'Follow me, then, I'll guide you.'
Robert passed by at that moment. He was dancing with an elderly lady old enough, Julie thought with surprise, to be his mother. Her raddled face was heavily rouged, her eyes plastered with mascara and eyeliner, eye-shadow a bright blue to match the girlish blue silk dress that was slipping from scrawny shoulders. She wore a heavy necklace of diamonds and sapphires, matching earrings, and there were massive rocks on every finger. Julie wondered whether some of these women brought their entire jewellery collection on cruises, determined to wear them all, getting the use out of them, as her mother would say.
When her partner took her back to her seat Julie saw, to her annoyance, that Steven had joined the group. So had another elderly couple, and Ben began to talk with them.
'Good evening, Julie,' Steven said, a note of satisfaction in his voice. 'Now I've placed your friend, the over-protective Fellows. He's one of the gigolos.'
Julie stared at him in amazement.
'Robert? A gigolo? I don't understand. Surely not!' she said, startled. She'd meant to ignore him, but this was puzzling, and she spoke before she remembered.
Steven laughed. 'Oh, I don't mean a real one, or he'd be sitting on her table. He's a dance host.'
'What's that?'
'Elderly, unattached and wealthy ladies tend to come on cruises. They often like to dance, but there is a shortage of elderly, unattached men on board. So cruise ships employ a few men to keep them happy.'
Julie glanced round. There were a couple more men, older than Robert, but still sprightly and quite good-looking, who were dancing with much older ladies. As the music stopped she watched these men escort their partners to their seats and after a few words move away to ask other elderly women sitting on their own or in small groups to dance.
'Robert's a dance host, but I understand he's new this cruise,' Laura said. Trust her to know, Julie thought, trying not to smile.
'What do they do?' she asked.
'It's normal,' Laura explained. 'Often men who've retired early, are widowed, but still active and able to dance, do it for the company, as well as a free cruise.'
'And the possibility of snaring a rich, doting wife who will soon leave them widowers and well-provided for,' Steven intervened. 'I don't think I'd be willing to take on a woman who's had endless facelifts, like Robert's last partner, even for the financial benefits. Thank goodness I don't have to. My business provides for me.'
'You're a businessman?' Marjorie asked. 'That's such a vague term. What line are you in?'
Julie scarcely heard. Somehow the notion that Robert might be angling for a wealthy, elderly widow was distasteful. She didn't want to believe it. Besides, he was far too young to be retired. So why was he here? Then she tuned back into the conversation.
'Oh, consultancy,' Steven was saying. 'But I come away to forget business, to unwind, so let's talk about something else. Julie, what have you been doing the past couple of years?'
'It's my turn to dance now, Steven,' Laura said briskly as the music started again.
He looked for a split second as though he would reject her, but politeness, and Laura's hand on his arm, urging him towards the dance floor, won. To Julie's relief she whisked him onto the floor as the small three-piece orchestra struck up with a slow foxtrot.
Then she felt a hand on her shoulder.
'Julie? Come and dance.'
She looked up at Robert, and smiled. 'Thank you,' she murmured, wishing her voice didn't sound so husky, so full of unshed tears. She kept remembering Andrew, and all the fun and love they'd shared.
Robert was a superb dancer, much better that Ben, whose style had been energetic and rather bouncy. Robert's style was fluid and restful, yet at the same time sensual. She felt as though she was floating in his arms. Then she recalled his job and stiffened. She felt his hand tighten on hers, and he pulled her closer. Was that his heartbeat she could detect, or her own?
'What is it?' he asked gently.
'Ought you not to be dancing with – ' She halted, embarrassed.
'With unaccompanied ladies,' he finished for her. 'Yes, that's my job, and you're an unaccompanied lady. It's my good fortune you are much younger and more attractive than my usual partners.'
Julie felt a glow of something she had never expected to feel again, gratification at the admiration of an attractive man.
'Do you like your job?' she demanded before she had time to think.
