The Titanic Sisters

by Patricia Falvey

  After a minute I knew I had to get them into the car in case Kearney showed up. I approached Delia slowly and tapped her on the shoulder.

  ‘Delia?’

  She looked as if she’d seen a ghost.

  ‘Nora?’

  I nodded. ‘Aye, Delia. It’s me.’

  She stood up, rocking unsteadily on her feet. She looked as though she might faint. I took her by the arm.

  ‘You and Lily need to get into the car now before Kearney sees you. He’s the one stole Lily.’

  A steely glint appeared in Delia’s eyes. I’d never seen such a look from her in my life. I backed away.

  ‘Why should I believe you?’ she cried. ‘You’ve been here trying to ruin Aidan’s business just to get your revenge on me. How dare you, Nora? And if that wasn’t enough, you stole Lily. You’re still the selfish, greedy, malicious girl you always were.’

  She was screaming now, ignoring the stares of people on the street.

  ‘Get out of my sight,’ she cried. ‘I wish you’d stayed dead!’

  She put her arm around Lily and hurried away without looking back. There was no point calling out after her. I got in the car and told the driver to take me back to Dallas. Her words rang in my ears. She was right. I had persecuted her something awful when we were young, and I had tried to destroy her and Aidan. I deserved what I got from her.

  ‘I’m sorry, Delia,’ I murmured as I let my tears fall. ‘I’m sorry for everything.’

  DELIA

  I clutched Lily’s hand tight and ran with her back into the hotel. Shane Kearney tried to block our way, but I ducked around him and took the stairs up to Aidan’s room two at a time, praying that Aidan would be there. Lily cried out to me to slow down, but I ignored her. I wouldn’t stop until she was safely in Aidan’s arms.

  Aidan opened the door before I even knocked.

  ‘Daddy!’

  Lily ran to him and clutched him around the waist. He put his hand on her head and pulled her close. He stared at me and opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. I was so out of breath I couldn’t have answered him if they had. We stared at each other. I read gratitude in his eyes as his tears began to flow. I nodded.

  ‘I know,’ I managed to say at last. ‘It’s a miracle.’

  I followed him into the room. Lily still clung to him. He sat down, taking her on his lap.

  ‘How? Who?’

  ‘It was my sister brought her here,’ I began. ‘Nora Sweeney – the woman who’s been stealing your leases – she’s my sister, Aidan. I’m so sorry . . .’ My words trailed off as I began to sob.

  ‘But I thought she drowned?’

  ‘S-So did I,’ I said miserably. ‘But she didn’t. A-And she found out I passed myself off as her and she came here to get back at me – at us – for what I did!’

  Aidan stood up, gently easing Lily into the armchair. Then he came over and put his arms around me.

  I sobbed into his shoulder. ‘I’m sorry,’ I whispered. ‘I’m so, so sorry.’

  He took me by the shoulders and forced me to look at him. ‘Listen to me, Delia. You have nothing to be sorry for. You are not responsible for your sister’s actions. But . . . if she was really out for revenge why did she bring Lily to you?’

  ‘I don’t know. But she was the one who stole her!’

  ‘No, she wasn’t.’

  Aidan and I turned to stare at Lily.

  ‘It was Mr Kearney stole me. He came up to me in the hotel and took me down to Miss Francine and said I was to stay with her. He said he would come back to take me to Daddy.’ She frowned and bit her lip. ‘I waited and waited with Miss Francine, but he didn’t come back until this morning.’ She looked near to tears.

  ‘It’s all right, Lily,’ Aidan said, kneeling in front of where she sat. ‘Take your time. What happened then? Where did Mr Kearney take you?’

  ‘To a big hotel in Dallas. I thought he was taking me to see you, Daddy, but he wasn’t.’ She heaved a sigh. ‘It was a lady named Nora. He told her to take me to New York on a train at two o’clock, and then he left.’ She gave Aidan a pleading look. ‘I don’t want to go to New York, Daddy. I want to stay here with you and Delia.’

  Aidan wrapped her in his arms. ‘You’re not going to New York, my pet, you’re staying here with us.’

  ‘Forever?’

  ‘Yes, forever.’

