Max
The quiet was getting to him. Maybe he needed to go out on deck for some fresh air. But Eilish might arrive while he was gone, and he might miss valuable time with her. His note had said to come up for dinner and she knew she had to get dressed beforehand. She might arrive any time.
Max had set Hughes to keep him posted on news via the network of stewards they had established in each class. It was all rather like espionage, if you could escape the fact that they were not spying so much as formulating an escape plan. Each piece of the plan had to work or the whole thing would come crashing down on all their heads. And the days were passing so fast. It was already Friday evening. That left two days for everything to be put in place.
Funny, when he thought that way, time did seem to be passing far too quickly. Yet, when he thought about Eilish, then it felt like time was dragging its heels like a reluctant school boy.
The sudden knock on the door had him jerking to his feet in an instant. He spun around to see Eilish, dressed in her white shirt and black skirt, hustling into the room, closely followed by Hughes.
His heart exploded in his chest. At last, she was here. Part of him thought she never would be. Part of him still considered her some wonderful dream that he’d soon awaken from.
But not now. In this moment, she was real. And her pale cheeks were flushed, as she gave a delighted little squeal and flew into his arms.
‘Oh dear, that was a close one. Some snooty woman just saw us in the passageway and demanded to know who I was and what I was doing here. Hughes said I was an off-duty matron sent from second class to see to a lady. I am sure she wasn’t convinced; however, she let it go. My, I now know what it means to have your heart in your mouth!’
Hughes closed the door behind them and gave a cheery smile too. His moustache seemed to arc upwards with the grin. ‘That was Mrs Dallwinkle. She is the resident busybody. Hopefully, there will be no repercussions. I don't think she got a close look at the young lady.’
‘I will deal with it if there are repercussions, Hughes, you need not worry. Thank you for your assistance in this. I am very grateful.’
‘Think nothing of it, sir. It has been a bit of excitement in my day. This job can be lacking in excitement sometimes, I must admit.’
‘There is more than enough excitement coming…’ Max caught himself from going on and grimaced. Eilish nodded her head, reassuring him his mistake was not a disaster.
‘Actually, Hughes, if you enjoy excitement, there might be more afoot if you cared to be involved.’ Eilish smiled at Max’s consternation.
‘More than happy to oblige. Just ring the bell and I will be with you in a jiffy.’ With that the steward bowed his way out the door.
As soon as the door closed, Max swept his love into his arms and ravished her mouth. It was the only word to describe the full-on assault on their senses that left them both breathless and laughing at its end.
‘You have missed me then?’ Eilish said, with a gasping little laugh when they finally broke apart.
‘Missed you? My good woman, I have been going insane here without you. I had even started to wonder whether you were real. That maybe I fabricated you out of a lifetime of thwarted sexual desire.’
‘What time is dinner?’
‘I have arranged a table for eight o’clock.’
‘Good. It has just gone six. It will take me an hour to get ready. That leaves us an hour to prove that I am quite real. Let us start in the bath. I have been having my own fantasies about that bathtub. You have no idea the Spartan conditions I have been living in down in steerage. I have done no more than top and tail myself since I left you Wednesday morning.’
‘I will draw a bath for my lady immediately then. I have had my own fantasies about you in that tub myself.’
‘Not with me alone in there, I hope.’
‘Why of… are you suggesting I wash your back?’
‘No, I am suggesting you hop in the bath with me. It is big enough, I presume?’
‘I… I would think so,’ Max couldn’t believe Eilish was serious. The idea of bathing together seemed scandalous.
‘Come on, time is a-wasting. I have information to convey and it would be just as easy to combine two or three activities in one to save time: bath, sex and talk…'
By the time they had played in the bath, talked and made passionate love, they were ready for dinner. Hughes had hung Eilish’s dress out for her and she took it into the bathroom to change. When she reappeared, dressed in her oriental finery, peacock feathers atop a rather natural looking concoction of curls, she pirouetted for him.
