Rescue
Meg had lost consciousness somewhere between the dispatch of the two rescue lifeboats and the arrival of the Carpathia. It wasn’t until Mrs. Appleton shook her softly to let her know it was their turn to mount the ladder to the new ocean liner that she fully came to. Her dress was stiff with ice particles, as was her hair, and as she began to move just to straighten up, every part of her body protested. She glanced over at Ruth, who was sleeping on her father’s shoulder, and Daniel managed a small smile. Her initial thought, her continuous thought, was a simple one. I’ve lost Charlie again. This time, it seemed, it would be for good.
Getting aboard the Carpathia required a lot of help, but she managed to do so. Once aboard, the survivors were immediately ushered away from the Boat Deck to the interior of the boat where several public areas had been prepared to receive them. At first, Meg insisted on being allowed to stay on the Boat Deck to watch as the other boats came in, looking for Charlie, of course, but then she realized there had been no rhyme and reason to how the boats were received, and if he had survived, he could well be aboard the Carpathia already. The crew of the Carpathia was doing their best to calm the distraught passengers, and as such they had some rules and guidelines they were trying to keep in place to prevent a mass of hysterical women from clogging up the Boat Deck. Therefore, Meg, Daniel, and Ruth were ushered away with Mrs. Appleton and the rest of the survivors from Lifeboat Number 16.
Meg’s head seemed quite foggy as she entered the dining lounge where the majority of the Titanic survivors were being attended to. She glanced around, but her vision was blurry. Despite being inside at last, she still felt quite cold.
“Here, love, take this hot tea,” a kind woman said, approaching her from behind and wrapping a fresh blanket around her as she handed her the mug. “Oh dear, you’re frozen solid!” she declared upon seeing the ice crystals on the bottom of Meg’s dress. “Come with me,” she insisted.
Meg glanced around and saw that another woman was carrying Ruth off, presumably for the same reason, Daniel behind her, and though Meg didn’t particularly want to be separated from her family, she had no voice to argue, so she plodded along behind on rubbery legs.
A few moments later, the woman had assisted her in changing to dry, warm clothing, forced a second beverage upon her, wrapped her up in that fresh blanket, and escorted her back out to the holding area. “Have a seat, love, and I’ll see if I can’t track down your family.”
As she turned to walk away, Meg’s hand shot out, and she grabbed her arm. “Charles Ashton.”
“What’s that, love?” the woman said bending closer. “Your voice is so hoarse, I can hardly understand you.”
“Charles Ashton,” she repeated.
The woman straightened a bit. “The millionaire?” she asked. Meg nodded. The woman’s forehead creased a bit. “Not rightly sure, love, but I’ll find out.” Meg forced a small smile and drew her hand back under the blanket. “Sit tight, sweetheart. I think I see my friend who had your husband and little girl right over there.”
That would explain the odd look, Meg thought, but with no words to correct the misunderstanding, she did as she was told, pouring all of her concentration into thawing her body so that she could begin her search for Charlie.
“Meg!” she must have dozed off again. When she opened her eyes, she was looking into a familiar pair, and though they were not quite the ones she had longed to see, she was still happy to see them.
“Jonathan!” She jumped out of the chair and threw her arms around his neck, only realizing too late how painful such quick, random movements could be. “You’re safe, then?” she said, ignoring the shooting pain in her arms and shoulders.
“Yes, Kelly, Lizzy and I made it aboard Carpathia several hours ago. I’ve been looking for you. How are you?” he asked, an expression of concern on his face.
“I think I’m all right,” she assured him. “Have you…”
“No,” he shook his head sharply. “I was hoping, perhaps, you could indicate where he might be. I attempted to speak with Daniel, but he was in so much pain from his arm, and Kelly was doting over him and Ruth so much, I began to search for you instead. No one aboard Carpathia has been able to tell me anything.”
Meg was happy to hear that the O’Connell family had been reunited. “I’m afraid I know as little as you do,” she explained.
“You didn’t see which way he went after he got off of the lifeboat?” Jonathan clarified.
Meg stared at him for a moment. He had no idea. “Daniel didn’t tell you? Jonathan, Charlie didn’t get on the lifeboat with us.”
“What?” he asked his eyes doubling in size. “What do you mean?”
“He refused. He said he couldn’t get on a lifeboat when there were women and children going down with the ship.” Repeating his words from those final moments together was extremely painful, and she found herself sinking back into the deck chair she had been occupying previously.
Jonathan collapsed to his knees beside her. “But—if he didn’t get aboard a lifeboat….”
Tears began to overflow from her eyes again, and she squeezed them tight against the reality of his words.
He was quiet for a moment, only shaking his head slowly from time to time. Eventually, he said, “I thought for sure when I saw Daniel and Ruth that you’d all made it aboard safe….”
“I tried…” she began.
“Oh, no, Meg,” Jonathan stopped her, placing his hand on top of hers. “You mustn’t blame yourself. If Charlie had his mind set on something, trust me, there was no changing it.”
She hated that he was using past tense already. “Was there anyone… anyone at all… from the water?”
Jonathan’s disposition changed and a miniscule glimmer of hope appeared for just a second before being snuffed away. “I’m honestly not quite sure. I had been paying attention to what they were saying about the lifeboats. I know there were a few people taken directly to the medical station, those that were pulled from the collapsibles, I believe. Let me go do some checking, and I will come back and tell you what I discover.”
“No.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ll come with you,” she said, pulling herself to her unsteady feet.
“Meg, you’re pale as death. You need to rest.”
“What I need… is Charlie.”
“Very well then.”
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