  When she settled down, Lily told us that when Nora found out who she was, she brought her back to Shotgun City. She’d told her she was bringing her to her father, although Lily wasn’t sure she believed her.

  ‘But she did what she promised,’ said Aidan.

  Lily nodded her head.

  I slumped down onto a chair. Suddenly I didn’t know what to think. Had I blamed Nora too quickly? Was she innocent?

  As if reading my mind, Lily came up to me. ‘Miss Nora didn’t steal me, Miss Delia. She didn’t even know who I was at first. Don’t be angry with her.’

  Lily dozed off. Aidan lifted her on to the bed and covered her with a bedspread. Then he poured two glasses of brandy, gave me one, and sat down opposite me.

  ‘Sullivan!’ we both said in unison.

  ‘I knew he was behind it,’ Aidan said. ‘He was the one bringing her to New York.’

  ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘And it seems Shane Kearney was helping him.’

  Aidan nodded. ‘Sullivan was behind the whole leasing scheme too. And no doubt Kearney was part of it.’

  ‘And Nora. She may have had no part in Lily’s disappearance, but she definitely was helping Sullivan get your leases.’

  We fell silent, each lost in our own thoughts.

  I remembered what I’d said to Nora. I wish you’d stayed dead! It was a terrible thing to say to anyone, let alone my own sister. I had no idea what she’d been through since that night on the Titanic. I had no idea why she was working for Sullivan. Maybe it had nothing to do with revenge. The one thing I did know was that she had done a kind and brave thing by bringing Lily back to us. She had risked Sullivan’s temper – and I could vouch for the ferocity of it from my own experience – and she’d risked running afoul of Shane Kearney. Shane Kearney! I could hardly believe it. ‘A wolf in sheep’s clothing’ Ma would have called him.

  I drained my brandy, looked at the clock, and stood up.

  ‘There’s somewhere I have to go, Aidan,’ I said. ‘I’ll be back soon.’

  NORA

  I cried all the way back to Dallas. By the time I was back in my room at the Adolphus I had no tears left to shed. I shouldn’t have been surprised at Delia’s reaction. I could understand why she’d jump to the conclusion that I’d taken Lily. And she knew I was the one buying out Aidan’s leases. From her way of looking at it, I had hurt the two people she loved.

  Delia’s fierceness had stunned me but what had sliced through me like a knife was when she’d said she wished I was still dead. I hadn’t expected the likes of that – particularly from the Delia I remembered who’d never say as much as boo to a goose. I’d almost doubled over from the pain of it, from the pain of knowing I’d lost my only sister once and for all.

  The clock chimed one. There was still time to catch the two o’clock train to New York. I didn’t care if Sullivan was waiting for me. He’d be raging that I hadn’t brought Lily, but he couldn’t hurt me more than Delia had. Nobody could.

  The doorbell rang and I jumped up to get it. The driver was early. But it wasn’t the driver, it was Delia. I stood, unable to move. I thought maybe I was seeing a ghost. But then she spoke.

  ‘Hello, Nora. Can I come in?’

  I nodded and opened the door wide. She came in and looked around at my luggage.

  ‘I thought you might be leaving town. I’m glad I caught you in time.’

  There was an awkward silence between us. I nodded to the sofa and she sat down.

  ‘I’m sorry for what I said, Nora, it was unforgivable.’

  ‘You had every right,’ I said.

  ‘No. I had the right
to be angry with you for working for Sullivan, but I had no right to accuse you of stealing Lily when I didn’t have all the facts.’ She paused, and I saw that she was fighting back tears. ‘And I had absolutely no right to say I wished you were dead.’

  I shrugged. ‘It hardly matters now. I’ll be on my way to New York in an hour, and I don’t suppose we’ll ever see each other again.’

  I was trying to put on a brave face, but my voice faltered. Delia began crying in earnest. She stood up and put her arms around me.

  ‘Please forgive me, Nora. I never wanted it to be like this. You don’t know how many times I wished you had survived, and we could be sisters again.’

  I looked at her. ‘I wanted that, too, Delia. I came to Texas to find you, but then I got involved with Sullivan – ah, ’tis a long story.’

  Delia pulled me down on the sofa and sat beside me. ‘Tell me everything,’ she said.

