The Titanic Sisters

by Patricia Falvey

  He made to leave but I put up my hands to stop him.

  ‘I can’t stay here and do nothing,’ I cried. ‘I have to help search for her. Please!’

  ‘It is best you stay, fräulein,’ he said gently. ‘I will be back as soon as I can with any news.’

  ‘He’s right, Delia,’ said Mayflower, ‘there ain’t much we can do right now.’

  Hans left, sprinting down the veranda steps two at a time. I sank down beside Mayflower, trying to hold back tears of despair. ‘It’s my fault again, Mayflower,’ I whispered. ‘Lily ran away to try and find me. I am nothing but a curse.’

  Hans returned the next morning. He and his men had searched every square foot of the ranch, he said, and there was no sign of her. He had not really expected to find her, he said. After all, a child her age would have been unlikely to make it this far. But they had to be sure. He thought the best thing now was to concentrate the search in Shotgun City where she had last been seen.

  I jumped up at the news. ‘Take me with you to Shotgun City, Hans,’ I said. ‘I need to join the search.’

  Mayflower let out a small cry. ‘But your leg’s not mended yet from the accident!’

  But Hans nodded. ‘As you wish, fräulein.’

  I went upstairs and threw a few things into a bag. The night before I’d had a dream that Lily was hugging me, tears in her eyes. I believed with all my being it was a premonition, just like I’d had that the Titanic was going to sink. Lily was still alive somewhere.

  Hans came in. ‘Time to go.’

  He picked up my bags and went out to the car. I hesitated for a moment, then went up to Mayflower and threw my arms around her. ‘Thank you for everything, Mayflower. You’ve been such a good friend. I don’t know what I’d have done without you.’

  Her look softened. ‘Oh now, honey, don’t be going on like you’re never gonna see me again! You’re going to find Lily in no time and then you’ll be back’.

  Tears pricked at my eyes as I took Mayflower’s hands in mine. The words that had been playing in my mind finally came out.

  ‘Even after we find her, I won’t be coming back. It’s time I moved on. I’ll stay in Shotgun City for a while and save some money. Then, who knows...’ I let my words drift off.

  Mayflower opened her mouth to protest but stopped. Instead, she nodded as if she’d been anticipating what I was going to say.

  ‘I know, darlin’. I was hoping you’d stay with us a spell longer, but you’ve got to find your own path.’

  She put her arms around me. ‘Don’t you be a stranger, you hear.’

  ‘Never,’ I said, as we both wiped away tears.

  NORA

  The night after I met Aidan O’Hanlon I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. I kept seeing Delia in my mind, sitting among the white stones, reading a book. How could I be sure she was in love with O’Hanlon? The Grissom feller had said they were a pair, but was he only having me on? I kept thinking until I was almost astray in the head. What if buying up his leases wasn’t hurting O’Hanlon that much? What if he had more money behind him than Sullivan thought – after all, Kearney had said he had a partner. Yes, I’d prised a lot of his leases right out from under his nose, but maybe most of those would never pay off.

  My thoughts turned to Mrs Shaw. Some things about me hadn’t changed under her influence. I still loved style and flirting and being admired. I still had a quick temper and was quick to put people in their place. And I wasn’t shy about criticizing people when they deserved it. My tongue could be as salty as ever, and I knew a fraud when I met one. But some other things had changed a lot. Reluctant as I was to show it, I felt a kindness and concern for people in trouble that I had never had before. I would think twice now before I hurt somebody who had never done me harm. And right now, that person was Delia. I wanted to curse Mrs Shaw for making my life so complicated; instead I cradled her locket in my fingers and drifted into sleep.

  By the next morning I had made up my mind. Sullivan had paid me to the end of the week so I would continue to work until then. I would visit all the remaining prospects on my list, but I wouldn’t press them too much to sign with S&K. That should be enough to satisfy James Sullivan that I had done everything he wanted. After that, I would travel back to New York and hope that I hadn’t hurt Aidan O’Hanlon too much. I buried the thought that by not seeing Delia before leaving, I was being a coward.

