The Delinquent Bride

by Carole Archer

  “Clara, I’m sorry to wake you, but I need to talk to Henry. Please, will you come with me?” Clara immediately got out of bed.

  “I must tell him the truth about why I’m on the Titanic and what I’m really running away from. This guilt’s going to eat away at me if I don’t.”

  Clara and Shelley quickly got dressed and as they left their room, Clara took Shelley’s hand and squeezed it encouragingly. She led her quickly through the corridors to Henry’s room, and Shelley’s mind was in a whirl as she tried to figure out what she was going to say to him.

  Shelley felt suddenly sick when they eventually reached Henry’s room, and she considered turning back. Clara gestured towards the door and, after taking a deep breath, Shelley knocked quietly. Henry answered immediately, with a wide awake, grinning Jessica in his arms.

  He quickly ushered them inside, his brow furrowed as he looked at Shelley. She felt the colour drain from her face and worried for a moment that she might be about to faint.

  “Whatever’s the matter?” Henry asked, as he sat down and pulled a trembling Shelley into the seat beside him.

  “I need to talk to you.” Shelley spoke quickly, and grasped his hand tightly.

  “Clara, can you look after Jessica,” he asked, as he put his arm around Shelley’s shoulders. Clara nodded and picked up the small child. “You should be in bed,” she gently scolded. “Say goodnight to Daddy.”

  Shelley smiled when Henry leaned forward and kissed his little girl on the cheek and she giggled in response. She watched Clara carry her through to her bedroom and then she turned towards Henry. She anxiously chewed her lower lip, unsure where to begin.

  “Shall we go for a walk?” Henry suggested, and without waiting for a response he guided her towards the door. “I could do with a bit of fresh air, and it’s such a beautiful evening.”

  Shelley nodded and walked silently beside him. Henry led her up to the deck, where they sat down and enjoyed the cool night air. Gazing up at the stars, which sparkled brightly in the jet black sky, Shelley sighed deeply as she closed her eyes. She knew it was time to tell Henry the truth, but she had no idea where to begin. She rested her head on his shoulder and smiled when he immediately hugged her closer to him.

  “Shelley,” he said with concern, jumping to his feet. “You’re absolutely freezing. Where are my manners?” Henry quickly removed his jacket and draped it around her shoulders.

  Shelley smiled and shivered, as she realised that she was in fact freezing cold. “Thank you.” She smiled up at him, took his hand, and pulled him into the seat beside her. Bracing herself, she prepared to tell him everything. “I really need to talk to you. I’m sorry, but…”

  Shelley stopped mid-sentence, as a loud scraping noise startled them. Moments later they were showered with fragments of ice and Shelley instinctively screamed.

  “Oh, my God,” said Henry. He stood quickly and stared in horror toward the side of the ship. Shelley turned her head and gazed wide-eyed at what appeared to be a huge iceberg. She stared at it in horrified fascination, her mouth open as she rose to her feet and clutched Henry’s hand, her eyes never leaving the enormous formation of ice as they slowly passed it.

  They stood motionless for a moment, their eyes suddenly drawn to the frantic activity on the bridge. As some of the ship’s crew passed them, Henry stopped one young man. “Is everything all right?”

  “Yes, everything’s fine, don’t panic,” he said, as he quickly rushed away.

  “Come on, let’s go and see if Jessica and Clara are all right. They’re probably wondering what’s just happened,” Henry said calmly, taking Shelley’s hand and leading her back to his room.

  On the way they passed another member of the ship’s crew. “Why have the ship’s engines stopped?” Henry asked with concern.

  The steward shifted uncomfortably.

  “Tell me the truth, man,” Henry snapped. “I know we’ve hit an iceberg. We were out on the deck when it happened. Is the ship damaged?”

  The steward looked around cautiously before he nodded. “You should take her up and get her on a lifeboat. The ship’s sinking.” Shelley looked at Henry, who visibly paled at the news.

  “But please don’t tell everyone. We don’t want to cause a panic,” the steward said. “There aren’t enough lifeboats for everyone, so be quick. It’s women and children first.”