  I looked at the clock. ‘But there isn’t time . . .’

  ‘You’re not leaving until I hear it. I’m going down to send your driver away, then I’m coming back to order some tea and you’re going to tell me everything.’

  I managed a weak smile. She sounded just like the bossy Delia I remembered from the Titanic. I waited until she returned and went about making the tea. Then she sat down.

  ‘Go on now,’ she said.

  Once I started talking, it all rushed out of me like an overflowing river. I began with waking up in the hospital not knowing who or where I was. I smiled when I told her about Mrs Shaw and how kind she’d been to me. I even told her about that lout, Sinclair. I was relieved to get that part off my chest, for I’d never told anyone about it before. I told her about going back to Donegal and how Ma had me astray in the head after she found out Delia had taken the job with Aidan O’Hanlon. And I told her about how Da had sold a cow to buy back the locket I’d pawned to pay my passage back to New York.

  ‘I think he loved me a little bit, after all,’ I said.

  Delia smiled. ‘He loves both of us, Nora.’

  I told her about the summer Dom and I had spent together and how I’d hoped to see him in New York, and maybe there would have been a future for us except for Kathleen.

  ‘Kathleen?’ Delia said. ‘The Kathleen used to work for Aidan?’

  I nodded. ‘Would you be after knowing her?’

  ‘Oh, yes. You see Dom and I were friends in New York, and she accused me of stealing him from her. But Dom said he wouldn’t give her the time of day. I’m certain she just wanted you to think they were going together. She’s a spiteful girl.’

  I didn’t know whether to believe her, but deep down I hoped she was right. I gulped down some tea. My throat was parched from talking.

  ‘Dom gave me your address in New York, and I went to the house to find you, and who was there but Sullivan.’

  ‘I’ve met him,’ Delia said. ‘He’s an awful man.’

  My eyes grew wide. ‘Then you know how ignorant and dangerous he can be. He came up with this plan. I didn’t like the sound of it, but ’twas the only way I could get to Texas and see you. But the more leases I signed, the more guilty I felt, and the more I was afraid to let you know I was here. It was only when Kearney brought Lily here . . .’

  Delia took my hands in hers. ‘Oh, Nora, I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through. And I understand completely why you did what you did.’ She paused and frowned. ‘But there’s something I don’t understand. You’re not the Nora I remember – there’s something different about you.’

  I smiled for the first time. ‘Aye. You may blame Mrs Shaw for that. She didn’t take all the spit and fire out of me, but she taught me something about kindness – and about love.’ I fingered my locket as I spoke. ‘I think she saved my life, Delia.’

  The clock struck four. I was shocked. We’d been talking for almost three hours. And Delia hadn’t even told me her story yet.

  ‘Oh dear, I should be getting back,’ she said. ‘I told Aidan I wouldn’t be long.’

  Just at that moment there was a loud knock on the door. I opened it just enough to see who was there and a tall woman with black hair pushed past me.

  ‘Delia, darlin’,’ she drawled. ‘I hear they found Lily! We gotta get ourselves to Shotgun City right this minute. Aidan just called me. Told me you’d likely be here.’

  The woman gave me a sharp look. ‘Who’s this?’ she said.

  Delia smiled. ‘This is my sister, Nora Sweeney,’ she said. ‘She’s the one who found Lily, and she’s coming with us.’

  Before the woman or I could say a word, Delia rushed us out the door.

  ‘I’ll explain in the car,’ she said.

  DELIA

  Mayflower was unusually quiet as I told her about Sullivan’s revenge scheme and Shane Kearney’s role in it. When I had finished, she glared at Nora. She likely wouldn’t forgive her as quickly as I had, but there again she didn’t know Nora’s whole story. I knew she’d come around eventually. For now, Mayflower was satisfied with taking her vengeance on Shane Kearney.

  ‘I never thought Shane Kearney would turn out to be as crooked as a dog’s hind leg,’ she said. ‘As for that floozie, Francine, I never did trust her. All gussied up and full of sweet talk, and all the while in cahoots with Kearney to kidnap Lily.’

  Nora tried to choke down a giggle. I was sure she’d never heard such colourful talk.

