Then Lord Castleton started addressing remarks to Sir Thomas, quizzing him in the nicest possible way on his business in Bombay.
All he received were evasions and remarks such as,
“Not much fun for the ladies, discussing business, Castleton, don’t you know?”
Gone were his confident stories and teasing of Mrs. Arbuthnot, he sat glowering until dessert.
Then, suddenly, he said,
“Brought Ariadne out to India, did you, Castleton? What did she think of all the native wallahs?”
Justina saw something flash in Lord Castleton’s eyes. For a moment she thought he would retreat into the reserved manner he had shown so often.
He smiled easily and replied,
“Alas, my dear wife died before she could come out. I regret very much that I had not arranged a trip earlier. She expressed great interest in India and the complexity of its peoples and religions.”
There was a short silence at the table. Justina tried to think of something to say that would ease the conversation into a different area without sounding obvious.
Instead Mrs. Russell stopped at their table on her way out of the Saloon. Looking straight at Justina, she said,
“Thank you so much, Miss Mansell, for agreeing to perform a duet with Lord Castleton at our little concert the night before we reach the Suez Canal. Remember, my dears, rehearsal tomorrow afternoon.”
She swept on, followed by the Colonel.
“Justina, you have told me nothing of a duet,” Sir Thomas queried in a dangerously quiet voice.
She looked at him in complete astonishment.
“I knew nothing about it.”
“Is this your doing, Castleton?”
Lord Castleton gave him a happy smile.
“I am sorry, I should have asked Justina first, but since we had played it together before we reached Gibraltar, I knew it would be a complete success and Mrs. Russell mentioned to me that they were short of suitable numbers.”
Justina thought Sir Thomas was going to explode.
“If it will help Mrs. Russell’s Entertainment’s Committee,” she said hastily, “I am very happy to assist in any way I can.”
“I would have thought,” brayed Sir Thomas in a loud voice that had people looking at their table. “I would have thought,” he repeated, “that accompanying me would have been enough for Justina. I think it is very selfish of you, Castleton, not to find another pianist to show off with.”
“Tut tut,” Mrs. Arbuthnot intervened. “Sir Thomas, I am sure Lord Castleton is not being selfish. I do so admire men prepared, as you are, Sir Thomas, to put themselves out to entertain us. I am so looking forward to our concert.”
At the end of the meal Lord Castleton suggested that they moved to the Lounge, where there was dancing.
Sir Thomas took a firm grasp of Justina’s arm and insisted on taking her onto the floor as soon as they arrived.
“I cannot believe that you have been so reckless as to agree to play with Castleton and I forbid you to do so.”
Justina looked up at him with wide eyes.
“But won’t Mrs. Russell wonder why you should object to the item? Will it not give rise to just the sort of speculation I assume you are anxious to avoid?”
She was determined to perform the duet.
“I cannot understand why you should object,” she continued. “Lord Castleton is a friend of my father and it will almost be like playing with him, which I am sure we should have done had dearest Papa been with us on the ship.”
She saw Lord Castleton circling the floor with Mrs. Arbuthnot and wondered if he would ask her to dance.
Should she accept his invitation if he did?
Then Lord Castleton asked first Faith and next Charity to take the floor.
Finally he came to her. But before he could speak, Sir Thomas said very firmly.
“I thought you said you had a headache, Justina, and wished to retire.”
“How very unfortunate,” sympathised Lord Castleton. “I hope your headache will soon go, I want both of us to be at our best for tomorrow’s rehearsal.”
It was such a lovely moment to look forward to, Justina was almost happy to allow Sir Thomas to escort her back to her cabin.
As they reached her door, she said,
“You are quite right about my headache, Sir Thomas, I think I am very tired after our exploration of Valletta today. Thank you for our dance.”
She turned the key in the lock and waited until she heard his footsteps fade away along the corridor. She sank onto her bed wondering if she would ever be able to learn how to handle him.
*
The rehearsal went badly. Sir Thomas kept stopping his songs and complaining that she needed to put more emotion into her accompaniment.
“I do not want to outshine your singing,” she said as mildly as she could manage after the third time he had asked her for greater emphasis in her phrasing.
He glared at her.
“I appreciate your concern, but I do not think you need worry too much.”
At that moment Lord Castleton entered the Lounge.
He sat down in a chair near to the piano and appeared to take a frank and enthusiastic interest in the proceedings.
Sir Thomas started to sing more and more quickly and Justina had to struggle to keep up with him.
At the end of the song, he turned to her and her heart quailed at the look on his face.
“I expect you to keep better time tonight,” he growled in a furious undertone. “Come with me now.”
Justina continued to sit at the piano.
“I need to rehearse with Lord Castleton,” she told him calmly. “Mrs. Russell and the Committee expect it.”
At that moment Mrs. Russell spoke up,
“Lord Castleton, whilst Miss Mansell is at the piano, would you be so good as to join her so you can run through your piece?” She gave a pleasant smile. “I am sure, Sir Thomas, you will come over quite beautifully this evening.”