  Shelley gasped loudly and Henry gripped her hand.

  “Are you sure?” he asked the young man disbelievingly.

  “Yes, I’m absolutely certain. You need to hurry. I must go. I’m needed on the bridge.” The young man turned and ran fast in the opposite direction, leaving Henry and Shelley stunned at the unwelcome news.

  Henry quickly gathered his thoughts, turned and dragged Shelley the other way. “Wait,” she cried out. “Where are we going? What about Jessica and Clara?” she asked, unable to believe that Henry would leave them behind.

  “I need to get you into a lifeboat, then I’ll go back to get them. Come on,” he urged. He dragged Shelley over to where people were being loaded onto a lifeboat. Shelley could not believe that, despite the desperate situation, hardly anyone was around. She flung her arms around Henry and hugged him tight. Immediately he pried her hands away from him and kissed her softly on the lips. At any other time, Shelley would have swooned at the kiss, but the gravity of the situation prevented that. Henry ordered her to “get into the lifeboat now,” turned and ran back towards his cabin. Shelley reluctantly obeyed him, not happy to leave without Henry, Clara, and Jessica.

  While Shelley was being helped into the lifeboat, she suddenly remembered walking around the ship earlier that day with Clara. They had found a lovely quiet area where she and Clara had sat down and relaxed for a while, as Jessica played happily at their feet. Clara had said she was going to go back there one evening as it would be a beautiful place to appreciate the moonlight and the stars.

  “No, stop,” Shelley cried out, as she frantically clambered back over the rails. “I need to go back.” She pushed the crew member aside and once on her feet she sprinted all the way to Henry’s room.

  The very second Shelley reached his door, it burst open and a distraught Henry rushed out, his face pale. “I know where they are,” Shelley told him, grabbing his hand and leading him through the corridors.

  Shelley prayed she had remembered the way and had not taken a wrong turning. Her heart beat fast as she barged the door open at the end of the corridor, and she stopped in her tracks when she saw Clara lying motionless on the floor. Jessica sat beside her, clutching her hand and sobbing. “Clara, wake up!”

  Henry immediately lifted Jessica up, kissed her cheek, and hugged her close to him. “What happened, sweetheart?” he calmly asked.

  “Daddy, Clara fell over. She hit her head. Now she won’t wake up.”

  Henry kissed his daughter and handed her to Shelley. “She’s just playing a game,” Henry smiled. “She’s pretending to be asleep.”

  Jessica stopped crying instantly and looked at Shelley inquisitively. Shelley forced a smile and nodded. “That’s right. It’s a game,” she said, trying to reassure Henry’s young daughter, even though she herself trembled with fear.

  Shelley hugged Jessica tightly, and watched anxiously as Henry checked Clara’s pulse. He grabbed a lifejacket and put it on her, then helped Shelley and Jessica into lifejackets.

  “Let’s get you to the lifeboats,” said Henry, as he lifted Clara into his arms and led the way back to the deck.

  When they arrived, it was absolute pandemonium. The area had filled with people, and they ran up and down the ship’s deck, looking for a lifeboat. Shelley realised with horror that they were too late. The crew member had been right.

  Shelley wailed with despair when suddenly the ship started to break up around them as people ran up and down, screaming and crying.

  She glanced over at the small band of musicians, who had congregated on the deck and were playing ragtime music. She allowed he
rself a brief smile. My parents’ favourite music, she thought happily, before her smile disappeared and she once more focused on the frantic activity all around them.

  Henry walked over to the edge of the ship and barged his way through the dozens of others milling around. He still carried Clara in his arms, and Shelley noted with dismay that her friend was still unconscious. She thought for a moment that Clara was lucky as at least she would not be aware that she was about to die.

  “Shelley, come here,” shouted Henry. Shelley turned and saw Henry lift Clara’s limp body up onto the rail. She walked across to stand beside him. “You need to jump.” Shelley’s eyes widened with fear and she looked cautiously over the edge of the ship to the dark water beneath. It seemed to Shelley to be a very long way down. She shook her head.

