Echoes of Titanic

by Mindy Starns Clark

  “Annie accepted her fate, but as she was climbing down from the rail, Jocelyn must have realized that mother and daughter had been separated. Looking from one to the other, she called out to Annie and offered up her place on the lifeboat.”

  Tears sprang unbidden from Kelsey’s eyes, and she noticed Doreen tearing up as well.

  “As the women traded places, Jocelyn gave Annie a small, fat envelope with a name on front. Much like the others, she asked her to deliver it on her behalf. Of course Annie agreed. She owed her life to the girl.”

  Kelsey and her family members glanced at each other, and she knew they were all marveling at the incredible sacrifice of the young woman. Kelsey liked to think she would have done the same, but who could know until they were actually in such a position?

  “Sadly,” the old woman continued, “over the next few hours, as they floated in the ocean and waited to be rescued, that lifeboat took on some water. Annie’s bag was on the floor, and the water soaked through. Several of the letters she’d promised to deliver were ruined, the ink completely washed away.”

  At that, she placed her purse in her lap and unzipped it with help from her granddaughter. “Jocelyn’s letter wasn’t ruined, but her envelope was. The salutation inside was to someone named Adele, but with no last names and no address, Annie could not figure out who that was or where it was supposed to go. Months after the sinking—years, even—she pored over every published Titanic passenger list she could find but never ran across anyone by the name of Jocelyn or Adele.”

  “I know why that is,” Jonah interrupted. “Both girls had been named for their mothers. Their full names were Oona Jocelyn Brennan and Beatrice Adele Brennan. The ship’s roster had them as Oona and Beatrice, not Jocelyn and Adele.”

  “Oh, my. Well, that makes perfect sense, then,” the older woman said as she dug through her bag. “In the end, the best Annie could do was to preserve the letter and pass down the story in the hopes that someday it might make its way to the rightful owner.”

  She then produced a small but thick yellowed envelope that had been placed inside a baggie. She handed it over to Jonah, and though he accepted it reverentially he made no move to open it just yet.

  “I doubt the connection would ever have been made if not for a recent spate of headlines and news stories,” the old woman continued. Looking directly at Kelsey, she said, “You’re practically a celebrity, my dear, even out in our neck of the woods. I’d read all the stories about the…situation…with you and your company, but it wasn’t until I saw an interview the other day where you discussed your great-grandmother Adele, Titanic survivor, that my memory was stirred. There was one photo of you in particular, where you were wearing that same pin you have on today. Once I saw that, there was no doubt. This letter was meant for your great-grandmother, Adele Brennan Tate. It may have taken a while, but I’m thrilled to have delivered it to this family at last.”

  The woman sat back proudly and looked to Jonah, who took that as his cue. Carefully, he pulled the envelope from the baggie, opened it up, and removed the contents. As he gently unfolded the letter, Kelsey gasped, for tucked inside it was a small silver hat pin with a curve of tiny musical notes at one end.

  “The pin!” Doreen cried, looking to Kelsey. Soon everyone was talking at once, especially when Kelsey removed her own, accepted the other one from her grandfather, and slid the two together. A perfect match. The pin had found its other half at last.

  Next came the letter. With a strong voice and eyes soon swimming with tears, Jonah read Jocelyn’s brief note to those gathered there:

  Dear Adele,

  It appears Tad has left me on board to die. You were right; I shouldn’t have trusted his word over yours. I’m sorry. I love you. Please wear the pin in my memory. May I always be the notes of your harp.

  Goodbye my cousin, my sister, my heart.

  Jocelyn

  By the end they were all crying. They passed the letter around, and Kelsey’s fingers shook when it came to her. These were Jocelyn’s final words, her last note, written in her own hand. Oh, how Kelsey wished Adele had been given this in her lifetime!

  Kelsey’s father was the first to say “Thank you” to the two women. Those were followed by many more expressions of appreciation. Knowing Doreen, Kelsey thought, these two ladies were probably going to be thanked in some especially generous manner in the long run.

