An Unsinkable Love - By Terri Benson Page 0,23

was too late now. "Oh, what if he fires me?" she moaned. Her vivid imagination conjured up several different scenarios, from being put off the ship on a desert island, to being sent to work in the bowels of the ship shoveling coal, to the unlikely event Mr. Thorpe would smile and say it was just fine, so long as she made the passenger happy. Unable to keep her mind on the gown she was working with, she stood and stretched, wincing as her stiff shoulder muscles popped. She rolled her neck and let her head hang, thoroughly exhausted and depressed.

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An Unsinkable Love

by Terri Benson

A muted rumble and a vibration lasting several seconds brought her head up with a snap but the sounds weren't repeated. Bree wandered around the room aimlessly as she worked the kinks out of her back. With a heavy sigh, she picked up the gown again and prepared to get back to work.

A loud thumping began at the door.

The normally composed voice of Mr. Cave shook with emotion. "Miss Barry? Miss Barry, please come to the door.

It's urgent."

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78

An Unsinkable Love

by Terri Benson

Chapter 7

Worried something had happened between Malcolm and Eldon, Bree raced to the door and frantically undid the lock.

The steward stood outside the door, perfectly groomed, as usual. His voice, however, was pitched higher than normal and his words even more clipped. "Please, miss, get the madam dressed in warm clothes. And get your life jackets."

"What is it? What's wrong?" Bree knew it would take something very serious indeed to cause him to expect an injured passenger to get out of bed.

He motioned her into the cabin and closed the door. He glanced toward the bedroom door and leaned in close to Bree's ear. "We've hit an iceberg, miss."

Bree protested, "Surely that's not a catastrophe. The Titanic is unsinkable."

"Not unsinkable, miss. No ship is unsinkable. I spoke with Mr. Ismay himself. He and Mr. Andrews have been speaking with the engineers, and the ship is sure to go down. Please, miss. Hurry. They'll be loading the lifeboats very soon. I'll be back in a few moments to help you with the madam."

He turned and slipped out the door. Bree stood in the middle of the room and tried to decide whether she'd imagined the whole conversation. She became aware of loud voices in the corridor. She opened the door a few inches and was shocked to see passengers streaming into the hallway, some fully dressed and others in their nightclothes. Most carried life vests.

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An Unsinkable Love

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A stately older man held both his wife's hands in his, his other arm pulling her close as he spoke soothing words to her. A nearly hysterical woman carried a baby, a sleepy toddler stumbling along behind, calling out frantically, "Mrs.

Forth, Mrs. Forth, I have the children!" Uniformed stewards moved through the crowd, urging them to put on their vests and proceed calmly.

Bree slammed the door and leaned back against it.

Sinking! She shook her head and tried to pull herself together. She rushed to Elizabeth's bedroom and called her name loudly. The woman moaned and rolled her head from side to side. Bree picked up her hand and lightly slapped the back of it, repeatedly commanding Mrs. DuMont wake.

Eyelids flickering, Elizabeth frowned sleepily and mumbled,

"What is it, dear? Please don't shout."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. DuMont, but it's an emergency." The blonde head twisted toward the door. Bree reassured her,

"It's not Eldon. The ship has struck an iceberg and it may sink. We don't have much time. We need to get you into some warm clothes and get your life vest."

"But, Bree, dear, the ship can't sink. It was in all the papers." Elizabeth blinked and tried to push herself upright.

Bree slipped an arm behind her and eased her to a seated position.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. DuMont, but Mr. Cave assured me it's true. We don't have much time. Sit here for a moment and I'll gather up some clothing and a coat." She rushed to the armoire and found a heavy wool traveling suit then grabbed the thickest fur coat she found. Not bothering with the 80

An Unsinkable Love

by Terri Benson

hatboxes, she rummaged through the lingerie cabinet and found a feather-soft wool scarf and fur-lined gloves.

It seemed to take an hour to dress Elizabeth. Tears ran down the elder woman's face, but she didn't complain. At last, all that remained was to slip on the heavy fur, wrap the scarf around her head and pull on