'It's not a permanent job,' he replied. 'They usually employ people for a few weeks at a time.'
'So Steven said. Retired, single men, he said. But you're far too young to be retired, surely.'
She recalled their conversation that first night, on deck, when she'd told him much more than she'd ever told anyone else. How was it that she could talk so openly to this man she scarcely knew?
'I'm not retired. But I am single. I've just taken some leave, to get a bit of sun.'
She had never thought to question whether he was married or not. Somehow her thoughts had not progressed that far. But her heart gave a sudden leap and she tried not to smile. It didn't matter to her, how could it?
'I thought most of you were retired,' she managed, 'Why do you do it?'
He seemed to have money, judging by his excellent clothes. He could surely afford to pay for a cruise.
'For the company? For a free cruise? Ken, that's him dancing with the woman in the silver lamé, and his wife used to go dancing a lot, they even won competitions. He misses that a great deal since she died, that's why he comes on cruises.'
He hadn't answered her question. She thought he was going to add something, but changed his mind. After a brief pause he suggested she told him something about herself, and to her surprise she found herself talking of Andrew more easily than she had done since he died.
'My husband was killed three years ago, a car accident,' she said quietly. Before, she'd just said he had died, not how. 'Susan persuaded me to come on this holiday.'
'I'm sorry, about your husband, that must have been a dreadful shock, to lose him so young,' he said quietly. Did she imagine his arm had grown tighter around her waist?
'Yes, it was, and I still feel angry when I think how unnecessary it was. Just a gang of drunken teenagers.'
'Then it's a good idea for you to have a break, a change of scene. Do you have a job?'
Julie shook her head. 'Well, not a proper job. I make soft toys and sell them to the local craft shops. I married after a year at secretarial college, and then I never had a proper job, as I always wanted to do something where I could be at home. I'd expected to have children, but it didn't happen. Perhaps as well in the circumstances. And my shorthand is decidedly rusty by now. I don't know how to use a computer, and I haven't had the desire to retrain.'
The music had come to an end, and, seeming reluctant, Robert escorted her back to her seat.
'Thank you, Julie. I'd better go and do my duty by some of the other ladies now.'
*
The moment Laura and Steven returned to their little group Julie stood up, saying her legs ached after all that climbing in Gibraltar's steep streets, and announced she was going to bed. As Laura opened her mouth to speak she muttered 'Goodnight' and turned swiftly away, almost running in her haste to leave the ballroom. She was inwardly cursing that she'd made an excuse instead of merely saying goodnight.
'Are you all right, dear? You really disappointed him,' Laura said as she caught up with Julie. 'He was hoping to dance with you at least, and even better to be going for a moonlight stroll on deck with you. He's truly smitten.'
'Nonsense. I detest the man.'
'He doesn't mean any harm.'
'Please, Laura, let it be. I knew him years ago, and I'd rather forget what happened then. He was harmful enough before, and I'm not interested in a shipboard flirtation.'
She hoped Laura, with her penchant for gossip, would not probe, and the older woman seemed to understand.
'I won't be nosy. But it
's a boost to know that men still admire you, isn't it?' she said with a slight laugh. 'I noticed Robert watching you when you and Ben were dancing. He seemed less attentive to his partners than a professional host ought to be. Anyway, I must go back. I just wanted to make sure you were OK.'
*
Chapter 5
Susan and Julie took a late breakfast in the deck café the next morning, then Susan had to go to the shop, and after an hour on a lounger, enjoying the sun, Julie decided it was warm enough to swim in the small pool. Several other bathers were already splashing about in it.
Julie had settled for the safety of her old one-piece swim suit, but she admitted to herself that she felt a little dowdy as she contemplated those worn by the other women. Even the rather large ladies wore bikinis, and seemed unconcerned at the rolls of flesh which sprawled unconfined. She still had a good figure, perhaps even better since she'd lost some weight. Tomorrow, she promised herself, she'd give her new bikini an airing. It was green, a colour which always suited her, and not as brief as some up here.
