An Unsinkable Love

chapter 16


As she lay in the stark white room, Bree tried to put her jumbled thoughts in order. Disjointed pictures flashed in her head—vaguely remembered soothing words and cold cloths on her forehead. Feeling like she was being roasted alive. A handsome chestnut-haired man with a devastating smile. A pair of dark, leering eyes made her sick to her stomach. Dark blue eyes soothed her fear. Emeralds and diamonds shone under gaslight. A young boy desperately reached out to her.

Bree recalled the terror of black water closing over her head as she clutched the thin blanket under her chin. One moment she was shivering, the next burning.

The door opened and a woman in a starched white uniform marched into the room and took Bree's temperature. The nurse silently fluffed the pillows, tucked the blanket in and tidied the room, all the while never looking at Bree or offering a word of comfort.

A few minutes later, the door opened again and a tall, stately man entered and smiled as he walked to the bedside.

At his appearance, the nurse brightened and stepped close to the other side of the bed.

"Good afternoon, young lady," he said to Bree. "It's good to see you awake. How do you feel?"

Bree licked her parched lips.

"Nurse Danville?" At his nod, the nurse grasped a handle and cranked until the head of the bed rose to a semi-reclined position. She held a cup for Bree to drink a few sips of tepid 114

An Unsinkable Love

by Terri Benson

water then stood beside the bed and gazed longingly at the doctor.

"To be honest, I don't feel too well. What happened?" Bree asked.

"You've had a raging case of pneumonia. Other than that and a good dunking in the North Atlantic, not much." He gave her a sympathetic smile showing lots of brilliant white teeth, and Nurse Danville sloshed water onto Bree's head.

The doctor frowned at the nurse as she apologized and stepped back, setting the cup down with a shrug of her shoulders and a silly grin.

Memories of the great Titanic tipping up and sliding down to her death flooded Bree's mind. "Mrs. DuMont!" She tried to sit up.

"Settle down young lady." He pressed her shoulders down.

"I've about got you healthy. Don't go and spoil it."

"What about Elizabeth? Elizabeth DuMont. She was with me on the ship. And when we were rescued." An overwhelming sense of panic welled up inside her at the thought she'd been abandoned.

"Well, if you mean that very handsome older woman who has been camped outside your room for the last week, Mary can fetch her right in. She's doing fine. I finally persuaded her to let me check her ribs, and she's much better now."

Nurse Danville's head had snapped around as she heard the doctor's description of Elizabeth. Her lips compressed as she stalked across the room, opened the door to briefly beckon then hustled back to the doctor's side. Elizabeth's 115

An Unsinkable Love

by Terri Benson

blonde head peeked around the door and the doctor motioned her in.

As she hurried up to the bed and saw Bree's relieved smile, she heaved a mighty sigh and bent to fold her into a tight embrace. "Oh, I've been so worried about you," she whispered into Bree's ear. She straightened and wiped tears from her face with a crumpled handkerchief. "Thank you so much, Doctor Tumey. You're a godsend." She laid her hand upon his arm. Bree was sure the good doctor blushed.

Nurse Danville, who watched the exchange closely, a frown denting her forehead, insinuated herself between Elizabeth and Doctor Tumey and made a production of taking Bree's blood pressure. Elizabeth didn't seem to notice, but Bree caught the grimace of annoyance the doctor directed at the nurse. With a disappointed look at Elizabeth's back, Doctor Tumey shrugged slightly and said, "I'd best be off to see my other patients, as this one is in such lovely ... er ... good hands." He blushed again and quickly bowed out of the room.

As soon as he disappeared from sight, Nurse Danville turned on her heel and left, slamming the door on her way out.

"How long have I been here, Mrs. DuMont?" Bree asked.

"Doctor Tumey said something about a week?"

"You've been here six days, dear. And I think by now it would be much simpler, and I would like it very much, if you called me Elizabeth." She sat on the bed close to Bree's hip.

Bree smiled. "I'd like that."

Elizabeth's expression turned businesslike. "Now, since you're on the mend, we must make some plans. I'd like to 116

An Unsinkable Love

by Terri Benson

take you back home with us, so we can all rest up." She paused, a look of chagrin on her face. "Oh, dear. It hadn't occurred to me until just now you might have friends or family searching for you. It's been such a muddle. With Malcolm hurt and you sick, and, well, I haven't much energy myself. Eldon has been off taking care of business and I've been trying to deal with the shipping line." Elizabeth slumped and shook her head. "I'm such a foolish old woman. I can't manage to do the simplest things, and here you might have family frantic about you."

Bree reached out with both hands and clasped Elizabeth's.

"Please don't worry. I have no family or friends here. Except you," she added, pleased to see the older woman's face brighten. Then, trying to sound nonchalant, Bree asked,

"Now, what was that you said about Malcolm being injured?"

"He's doing much better now. He's been up and about for the last few days, but the doctor didn't want him to leave just yet. He was hit on the head and fell into the water."

Bree gasped.

"Oh, don't worry. He always did have a hard head,"

Elizabeth said with a wave of her hand and a roll of her eyes.

Her face turned serious. "He had a concussion and made it a bit worse by running all over the Carpathia trying to find us."

At Bree's confused expression, she explained, "That's the name of the ship which rescued us. It brought us to New York. There was so much confusion. I don't know if they've sorted out all the people who were rescued or even know who died. There were so very many." She closed her eyes, shaking her head.

117

An Unsinkable Love

by Terri Benson

"And Eldon? It sounds like he survived." Bree didn't even attempt to stifle the dislike in her voice.

Elizabeth didn't appear to notice her tone. "Oh, yes.

Apparently, he jumped in the water to rescue people and barely managed to grab on to a lifeboat before he drowned.

That's Eldon for you. Came out without a scratch, and a hero to boot. Picture in the paper and everything. He has invitations to breakfast, lunch and dinner every day from people who want to thank him."

"Do you go with him?" Bree knew what the answer would be before Elizabeth spoke.

"No. No, I've been so worried about you and Malcolm. My ribs have been hurting quite a bit, too. It seemed easier to stay here. Dr. Tumey arranged rooms for us at the Brevoort Hotel not far away. It's a lovely place. The doctor's been very kind."

Bree noticed a slight flush on Elizabeth's face as she talked about the doctor, and smiled.

"Now, back to the question at hand. Will you come to Massachusetts with us? We have such a big house. It's absolutely beautiful this time of year. We can enjoy a nice visit while you get your health back. Then you can decide what you would like to do next." Elizabeth said, nodding as if the decision were already made.

Bree frowned and chewed her lip. She didn't want to be alone—not with everything in such an uproar. She certainly didn't want to abandon her new friend to Eldon's not-so-tender mercies. And, of course, there was Malcolm. This sounded like an awfully good idea. Then an awfully bad 118

An Unsinkable Love

by Terri Benson

thought popped into her head. "Oh, no. My money.

Everything!" she wailed.

[Back to Table of Contents]

119

An Unsinkable Love

by Terri Benson