  “We must jump. It’s our only chance. I’m going to let Clara go. You need to jump after her and try to get hold of her. I’ll be straight after you with Jessica.”

  Shelley wailed as he suddenly let go of Clara and she watched her plummet down to the water below. Henry snatched Jessica from Shelley’s arms. “Go now,” he shouted. Shelley trembled as she climbed over the rail, held her breath, closed her eyes and jumped. Seconds later she hit the water, but she was not at all prepared for how cold it would be and she screamed in shock. As she splashed around, she was relieved to see Clara beside her. Better still, Clara was once more conscious, but very confused as she thrashed around frantically in the icy water. Shelley grabbed her and looked into her terrified eyes. “The Titanic’s sinking,” she told her, and watched as Clara’s eyes widened in disbelief.

  At that moment Henry dropped into the water beside them. He clutched a sobbing Jessica against him, who obviously realised now that this was no game.

  “Swim to that lifeboat,” Henry told them, indicating two men who were desperately trying to turn a boat up the right way. Shelley grabbed hold of Clara and helped her to swim across to the boat. When they reached it, the men had managed to get it upright and were inside, and they quickly pulled Shelley and Clara aboard. They picked up the oars and immediately started to row.

  “Noooooooo,” cried Shelley. “We must wait for Henry and Jessica, please.” She reached over the side of the lifeboat towards the approaching pair and was pleased when the boat stopped. She took Jessica from Henry, passed the sobbing child to Clara, and Shelley and one of the men pulled Henry into the lifeboat.

  “We can get more people in here,” yelled Shelley, when the men once more started to row away. “No,” Henry told her gently, as he put his arm around her and kissed her on the cheek. “The ship’s going down. We need to move away or we’ll be sucked down with her.” Henry put his other arm around Clara and pulled her and Jessica close. The four of them huddled together, shivering from the bitter cold, their soaked clothes clinging to their bodies.

  “But all those people,” cried Shelley, as she gazed in horror at the passengers who continued to jump from the ship into the freezing water below.

  “Shelley, there are too many people. If we let them all in, we’ll sink,” Henry consoled her. He kissed her softly on the forehead.

  “I thought she was unsinkable?” Shelley asked, confused.

  Henry nodded and held her closer. “I thought so too.” He shook his head in despair as Shelley looked up at him.

  The men continued to row and they moved farther and farther away from the stricken vessel. Soon they were alongside the other lifeboats and Shelley noticed with dismay that none of the boats were full.

  As Shelley shivered and clung to Henry, she jumped nervously every time a flare was fired into the air, before watching with fascination as they lit up the dark night sky.

  “We’re trying to alert any nearby ships to our situation,” one of the men who had rowed their boat explained. “Hopefully someone is close enough to come and rescue us,” he added, while all around them sounds of despair and suffering filled the air.

  Shelley closed her eyes and covered her ears as she tried to block out the agonised screams of those who had jumped from the Titanic. Henry tried desperately to comfort her as Shelley wept with despair.

  “Don’t cry,” a little voice said, and Shelley lifted her head to find Jessica clambering onto her lap. “Clara awake now,” she grinned. Shelley hugged the youngster tightly and was pleased when moments later the now exhausted little girl fell asleep.

  Another flare sounded and Shelley looked towards the Titanic. The devastated ship was completely lit up, but she was going down quickly and people were dropping into the water all around her. The cabins that were now partly submerged underwater glowed, giving the icy water an eerie luminescence. Henry pulled Shelley closer to him and she rested her head on his shoulder, her glistening eyes focused on the sinking ship. She closed her eyes and recalled the splendour of the Titanic in the dockyard only days earlier. When she opened her eyes, a tear rolled down her cheek as the once magnificent vessel floundered in the water, seemingly reluctant to go to her beckoning watery grave.

  After what seemed like hours, a loud collective gasp filled the air and those in the lifeboats watched in horror as the ship began to slip under the water. The forward funnel started to disappear into the sea before it broke away. A small explosion was heard, and further explosions sounded from within the ship. The Titanic lifted almost vertical in the water before the strain was too much and she snapped in half. Her lights went out and the distraught onlookers watched in horrified silence as the Titanic once more went vertical before finally sinking beneath the waves.

