‘Rum and lotsa sea air,’ Spencer chipped in, and then, when he was met by silence by those who were listening in, he explained, ‘Well, it worked for the pirates in that Errol Flynn film.’
‘And perhaps it would on board the De Grasse too,’ the doctor laughed. ‘But I prefer to prescribe bed rest and bone broth until the stomach settles. On a ship this size, it’s not so much of a problem, though finding any sort of medication in suitable quantities is hard work these days, thanks to our German friends.’
‘Amen to that,’ Spencer replied. ‘You should have seen the mess they made of the supply routes when Genie and I were in Tunis. I don’t want to give anyone the bum rap, but I’m guessing the Nazis didn’t major in social care in college, am I right?’ This drew a few nods of appreciation from the other men around the table and tinkling laughter from Genie.
‘Ridiculous man,’ Mrs Archer muttered under her breath, and Fen saw Eloise take a deep, nerve-calming breath before engaging her aunt in some other, less controversial conversation.
‘Excusez-moi, ladies and gentlemen, Lord Selham,’ Captain Lagrande said, waving away a smartly dressed steward who had just whispered something into his ear, ‘will you please all forgive me for leaving you now. We are due to depart and I am needed on the bridge.’
A chorus of ‘goodnight, Captain’ heralded his exit from the table, and once the normal murmur of the dining room resumed, Fen turned her attention back towards Eloise and her aunt, who were deep in conversation with James. Or rather, Eloise and Mrs Archer were deep in conversation and James was rather kidnapped between them, playing tennis with his eyes as the two women batted opinions across to each other.
‘What’s the point in putting them away, Aunt?’ Fen caught the end of something Eloise was saying. ‘You’ll only want them out again.’
‘But the Princeton tiara is worth considerably more than the trinkets you wear, Eloise dear,’ Mrs Archer replied. ‘And we lost that bracelet at Rouen.’
‘I know, Aunt, but Captain Lagrande has kindly asked us to dine with him again tomorrow night – the first real night of the voyage, a gala dinner, no less—’
‘A gala dinner?’ An excitable Genie couldn’t help herself, and risked a raised eyebrow from Mrs Archer by placing her elbows on the table to lean in to hear better what Eloise was saying.
‘Yes, Captain Lagrande has been telling us about it,’ Eloise replied, with far greater civility and in a genuinely more friendly way than her aunt could ever muster. ‘Apparently the food will be swell, better than tonight even, and instead of that old honkytonk piano over there, there’ll be a real swing band. Can you imagine it! Fen, Genie, you’ll dine here too, won’t you?’
Her face was a picture of anticipation and Fen hated letting her down by saying that she was disembarking the ship tomorrow when it docked at Southampton.
‘Oh no,’ Eloise shook her head. ‘That’s the biggest shame, and we were just getting to know each other. Is Lord James leaving too?’
‘Yes, afraid so.’ Fen was about to correct her on the proper way to address James but then realised she was hardly on a pedestal there herself, although the thought of addressing him as Lord Selham made her want to laugh. And she really did feel for Eloise. The war hadn’t been overly fun for most people, but even she’d kicked up her heels at dances every once in a while. She’d met her dear, darling Arthur at one in the local inn and the thought of having to go through the whole war with only your caustic aunt for company made Fen feel quite sorry for the poor girl.
Eloise shook her head. ‘Well, there’s only one thing for it then, ladies.’
‘What’s that?’ Genie asked, keen to be part of the conversation.
Eloise looked them both in the eye in turn. ‘We’ll just have to have as much fun as possible tonight…’
12
Fen wasn’t sure if it was the really very decent wine served with dinner, or the noticeably alcoholic baba au rhum for pudding, or even the fact that the great ship was now underway and crossing the English Channel, but she really did feel like the art deco patterns in the furnishings and stained glass of the saloon bar were swirling around a bit.
‘Come on, Fen,’ Eloise had caught her elbow as they’d walked through the dining room after dinner. ‘I’m determined to have some fun tonight. It’s been too long since Aunt M let me out of her sight, but since that nice doctor has agreed to walk her back to our cabin, I think I can play hooky.’ She winked at Fen and together they had headed towards the swing doors that led to the saloon bar.
‘Miss Churche, Miss Miller-Wright, come and join us!’ Genie had called over from a banquette the other side of the saloon and Eloise had waved back at her, pulling Fen along with her to the comfortable upholstered chairs where Genie and Spencer were sitting. James had followed them and called across as they were passing the bar.
‘Nightcap?’ he had asked, nodding his head towards the tempting array of spirits and liqueurs.
‘A small sherry perhaps, just to settle my stomach,’ Fen had replied and realised now that she was possibly wrong to have added a fortified spirit to her long list of drinks tonight. Eloise had asked for a glass of champagne, and Fen was relieved that she was sober enough to notice a frown play over James’s face for a moment when Eloise had referred to his title in the process. Not that she wanted James to think badly of Eloise, but she was glad that her faculties hadn’t been cleared away with the dinner plates.
Now they were all seated in one of