  She continued to hold the pins in her hand, marveling at how the notes nestled into the niche on the instrument and rose upward from it like a song. May I always be the notes of your harp, Jocelyn had said. What a lovely sentiment. What an amazing young woman.

  An hour later, the family reconvened at their final stop for the day, the family memorial stone in Battery Park. Though the gathering at the pier had been a public commemoration, this was a far more private affair. They hadn’t planned any sort of service, just the placing of a wreath, a prayer from Jonah, and a bit of quiet reflection. For some reason, Cole had told Kelsey it would be best if she rode from the pier to the park with her parents instead of with him. He said he had an errand to run on the way, and it would be faster if he could do it alone. She wasn’t sure what that was about, but she had complied.

  Once they were at Battery Park, Kelsey placed a special wreath beside the Irish blue limestone memorial. Across the front of the wreath was a ribbon bearing the word “Adele” in an artful script.

  While they waited for Cole to arrive, Kelsey stepped away from the group to make an important call. She dialed Walter’s home number and explained to him about Jocelyn’s letter and all they had just learned from the Devlin descendants.

  “The diary was already quite convincing,” she said, “but the letter they gave us today is proof positive that Jocelyn was the one who died on Titanic and Adele is the one who survived.”

  Just saying the words gave her such closure, yet a part of her felt sorry for Rupert, whose long and futile crusade would finally have to draw to a close. She said as much to Walter, who surprised her by replying that Rupert had read the copy of the diary she had sent him and had already decided to let it go.

  “It was never about the money,” Walter added. “He just wanted the truth. Now that you have this final proof, I think in a way he’ll almost be glad. At least now he can know for sure and put the matter to rest.”

  They concluded their call and then she returned to the fold. It had gotten colder, and she was worried about her dad, so she suggested they get started and Cole could join in once he arrived.

  They were about to do just that when Kelsey spotted Cole coming toward them, carrying what looked like another wreath. With a sharp intake of breath, she realized what he had done, that somewhere between the two locations he had managed to acquire a second wreath. When he arrived at the stone, he turned his wreath around to reveal that it, too, had a ribbon across the front, this one adorned with the word “Jocelyn.” He placed it beside the other, the two wreaths touching in the middle.

  A murmur of appreciation went through the small group. As Cole stepped into place beside Kelsey, she gave him a loving hug. Somehow he had known exactly what this day required: an honoring not just of Adele but of her beloved cousin as well. When they were finished with their little service, she decided she would snap some photos and send them to Rupert and Rhonda along with a note, an olive branch for these distant members of their family tree.

  “Thank you for that, Cole,” Jonah said as he stepped forward to give his prayer. “We would do well to always bear in mind the sacrifice made by Jocelyn that night. The Bible says that greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. I think we all learned today how that verse was lived out in our family. I, for one, am humbled and grateful to have descended from people of such fine character. Let us pray, and then we’ll share a moment of silence together.”

  They bowed their heads as Jonah spoke from the heart, praising God and thanking Him for the gift of life and family and faith. In the silenc
e that followed, Kelsey grew vividly aware of her surroundings: the laughter of children in the distance, the smell of the salty sea air, the warmth of Cole beside her. Slipping one hand into his, with the other she reached up and touched the dual hatpins now on her lapel, the golden Irish harp with the silver musical notes rising up from it like a song.

  Kelsey thought of these two great women who had come before, and she knew one thing for sure. With God’s help, the legacy of Jocelyn and Adele would continue to live on.

  EPILOGUE

  Lower Manhattan, New York

  April 15, 1913

  Adele joined the small group of mourners gathered at the memorial stone her father had placed in Battery Park. She made a point of standing as far from the man in the black coat as possible, but once the service was complete and the attendees began breaking off into small clusters to chat, he approached her directly. She would have simply turned and walked away if not for the fact that he was holding her hat in his hands.

