An Unsinkable Love - By Terri Benson Page 0,42
on our way." He enjoyed bringing up the rear of the procession. It gave him the opportunity to watch Bree's gently swaying hips. The swishing fabric had a mesmerizing effect and he nearly tripped over the top step as they exited the building. A big seven-passenger Oldsmobile touring car waited outside. With only the three of them and minimal luggage, the car felt immense. The driver, clad in a black suit with cap pulled low over his brow, stowed their bags in the boot and helped Elizabeth into the middle seat. Malcolm opened the other door for Bree, and watched as she settled into the thickly tufted leather bench beside his mother. He climbed into the front seat next to the chauffer. Before the driver merged into traffic, Malcolm asked him to take a short detour to the pier.
As they pulled up along the waterfront, redolent with the scents of day-old fish and diesel oil, he pointed. "The 138
An Unsinkable Love
by Terri Benson
Carpathia. If not for her, none of us would be here." The three of them stared up at the cargo ship, which sported four huge derricks and a single large stack, for several moments, each deep in their own thoughts.
Bree looked at Elizabeth. Her face was drawn and pale.
They clasped hands and shared a moment of silence.
The driver cleared his throat loudly. "If we don't get a move on you'll miss your train, folks."
Malcolm nodded and they turned away from the pier.
Traffic was heavy and it took nearly a half hour to get back to Greenwich Village and Penn Station. It was time to go home.
* * * *
Eldon sat in a corner trying to ignore the unwashed masses bustling around the huge terminal. He hated traveling by train. There were too many working class rubes who didn't have the sense to know their place. It was one more reason he simmered with anger at Elizabeth. He'd been forced to delay his return to the mills so she could stay and nurse Malcolm and the seamstress back to health, even though they were in a perfectly good hospital. And she'd started making noises about Malcolm taking over the company again. If she managed to get in touch with the board of directors, she would soon find out he'd been telling them Malcolm was too busy sowing wild oats to be interested in running the company. It hadn't been difficult to convince them the handsome young man's interest centered on the women under the clothing, not the clothing itself.
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An Unsinkable Love
by Terri Benson
He took out his new gold pocket watch, engraved with the date of the Titanic's sinking—a gift from the mayor's office—
and checked the time. "Where are they, damn it? They should have been here by now." Eldon stood and scanned the room toward the tall gothic arches of the main entry. He had agreed to meet them near the ticket booth at two o'clock, and it was quarter past already. As he searched the throng he saw Malcolm, half a head taller than most of the crowd, shepherding his mother and the little seamstress through the crush. A porter pushed a cart with their luggage close behind.
He only took a dozen steps before he heard a voice that stopped him dead in his tracks.
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An Unsinkable Love
by Terri Benson
Chapter 20
Bree gawked at the beautiful ceiling soaring high above her head. Never had she seen anything like the massive building. Her neck already hurt from staring out the window at the skyscrapers as they drove through the city, and she turned in a circle trying to take everything in. Pink granite gleamed on the walls and columns.
Malcolm grabbed her elbow and pulled her out of the way as a loaded luggage cart lumbered past. "You'd better pay attention. There are a lot more people here than back home, I'll warrant."
"It's so beautiful, Malcolm. Such a magnificent building. Do you know how tall it is?" she asked in awe.
"The dome is one hundred fifty feet high. The columns alone are sixty feet. It's only two years old." Before he told her any more, shouts rang out from a far corner.
Bree couldn't see over the heads of the hundreds of people milling about, but she heard Malcolm swear under his breath.
Elizabeth heard as well. "Malcolm! Whatever set you off?"
"Come along, Mother, Miss Barry. I believe Eldon is over this way." He took each of them by an elbow and made his way to where the shouting continued.
*