing after he and Rose had been to New York, to look for wedding dresses and other related business. She knew very well that she and her daughter had ever gotten along, if any at all. She was very similar to her father; quick tempered, yet passionate. That was the reason she pressed her daughter to marry Cal in the first place. All Ruth ever wanted for her daughter is that she would be cared for, and in return, she and Cal will take care of her mother in her old age. She was saddened that her husband left her, but things seemed to go south from there.
She was glad Mr. Hockley had come along when he did, but if he didn't, she would've been dead somewhere out in the street, or the very least, cold, without shelter, and having a constant worry about money or where they would be staying for shelter. She also didn't want to see her daughter running around with different men, or worse, selling herself to prostitution. And that would surely be scandalous indeed. But what was scandalous is the fact Rose ran away with a lower-class boy, and his friend, who also appeared to be lower class, but she had also seen him somewhere, not because she met Mr. Williams, but she can't quite put a finger on it, at least for the time being.
She had wanted Rose to live a very prosperous life with Cal, but her daughter had mentioned in the letter she wanted to end her life, to escape the miserable life she was in, and the forced marriage with the man she never wanted to be with, even though he had offered to give everything Rose could ever want. And now she had run away with that lower-class boy, in who knows what kind of place she was in, or how far she had run away to, which was causing her a lot of grief and worry. Ruth's health had declined since the disappearance of her beautiful daughter, and she had to go to the doctor for a checkup, prior to coming to New York. The biggest thing right now was the disappearance, and she knew the Philadelphia society would be on her, making up scandalous and false reports about her daughter, thus smearing her good name with it.
Ruth had to hide somewhere, as to hide from the scandals surrounding her daughter, and she asked Cal to keep her in his personal apartment, and giving her maid the address where she will be staying in as well. Despite the fact Rose had cause her grief and anxiety, she was indeed her daughter, and still loved her unconditionally. She missed Rose now that she was not home anymore, and was now living her new life without her.
While Cal was out and about, trying to ask people and some business owners if they had seen the couple, the maid and Ruth were at the apartment. Ruth sat looking out the window, towards the Statue of Liberty, and at the busy New York Harbor. Caledon's own father also pestered him about the marriage, and when Rose will be home, so the ceremony will be underway. Mr. Hockley had also threatened he will go to the society himself and report on the news that Rose was indeed a prostitute if he didn't hear of any news on the whereabouts of his son's fiancé.
Ruth dug the paper from her bag and read the terms and conditions once more from her daughter as she pondered over. The sun slowly went down between the rows of buildings, the Statue of Liberty was a bright orange, under a stream of clouds, as winter ever drew closer. She began to think over her late husband's persona. He had been very passionate and very determined in everything he did. What was endearing to Ruth, was that he ever thought hardly about the consequences that would come their way, and to go on about, as if nothing would ever happen to them. Just like his daughter, he was funny, unpredictable, witty, and at times, would just let himself go, at the behest of Ruth, and Rose's amusement. Both Mr. Dewitt Bukater and Rose shared a bond only a daughter/father would only share together, and that's what Ruth loved about her daughter. If only she had listened to her husband about saving here and there, then maybe he would still be around, and his business would still be around as a result. Her husband also wanted Mr. Williams to work for him, but instead, he went to work as an associate to the Hockley's steel business. She had known a little about Mr. Williams. He was his own entrepreneur, working somewhere in the desert, instead of working and living in the city like Philadelphia. But she knew Rose was much like her father and Mr. Williams, as they both had a free spirit, and were independent, wanting to explore new ideas, to take the risk, and they did, succeeding in the end.
Ruth decided she would let her daughter become the free spirit she so desperately wanted to be part of. She knew it would be hard, but had hoped that the Dawson boy would get his act together, as he would be the father to his child, and she herself would be the only, and first grandmother, to their child. She went over reading the terms several more times. She decided to leave Caledon and her possessions, but was still not convinced the man wasn't in any danger to her life, or anyway threatening to her in any way. Cal had offered them a treat a luxury trip to Europe last year onboard the Mauretania; the splendor of looking for wedding dresses, the exotic foods they had eaten in France, and a luxurious trip back to America on the Titanic, despite how bad that had turned out. He was searching for his fiancé, and had even paid in full the mansion back in Philadelphia, and all the luxuries he wanted to spoil Rose in. Despite all their troubles he had even paid all their wedding expenses, and set aside a church even, just for him and Rose, including all of Philadelphia society, as he was a respected member there. He is the perfect husband for Rose, and yet Ruth could wonder why Rose could say such things about Cal…
Ruth suddenly heard the door slam hard behind her. She quickly snaps, then turns around, to see Cal, very angry and tired, and his face was beet-red. Ruth swallowed hard. She had never seen a man look this angry before, at least not Cal.
"AAARGH!" He groans loudly as he threw himself in his chair, nearly tipping it over from his weight, then yelling at the top of his lungs for his servant. The servant brought him his bottle of whisky and a small glass, then sets them down on the table. He angrily yells at the servant to fetch any telegrams that had been sent from the office. Cal leaned forward, then rubbed his face in his hands in disgust. He fired his detective, as he was going nowhere with the case, as he figured the detective wasn't doing his job of finding Rose. He had also found out Jack was alive all this time, which made him even madder than ever.