‘Do I look suitably first class, having not drawn on the services of a maid?’ she asked.
The flow of the oriental-style, blue gown was such that it would take an expert eye to see that she was not in stays and Max appreciated the soft, natural curves he could discern under the silky fabric with his lover’s intimate perspective.
‘You look ravishing but totally respectable. No one would ever guess you had just come up from the bowels of the ship. But,’ he turned her around and scooped up a stray length of black curl that had missed being ensnared. He poked it in behind the peacock feather before dropping a kiss behind her ear. ‘I am glad you left me some small thing to do. There, now you are perfect.’
‘As are you, my darling; so very debonair and sophisticated. I’m thinking James Bond at this moment.’
Max frowned in confusion. ‘James Bond?’
Eilish kissed his cheek and gave a delighted little laugh. ‘A fictional character of the latter part of this century. A very cool, sexy spy from Her Majesty’s Secret Service. All you need is a martini, shaken, not stirred, and you would be perfect.’
His frown didn’t ease. ‘But one never shakes a martini. It bruises the gin.’
Eilish tipped her head to the side as if she was thinking. ‘Really? I was sure I got that right. Ah well, I am not an expert on twentieth century pop culture. I will check with Luke. I have no cosmetics, does it matter?’
‘You look better without. I quite forgot how beautiful you are.’
She smiled at him. ‘You are prejudiced.’
‘I am.’ He kissed her tenderly on the lips.
‘About Hughes. It was decided at a meeting this morning to invite several stewards to join us. It will give our movement around the ship legitimacy. Do you know Hughes’ situation – family and such? He seems the sort who would fit in with us well enough.’
Max felt a surge of surprised delight. ‘He would indeed. I have been wishing since I met him that I could offer him an escape. But I didn’t know if he was a survivor or had been seen when the ship was going down.’
‘I was going over the list in my mind as we were coming up. Desmond Hughes, First Class Steward, was lost at sea, his body never recovered or identified. And there was no mention of him in the records during the sinking. We are safe to include him if you feel he is right for the job.’
‘Good. That is a big weight off my shoulders. I have intentionally limited my contact with the other passengers because… well you know why, but I have had to interact with Hughes. I have found him such a decent chap, and so accommodating. It has quite depressed me to know he would not survive. And as far as family is concerned, he has none. He is a bachelor, spending all his time on one ship or another since he was a young lad.’
‘Excellent, so there will be less resistance. We might call him in after dinner? I would say in the morning, but I will have to make haste down to steerage in the morning.’
‘You will stay the night then?’ Max beamed at her as he stroked the side of cheek.
‘Only if we sleep. I have not had a good night's sleep for a week. I find I cannot sleep well without you beside me. And then, of course, like Tuesday night – I cannot sleep with you beside me.’
‘To be honest, I was hoping for a good night’s sleep myself. I just want to ‘spoon’ you while we sleep. More will have to wait until I am rested.’
‘Old man!’ E
ilish exclaimed with amusement, reaching up to drop a kiss on his cheek.
‘Who is calling the kettle black, old lady?’
‘Hey, it is impolite to remind a woman of her age. Let us go. The others will be waiting. I am looking forward to what these chefs can produce. The food in steerage is abundant and tasty enough, but it does lack subtlety and variety. I would kill for a French pastry filled with cream!’
‘Your wish is my command, my lady. Shall we go? The restaurant is at the aft end of this deck. Not far.’
As the maitre d’hôtel guided their large party to Max’s usual area of the restaurant, he couldn’t help the pride and possessiveness he felt when he saw the males in the room staring at Eilish. Men always turned to look at her, but tonight their envious glances were particularly sweet. Even Hugo and Jean Pierre seemed smitten.
However, it was the look on Marco’s face that was most amusing. His handsome, young waiter always presented as the epitome of serene, deferential respect. But when he first caught sight of Eilish, his mouth had dropped open and he seemed completely at a loss for several moments.
Then Eilish had smiled at him impishly as, flustered and red faced, he moved to hold out her chair.