After her swim Julie sat beside the pool drinking coffee. Steven, in shorts and a thin shirt, dropped onto a chair beside her, and put out a hand to detain her when she began to rise.
'Don't run away, please. I want to explain, apologise.'
Julie glanced round and tensed. There was no one else within earshot. Good. Now she could tell Steven a few home truths.
He was beckoning to a deck steward.
'A beer, please. Nice and cold. What about you, Julie? Is it too early for a drink?'
'Nothing.'
They were silent for a while, as Julie considered her best approach, and then Steven, looking serious, leant towards her.
'These dance hosts, like Robert,' he began, 'you need to watch out for them. They are often on the lookout for rich widows.'
She looked at him, scorn in her eyes.
'I'm sure that's not true. And I'm not wealthy enough to tempt someone like that.'
'Any of them could come as ordinary passengers, if they could afford it, so they must be on the make.'
'It's not a crime to be poor, or even less well off than you or I.'
'I'm aware you have a good income,' he said rather ruefully. 'You threw that in my face two years ago. But that's why you need to be even more on your guard.'
'As you discovered, though I now have enough to live on, with Andrew's insurance and pension,' she snapped, 'some of that would stop if I married again, so I'm perhaps not such a good bargain as some people, like you did, may imagine.'
'Don't be mad at me,' he said, laughing. 'I made a dreadful mistake then, but you misunderstood, and didn't give me the chance to explain that I never did need a rich wife. I just don't like handing more to the tax man than necessary. Who does? But I suspect our friend Robert would like someone to support him in style. I think Susan is worried about you.'
'If Susan was concerned about that she'd not have persuaded me to come on this cruise and contrived to get you here too. Steven, for the last time, understand this, as I don't want to have to keep on saying it. I have no interest in you, I don't want your company, or to have you pestering me. I came away to enjoy a cruise, for a holiday, a break, not to have you harassing me all the time. Now I'm going in. We have the lifeboat drill soon, and I need to change.'
*
The passengers all gathered in the ballroom for instructions. Some were already wearing the life jackets, while others carried them, as they listened to one of the crew demonstrating how to put them on, and then directing them to the various lifeboat stations on deck. Other crew members were moving around, helping those passengers having problems. Julie discovered that the straps of hers were impossibly tangled, and while she was trying to sort them out Robert appeared beside her.
'Let me,' he offered. 'Oh dear, someone really made a mess of these. How are you this morning?'
'I'm fine, thanks.'
'Good. I think that's got it. Now pop this over your head.'
She did so, and Robert arranged the straps, in doing so putting both arms round her. She shivered, though it wasn't really an embrace. The bulky life jacket came between them. Nevertheless, the feel of his hands sent goosebumps to her arms.
It seemed impersonal. He didn't permit his hands to linger, as some men would have done.
'Come on, or we'll be late for rollcall.'
He took her hand and led her out of the ballroom, up to the next deck, where they joined a group of people standing underneath one of the lifeboats which was slung up against the side of the ship. Other groups were spread out all along the deck.
The red-head and her older companion were also in this group, Julie noticed, and Susan was at the far side with Cathy. Steven, she was thankful to see, was nowhere in sight. At least if they were shipwrecked she wouldn't have to endure him, she thought with a grin.
She tried to concentrate on the crewman who was telling them what to do should they ever have to use the lifeboats, but all she could think about was the feel of Robert's hands on her arms. They'd been firm, smooth and warm, just like last night when they had danced together. Then it was over, and everyone was dispersing.
*
The shop had been closed during the lifeboat drill, and Cathy was with Susan. They caught Julie up as she reached the cabin, taking her life jacket back.
'Hi, let's go and get a drink on deck,' Cathy said, flopping down on Julie's bed. 'Debbie and Charlotte can cope for a while. Most people will be heading off for lunch. I'll leave the jacket here for now, collect it later.'
