The shipbuilder's daughter

Senate Inquiry, April 19th

« Miss Andrews? » calls Senator Smith. Lily looks up at him, like if she's waking up. She was lost in her thoughts, sometimes for so long that she didn't really know how much of the moment she had missed. « I beg your pardon? » she asks. Smith seems a bit annoyed, but he does understand how hard this must be for her. He decides to politely repeats his question. « Do you know if Rose Dewitt Bukater, Mr Caledon Hockley's fiancée, was amongst the survivors on the Carpathia? ». Lily remains silent for a few seconds. « You befriended this young lady, didn't you miss? » Smith adds. Lily nods in agreement: « I did, sir. But I haven't seen her aboard the Carpathia. I do not know if she's alive, sir » tells Lily. This question might sound weird, but Cal asked to open an investigation for Rose. He pretends she left on a lifeboat, which means she should have been on the Carpathia. Of course, Caledon was lying. He clearly never saw Rose jumping aboard a lifeboat, but the man would do everything possible to find her. Thus, Rose was missing. Not like the passengers who might have lost their lives in the shipwreck, but rather as a real disappearance that needed to be investigated urgently. Do you think that as much effort would have been put into finding a third class passenger?

« Can the Second Officer Charles Lightoller come in front of this Inquiry? » urges Smith. Lightoller, who was sitting amongst other officers in the room, gets up and heads to Smith. He takes place on a chair next to Lily's. « Miss Andrews, I assume you know the Officer Charles Lightoller, correct? » asks Smith. Lily quickly glances at Lightoller. She's stressed out that she doesn't know where this whole conversation is going to lead them. « I do know the Second Officer Charles Lightoller, indeed » she says. « Earlier, you told the Inquiry that you actually saw all of the officers present today, during the sinking » adds Smith. « That is true, sir ». « Have you seen the officer Charles Lightoller during the sinking? » asks Smith. « Yes sir, I did » replies Lily.

« Could you tell us what you remember about the Officer Lightoller that night? » then asks Smith. Lily frowns. She has the feeling there's a need of saying something bad on Lightoller right now. What are they trying to prove, exactly? « Well, all I can tell is that each time I saw Charles Lightoller during the sinking, he was doing his duty perfectly » she answers. « Could you be a little more specific, miss? » Smith asks. « He quickly took matters into his hands. He never gave into panic. He remained calm, organized. He quickly asked women and children to get into the lifeboats » Lily tells. « Women and children only, right? ». « Yes sir. He asked women and children only » says Lily. « Don't you think this was a little too strict? Not to give any man the chance to live? » Smith then asks. Lily pauses, then replies: « I suppose I'm not here to state on my opinions, but only in order to witness what I saw that night ». Some noise rises in the room.

Smith looks at the other senators, then back to Lily. « Miss Andrews, are aware of the fact that several lifeboats left without their maximum capacity reached? ». Smith now points out a very important detail. « I am aware of it, indeed » Lily replies. « Based on the lifeboats numbers, we could understand those lifeboats were prepared and released by the Second Officer. In addition, some people have testified that they saw your father, Thomas Andrews, angry with Mr. Lightoller ». Lily's throat tightens again at the thought of her late father. She couldn't see the question here, though. Thus, she says « Facts are that, indeed, several lifeboats left without reaching their maximum capacity. When my father noticed that the Officer Lightoller was obviously not putting enough people into the lifeboats, he told him that he must call for more people. And so Lightoller did » Lily replies, very simply. That was clear.

Smith now turns his attention to Lightoller. « Mr Lightoller, would you agree with Miss Andrews' words? » he asks. « I do, sir » replies Lightoller. « Mr Lightoller, what time did you leave the Titanic? ». Lightoller lifts his head. « I didn't leave the Titanic, sir » he says. People are talking again around the room. There's a moment of silence, so Smith asks: « Did the Titanic leave you? ».

« Yes, sir. She did ».