No Greater Love by Danielle Steel Read Free Book Online Page B

gushed across the mail room floor. The
Titanic
had indeed hit an iceberg and her first five so-called watertight compartments were full of water, from the gash the iceberg had caused. On the bridge, Captain Smith, Bruce Ismay, the head of the White Star Line, and Thomas Andrews, the ship’s builder, stood in disbelief and tried to determine just how desperate was the situation.
    Andrews’s conclusions were far from cheering. There was no way around it, with five of her compartments filled with water, the
Titanic
could not stay afloat for long. The unsinkable ship was sinking. They thought they could keep her afloat for a while, but no one could be sure how long, and as Bertram Winfield went back to bed, he thought for just an instant that the floor beneath his feet was listing slightly, but he was certain he was mistaken.
    And five minutes after midnight, at Thomas Andrews’s urging, Captain Smith looked at the officers on the bridge and told them to uncover the lifeboats. There had been no lifeboat drill until then, no practice, no warnings, no preparation. This was the ship that could not sink, the ship they would never have to worry about, and now all the first-class stewards were knocking on doors, and in an instant Bert was back in the room. He had heard the voices the minute Charles opened the door to the parlor, but he couldn’t hear the words. And now he heard them all too clearly. The steward was smiling, and speaking to them gently, as though they were all children and he wanted them to listen to him,but he didn’t want them to be startled or frightened. Yet it was obvious, too, that he wanted them to do as they were told, and quickly.
    “Everyone up on deck, with life belts on. Right now!” There were no bells, no sirens, no general alarm. In fact, the silence was eerie, but the look in the steward’s eyes said that he meant it, and Edwina could feel herself move into another gear, the way she did when one of the children was hurt, and she suddenly knew that she had to move quickly to give her mother a hand with the others.
    “Do I have time to change?” Edwina asked the steward before he moved on to the next room, but he only shook his head and tossed the words back over his shoulder.
    “I don’t think so. Just stay as you are, and put your life belt on. It’ll help keep you warm. Just a precaution, but you must go up now.” He was gone then, and for a fraction of a moment she looked at Charles and he squeezed her hand, as her father went to wake her mother and the children. Oona was back by then, but like Kate and the children, she was fast asleep in her cabin.
    “I’ll help you get the children up,” Charles offered, and went to Phillip and George, got their life belts out for them, and urged them to hurry, while attempting not to frighten them too much, but it was difficult not to. Only George thought it sounded like good fun, but poor Phillip looked terribly worried as he slipped the life belt over his clothes and Charles showed him how to work it.
    Edwina woke Alexis up first, with a gentle shake, and a quick kiss, and then she simply lifted Fannie from her bed, and gently shook Oona’s arm, but the girl was looking wild-eyed as Edwina tried to explain to her what had happened, without panicking the children.
    “Where’s Mama?” Alexis looked terrified, and sheran back to bed as Edwina told Oona to get Teddy, and just then Kate came out of their bedroom, pulling her dressing gown over her nightgown, looking sleepy but composed, and Alexis flew into her arms with a vengeance.
    “What’s going on?” Kate looked confused as her eyes went from her husband to her daughter, and then to Charles. “Did I miss something rather crucial while I was asleep?” She felt as though she’d woken in the middle of a drama and she had no idea what it was that had happened.
    “I’m not sure.” Bertram was honest with her. “All I know is that we’ve hit some ice, they claim it’s not serious, or at