Eventually, I heard Nora giggling outside the door. I presumed she was with her new conquest, the young English steward, Robert. Maybe she was angling for another visit to first class. She came in humming to herself, sloughed off her dress and boots onto the floor and, ignoring me, fell into bed. In seconds she was sound asleep. If she’d heard the noise, she paid no attention to it.

Nora

Nora

The bed was moving. Blearily, I wondered if a storm was tossing the ship about. That was enough to make me finally open my eyes. I hated water. It was then I realized it was Delia shaking me.

“In the name of God!” I shouted. “Can you not just leave me the feck alone! ’Twas bad enough you spent your days following me around the ship. Every time I turned around, I’d see you watching me. For God’s sake, could you not at least leave me to sleep?” Groggily, I turned over, pulled the bedclothes up over my face and tried to go back to sleep.

“There’s something wrong with the ship!” she yelled. “We have to get out!”

Just then, there came a loud banging on the cabin door. Groaning, I sat up. Robert burst into the cabin carrying life belts. One look at his face and I could tell something was wrong. Before I could open my mouth to speak, he began giving out orders.

“You have to get out, now!” he said, his voice louder and more demanding than I had heard it before. “Put this on,” he said, shoving the bulky life belt at me.

“I could suffocate in that thing, ’tis so hot,” I protested.

“Now, Nora!” he shouted.

I looked at Delia. She was busy throwing my clothes into my suitcase. My temper flared. “Stop that!”

She stopped in her tracks and gave me a strange look.

Robert looked at Delia, then back at me. “You don’t understand, Nora,” he said, speaking slowly, as if he was talking to a child. “The ship is going to sink. You have to get out of here now!”

I didn’t like him talking to me that way. “And how would you know?” I demanded.

He sighed and kept talking in the same tone as before. “I was just up on the bridge,” he said, “and I heard the captain and the first mate arguing. The first mate said an iceberg was about to hit the ship, and he had to slow down or we would sink. The captain wouldn’t believe him at first, said it was too early to change speed, but the first mate insisted. He wanted the captain to give the order to prepare the lifeboats and start alerting the passengers.”

Robert paused, sweat running down his face. “You can’t wait. You have to go now! There aren’t enough lifeboats, Nora. If you don’t go now, there’ll be no room left.”