  Relieved that I had a plan, I was about to step out of my room when a bellman appeared with a message. Instead of going straight to Shotgun City I was to stop at S&K Exploration offices first. What now? I wondered. When I arrived there, Shane Kearney, the geologist feller, Harris, and the rat-faced Grissom stood huddled together. They stopped talking when I came in. Grissom glared at me and I glared back. If Kearney noticed, and I was sure he did, he passed no remarks. We all sat down. Kearney turned towards me.

  ‘Listen carefully now, Miss Sweeney,’ he began. ‘We have some news that will affect your assignment, you hear?’

  I wanted to give him a tongue-lashing for talking to me like a child, but I resisted the urge.

  ‘Grissom here has it on good authority that well eighty-eight, you recall I showed it to you, the one that’s being drilled by O’Hanlon and his partner Hans Humboldt, will be capped in the next few days. Harris, here, tells us they have drilled down three thousand feet and have only hit rock.’

  Harris nodded.

  ‘Grissom tells us they’re almost out of money, and their lease on that land expires the end of this week. Seems they’re in a pile of trouble, bless their hearts.’ Kearney shook his head as if in sympathy. ‘So, we need you, darlin’, to approach the landowner in question and get the lease renewed to S&K.’

  ‘But why? If there’s no oil, what good would the lease do us?’

  Kearney grinned. ‘Well done, Miss Sweeney. Such a good question. The thing I haven’t told you yet is that Harris is confident there is oil elsewhere on that land, in fact quite close to where number eighty-eight has been drilled.’

  ‘And you believe him?’

  The words were out before I could stop them.

  ‘Yes, of course,’ Kearney went on smoothly. ‘We don’t just have Mr Harris’s say so, but a number of several other geologists agree with him.’

  I pressed my luck. ‘But if that’s the case, wouldn’t O’Hanlon and his partner know that? Wouldn’t he have dug other wells besides this one?’

  Kearney gave me an exasperated look, as if I was a child with too many questions. ‘Of course they do, but their problem is they have no money to invest in more drilling. Must be real frustrating for them, real frustrating.’

  I took in all that Kearney had said. If I could get this lease signed over to S&K it would surely put a nail in Aidan O’Hanlon’s coffin. A sudden spasm of pain cut through my stomach.

  ‘Mr Sullivan is very anxious you get this done, darlin’,’ Kearney continued. ‘There’s a mighty fine bonus in it for you. After that, we won’t need you any longer, and you’ll be free to go back to New York or wherever you wish.’

  I should have been relieved that after this last assignment I would be free of Sullivan, but instead I felt used. And I had another feeling too. I recognized it as shame.

  DELIA

  As we rode out to Shotgun City, some of the heaviness I had been carrying lifted from my shoulders. I was finding strength I didn’t know I had – strength to forge my own destiny. And as for Aidan’s anger towards me, this time I was not going to run away. Hans and I said little as we drove, and I was left to my thoughts. As we neared Shotgun City, however, my anxiety began to build. Hans drove down the main street and I saw posters with Lily’s picture nailed to every building. My heart quickened. I prayed my premonition was true and that she was alive and safe somewhere. When we passed the café where I had lost Lily the first time, I felt sick. No matter, I thought, this time I have come to find her, and find her I will.

  Hans parked the car in front of the Kearney Hotel and jumped
out. I followed him as he hurried in through the front door. As if expecting us, Shane Kearney was there to greet us.

  ‘Any news?’ Hans and I said in unison.

  Shane Kearney shook his head. ‘Not yet. We have searched everywhere we can think of and still no sign of her. Francine is beside herself, and Aidan – well – poor Aidan is inconsolable.’

  I spoke up. ‘I’d like to take you up on your offer of a job, Mr Kearney. I intend to stay here and help in the search for Lily, but I need to earn some money to pay my way.’

  Shane Kearney raised an eyebrow. ‘Are you sure about this, Miss Sweeney? Aidan O’Hanlon is staying here at the hotel and you would most likely cross paths . . .’

  He let the rest of his words drift off. I knew what he was getting at. He knew I had run away from Aidan once and thought I was likely to do so again. Well he was wrong.

  ‘It is of no matter to me that Aidan O’Hanlon is staying here,’ I said firmly, ‘my only concern is Lily.’

