It was then that he heard a dog barking. Turning towards the direction from which the sound was coming, he caught sight of the First Class woman whose dog he had walked on the upper decks a few days ago. She was standing in a white, silk evening gown, her fur stole around her neck, a fur hat on her head and her coat draped elegantly over her shoulders. The dog was in her arms, barking at all the noise and commotion. Her fiancée was fussing over her to put on her lifejacket.
‘Oh, stop fussing so will you Robert, for goodness sake,’ she chided. ‘I am perfectly sure that the officer meant only for the lifejackets to be worn once people are in the lifeboats. There is absolutely no good reason for putting the damned thing on when we’re still standing around on the deck, it would just get in the way. They’re such ugly looking things anyway. I’ve no mind to wear it about myself any sooner that is absolutely necessary.’
‘Oh, on the contrary darling,’ her fiancée replied, trying to lift the lifejacket over her head. ‘They're the very latest thing this season. Everyone is wearing them now! Look around.’
‘Oh Robert, for goodness sake,’ she chastised, a look of absolute disgust on her porcelain face. ‘Don’t be so bloody facetious.’
Harry watched the exchange in disbelief. She seemed to be in no hurry whatsoever to get into a lifeboat and was she really worried about how she looked at that particular moment? The ship was sinking for God’s sake. People were already dying in their efforts to save themselves and all Vivienne Walker-Brown was worried about was how she looked and whether her precious little dog was alright.
Harry recalled how he had taken an instant dislike to the woman from the minute he’d first seen her. She now appeared to him the epitome of selfishness and he wondered how the Irish girls could have been so impressed by her when he’d sneaked them up the ladder to the upper decks to spy on her and the other First Class idiots.
The ladder!
Why hadn’t he thought of it before?
Gathering his bearings, he ran around to the other side of the ship, past the gentlemen’s smoking room and the Palm Court, towards the crew ladder which he had brought the girls up earlier that morning. In his hurry, he barely acknowledged the fact that many of the First Class passengers were standing around in their lifejackets, chatting pleasantly, finishing their drinks and smoking their cigars while the musicians played soothing music in the background. The iceberg still loomed ominously in the distance and people were still crowding around where the chunks of ice had been knocked off onto the deck.
Clambering down the ladder, which was empty, Harry ran then along the length of Scotland Road, weaving and negotiating his way along the, now familiar, labyrinth of corridors to the dining room, encouraging the people he passed to wait there. ‘I’m coming back,’ he shouted to them. ‘Wait here. The stairwells are blocked. I know a way up. Wait here.’
By now the dining room was completely chaotic. He shoved and pushed his way through the crowd, heading towards the piano where he had last seen Peggy and the Irish group.
They weren’t there.
He looked frantically around the room until he saw a distinctive green hat. Relieved, he ran towards the group, hurrying them along, urging them to go with him. He grabbed Maggie by the shoulders. ‘Maggie listen. You’re not going to be able to get up on deck using the stairs. D’you understand? They’re all blocked with people and they’re not letting anyone up at the moment.’
She looked at him, a wild terror in her eyes. ‘I can’t swim Harry,’ she blurted out in desperation. ‘I can’t swim. I’m afraid of the water.’
‘You’re not going to have to Maggie. Listen, d’you remember the ladder? The one I took you up this morning?’
‘Yes.’
‘Go there now. It’s the only way up. Take your group and I’ll meet you up there. D’you remember the way?’
Peggy was listening. ‘I do,’ she said. ‘I remember. I’ll take them.’
‘I’m going to fetch some others to come up with us,’ Harry continued. ‘I’ll see you on the deck. Wait at the top of the ladder. I know where there’s a lifeboat.’
Maggie grabbed his arm. ‘Harry, can you take the family sittin’ over there?’ She pointed in the direction of Elsie, the young English girl and her family. ‘They’ve a small baby.’
‘OK. I will. Now go, all of you. And hurry. There isn’t much time.’ Seeing them start reaching for their cases and luggage he spoke again. ‘You’ll have to leave the luggage. There’s no room for it and it’s making it difficult for people to move, getting in the way an’ all.’