On the pool deck they found a table and Bill, from the band, joined them. The red-head and the older woman were sitting at the next table, and Julie noticed that even when she was wearing just shorts and a brief top the girl sported several rings, and the older woman, wearing a simple cotton frock, still had on the big emerald she had noticed the previous evening.
The two of them were leaning towards one another, deep in conversation, and after finishing their drinks they got up to leave. Bill suddenly leapt up, exclaiming. He went to the table they'd just left, and picked up a small black purse under one of the chairs.
'Hi, ma'am, you've forgotten this,' he called, and the older woman turned, glanced at the purse, and came to retrieve it.
'Thank you so much! I'm such a scatterbrain! I'll lose my head next. But I know you, don't I?'
'In the band, ma'am.'
'Of course. You were playing last night. It's a much better band than I expected. How could I have forgotten.'
She smiled round at the three girls, and then looked again at Susan.
'Aren't you from the shop? I have been admiring the selection of clothes you have, especially the tops.' She glanced at Cathy. 'And you work there too, I think? How about you?' she asked, turning to Julie.
'I'm just Susan's sister,' Julie told her. 'Here for the ride.'
'Why don't all of you come up for a drink, before dinner tonight? I expect you can close the shop then? Or perhaps you have other girls to run it. And you won't be playing for the dancing till afterwards, will you?' she added, smiling at Bill. 'I'll expect you any time after six. Penthouse number one.'
Without giving them time to reply she smiled and departed, rejoining the red-head who was waiting further along the deck.
*
Julie found a quiet spot to read for the rest of the day, when Susan and Cathy were busy. As they sailed southwards Steven ostentatiously avoided her, though he did cast a few regretful glances towards Julie when she sat on deck, but did no more than nod briefly when he walked past her. Julie relaxed, and forgot to be on her guard all the time.
She saw Robert once or twice in the distance, but he didn't come near her. He seemed to be devoting himself to a few of the older, single women. Even away from the dance floor, she supposed he had his duties towards the other unaccompanied women passengers. She saw him talking to them, sitting with them on deck, buying them drinks in the bar.
It would have been pleasant, J
ulie thought rather guiltily, if Robert spent more time with her. Then she told herself not to be stupid, he had a job to do, and even though she was alone now, she had her sister. She was not unaccompanied like these women.
Susan found her at teatime, and said they took it in turns to have time off for meals and breaks, so that they could keep the shop open as much as possible
Julie was unable to resist the delicious small cakes the waiters brought round, and was glad of a cup of tea. It was hotter than she had expected.
'I'll come back with you and see what you have,' she said when Susan said she had to get back. 'I need some more sun blocker.'
*
Cathy was already in the penthouse suite when Julie and Susan arrived, along with at least another dozen people. Julie looked round in awe. Her own cabin was tiny compared with this.
The door opened straight into a sitting room bigger than hers at home. Patio windows opposite revealed a veranda, and to either side she could see through open doors into two double bedrooms. Some of the guests were on the veranda, and the windows from there into the bedrooms were open. The red-head came forward, smiling brightly.
'Hi. I'm Beatrix Talbot, Bea to my friends. I don't think we introduced ourselves. That's my mother, Mary, over there by the window. Come and get a drink.'
A waiter was stationed by the bar in a corner, and Julie found herself clutching a glass of champagne, moving towards the window as more people arrived and Bea left her to greet them. Susan had turned to talk to a man Julie didn't know, and to her relief Julie saw Laura chatting to the elderly woman Robert had been dancing with the previous night. She squeezed past another small group to join her.
Laura smiled, drew her forward and introduced her to the woman, a Lady Jenkins.
'Julie, Lady Jenkins comes on several cruises a year, and she's been telling me the most amazing stories about some of the passengers. Like the American who hired a separate cabin for her dresses. Why she didn't have a suite like this I don't know.'
Lady Jenkins snorted.
Lucky for Love Page 5