“Do you suffer from mal-de-mer, my Lord?”
He looked up, startled.
“What? No, I certainly do not, but I had wondered if you – ”
Tamina shook her head.
“I am an extremely good sailor, my Lord. I shall report for work at ten o’clock regardless of the weather conditions.”
The Earl’s dark eyes gleamed.
“I hear the sound of a challenge in your words, Miss Waites. Are we to see which of us succumbs first?”
Tamina doodled a neat row of circles on her writing pad and then glanced up at her employer, her blue eyes brilliant under thick lashes.
“I have the strongest feeling that you think because I am a woman, I will automatically become seasick!”
He leant back in his chair, a grin flickering across his well -shaped mouth.
“I would never presume to think that of you, Miss Waites! But you must allow me the fact that the female of the species is not as strong as the male.”
Tamina chuckled.
“I believe that seasickness is not an affliction that discriminates between men and women, my Lord.”
He laughed.
“Well, we will no doubt see tonight. I suggest we both keep our fingers well crossed. Now, let us get to work. I will dictate a few notes about Madeira and then we can work on each one individually.”
The morning flashed past.
At some point Joe came in with a tray of coffee and biscuits, but the work continued.
Tamina could not remember the last time when she had enjoyed herself so much. The Earl’s notes for his book were varied and interesting.
He was quite obviously extremely well educated, but there was a descriptive quality to his words as he talked about the countryside that intrigued Tamina, because it showed a sensitive side to his nature that she was sure he would always do his best to hide.
It was past one o’clock when Tamina unconsciously sighed as the Earl paused while dictating. She stretched her fingers, which were feeling stiff and cramped from holding the pencil for so long.
The Earl glanced up, pulling his mind back from the history of Madeira to the present day.
“Miss Waites, my apologies!” He glanced at his watch. “I had no idea it was so late. Why didn’t you speak up? You must be hungry.”
Tamina wriggled her aching shoulders.
“It has all been so interesting, my Lord, that I did not realise the time either. But I must admit that now you have mentioned it, luncheon does seem a pleasant prospect!”
“Yes, luncheon.” There was a pause before he continued, “do not let me keep you a moment longer. I will see you back here at three o’clock.”
Tamina stood and hesitated.
For a long second she had thought that he might ask her to eat with him and when he did not speak, she felt silly and stupid.
She turned swiftly and so did not see him look up, the words forming an invitation on his lips.
Outside in the companionway, a hot and flustered Tamina decided to head back to her cabin to tidy herself before facing the second class dining room again.
She bathed her face with cool water, trying to calm the turmoil that raged within her.
Why had she ever imagined that the Earl would want to ask her to lunch with him? Last night had been a mere courtesy to a young employee. Today they were back in their strict roles and she would do very well to remember it.
But a little voice in her head murmured that she wished, oh, how she wished, that she was Lady Tamina Braithwaite on board this ship and not plain Miss Tabitha Waites.
Dabbing a little lavender water behind her ears, she tightened the pins holding up her long hair and left the cabin.
Just as she turned the corner of her companionway to head for the stairs, she stopped.
There! It was young Joe again! Hurrying along head down, clutching another bundle wrapped in a linen napkin, he looked the very picture of a suspicious character.
Then, to Tamina’s astonishment, he stopped and tried to open what looked like a heavy metal door leading to one of the ‘out of bounds’ areas of the ship.
But the door must have become jammed in some way, because he had to put down his bundle and use both hands to pull it open.
And as he did so, two bread roll s and a piece of cheese rolled out onto the floor.
Tamina took an impulsive step forward, but stopped. In the corridor behind her, a door had opened and she could hear voices.
She recognised one of them. It was the young ship’s Officer she had met yesterday, Lieutenant Archie Oxburn.
Oh, this was dreadful! If he spotted Joe trying to access a forbidden area of the ship for whatever reason, he would surely have to report him to the Earl.
There would be all sorts of trouble and distress for everyone and Tamina recognised that the Earl would feel extremely let down if Joe proved to be dishonest, even if it was just food he was stealing.
She spun on her heel, paused and then just as the Lieutenant came round the corner, she almost threw herself forward, as if she had been running.
Inevitably they collided and he put out his arms to catch Tamina as she staggered and nearly fell.
“Goodness! Be careful! Why, Miss Waites, it is you. Are you all right? I haven’t hurt you, I trust. Where were you off to in such a hurry? You must be careful of these sharp bends. It is an awkward part of the deck layout just here.”
Tamina laughed nervously and clutched at his arms, pretending to sway.
She could see that the Officer’s attention was all on her and could only pray that Joe had managed to pull the door open and had vanished about his business – whatever it was.
“I thought I had my sea legs, Lieutenant, but perhaps I was being too optimistic!”
“It does take a little while,” he replied, his blue eyes twinkling. “And there is a forecast for bad weather tonight, so do take great care if you are on deck.”
“I will. Thank you so much for your concern.”
“Are you enjoying the voyage so far?”
“Yes, indeed I am. The Blue Diamond is a really beautiful ship.”
