The World Over

Bad News in New York Times

Chapter Twenty-Six

      Bad New In New York Times 

Edith's POV

   I was rocking Elizabeth slowly back and forth in my arms as my mother started to make a beef stew on the hob. It was a quiet affair and I believe Elizabeth was enjoying the peaceful-ness of it.

   William had taken Harriet and Peter out with him to check on the new school and my father was out with the gardner because he hated to feel like he was not doing anything. He never had money before moving to America and I believe he is still coming to grips with it all, which in all honesty I was also.

   "Mother, I am just going upstairs to put Elizabeth to sleep." I told her quietly and she nodded her head, the loving look on her face as she glanced at us both and I knew that was the look I also had on my face as I looked at William and my creation. It was a miracle.

   Once I had put her into her cot, I made my way downstairs but instead of coming back to the same quiet atmosphere, William and my siblings were sat at the oak, wooden table with a worrying look upon his face. 

   "Oh Edith." He cried as he saw me. 

      "Is everything okay?"

      He shook his head but when words seem to falter him, he passed over the New York Times which had the long headline, 'Titanic sinks four hours after hitting iceberg 866 rescued by Carpathia, probably 1250 perished. Ismay safe, Mrs Astor maybe, Noted names missing'. Ì gasped as I read the title and sat down on a chair to recover from the shock.

   I knew William's family had started to help in the furnishings of the ship and there was a lot of chatter about it being the largest liner to grace the waters, but 1250 dead? That is awful, all those families who had lost somebody. And just to think, William was supposed to be on the ship. Oh thank goodness he wasn't!

   But as I glanced towards William, I realised that his family were on the ship. His father, mother and the oaf Lord Darlington and his daughter. 

   "Do you want to go down to the bay?" I asked him with a little part of hopefulness in my voice. I wanted him to know that I was there for him and that I was not going anywhere. 

   He nodded his head and so after telling my mother to keep looking in on Elizabeth, William and I made our way down to the bay in the car driven by Thomas to try and help the best way we could.

   We were stuck in traffic about five minutes walk from the bay, so we got out of the car and started to run towards where the Carpathia was -which you could see from quite afar. Just looking at the ship as we both ran towards it, made this whole ordeal real.

   Just as we were about to pass through, a man held his hand out and stopped us. "You cannot go in there, sir." He told us.

   "My parents were on the Titanic, I have just heard, I need to see if they are okay." William announced but the man just shook his head which infuriated us both to no end.

   William grabbed two dollars out of his back pocket and passed them to the man, "Now can we go?" He asked and the man nodded his head, stepping aside to let us through. I see money really does determine who a person is...

   Once we were on the docks, there were thousands or people, you could tell which ones were on the Titanic as they had this lost look in their eyes like they would never recover from this ordeal and I felt horrendous. 

   William and I shall be able to do something, I am sure of it. 

      He grabbed hold of my hand and I gave him a resssuring smile as he pulled us through everybody but to no avail. I stopped in my tracks when I saw a man with a clipboard and dragged William over to him.

   "Hi, have you a list of the survivors?" I asked him. All morals and patience going through the window figuratively. 

   "Were you on the ship?" He replied with a distasteful look in William's direction, which I ignored.

   "No, but my husband's parents and friends were."

      "High, Middle or Lower class?" He questioned.

      William stepped forward, "High."

       "Name?"

       "William Cunningham the fourth and Margaret Cunningham." 

       The man flicked through a few pages and after a few seconds looked back up towards us. "Maragaret Cunningham has survived, we do not know of William yet. What were the friends names?"

   "George and Charlotte Darlington."

      He again searched the list and looked back towards us, "None of them have been accredited for. But it's only been docked for three hours, I'd read the newspaper in the next few days for a list of anybody else." He spoke. "Now, I need to go back to work, so please excuse me."

   I looked towards William, "We need to find your mother."

     He finally turned to face me, "My father would never leave my mother."

     I knew what he was getting at, he believed his father had died, but we could not think like that at the moment. I bet his mother, who before today I hated, was lost and we need to help the rest of the survivors, I am sure that not all of them have accomodation in New York.

   "Let's just find your mother." I finally replied and he nodded his head.

****

   We had been looking for his mother for a good twenty minutes when we finally saw her sat on the wall with a blanket wrapped around her body and a scared look on her face. I had never seen his mother look like this, she was normally glamarous looking, with pearls, diamonds and expensive dresses.

   We ran towards her and she did not even notice us, "Mother?" William asked with a gentle hand on her shoulder and she jumped out of her skin almost in surprise and shock.

   Her blue eyes faced towards him and even with everything she had been through, still managed to give me a look that suggested she would rather be sick than talk to me. "William?"

   "Oh mother, I am so glad you are okay." He told her as he gave her a hug and sat down next to her. "Did father survive?"

   Tears brimmed at her eyes and she shook her head. "No. There was a policy of women and children first and they would not let him on the lifeboat."

   William began to cry also as they clung onto each other and I was just stood a little bit back not wanting to interrupt their first meeting in months.  

   He looked towards me and beckoned me with his hand, so slowly I stepped up to them. "Mother, this is Edith my soon to be wife and mother of my child." He told her and Margaret's eyes bulged out of their sockets almost.

   "You have a child with her?"

      "Yes I have, she was born on the twelth and we have named her Elizabeth." He replied. "Now, we best get out of here."

   His mother frowned. "I shall get a hotel, I am not staying in the same room as her."

      "With what money mother?" He snapped. "I am marryind Edith as I love her. I do not want to have this discussion here, so let's just walk back to the car and go home. I would like you to meet your grand-daughter and we can grieve father in a more isolated place. It is not something for a hotel, you are not on holiday." William lectured and his mother just glanced at William with a shocked look upon her face before nodding.

   "You are more like your father than you realise." She muttered before she got up and we started to walk towards Thomas and the car, which he had parked closer to the bay.