  * * *

  For a moment, there was not a sound on the lifeboats after the Titanic had plummeted beneath the waves, but the silence was broken by the screams of those still in the water. The cries of distress went on for a minute or two and a whistle sounded sporadically. Many people on the boats demanded the crew take the lifeboats back and pick up the people in the water, who may very well be their loved ones.

  “No, it’s too dangerous. We could be sucked under by the sinking ship,” one of the crew who had rowed the lifeboat next to Shelley’s explained.

  Shelley felt helpless and as the sounds of sobbing filled the air, she dropped her head into her hands and started to cry.

  The lifeboat suddenly started to move and Shelley lifted her head. She realised they were being tied to another boat and a few minutes later the two men who had rowed their boat to safety encouraged them all to climb into the boat beside them.

  “We’re going back to look for survivors,” one of them said, as he helped Clara to tentatively step across into the other boat. Shelley passed Jessica over to Clara, and Henry helped Shelley to move across. He quickly followed them before once more cuddling up to them to try to keep warm.

  “There’s no one alive out there now,” Clara whispered sadly. “Listen.”

  Shelley listened carefully and noticed immediately how eerily quiet it was. The screams that she had tried to block out moments ago would now almost be music to her ears. She listened for the shrill sound of the whistle that had minutes earlier irritated her, but she could no longer hear that either.

  Shelley could hear frantic sobbing all around her and tried again to shut it out. Moments later Henry gripped her hand. “Try to calm down. I’m sure we’ll be rescued soon,” he soothed. Shelley then realised that the cries of distress she could hear were also coming from her own mouth. She fell into Henry’s open arms and trembled as she clung to him.

  While they waited anxiously, the other lifeboat returned. They had plucked a few people from the water, but they were all in a bad way. Shelley shivered and prayed that help would come soon for them all.

  * * *

  Almost two hours after the Titanic had slipped beneath the waves, the shivering survivors breathed a sigh of relief as another ship arrived. Shelley had spotted rockets being fired in the distance and she had hardly dared to hope that help might be on the way. The ship’s crew had noticed them too and flares were fired from the lifeboats in response. If Shelle
y could have found the energy, she would have cheered at this most welcome sight, but instead she started to cry once more, along with many around her.

  The survivors were loaded onto the ship, but it was a long and slow process and it was almost an hour later when Shelley was encouraged to climb onto the rope ladders that had been dropped down. She trembled through both fear and because she was desperately cold. Slowly, Shelley tentatively climbed up the unsteady ladder to the ship, where she was hauled aboard and wrapped in a blanket before being given a much-needed drink. She swallowed greedily, the hot, sweet liquid warming her.

  Huddled up in a corner with Henry, Jessica, and Clara, Shelley waited anxiously for the ship to move. She prayed that they were now safe.

  Chapter Seven

  Shelley sat quietly in the corner with Clara, Jessica, and Henry, all of them still shell-shocked by the tragedy. A member of staff cautiously approached, apologised for the intrusion, and explained that they needed to compile a list of names of the survivors. Henry nodded understandingly and stood up.

  “I’ll handle this,” he told them.

  He cleared his throat before giving his own name and his daughter’s. “I also have two staff members travelling with me.”

  Shelley swallowed anxiously and looked at Clara as he gave her name as Michelle Ellis. Clara frowned, but Shelley instantly shook her head and whispered, “Please don’t say anything.” Shelley knew that at some time she needed to be truthful with Henry, but now was certainly not the time. Clara nodded and squeezed Shelley’s hand gently.

  “A room will be available for you soon,” the man told Henry, “but in the meantime give me or one of the other staff a shout if you need anything.”

  “Thank you for your assistance.” Henry firmly shook his hand before he sat down and hugged his young daughter close to him. As he sang a lullaby to the terrified youngster, Shelley rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She smiled as he put an arm around her and pulled her close. His voice was soft and comforting and she tried to focus on that. At the same time, Shelley attempted to push away the horrendous images that kept forcing themselves into her mind.