The Titanic Sisters

by Patricia Falvey

Just then there was a shuffle in the hallway behind her.

  ‘Who is it, Annie?’ called a male voice. ‘For God’s sake, don’t keep them on the doorstep.’

  ‘Nobody! She was just leaving.’

  She was about to shut the door again when a man came up behind her and peered out at me.

  ‘And who would you be?’ he said, in a heavy Irish brogue.

  I extended my hand. ‘I am Miss Sweeney, Mr . . . ?’

  He looked at me suspiciously. ‘James Sullivan,’ he growled, ‘What business have you?’

  He didn’t move to invite me in, but I stepped into the hallway anyway. The sour Annie stood by with an angry look.

  ‘I told her to leave, Mr Sullivan,’ she said, ‘but she refused to budge.’

  Mr Sullivan looked me up and down, then turned to Annie.

  ‘Show her into the library, Annie, and bring us some whiskey.’

  Annie looked daggers through me, then pointed her finger towards a door. ‘’Tis in there,’ she said, and disappeared.

  James Sullivan was a massively big man. He would have made two of my da. His hands were huge and his fingers like stuffed sausages. His face was red and veined, which I recognized meant a fondness for the whiskey, and hard blue eyes, which I sensed never missed a trick.

  ‘Sit down,’ he said, pointing to an armchair beside the fireplace.

  It was more of a command than an invitation.

  ‘Thank you,’ I said and sat down, primly arranging my skirt. I smiled up at him. ‘It is so nice of you to see me at such short notice, Mr Sullivan.’

  He stared at me in the way that toothless old men back at the pub in Kilcross used to do, their rheumy eyes travelling over me and saliva wetting their lips. But this feller was different. He had none of the hopelessness of those oul’ men. Instead, power seemed to ooze out of him. This was a man who got what he wanted. It wouldn’t be easy to charm him into telling me what I wanted to know. Inside, I was sickened with fear of what he might do to me, but I was determined not to let it show.

  The silence was broken by Annie banging through the door with a pair of glasses and a bottle of whiskey on a tray. She set the tray down on a table and filled each glass to the rim. She set his down quietly beside him but slammed mine down so hard some of the whiskey splattered out onto the table. Taking the tray, she left, almost taking the door off its hinges as she shut it behind her.

  James Sullivan chuckled. ‘You mustn’t mind Annie. She has the Irish temper. But she’s a good worker and keeps me company.’

  He said this last bit with a sly smile. There was no mistaking what he meant. I pretended not to notice.

  ‘Sláinte,’ he said as he raised his glass. ‘You’re Irish too, aren’t you, just like Annie. I like Irish girls.’

  I took a gulp of the whiskey, wondering how I was going to get through this without the oul’ bastard pawing me with his big hands.

  ‘My name is Nora Sweeney,’ I began. ‘I’m from Donegal. My sister, Delia Sweeney, worked here for the last owner, Mr Aidan O’Hanlon.’

  Mr Sullivan scowled but said nothing.

  ‘I came to New York a few days ago, hoping to find her, but when I came yesterday, your maid said they’d all left, and she didn’t know where they’d gone. I assumed, as the new owner of this house, you might know.’

  I let the words hang in the air while he studied me.

  ‘Sweeney, is it?’ he said finally, his Irish brogue growing more distinct as it seeped through the whiskey. ‘Yes, there was a girl named Sweeney here. But I thought her name was Nora as well. I didn’t pay that much attention to her. She was skittish as a cat, afraid of her own shadow.’ He chuckled. ‘I think I frightened the daylights out of her.’

  I was right – he didn’t miss a trick. He had summed up Delia well.

  He drained his glass, got up and poured some more. ‘Now, let’s see. She was working for the O’Hanlon boyo when I met her, but I’m not sure how long she was here.’

  He grinned, showing big white teeth. ‘And just to set the record straight, Miss Sweeney, Aidan O’Hanlon never owned this house. It was my wedding present to my daughter Mary, God rest her soul, and so she was the rightful owner. He was only squatting here after she died.’

  I sat up straight. So this was the Sullivan Kathleen had said would have stopped O’Hanlon from leaving for Texas with his daughter. I became more wary.