  “I saw this blowing across the grass,” Tad told her, handing it over, “so I thought I would fetch it for you.”

  She took it from him with a curt “Thank you” and turned away as she tucked her windswept hair under the hat and affixed her pin to it. As she took a step, he reached out and gripped her arm to stop her. Then he spoke in a low, menacing voice.

  “Time’s up, Adele. It’s been a year since the ship sank. I’ve already told you what I wanted—and what I would do if I didn’t get it.”

  Summoning her nerve, Adele faced him, her chin jutting out defiantly.

  “And I told you that there are no bonds. They went down with the ship.”

  He studied her face, his beady eyes narrowing in the shadow of his hat’s brim. “You’re lying,” he said. “You’ve been lying since the beginning.”

  Adele felt her stomach clench. He was right. She was lying. She had carried the bonds off the ship hidden in the lining of her hand muff, and that was where they were going to stay until the day came when she could safely hand them over to her father. But she had no intention of doing so as long as Tad was still in the employ of Brennan & Company. Though her father was still fooled, she knew all too well the kind of man Tad Myers really was. Somehow, if he learned for sure the bonds still existed, he would find a way to steal them.

  “You’ll give me those bonds, Adele,” Tad pressed now, squeezing her arm even harder, “or I’ll make it very clear to everyone that you are the reason Jocelyn didn’t make it. It’s your fault she didn’t get onto a lifeboat in time. Your fault she died. Do you really want people to know that?”

  Again, Tad was right. Ultimately, it was her fault that Jocelyn hadn’t survived. Thanks to their argument, Adele had turned her back on Jocelyn and gotten into a lifeboat without her. By the time she calmed down and realized what she’d done, it was too late. The boat was already being lowered down to the water. Though she prayed desperately for the next two hours that somehow her cousin would find her way to another lifeboat, deep in her heart she knew she would not.

  Adele hadn’t known Jocelyn’s fate for sure until the next morning when she was rescued and onboard the Carpathia. Clinging to the rail of the ship, she had watched as lifeboat after lifeboat was unloaded, to no avail. Jocelyn was not among the survivors.

  Adele knew then that if not for her anger that night, if not for her abandonment of her cousin because of that anger, Jocelyn would still be alive.

  But for Tad to use her sorrow and regret against her now was needless and cruel. She knew a secret about him as well, one that was equally damaging. She knew how he’d made it onto a lifeboat despite the fact that he was a man. Dressed in clothing snatched from an employee’s locker, he had pretended to be a crewman and volunteered to row.

  “You tell people that Jocelyn’s death was my fault,” Adele whispered now, “and I’ll tell them about your costumed escape with the women and children from a sinking ship.”

  Stepping closer, he squeezed her arm so hard that it brought tears to her eyes.

  “You do that,” he snarled in reply, “and I’ll tell them that you’re not even Adele. Remember, when I first met you, you said your name was Jocelyn. For all I know, that was the truth. I’ll say you’re Jocelyn posing as Adele to take advantage of Sean Brennan’s money.”

  Adele stared into the man’s wild eyes. What an absurd claim! Surely he knew that such a lie would be found out. She’d been buried in her grief for so long that she and her father were still just getting to know each other, but surely he was smart enough to realize that she was his direct flesh and blood.

  “Go ahead,” Adele said bravely. “I’d rather live with the shame of Jocelyn’s death than break a promise to the man who raised me, or to give away an investment that belongs to my family.”

  “Fine.” Tad released his hold and took a step back. “We’ll just see who wins in the end.”

  With that, he turned to go, the tails of his dark coat flapping in the spring wind. Whatever he did now, Adele realized, didn’t really matter. She’d already lost the dearest friend she’d ever had, the cousin who was like a sister.

  “Adele?”

  She turned to see her father calling to her from across the grass. “Yes, Da?”

  “Are you ready to go?”

  Looking at his kind blue eyes, she felt safe and protected somehow. Though she had lived virtually all of her life without him, she was with him now, and she knew he loved her and that he put a great value on family ties. No matter what Tad might do, she knew her father would see that she was vindicated in the end.