  ‘Them two better hightail it out of town before folks find out what they did. They’d be about as welcome here as a skunk at a picnic.’

  Having said her piece, Mayflower leaned back in her seat with an air of righteous disdain.

  We rode on in silence until we reached the outskirts of Shotgun City. The area around the lean-to huts and shacks, usually buzzing with activity, seemed eerily quiet. No children played in the yards, and the tables outside the taverna were empty.

  ‘Where is everyone, Manuel?’ I asked the driver, expecting him to tell me today was a holiday.

  Manuel shrugged his shoulders.

  When we drove on to the main street that ran through town, Mayflower and I sat straight up. Ahead of us, a crowd was gathering. People were pouring out of the stores and cafés and saloons. Alarmed, I told Manuel to stop the car. He pulled over to the side of the road and we all jumped out. Mayflower, Nora and I joined hands and followed the crowd. Everyone was running in one direction, their pace quickening.

  My heart began to pound. Something had happened. When we reached the hotel, I tried to run inside to make sure Aidan and Lily were safe, but I was met with a wall of people streaming out through the front door.

  ‘What’s going on?’ I shouted to a young lad whose face was flushed with excitement.

  ‘Heard it was a fight’, he answered as he ran.

  ‘Most likely an accident,’ exclaimed a dour-looking woman in an old-fashioned bonnet.

  ‘Or a killin’,’ shouted the grizzled man beside her.

  The crowd was moving so fast now I feared it would turn into a stampede. Mayflower, Nora and I clutched hands as we were carried along by the throng. Ranchers, preachers, dance-hall girls, roughnecks and drunks swept past like a raging river. I spotted the town schoolmistress holding on to her bonnet, and the newspaper editor behind her. It seemed as if the whole of Shotgun City was on the move.

  My breath came in short spurts and sweat ran down the back of my neck. A sharp pain radiated across my chest and I thought my heart might explode. I felt Nora’s hand slip out of my grip. I tried to turn around to find her, but the pressure of the crowd made it impossible. I shouted her name, but my voice was lost in the uproar.

  When we reached the end of Main Street, released from its confines, the crowd began to fan out. I was finally able to catch my breath. We were near an oilfield – Aidan’s oilfield. I could see the outline of the derrick poking up towards the sky. As the crowd slowed, I pushed my way through them. I had to see what was going on. I had to make sure Aidan was safe.

  I reached the edge of the field
. The crowd, strangely silent now, pressed in behind me. From this distance everything looked normal. The roughnecks still walked the plank and the drill bit rose and fell into Well 88. Still, something seemed out of place. A man holding a bucket was pointing to its contents, gesturing wildly to Hans.

  I scanned the field for a sight of Aidan. Please let him be safe, I prayed. Then I saw him, walking hand in hand with Lily around the well in deep conversation with the site manager. I breathed a sigh of relief.

  ‘Thank God,’ I uttered aloud.

  The newspaper editor appeared beside me. He squinted towards Aidan and then back at me. ‘Looks like your boy might have found oil!’

  I took in a sharp breath. ‘What?’ I choked.

  ‘May be just a rumour,’ he said. ‘They travel fast in these parts. From what I can see they’re inspecting the sample right now. That’s surely a sign they’ve found something.’

  My heart began to thud. I could stand it no more. I broke away from the crowd and ran towards Aidan. He didn’t see me until I was beside him.

  ‘Delia?’ he said. ‘What are you doing here?’

  I pointed behind me. ‘The entire town is here. Is it true, Aidan, did you find oil?’

  He shook his head. ‘I don’t know yet. I don’t want to get my hopes up. Hans is looking at the samples now.’

  He pushed Lily towards me. ‘Here, take her. I couldn’t leave her at the hotel alone, but it’s not safe for her here. You neither.’

  He glanced over at the crowds and groaned. ‘I hate to disappoint them all.’

  I had never seen Aidan like this. Usually so confident, he now had the air of a defeated man.

  ‘You have to understand, Delia. An oil find in this area would change all their fortunes. If there’s oil here, then there’s bound to be more nearby. And—’

  He didn’t finish his sentence. Hans came running towards us, waving his short arms. I had never seen the dignified Hans in such a state, and I started to laugh at how comical he looked. But I stopped.