  Out of the corner of my eye I saw Hans smiling.

  Mr Kearney bowed. ‘In that case I shall be delighted to take you on, Miss Sweeney. I have a room available at a reasonable rate. After you have settled in, we can discuss the terms of your employment.’

  The room was below stairs, small and sparsely furnished, with only a half window above the ground through which I could see the feet of passers-by. I sighed. It was nothing like the lovely, airy rooms I’d slept in over the last year. I was surprised how quickly I’d grown used to them. If I’d seen this room when I first came to America, I’d have been over the moon. It was a thousand times better than the cottage attic, and it was far away from Ma’s sharp tongue.

  I unpacked my belongings, smoothed down my dress, and went back up to the ground floor. Mr Kearney, as he always seemed to be, was engaged in an intense conversation with a tall, grizzled man with a face like a rat and darting, nervous eyes. An unsavoury customer if ever I saw one.

  ‘Ah, Miss Sweeney,’ Kearney said upon spotting me. ‘Come, let me show you your office and introduce you to the staff. You will start tomorrow at nine.’

  I stared at him in surprise. ‘Tomorrow?’ I asked.

  ‘I see no point in waiting, Miss Sweeney,’ he said and left.

  I felt blindsided. I hadn’t expected to begin work right away. My priority was Lily. I hurried out on to the street. It was then I realized I had no plan for how I was going to search. I stood trying to conjure up the images of Lily I had been seeing in my mind – perhaps some details would give me a clue. But nothing came. I went back into the hotel to find Kearney.

  ‘What’s being done in the search for Lily?’ My tone betrayed my impatience.

  He sighed. ‘We’ve done everything we can think of, Miss Sweeney. The hotel has been searched from top to bottom, room by room. I’ve sent men out to every establishment here in town, but no one remembers seeing her. It’s as if she disappeared into thin air.’

  ‘But there must be something else we can do. Did you check out at the oilfields, or on the edge of town where I’ve seen children playing among the shacks?’

  He stiffened. I had obviously pressed him too far. ‘I can assure you, Miss Sweeney, there is nowhere you can think of that we haven’t already searched.’ He turned to go, then added, ‘Francine tells me the child was drawing pictures of a ranch with your name scrawled on them,’ he said. ‘Many of us believe she ran away to find you.’

  I struggled to hold my temper. He was as much as blaming me for Lily’s disappearance. In the past I would have been filled with guilt, but I was not going to let it consume me this time.

  ‘Hans and his men have searched every inch of the ranch,’ I said. ‘Thank you for your time, Mr Kearney.’

  With that I turned away and hurried down the street. Eventually, I slowed my pace and began to question various shopkeepers and passers-by, and even some rough-looking men leaning against the wall of a saloon. No one had seen her. By the time I reached the end of the street a gnawing feeling welled up in me. What if my intuition was wrong? What if we never found her?

  NORA

  I had no choice but to do what Kearney and Sullivan wanted. Up until now I would have been delighted at the challenge of stealing the biggest lease of all from under Aidan O’Hanlon’s nose. But now that my conscience had caught up with me, the whole project had turned sour.

  Kearney insisted on driving me out to where the landowner lived. It was clear he didn’t trust me as far as he could throw me. And I felt the same about him. But I didn’t argue. It was when he got out of the car along with me at the rancher’s house that I drew the line.

  ‘Where d’you think you’re going?’ I demanded.

  ‘With you, of course, darlin’. This will be a tricky prospect, and I’d like to offer you the benefit of my experience.’

  Experience, my arse, I thought. ’Tis to spy on me you want.

  Instead of showing my anger, I put on a false smile. ‘That’s so nice of you, Mr Kearney,’ I said, ‘but I really think it will be better if I go in alone.’ I winked at him as I adjusted my dress, pulling it down to show off more cleavage. ‘You’d only distract the man from what I’m offering.’

  Kearney’s smile was more like a leer. ‘I get your meaning I completely, darlin’. I’ll wait for you here. If you need my help just holler.’