  “Just another minute,” she responded. “I’ll meet you at the carriage.”

  With a nod he turned to go. She turned in the opposite direction and moved back toward the water for one last glimpse of the dark and choppy horizon.

  Today was a day for goodbyes, not just to her cousin Jocelyn and her Uncle Rowan, but to all who died that fateful night. Adele thought of the people whose paths had crossed with hers while aboard that ship who had not survived the sinking:

  Mr. Neville Williams, their gracious host in first class.

  Mr. Hoffman, the enigmatic father of the two little French-speaking boys.

  Mr. O’Connell, the one with the failing music store, and his wife and daughter.

  Mr. Thomas Brown, their dinner companion from South Africa.

  Mr. Austin van Billiard, the aspiring diamond merchant, along with both of his sons.

  So many more.

  Closing her eyes, Adele bid them all farewell.

  Now she had one last goodbye to give. Opening her eyes, she stood at the bulkhead, facing out toward the ocean and her homeland beyond, and said goodbye to the life she’d thought she would have here, to the dreams of two idealistic young women who thought that whatever they hoped for, they would achieve.

  As it turned out, the world was a much harsher place than either of them had ever imagined. Life was more tenuous and fleeting than they had known. The Bible said that tribulations taught patience, which led to experience, which led to hope. Someday, she prayed, her heart would find that hope. Until then, she would focus on patience and experience and live her life in a way that honored those she had lost.

  Looking up to the heavens now, she held out her arms from her sides and gave a final farewell.

  “I love you, my sweet uncle, my precious cousin,” she said aloud. “May you both rest in peace until we meet again.”

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. As the story begins, we see that Kelsey is a singularly focused workaholic who is both talented and successful. Which elements of this story lead her to question this behavior? By the end of the book, who do you think has had the biggest impact on helping her change her ways: her mother, Cole, or someone else? How does Gloria’s death play into this transition? How does Kelsey’s relationship with God affect it as well?

  2. Rupert Brennan claimed he just wanted to know the truth and he was not interested in money. Do you think that is true? Why do you
think Brennan & Tate settled with his father years before? Was that a good idea? Was there any other way the company could have handled this situation?

  3. As the CEO of Brennan & Tate, Walter is responsible for putting the company’s interests first. In that regard, is he justified in his treatment of Kelsey? How could he have handled things differently? Do you think he came to realize her value to the company in the end?

  4. Kelsey and her father have always been close. In the wake of his stroke, does this element of their relationship still shine through? How did you feel about their interactions? Do you think he will ever recover enough to become a viable part of Brennan & Tate again?

  5. Cole contacts Kelsey when he discovers that she is in trouble. Do you think he did this purely out of an altruistic desire to help her, or do you think he knew it might lead to a rekindling of their relationship? In what ways do Cole and Kelsey make a good match?

  6. Gloria paid a heavy price for her actions. What set her down this path? What could she have done to avoid her fate? In your opinion, is she redeemed for having changed her mind near the end?

  7. As the ship is sinking, Jocelyn makes a surprising choice to ally herself with one person rather than another. Why do you think she made such a choice? What was it about her character that influenced that decision?

  8. Cole thought he had forgiven Kelsey and moved on, but during a conversation one insensitive comment from her was like gasoline on flame, causing his anger to explode anew, surprising him. Have you ever thought you had forgiven someone, only to find out you were still dealing with the issues that upset you? Do you find that forgiveness is an ongoing process or a one-time event, or different for each situation you face?

  9. Both Adele’s son, Jonah, and her grandson, Nolan, indicated they weren’t completely certain Adele was who she said she was, and yet it did not seem to matter to either of them. How hard would it be to live with that question hanging over your life? As a parent, like Adele’s father, Sean, how much investigation would you do? As a son, how much trust would you have? And as a grandson, especially one who worked so closely with her, how much skepticism would you have?