The Girl on the Carpathia - A novel of the Titanic by Eileen Enwright Hodgetts

Author:Eileen Enwright Hodgetts
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Titanic Fiction, Titanic Books, Titanic Mystery, Titanic History, Titanic Romance
Publisher: Eileen Enwright Hodgetts
Published: 2021-04-26T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

April 20, 1912

The Waldorf Astoria

New York

Kate Royston

Entering the hearing room at the Waldorf Astoria, Kate was suddenly self-conscious. It had been many months since she had worn such colorful clothing. She had become accustomed to the anonymity of her gray governess dress and the feeling that she could blend in anywhere as a governess or a lady’s maid, but now she wore a walking skirt of fine bright blue wool, a high-necked lace blouse, and a fitted navy-blue jacket. Her hair was curled and pinned beneath a broad-brimmed hat, and she even wore a pearl brooch at her throat. The clothes were modest by the standards her mother had set as fashionable, but they were, nonetheless, very fine clothes, and they fit her well, considering that they were not made to measure but hastily purchased.

Last night, she had been reluctant to leave the senator’s suite at the Waldorf Astoria. Sparks of excitement and urgency had seemed to crackle through the air around the makeshift desk where the Marconi messages had lain in a tumbled heap. She had been torn between listening to the calm certainty of Danny McSorley’s explanations and the gruff determination of Sheriff Bayliss’s threats against the captain of the Californian. Wrapped in a soft blanket and warmed by several glasses of brandy, she had felt as though she had been watching history being made. The world would read about this tomorrow, but last night, she had already been the possessor of secrets that would have to be teased from reluctant witnesses.

Unfortunately, the senator had been far too much a gentleman to allow her to remain in his suite after a suitable escort had been found to take her to Eva Trentham’s house, and so she had been driven through the deserted, rain-soaked streets and been delivered into the hands of Bridie and Eva.

Despite the excitement of the night before and the whirl of her own excited thoughts, she had somehow managed to fall so soundly asleep that Bridie had to shake her awake.

“Dressmaker,” Bridie said impatiently, pulling back the covers. “Herself wants you smartly dressed. It will be ready-made clothes—no time for anything bespoke—but there’ll be something for you in a city this size and with a purse as heavy as Mrs. Trentham’s, and there’s a whole bevy of dressmakers waiting downstairs for you.”

As soon as Kate was dressed to Eva’s satisfaction, a footman arrived to convey Eva first to a motor vehicle and then through the front doors of the Waldorf Astoria. After that, Kate was given the task of pushing Eva’s wheelchair, as Bridie had been left behind.

Kate paused to admire the lobby, which she had only glimpsed the night before, but Eva had no time to waste.

“Just push,” she said impatiently. “I want to be in the front row of the meeting room. We’ve already missed the morning session while I found you something to wear.”

“If you sit there, other people won’t be able to see around you,” Kate commented as she studied the room.

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