  I turned my back on him and walked up to the house. The truth was the last thing I wanted to do was sell this lease to Sullivan and his cronies. It would mean the end of Aidan O’Hanlon. I didn’t want that on my conscience. But, if I failed, the threat of Sullivan’s revenge scared the wits out of me more than a guilty conscience.

  My heart skipped when the door was opened by a wizened feller old enough to be my granda. From my experience he’d be a much easier sell than a young feller with a jealous wife. But when he looked me up and down and spat tobacco at my feet, I suddenly wasn’t so sure.

  ‘Ain’t no call here for what your selling, missy,’ he said, and tried to close the door in my face. I felt Kearney’s eyes burning through my back. I had to put on a show for him.

  ‘Oh, please, Mr McCabe,’ I said, tugging the neck of my dress back up. ‘I’m no floozie from the town. I’m a respectable businesswoman, and I’ve come to talk to you about your oil lease.’ I pulled out a printed card. ‘I represent S&K Exploration company.’

  I prayed that McCabe would let me in so I could close the door and get away from Kearney.

  ‘If you’d let me in, I can tell you why I’m here. I know you’ll find it worth your while. It just isn’t polite to keep a lady standing on the doorstep.’

  McCabe turned his back and grunted as he walked down the hall, leaving me to follow him. I closed the front door and made my way into a big, open room where a fire blazed. Jesus, I thought, ’tis the middle of August. Then I remembered that back in Donegal there was a fire in our cottage winter or summer. I shrugged. No matter where you are, some things don’t change.

  I started into my practised speech, but McCabe put up his hand to stop me.

  ‘I know why you’re here. Plenty of folks round here have warned me about you. You’re out to steal all of Aidan O’Hanlon’s leases—’

  ‘Not just O’Hanlon’s,’ I put in, ‘others as well. And we’re not stealing them, just offering a choice.’

  He waved a bony hand at me. ‘As I was saying, I know what you’re up to, and I won’t be part of it.’

  I took a deep breath. ‘But, Mr McCabe, as you likely know Mr O’Hanlon will be capping Well eighty-eight in a day or two and then he will be out of money and won’t be able to afford to renew your lease. S&K has plenty of funding and is prepared to make you a good offer.’

  He shook his head and spat tobacco into the hearth. ‘Not sure if I want a new lease,’ he said. ‘Sick and tired of my land being dug up.’

  I sighed. I couldn’t let this one slip away from me. Sullivan would crucify me.

  ‘There’s no guarantee S&K will drill on your land, and in the mea
ntime, you’ll have money coming in from the lease. S&K will only drill if we are sure there is oil. We have a very good record of success, and you would benefit from that success. You really don’t have much to lose, Mr McCabe.’

  I sat back and waited. I’d done all I could.

  McCabe muttered away to himself, then looked over at me. ‘Give over them papers,’ he said, ‘and show me where to sign.’

  I was delighted with myself as I stood and thanked McCabe. He refused to shake my hand, so I walked by myself to the door. I couldn’t wait to show Kearney how well I’d done. But just as I was about to open the door Mrs Shaw’s image floated in front of me. The thought of turning over the signed lease to Kearney suddenly sickened me. I folded it up and put it in my bag.

  I opened the car door and got in.

  ‘Well?’ said Kearney.

  ‘He won’t budge,’ I said.

  DELIA

  After I finished my first day at work in the hotel, I rushed outside. Lily had still not been found. She had been missing two days and by now I was frantic. I raced down the street to the edge of town where huts and lean-tos were crowded together. No one spoke English, but when I waved Lily’s picture they understood. One person after another shook their heads. At last I gave up in despair and trudged back up the street.

  When I reached the hotel, I pulled open the front door and almost collided with Aidan. He stood back to let me in, but I couldn’t move. I stared at him, hardly believing what I saw. His face was sallow and unshaven, and his clothes were crumpled as if he’d slept in them. My heart filled with pity for him.

  ‘Oh, Aidan,’ I said, ‘I’m so sorry.’

  He nodded but said nothing.

  We stood staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity. As I looked at him, I forgot about all the unpleasantness that had passed between us. None of it mattered now. I put my hand on his arm and led him into the lobby and over to a small sofa where we sat down. He turned to me, tears welling in his eyes.