  It was clear from his tone that he had no time for Aidan O’Hanlon. ‘The bastard was my son-in-law. The only reason I let him stay here was for the sake of the child – Mary’s daughter, Lily.’

  His face softened as he said Lily’s name. ‘Loveliest wee girl you could ever meet. Just like her mother.’ He seemed to go away into himself, forgetting I was there. ‘I’m only here because my own house is being remodelled. But it’s nice all the same, being around Mary’s wee bits and pieces. It makes me feel closer to her.’

  I was impatient to ask where they had gone, but it didn’t seem the right time. I’d have to be careful how I behaved in front of this man – I suspected he had a violent temper.

  ‘He took advantage of my absence and ran off like a thief in the night, taking my Lily with him,’ he said, looking directly at me now, ‘but I don’t know if he took the one you call your sister. The other Nora Sweeney.’

  I cleared my throat and tried to look humble. ‘I understand that they, er Mr O’Hanlon and Lily, went to Texas. Do you know if that’s true?’

  He threw back his big head and laughed. ‘Texas,’ he declared. ‘Yes, they went to bloody Texas.’

  Without thinking, I blurted out, ‘But where in God’s name is Texas?’

  ‘The back of beyond,’ he said, ‘thousands of miles from here. I hear it’s a desperate place, and the heat would kill you.’

  My mouth dropped open. ‘But – but, why? Why there?’

  ‘Oil!’ he said. ‘Oil! Ever since oil was discovered there back in ’01 every class of blackguard’s been running down there hoping to make his fortune. That son-in-law of mine dragged poor Mary there with him first time he went. It didn’t suit her. Didn’t suit her at all. She took the fever, and he brought her back. But it was too late.’

  He was beginning to slur his words. Everything in me wanted to get up and leave, but I needed to find out about Delia. I pretended to sip more whiskey even though I never could stand the bloody stuff.

  He began to study me again, his eyes roving all over my body. ‘You’re hiding something from me, missy. There must be some reason that sister of yours would be calling herself Nora. I know you’re wanting to know if she went with him and where in Texas they are, and I know you’re plotting in your head how you’ll get there.’

  He leaned forward. ‘I’ll make a bargain with you. Come back here Friday night and I’ll spell out for you where they are, but only after you tell me the real reason you’re so anxious to find them.’

  He stood up and I got up as well, my legs weak and the sweat running off me. The last thing I wanted was to see this man again. But what choice did I have?

  I nodded. ‘Very well, Mr Sullivan.’

  He showed me to the door, but before I could leave, he rested his hand on my shoulder. ‘And once we have all thatstraightened out, I might have a proposition for you.’

  Alarm must have shown on my face, for he laughed heartily. ‘Ah, don’t worry, love, it’s nothing like that. Although I’d wager such arrangements might not be new to you.’

  Without thinking, I raised my hand to slap him, but he caught it and held it. ‘You’re a little spitfire, aren’t you?’ he said. ‘I like that in a woman. But you have it all wrong. The proposition I have in mind is something that will benefit us both, not only financially, but by the revenge we’ll get on those who’ve wronged us. This Delia has wronged you, hasn’t she?’

  It was too much for me to take in all at once. I slid out from under his grasp and fled down Fifth Avenue.

  My visit with James Sullivan had scared the living daylights out of
me. After I’d locked myself in my hotel room, I’d tossed and turned all night wondering if finding Delia was worth the risk of taking up with him. He was a dangerous man. Who knew what this ‘proposition’ was that he had in mind? And what else might he expect me to do? Was I to be his ‘companion’ like that frightful Annie? What in God’s name was I getting myself into? But the more I thought about it, the more my desire to find Delia grew. Fear was not going to stop me. I was reminded then that stubbornness had always been one of my strongest traits.

  On Friday night, James Sullivan himself opened the front door. He showed no reaction to my arrival, just stood to one side and waved me in. The old bugger was so sure of himself he knew I’d come, I thought, and for a moment I wished I hadn’t, just to spite him. But it was too late, I was here now, and he knew he had the upper hand.

  ‘Annie’s laid up feeling poorly tonight,’ he said, ‘so I must fend for myself.’

  He left the room and returned with a bottle of whiskey and two glasses.