Cal practically screams at the poor maid to pour him the whisky, as he angrily threw his expensive coat on the floor, then stamps on it. He angrily put his feet on the table soon after, nearly kicking it over in a fit of rage. The maid was so scared, she was shaking, as she tried to delicately pour Cal's whisky into the tiny glass. She was shaking so bad, she ended up spilling the entire contents from the bottle, onto the table and the floor. Ruth was practically frightened at this point, her heart pounding as Cal gets up, ready to smack the maid, as she was crying now. She was trying in vain to calm Cal down, but he was breathing heavily, readying his hand to slap the poor girl across her face.
Robert came to the room, and drops the telegrams, as he rushed Cal. The servant rolls his sleeves to his forearms, before he punches Cal in the stomach, then he doubles over. Cal gets back up, then tries to punch his own servant, but he missed. The servant punches Cal's face just below his eye, and punches him in the stomach again, then he doubles over once more, before crashing into the chair. He was going through a déjà vu once more, like Jesse punching him back on the Mauretania, the skinny yet strong kid delivered the punch, and made him crash into a nearby chair, then takes a nasty spill with it. Here he did the exact same thing. Robert's punch to his cheek made him crash into the couch, but instead of the couch tipping, he went over, then fell to the floor. Robert then told the women to leave that instant, with Ruth thanking him.
"Go! Go! Leave now!" Robert shouts, as Cal emerges from behind the couch, nursing his cheek. Robert slams the door as soon as the women ran out of the room. They could hear objects clattering and the men shouting obscenities at each other as the women ran out of the apartment building. The maid held on to a shaking Ruth as she called for a cab. The car arrived, and the women quickly got in. The driver had a concerned look on his face after seeing how disheveled the women looked, especially at the elderly woman. He quickly stubbed his cigar, before throwing it out of his car.
"You're safe in here, ma'am. Nobody's going to hurt you now." the driver says.
"Go now!" the frantic maid says, then looks behind the car. To her horror, she sees Cal, trying desperately to run after the car, as it nearly skids in the snow, but the driver regained control, after hitting a curb. Cal waved his fists in the air as the car sped off, then disappeared with the busy New York traffic. The driver shakes his head in disgust.
Ruth was completely distraught at this point, and she crumpled down and cried on her maid's lap. The maid comforted Ruth, rubbing her hand through her hair, as the sobs shook the delicate woman's body.
Rose was right. The man was indeed very violent, and nearly lashed out at them. He had almost no respect for anyone, and that he only cared for himself. If it wasn't for Cal's servant, who knows what would have happened to them. Ruth felt her heart breaking from betrayal, believing the man would be their provider, but instead he was anything but. He was actually a wolf in sheep's clothing; a monster on the inside who was unfortunately unleashed, and they were nearly killed. She had learned now that she must not let the fox guard the chicken coop, as Mr. Williams had said once. She now knew the Dawson boy was the complete opposite of Mr. Hockley, but she still doesn't trust him, at least not like back on the ship.
Ruth pulls out the letter from her handbag, after she had gathered some of her composure. She wipes her tears from her eyes as the driver pulls up to the train depot. Ruth looks up, surprised the driver had helped them escape the wrath of Mr. Hockley.
"Here's some money to help you escape that maniac." the driver hands both women the cash. Ruth couldn't thank the man enough, even though she had enough herself to go back to the house. Ruth smiles as she tries to politely turn down the man's request. He insisted she take the money and get out of New York, before that mad man came back to look for both of them again.
"Thank you." Ruth says, in her quietest voice, as tears began welling in her eyes. She rubs his hand, and the driver takes her hand, and kisses, before they got out of the car. The women paid for their tickets, back to Philadelphia, until a tall, young man stood over them. He had a close cropped blond hair, most of which were hidden under his hat. He had just disembarked the train. He tipped his hat as the ladies emerged.
"Evening ladies. I'm Eric." Eric says. Ruth shakes his hand, with difficulty. The maid also shakes his hand, and was blushing. Ruth had a hard time, but she barely recognized Eric, as he stayed at the house only once, to accompany Mr. Williams with his business meetings with the Hockley men in her late husband's office. Eric quickly paid for his tickets to join the women, as Ruth told him what had happened earlier that evening.
"You need to leave immediately. I've seen that man myself, but he doesn't know who I am fortunately." Eric says, as he helps the women get on the train. He told Ruth to go west, as her daughter was there. When he returns back to Philadelphia he will immediately send an urgent telegram telling Jesse and his older brother Jon to meet Ruth somewhere in Kansas, and to stay there, as Cal was out of control at this point. Ruth thanks Eric, as he will take the maid to Pittsburgh the very next day, so she can have a better life herself. He also told Ruth to take the early morning train so she can make it to Topeka, Kansas, where she will meet Jesse and his older brother there.
The train lets out a whistle into the cold, snowy night as it left New York, bound for Philadelphia, where Ruth will leave behind her old life and looks forward to a fresh start with her daughter.