Fumbling Toward Ecstasy

Chapter 23 - Out of Touch, Out of Time

Nearly half an hour later, Brynne was nowhere near the boat deck. She was down in third-class trying to help those whom everyone else seemed to have forgotten. The route from most third-class areas to the upper decks was not a direct one, especially for the passengers who couldn't read or speak English. Brynne had already successfully led one group to the boat deck, and now she was returning for her second group.

Andrews scanned the boat deck, fore and aft, for Brynne, but he couldn't spot her. In fact, he saw no one out on deck except for the crew fumbling with the davits. The crew didn't know what they were doing, as they were unfamiliar with the Welin davits and hadn't had a boat drill; the monstrous din resulting from the steam venting from the funnel pipes surely didn't help matters.

Andrews hurried over to Chief Officer Wilde who supervised the deck crew as they prepared the lifeboats for launch.

"Mr. Wilde," Andrews yelled over the roar of the steam, "where are all the passengers?"

"They've all gone back inside," Wilde yelled back. "Too damn cold and noisy for them."

Andrews pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. Over half an hour had passed since he'd called Brynne. She should've been out on deck, along with the other passengers. There wasn't a moment to spare.

Andrews stepped inside the first-class foyer entrance. The atmosphere was a cocktail party with topcoats, hats, and lifebelts. He hadn't wanted to cause a panic, but he'd certainly expected there to be more urgency than this. A waiter appeared at his side, offering him a drink from the tray expertly balanced on his hand, but Andrews moved away from him without a word. A stiff drink wasn't a bad idea, he thought. Maybe it would keep him calm and help him make sense of this disaster. But he decided that the best thing he could do, at least for now, was to keep a clear head.

He moved to the Grand Staircase and peered over the banister. Mary Sloan was near the bottom of the stairs one deck below on A-deck. Andrews trotted down the steps to meet her.

"Mary," he called out to her as he cleared the last steps. "Have you seen my wife?"

Mary regarded him somewhat guiltily for a moment before answering. "She went down to third class."

"Third Class? What is she doing down there?" Andrews asked, his eyes going wide with surprise and worry.

"She went down to help the third-class passengers," Mary replied. "She's leading them up to the boat deck. She's already brought one group up, and she went down for another."

Andrews was silent. His instinct was to dash down to third class to immediately retrieve her, but he knew that probably wouldn't help the situation. He didn't know where she was down there. She could've gone any number of places. He'd have a better chance of catching her when she surfaced again on the upper decks.

Interpreting Andrews's silence as anger, Mary spoke up in Brynne's defense. "She said there was no one down there to help them. She wanted to give them a chance."

Andrews relaxed his tensed features and even offered a small grin to Mary. He patted her on the shoulder. "Thank you, Mary," he said. Mary began to move away. "Mary?"

The young woman stopped and turned back to Andrews. "Sir?"

"Put on a lifebelt," he said. "Set an example."

"Oh, but sir, they do look quite mean," Mary responded.

Andrews quickly crossed the small gap between them. "Go and put one on, if you value your life," he said. His voice was quiet but urgent. "And tell everyone you see to do so, as well."