“You are too kind, Mrs. Russell,” Sir Thomas said as Lord Castleton moved to sit beside Justina.
Justina found her heart beating at an almost unbearable rate.
Then Lord Castleton smiled at her.
“Pretend we are all alone. We are just going to enjoy ourselves.”
It was the smile rather than the words that quietened Justina’s racing heart. She found the presence of everyone else in the Lounge, including Sir Thomas, fading away.
She smiled back at Lord Castleton and raised her hands. He gave a slight nod and they began.
As the light and sparkling music unfolded, its melodies twisting and soaring, Justina was transported into a world where nothing else existed.
She felt herself one with the man sitting beside her, their hands bound together in the music, instinctively knowing that they shared an identical interpretation.
It was not a case of one leading and the other following, they played in perfect harmony.
As the last notes faded away, Justina sat completely still and looked out beyond the piano through the wide windows of the Lounge to the blue of the Mediterranean that seemed to promise both untold depths and scintillating lights.
If only that light could illuminate her life, she thought.
“Thank you,” Lord Castleton said quietly. “That was perfect.”
There was spontaneous applause from the other performers in the Lounge.
“Until tonight,” said Lord Castleton, rising from the piano stool.
At the end of the rehearsal, Mrs. Russell thanked all the participants.
“I wish you all luck and I am certain you will acquit yourselves well. May I emphasise that no one is to perform an encore, otherwise we shall be there until after midnight.”
People began to drift away, talking enthusiastically.
Justina was very conscious of Lord Castleton standing beside her.
Then Sir Thomas came up.
“I think you promised me a walk round the d
eck,” he said imperiously to Justina. “Then you will need to rest before the exertions of this evening.”
Justina allowed herself to be led out of the Lounge and forced herself not to look back at Lord Castleton.
Walking round the deck with Sir Thomas, she listened to a stream of instructions on when her accompaniment should add emphasis to his phrasing.
“What you have to understand,” he said at one point, “is that the song is telling a story. The singer really wants Maud to come into the garden.” He paused for a moment. “I imagine that you are the girl I am singing to and that is why I am so anxious to be as persuasive as I can.”
Justina was so taken aback at this she was unable to respond.
“You are the girl to whom I have given my heart and the idea that you might not feel the same way about me is insupportable.”
He walked quickly past two passengers leaning over the railing, deep in conversation and repeated,
“Insupportable. If, on occasion, I may seem a little abrupt, that is why.”
Justina struggled to find something to say.
“Sir Thomas – ”she started.
“Why do you always address me by my title? Eh? Why cannot you say, Thomas?”
“Because you have never said that is what you would like,” Justina fired back at him, now completely bewildered by the turn in his conversation.
“Do I have to tell you everything?” Sir Thomas was winding himself up now. “I hope you are not going to be one of those wives who expects their husband to think for them.”
They had reached the stern of the ship. No one was around them. Justina stopped and turned to face Sir Thomas.
“I often find it difficult to know how to respond to you,” she said slowly. “I am not one of those girls who needs to be told, I have my own ideas, but I have found in our relationship that too often you do not like either what I say or what I do.”
She stood with beating heart. Would this prompt him to state that perhaps it might be best if they dissolved the understanding between them? And if he did, what were her parents going to say?
They would be so pleased to receive the letters that said she had contracted such a good match and were they then to be doomed to disappointment by her next letter saying that she was no longer engaged?
“What an extraordinary thing to say, Justina. I am always delighted at your unexpected opinions and I find your views refreshing. The only time – ” his voice hardened and acquired a steely overtone.
“The only time I have to take issue with you is when you insult me by disobeying a reasonable request or laying yourself open to the world’s condemnation by, for instance, encouraging the attentions of a mountebank such as Lord Castleton. No, don’t say anything,” he held up a hand as Justina opened her mouth to defend herself.
“I am not at all happy about your playing this ridiculous duet with Castleton, but there is nothing I can do about it, not without exposing you in a way that would damage your reputation and that would never be my intention.”
He was breathing hard now and white patches appeared on either side of his nostrils.
Justina had to believe that he really did have her best interests at heart.
“I am glad to hear that, Sir– I mean, Thomas. I am sorry you do not like my duet with Lord Castleton,” she continued earnestly. “I can assure you there is nothing in my friendship with him to which you can take exception.”
She held herself very upright and looked him straight in the eye.
He said nothing but his colour heightened.
*
That evening Dorcas came to Justina’s cabin.
“I am much better,” she announced. “I can help to dress you.”
She looked very pale and had lost weight.
“Are you sure you are better?” asked Justina doubtfully. “You do not look at all strong. I have managed so far on my own, I am sure another night will not matter.”
“I am better,” Dorcas repeated with emphasis. “Now that the ship no longer moves in that dreadful way, I shall be fine.”
Justina had to admit that Dorcas did a much better job on her hair than she could achieve herself. Somehow she managed to tame its wild curls and arrange it in attractive waves drawn up behind and culminating in a Grecian knot.