‘Mrs O…’ the young man started to say.
‘Marco,’ Eilish interrupted, just loud enough to drown out the rest of the name he had been about to call her. She nodded at him regally.
After that, Marco seemed to pull himself together and proceeded to serve them in his usual, exemplary fashion. Max was left wondering how they knew each other.
For the rest of the evening they groomed Phillip and Clarissa Lunridge, the young newlyweds who were expecting their first child. Phillip was proving to be a worthy chap, and both Carter and Finn seemed to approve. They deftly introduced the topic of science and the extent to which it might go one day. By the end of the meal, the young man was agreeing wholeheartedly that time travel could be possible and that there might be such travellers amongst them even today, enjoying the historic, maiden voyage of the Ship of Dreams.
After dinner, he and Eilish made their polite excuses and returned to his stateroom. Before kisses became something more serious, they called for Hughes and Eilish got straight to the point.
‘Hughes, in a few nights time there is going to be a gathering of people from the different classes. We would like you to assist in this assembly. The gathering will also offer you a new start in life in a brand new society where you will have the freedom to follow any life-path you choose. Would that interest you?’
Hughes looked startled as she explained her offer, then he became cautious. ‘This is not spying, is it Madam? I mean, we are not talking about causing harm to the British Empire by this gathering?’
Eilish laughed and Max found himself smiling. The man had no idea!
‘Absolutely not. In fact, we are offering you a place in a world free of war or want of any kind. If you are willing to leave your current… position.’
‘Sir?’ He looked at Max for reassurance.
‘Believe me, Hughes, what my lady is offering you is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you will not want to miss. I, too, am leaving my current life behind to take up this opportunity. We will not be sorry.’
‘Can I think about it, sir? I will certainly help you with your gathering, but I am not sure if I am ready to leave my current employer.’
‘Take the night to think it over and tell Eilish your decision when you come to take her back to steerage early in the morning. Think carefully though, because there will be no going back once you decide. However, your new life will be more than you ever dreamed possible.’
‘This isn’t some religious gathering is it? The Second Coming. My mama used to be on about that when I was a lad.’
‘No, not religious in any way. I would tell you more, but at this stage it is fairly straight forward. Either you want a new life or you are content with this one. Although I must warn you that this one may be short-lived,’ Max said.
‘I will lose my position?’
‘I am afraid so. Do not make your decision based on your current situation because that will change quite dramatically shortly, and not for the better.’ Max hated being cagey, but he could see why Eilish was taking this line. It was all true, but it also left out major aspects that they could not afford to have out if Hughes decided against their offer.
‘I will let you know in the morning then, sir, madam. I will say goodnight now, unless there is anything else?’
‘No, Hughes, that will be all. If you can be here at half-past six to take Eilish back, I would be most appreciative.’
‘Certainly, sir. Goodnight to you both.’
When the stateroom door closed softly, Eilish walked into his arms. ‘Well that went well, except for Marco. His disapproval of the antics of Mary O’Reilly was in every line of his body.’
‘How do you know him?’
‘We walked to the docks with him the first day and he has captured the heart of a member of our team. Pia. I think I have mentioned her. She was upset because she thought he would be left behind, but we assured her we would not leave anyone she cared about behind.’
‘So the lad will be coming with us? I am glad. He and his young assistant are a jolly pair.’
‘Not the assistant, I’m afraid.’
‘No? That is unfortunate.’
‘Our list is not limitless.’
‘I know, but he is not even a man yet. To be cut down so young…’
‘Max…’ Her tone was cautionary.
‘I know, I know. Come to bed my love. I think sleep will have to wait a little longer. I find the idea of you in my arms has awoken my carnal desires once more.’
Eilish giggled and began to unbutton the silk, dressing-gown dress she wore. ‘You are a mind-reader, sir. You should run séances in your spare time.’
The dress dropped to the floor at her feet, revealing her naked body beneath.
‘Oh woman, you will be the death of me!’