Titanic: The Long Night by Diane Hoh Read Free Book Online Page A

hundred pairs of eyes on her as she escaped. But she clamped her lips together and refused to say another word, even when Denver millionairess Mrs. J. J. “Molly” Brown stopped at their table to congratulate her father on his winnings at cards the night before. The woman clapped him on the back and said in a loud voice that she hoped he’d play again that night, “so’s I can take another crack at relievin’ you of some funds.” She smiled a broad grin. “Lighten your wallet a little, give you less to lug around on board.”
    “Very thoughtful of you,” Elizabeth’s father said dryly, smiling in return.
    When the woman had gone, Elizabeth’s mother murmured, “Now, there is a woman who is independently wealthy and completely in charge of her own life. She is also coarse, loud, and vulgar, particularly unattractive qualities in a woman. Is that who you would pattern yourself after, Elizabeth?”
    “If she is allowed the luxury of making all of her own decisions, yes,” Elizabeth answered. And couldn’t resist adding, “So, if Molly Brown were a man, it would be acceptable for her to be coarse, loud, and vulgar? Is that what you’re saying, Mother?”
    “Vulgarity is not acceptable from anyone,” came the stiff reply. Elizabeth’s mother, looking offended, touched her lips with the fine linen napkin. “But I do believe it is much more unseemly coming from a woman, and I do not apologize for thinking that. You would do well to think the same.”
    Elizabeth fell silent again. She was despondent at the turn the discussion had taken. But she was only giving up for now, not for good. She would try again…and again…and again.
    Still, she could hear the clock on the Grand Staircase ticking away the minutes. She willed the great ship to slow down, take its time, give her more hours in which to think up a new strategy, and more hours in which to employ it.
    But the Titanic continued to speed smoothly across the water, making its way along Saint George’s Channel toward Queenstown, Ireland, where more passengers would board.
    After breakfast, Elizabeth decided to go up on deck to watch the embarkation. She had never seen Ireland. She had heard that the country was beautiful, and while she might not be able to see that much of it from the ship, which she had been told would be anchored offshore, it would be foolish to stay inside and see nothing.
    When her mother stopped on the way out of the dining room to say hello to the Widener party, Elizabeth’s father said quietly, “You might think about apologizing to your mother. Get on her good side. You’re not doing yourself any good taking this attitude.”
    Elizabeth lifted her head to look straight up at him. “I don’t want to apologize,” she said clearly. “I haven’t done anything wrong. It’s hard to be polite when someone is arranging your entire life for you.” Her father was right about one thing: She wasn’t endearing herself to either of them by what they saw as her constant disagreeability. But how can I be agreeable, she asked herself as she left the dining room, when I don’t agree with what they’re doing to me?
    When she was on deck, she glanced around for Max, the only other person she knew on board. She was eager to hear more about his adventures in Paris.
    But when she found him, he wasn’t alone, which both surprised and disturbed her. He was strolling toward the bow along the promenade, and on his arm was a tall, very thin girl wearing clothes that Elizabeth considered odd. Her long, black skirt was much too full by the standards of the day. Her brightly colored jacket of crimson and green in a gaudy flower pattern appeared garish in contrast to the sedate tans and grays and navy blues of other women on deck. Her hair, darker than Max’s, hung loose and free around her shoulders, the sea breeze tossing it into a dark cloud around her oval, olive-skinned face.
    She looks like a gypsy, Elizabeth thought. But Max was smiling down at