  ‘Shall we have a toast to our success, Nora?’ he said, raising his glass.

  How dare he call me Nora? I thought. It’s another way he’s showing me who’s in charge. Well, I can give as good as I get.

  ‘You’re putting the cart before the horse,’ I said. ‘I don’t even know what your proposition is yet.’

  ‘Touché, Nora!’

  I had no feckin’ notion what ‘touché’ meant, but I could see he was impressed.

  ‘I like feisty Irish women. I think you will be very suited to my plans.’

  He was like a cat toying with a mouse. I hadn’t the patience for it.

  ‘Get on with it then, let’s hear them.’

  He got up and poured another glass of whiskey and I allowed him to fill mine. Maybe it was the whiskey that gave me the courage, but I meant to go toe to toe with him.

  ‘Ah, you’re forgetting our bargain, Nora. You tell me your whole story, so I can know what’s driving you. In exchange I will tell you where in Texas Aidan, Lily and your sister are. Oh yes, I knew from the previous servants that she’d gone with him, I just didn’t want to tell you at the time.’

  I wanted to slap the smug look off his face. Instead I took another sip of whiskey and told my story, beginning with the letter from America, and my near drowning on the Titanic.

  ‘So you see, Delia thinks I’m dead. But now I need to find her. I want to be sure she’s all right. And, I hope she’ll be able to help me get settled in America. I have no one else to turn to.’ I chased away a sudden image of Dom.

  James threw his big head back and laughed. ‘Well said, Nora. You’re a colleen after my own heart. I think you’re still hiding a few cards from me. You’d make a good poker player, and I think you’re just the girl I want for my plan.’

  I’d told him the truth, but if he wanted to believe I had some other fish to fry, then I would let him. It could only stand to my benefit. Confident now that I thought I had control of the situation, I leaned forward.

  ‘You haven’t told me where in Texas they are, so I can still find them in case your plans don’t suit me.’

  I had gone too far. He stood up and came close, his eyes narrowed and his face crimson. I shrank back, afraid he was going to lunge at me.

  ‘You’ve a brass neck on you, girl. I have a good mind to throw you out on the street.’ He studied me for a long moment then threw his head back and laughed. ‘But I like your spirit.’

  I wanted to protest that he wasn’t holding up his part of the bargain, but I didn’t dare.

  He sat back down.

  ‘My plan, pure and simple, is to ruin Mr Aidan O’Hanlon. I want him made penniless, so he’ll have to crawl back to me on his hands and knees. And as his thanks for me paying off his debts, he will bring Lily back here to me.’

  I gasped. This man had a taste for revenge that made Ma’s demands look like child’s play.

  As if reading my mind, he said, ‘He deserves every bit of it and more. He killed my Mary.’

  He sipped more whiskey.

  ‘Now, about my plan. To begin with, I knew you’d be going to Texas, anyway, once I told you that’s where they were. Since you were already going to be there, I thought we could join forces.

  ‘You see,’ he went on, ‘I know something about the oil business. It’s a dirty business. It’s filled with thieves, spies and double-crossers. The way to make money is to drill a well that hits oil. But to drill a well, you must have a lease on the place where you want to drill. There’s fierce competition over these leases.’

  I leaned forward in my chair, concentrating on his every word. I was a bit confused, but I was determined to understand. I didn’t want him thinking I was an ignorant git.

  ‘That’s where you come in,’ he went on. ‘My spies tell me that O’Hanlon’s leases run out soon. I want you to talk the landowners into renewing their leases with us instead of him. That way he’ll be out of business, and deep in debt. And, don’t worry, I have people down there who can show you the ropes.’

  ‘I won’t need much help,’ I lied, ‘I’m a very quick learner.’

  He stood up, beaming. ‘Let’s drink to our partnership.’

  We clinked our glasses together. The evening had gone better than I could ever have expected. Maybe the whiskey had given me Dutch courage but, no matter, I’d have my way to Texas paid for, a job, and my chance to find Delia. It couldn’t have worked out better. And James Sullivan had been all business. He’d made no advances at all. All in all, I was very glad I had come. We agreed that I would come back the next night to go over details, like what and how I’d be paid, and where I’d live.