He nodded enthusiastically, apparently unaware that he was still holding Tamina to stop her falling.
“Yes, the Blue Diamond is the largest vessel the Diamond Company has ever built and a very fine liner. But of course she is small in comparison to others that sail the Atlantic.
“Indeed, I wonder if you have heard of the great ship the White Star Line is building! A luxury liner that will be unsinkable, the great Titanic!”
“I have heard of it. My – ” she hesitated.
She had been going to say ‘my Papa has often talked about it’ when she realised that might open up all sorts of avenues of conversation about her life as Tabitha Waites.
She went on,
“My desire has been to one day travel aboard such a vessel, but in the meantime this ship is marvellous enough for me. Oh! – ”
She broke away from the Lieutenant as the Earl came round the corner and, with a face like thunder, eased past them with an abrupt nod of his head and a curt “excuse me!”
Tamina felt the blood drain from her face and tears prick her eyes.
What would the Earl be thinking?
That she was flirting with Archie Oxburn?
And what was worse was that there was no way she could possibly ever explain to him how she came to be in such a position.
Muttering a low flustered apology to the Lieutenant, saying she had to meet someone for luncheon, Tamina fled along the corridor and down the stairway towards the dining room.
Appetising smells were wafting out and inside all was cheerful hustle and bustle.
But Tamina hesitated.
Eating was the last thing she wanted to do and if she had to make conversation with another single lady, she would scream.
All she wanted was to explain the situation to the Earl, but of course she could not and why should she think he would be interested
anyway.
A ship’s Officer was quite a respectable attachment for a secretary. The Earl probably thought she was a flirt, who had seen a good chance of making a match.
‘But why am I feeling so upset?’ she asked herself. ‘Goodness, I didn’t feel this unhappy when I discovered Edmund’s betrayal!’
Trying to quell the emotion that flooded through her veins, she made her way back to the corridor where she had last seen Joe.
It was quiet and empty. Everyone was at luncheon or lying down, trying to cope with the swell that was growing stronger with every passing second.
The hatchway that Joe had struggled to open was shut now, but Tamina could see that the door was not completely closed.
The latch had half caught and it only took a hard pull to open it again.
A waft of cold air blew against her face as she hesitantly stepped inside the compartment. At her feet a steep iron ladder led down into a dark well.
The noise of the great engines sounded louder here, magnified by the metal surroundings.
Now the ship was beginning to rock more violently and Tamina clung to the ladder.
Suddenly she heard a moan.
“Who’s there?” she called nervously.
She thought she heard a grunt and then nothing.
“Come out, whoever you are!” she called and when no one replied, she swung herself off the platform and started down the ladder.
As she felt for each rung with her feet, a swift thought flashed through her mind. All those years of playing with her brothers, climbing trees, swinging on ropes and being a madcap tomboy were now paying off.
She had no fear of heights and the ladder was a simple exercise to someone whose brothers had once suspended her on a rope over the edge of a quarry to see how long it would take her to climb up it!
At the bottom of the ladder she turned.
It was dark but a little light was seeping in from another hatchway on a deck below.
Tamina stepped forward and then stopped, gasping, as a cry broke out and her foot touched something – or someone!
CHAPTER SIX
Tamina gulped as her foot touched a body lying on the small metal platform that formed a junction between two ladders vanishing down into the dark depths of the great ship.
She staggered as the ship rolled again. The seas were getting much rougher and it was harder to keep her balance.
“What? Who – Joe is that you?”
Another grunt and then young Joe appeared from the shadows looking white and worried.
“Joe! There you are – but then who is – Oh! – ”
As Tamina stared down at the deck, her eyes became more and more used to the dim light.
She could see that what she had thought to be a heap of rags was in fact a young woman, lying wrapped in a dark blue travelling rug that boldly showed the golden insignia of the Earl of Daventry in one corner.
Beneath it she appeared to be dressed in male costume of some dark green colour, but in the poor light it was hard to be sure.
The girl’s face was very pale and even her lips were white.
She had long bright red hair that was spilling across the rug down onto the cold metal deck. She was moaning gently and was obviously very unwell.
“Joe? What is happening? Who is this girl? Why are you hiding her down here?”
Joe turned anguished eyes in her direction.
“Oh, Miss Waites, please don’t tell the Earl! We’re not doin’ any ’arm, but Nancy ’ere has been so sick with the movement of the boat. I can’t get ’er to eat or drink anythin’.”
Tamina knelt beside the girl and stroked her pale forehead, which felt damp and hot under her hand.
She looked up, her beautiful face serious.
“But Joe, who is she?”
“My betrothed, Miss. Her name’s Nancy Rider. We was runnin’ away to Gretna Green to get wed, then the Earl announced he was goin’ on this boat for a long time and I was to go with ’im. So I ’ad to bring Nancy with me.”
Tamina struggled to understand the story.
“Why were you eloping?”
“On account of ’er rotten old father, Miss. He beats’er somethin’ brutal, so he does, and I’m not havin’ it any longer. I reckoned if we was wed, then he couldn’t touch’er again. She’d belong to me.”