“Which dress will you wear?” asked Dorcas, examining the small number of gowns Justina had brought up from the baggage hold. “If you are playing in this concert, I think the grey would be best – it has authority!”
“Yes, Dorcas, I think you are right.”
All through dinner, Justina suffered terrible nerves. She was convinced that her fingers would stumble over the keys, that she would ruin Sir Thomas’s songs and leave Lord Castleton playing all alone in the duet.
Then copies of the programme for the evening’s entertainment arrived.
“Good Heavens,” exclaimed Charity. “You are the final item, Justina.”
“With me?” enquired Sir Thomas eagerly.
“No. You are the third item. It is Justina’s duet with Lord Castleton that ends the concert.”
For a moment Justina thought that Sir Thomas would approach Mrs. Russell to demand that the programme be altered.
“They need you to get everyone enjoying the concert,” she told him.
He would have said something but Faith rose.
“Come on, we have to assemble in the Lounge,” she said. “Remember that Mrs. Russell said none of us was to be late.”
“I have missed my brandy,” Sir Thomas complained. “My vocal chords will not perform well without one.”
He went and found a Steward.
“Are you nervous?” Lord Castleton asked Justina.
She nodded, unable to speak.
“There is no need, you will be perfect.”
Justina felt even more nervous.
Sir Thomas returned, followed by a Steward with a glass of brandy. But by then Lord Castleton was in conversation with the conjuror.
All too soon the Lounge doors were opened and the passengers poured in, talking excitedly.
Justina sat on a chair at the side, twisting her hands in her lap.
Looking up at one point, she saw Lord Castleton smile at her and somehow he made her feel a tiny bit better.
The concert opened with a girl singing to her own accompaniment, next there was a recitation and then it was Sir Thomas’s turn.
Justina sat at the piano and arranged the music. Sir Thomas stood in its curve as he knew the songs by heart.
It was hard work accompanying him, because Sir Thomas lengthened and shortened phrases as he judged the most effective.
Still at the end he received hearty applause. He bowed again and again and said he would respond to the appreciation with an encore. Justina caught a glimpse of Mrs. Russell’s shocked face before Sir Thomas turned over the pages to a song he had sung only once before.
The applause at the end was much less than earlier and Justina knew Sir Thomas would blame her.
Justina felt a little better.
All too soon it was time for the last item on the programme.
Justina walked forward with Lord Castleton to the piano and they arranged themselves on the seat.
“You look wonderful,” he whispered. “And you played superbly both in the Chopin and when you accompanied Sir Thomas.”
She felt heartened.
Once again she lost herself in the wonder of playing with Lord Castleton. It was so different from accompanying Sir Thomas, where she had so little contact with his interpretation of the music.
The applause at the end was tumultuous.
Justina stood beside Lord Castleton and shyly bowed in response.
Without thinking, Justina sank into a little curtsy and smiled up at him. Then she walked away and joined Sir Thomas.
“Did you think it went well?” she asked him, a note of supplication in her voice.
“You were very good,” he mumbled.
Many people con
gratulated both Justina and Sir Thomas and he ordered a bottle of champagne to celebrate.
Faith and Charity came over with their mother and the two Subalterns.
Lord Castleton had moved over to the other side of the Lounge and was talking to the fashionable lady who had come aboard at Malta. He appeared to be enjoying the conversation.
“I gather her name is Mrs. Bloxham,” Mrs. Arbuthnot confided. “I think she is a widow. Probably looking for another husband. Well, with a name like Bloxham, why wouldn’t she? I know I would if I was saddled in that way.”
Justina felt very tired.
It had been an exhausting day.
She looked around. Sir Thomas was in conversation with one of his cronies.
It seemed a perfect opportunity to slip away and be spared the difficult business of preventing him entering her cabin to kiss her goodnight.
With a sigh of thankfulness, she walked to her cabin, grateful that she had told Dorcas not to wait up for her.
She slipped through the door and locked it behind her.
Next she discovered that she was not alone.
Someone else was in her cabin.
CHAPTER NINE
Justina opened her mouth to scream.
Then she realised that her intruder was a small boy, a very scared small boy.
He was dressed in stained and torn grey flannel trousers and a shirt that had once been white and now was indescribably dirty. The sleeves were rolled up, buttons were missing and if he had ever worn a tie, it had disappeared.
“Who are you and what are you doing in my cabin?” Justina demanded.
“Please, miss, my name is Harry Nicholls and I’m very hungry.”
He did indeed look half-starved.
His eyes were an intense dark blue and huge in his small face. This was not someone she need be frightened of.
“Where have you appeared from?”
He glanced over her shoulder at the porthole.
“I’ve – I’ve been living in one of the lifeboats.”
“One of the lifeboats?” Justina repeated, horror-struck. “You mean, you are a stowaway?”
Harry nodded.
“But why?”
Justina could not imagine how the small boy had found his way onto the ship.
His eyes filled with tears.
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