  When I returned to the hotel, I was hoping against hope there might be a message from Dom telling me I’d misunderstood about Kathleen and begging me to come back again. But there was nothing. I fought back tears.

  You may put him out of your head for good, I told myself. Stop the waterworks, there’s no use crying over spilt milk. You’ve got James Sullivan now and he’ll get you to Delia, and in the meantime give you a chance to earn some money.

  But, in spite of all this, a thought nagged at me. I didn’t like the idea of ruining Aidan O’Hanlon. What if it hurt Delia? I’d no notion whether she liked him or despised him. If she liked him and found out what I was doing it would surely turn her against me. But what else was I going to do? Sullivan had thrown me a lifeline, and I had no choice but to take it.

  HUMBOLDT RANCH

  July 1913

  DELIA

  Early the next morning I stood leaning on a fence rail watching cattle grazing in a distant field. From where I stood, they looked like the longhorns I had seen over in Fort Worth when I first arrived in Texas. How long ago that seemed. A stiff breeze came up and blew away the tears that were beginning to roll down my cheeks. I shook my head hard. There was no point crying over spilt milk. The damage was done, and now I had to face my future.

  Mayflower and I had arrived after dusk the previous evening. I got out of the car and looked around, but everything had disappeared beneath dark shadows, except for the glow of lamps in the windows. I was reminded of lamps people set in windows of houses in Donegal to welcome pilgrims. Mayflower led me up the steps to the front porch. I jumped at a squeaking sound, thinking maybe it was some animal. Mayflower laughed.

  ‘Them’s just our ole rockin’ chairs,’ she said. ‘Many a night Hans and me just set here looking up at the stars.’

  She ushered me into a big open living room. I was expecting it to look like the Swiss Avenue house, but I was wrong. This room had no polished floors or stained-glass lamps, and yet it was just as inviting. Everything in it was made for practical living, and by the looks of the furniture it had seen a lot of living over the years. Brown, well-worn leather armchairs with silver studs along the seams stood either side of a huge, stone fireplace. Strewn on the rough wooden floor were rugs made of animal pelts. I stared at them, almost expecting them to rear up and growl at me. I looked away and up at
the walls where stuffed animal heads gazed down at me, and from the ceiling hung a chandelier made of antler horns.

  ‘Them critters won’t bite you,’ Mayflower laughed. ‘I’m guessing you never saw the likes of this back in Ireland.’

  I shook my head.

  She took off her hat and threw it down on a chair. ‘I’ll go and see if there’s anything to eat in the kitchen. Maria, Manuel’s wife, didn’t know we were coming. She most likely went home to their cabin. She stays out there when Hans and I are away.’

  ‘Oh, please, don’t worry about me,’ I said. ‘I’m not hungry. I just need to go to bed.’

  The next morning, I woke up to the smell of bacon frying. For a minute I thought I was back home in the Donegal cottage, and Ma was cooking breakfast for Da. But when I threw back the colourful quilt and slid my feet down onto a straw mat beside the four-poster bed, I remembered I was a long way from Donegal. Mayflower was waiting for me when I came into the kitchen. A brown-skinned woman with a smooth, broad face was setting a plate of food in front of her. Sitting across from Mayflower at a big wooden table, its surface covered with scars and cigarette burns, were three men whom I supposed were ranch workers.

  ‘Oh, there you are, honey. Come and set yourself down. This here is Maria, Manuel’s wife, and these are our ranch hands.’

  The men nodded at me, their eyes cast down the way the shy boys at our village dances always did. Maria smiled, exposing two gold teeth, and went to fetch another plate of food. I’d never seen so much food before. Apparently, a ranch breakfast consisted of bacon, eggs, potatoes, steak and grits. No matter, I cleaned the plate in no time, then looked around embarrassed.

  My hunger had made me forget my manners. But no one seemed to have noticed. The men rose, gave a little bow, and shuffled away. Maria busied herself washing dishes. I picked up the mug of coffee Maria had set down. It was boiling, and I almost blistered my lips. It was so strong I slammed the mug back down on the table. I had become accustomed to coffee instead of tea since arriving in America, but I had never tasted anything like this. Mayflower laughed.