Tamina stood up, her blue eyes filled with concern.
“But Joe, Nancy cannot possibly stay down here! She’s obviously very seasick and has a fever. She should be helped to bed and given some care. You must let me tell the Earl at once.”
Swiftly Joe reached out and grabbed her arm.
“No, miss! You mustn’t be doin’ that! I’ll lose my position and then be turned out onto the street without a reference. And if I don’t ’ave a job, I can’t marry Nancy.
“She’s just feelin’ the motion of this boat badly, that’s all. She’s never been to sea before. Well, nor ’ave I, but I reckon it’s a bit like ridin’ on the back of the big coach when the ’orses move it along fast. I can cope easily. When it’s calm, I’m sure she’ll be all right.”
Tamina stared at him before reaching out to catch hold of a railing as the ship rolled suddenly before righting itself again.
She was aware that the movement was becoming more and more violent each minute and, as she stared down over the thin iron rail into the darkness below, the little metal platform did not seem that secure a haven for a sick girl.
“I am sorry, Joe, but you must trust the Earl to do the right thing by you. Whatever happens, Nancy cannot stay down here in the cold and dark! And she is alone all the while you are serving your Master. That is appalling. I cannot allow this to continue.”
Joe scowled.
“But it ain’t up to you to poke your nose in, is it, miss? Why does it matter to you what we do? Do you want to see us both arrested and thrown into prison or turned out into the street without a name or a penny to save us?”
Tamina began to retort, but hesitated, realising that she was thinking and acting just like Lady Tamina Braithwaite, not plain Miss Tabitha Waites.
And, of course, what Joe did not know was that she too was on board the ship under false pretences.
How could she be such a hypocrite as to report this silly young couple to the authorities when she was doing something just as reprehensible? When, in fact, she had kept her own engagement to Edmund hidden away from her friends and family.
Another consideration was how the Earl would feel when he knew that the young man he had trusted, had promoted to a senior position in his household, had not felt able to confide in him in such a delicate matter.
Now Tamina knew the Earl better and had listened to the words and ideas he wanted to include in his book, she was convinced that beneath the stern exterior was a man of great sensitivity and kindness.
She was certain that he would be deeply upset and troubled by what he would see as Joe’s duplicity. And she found herself desperately wanting to save her employer from the pain of those feelings.
Why she should be so determined to help him was something she realised she would have to think about later when she had a quiet moment to sort out her feelings and emotions.
“Joe, truly I do not want to get you and Nancy into trouble. I’ll say nothing to the Earl, I promise, but on one condition, that this evening you bring Nancy to my cabin. She can stay there just until we reach Madeira and then somehow you must arrange for her to go ashore.”
The ship rolled again and Joe staggered against the ladder.
“But what would she do in a foreign country, miss, without me to look out for her? She don’t ’ave any words of a foreign language. A young girl could easily fall prey to all sorts of villains.”
Tamina sighed.
It would have been so easy to just to give Joe enough money to buy the girl a ticket on a ship heading for England, but the funds of a Miss Waites would not be the same as those of Lady Tamina.
Joe would have known immediately so
mething was wrong if she had offered him such a sum.
“There is, I believe, a large English community living in Funchal, the capital of Madeira, where we dock,” she said slowly.
“I am sure there will be employment available for Nancy, perhaps as a lady’s maid or children’s nurse. The gentry there often travel back to England so I am sure she will be able to go home within a few months and by then you too may be back from your travels with his Lordship.”
Tamina fell silent, watching Joe’s anxious face as he tried to decide what to do.
She staggered again as the ship pitched violently and blessed the fact that so far she did not seem to be bothered by mall de mer.
“Joe – ”
A weak voice from the deck made them both glance down.
Nancy was awake, tears in her eyes, her face and lips as white as snow.
“Joe – I think the lady’s right. I can’t stay ’ere no more. I’m so cold, Joe. So very cold, but hot as well!”
The young valet sighed and then rubbed his fingers through his fair hair as if he wanted to scrub his troubles away.
All right, miss. I’ll bring Nancy up to your cabin tonight, when everyone’s at dinner and out of the way.”
Tamina hesitated and then nodded,
There was nothing else she could do except pat Nancy’s hand and tell her to be brave for just a little while longer.
She climbed back up the ladder and through the heavy metal door into the passageway.
A quick glance at her watch told her that she had missed the chance of luncheon and the Earl would be waiting for her in his stateroom.
She just had time to hurry back to her cabin, wash off the grime and oil from her hands and change her blouse, which was covered with dirt from the ladder.
Tamina stared at her anxious expression in the mirror as the ship heaved and rolled ominously.
The sea was much rougher and they were obviously in for a violent storm.
She peered out of the porthole, but it was spattered with foam and she could see nothing except for a glimpse of the dark grey ocean covered in curling waves and drifting white spray.
When Tamina reached the Earl’s stateroom, she found him already seated at his desk, apparently busy writing, his dark hair falling across his forehead, a smear of ink on his fingers.
In Hiding Page 7