Table For Eight

by Tricia Stringer

  Ketty looked Leo squarely in the eye now. “I believe your last business partner accused you of skimming funds from your financial planning business.”

  His smile was replaced by a dark look. “She was lying.”

  “Your business partner was also your lover, wasn’t she, Leo?”

  “She didn’t mean anything to me. It was a business arrangement.”

  “Did she know that?”

  “It’s in the past.” He shifted in his seat, took another sip of his whisky. “Anyway, nothing ended up going to court.”

  “The money was miraculously found.” Ketty wondered if Josie knew the money she had given her brother had gone to saving his bacon. Perhaps she did. Ketty knew Josie felt she owed him a great debt.

  “What’s the point of raking that up now. It has nothing to do with us, Kathy.”

  Ketty drained the remains of her drink and stood looking down at him. “Goodnight, Leo.”

  As she walked away the singer’s voice drifted after her. Ketty felt a wave of sadness as she recognised the song – ‘As Time Goes By’. She wondered if Leo had ever genuinely loved her as she had loved him.

  “Do you think Ketty will be all right?” Celia watched her friend walk away from Leo. She and Jim had seen him speak to Ketty and they’d followed, taking seats out of sight on the other side of the bar. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have told her.”

  “I think Ketty is more than capable of looking after herself.”

  “Leo certainly didn’t look too happy.” From where Celia sat she could only see the back of Ketty but she had a clear view of Leo. “He’s thrown himself back in the chair like a petulant child.”

  “I don’t think we need to worry.” Jim reached for her hand. “People are dancing. Would you care to?”

  “I’d love it.” Celia stood and took the hand he offered. The heels she’d chosen weren’t practical for dancing but she was sure he would keep her upright. She wobbled a bit, leaned too far and bumped against Jim who was only half out of his seat. He fell back, dragging her with him, and she sat with a plop on his lap.

  They looked at each other, stunned for a moment, then laughed.

  “Celia?”

  She looked up. Ed was staring down at her, Debbie beside him.

  “It is you,” he said.

  Celia struggled up and readjusted the shoulders of her dress. “Hello, Ed. Fancy running in to you on a cruise.”

  “I thought I saw you several nights ago. There was this woman, obviously drunk, who fell down the stairs and—”

  “I’m Celia’s friend, Jim.” Jim had managed to get to his feet. She felt the press of his body against hers in the confined space between chair and table.

  “This is my wife, Debbie.” Ed’s face was composed again, his manners always impeccable. “This is Celia, my—”

  “Your ex-wife, Ed, yes I know.” Debbie held out her hand. “I have seen photos.”

  Celia barely took the other woman’s hand.

  “Debbie and I thought it time we tried cruising,” Ed said, his look appraising Celia now.

  “Oh, Ed, you fibber.” Debbie gave him a playful pat. “You know very well I had to work hard to convince you to come. How are you enjoying it, Celia? Isn’t cruising a lot of fun?” She gave a quirky grin. “I said I’d come on my own, that sealed it.”

  Celia opened her mouth but no words came out. She felt Jim’s arm slip around her waist.

  “We were about to take to the dance floor,” he said.

  “Oh, I’d love to do that too but Ed says he’s had enough for today.” Debbie gave a pout.

  “Goodnight then.” Jim steered Celia away, turned her to face him and held her close.

  “Fancy your ex being on this cruise,” he murmured in her ear.

  Over his shoulder Celia saw Ed reach the door arch. He turned back, stared a moment then left. Celia began to laugh. Jim stopped dancing and looked at her and he was laughing too.

  No sooner had she arrived back in her cabin than Ketty’s legs went to jelly. She’d been holding herself together and now she was exhausted from the effort.

  She moved to the bed and fell back against the pillows, almost squashing the chocolate Peter had left. It all made sense. Poor Celia had been so worried telling her about what Jim had found out. When Ketty had searched, there’d been a few other instances of Leo possibly mismanaging funds but nothing that ever stuck or was proven. That and the discovery of her ship’s account with his additions explained so much more about Leo than she’d ever understood. He was an opportunist and he’d had her firmly in his sights. She’d been flattered by his attention and the appeal of his body had awakened feelings she hadn’t felt for some time. Thankfully she’d seen him for what he truly was before he had the chance to break her heart again.

  The buttons on her dress dug into her back and she sat up. She reached around but her injured arm was still stiff and she couldn’t manage the buttons.

  “Blast!”

  There was a tap on her door.

  “Miss Clift, a message for you,” called a female voice with a distinctive Indian accent.

  Ketty opened the door. A waitress she recognised from the dining room held out a small envelope.

  “Thank you,” Ketty said.

  She let the door close and stared at the writing, then she ripped open the envelope. There was a short note inside written on ship’s letterhead. It was from Carlos asking her to join him at eleven pm in the dining room. It wasn’t something he’d ever done before. Their catch-ups had usually been somewhere private. Ketty tapped the paper against her brightly coloured nails.

  “What are you up to, Carlos?”

  Ketty had done a quick scan of the bar where she’d last seen Leo but there was no sign of him so she stepped off down the marble stairs, enjoying the experience one more time. Piano music filtered down from the bar above – no sax or singer now.

  The doors to the dining room were firmly shut but a waiter almost leaped to attention as she approached.

  “Miss Clift?” he asked.

  She smiled, anticipation building. “I am.”

  “Please come this way.” He unlocked the door and held it open for her to enter the dimly lit space. As soon as the door closed behind them the music and rumble of voices was silenced. Ketty looked around. The dining room appeared to be empty.

  “Please follow me.” The waiter led her slowly along one aisle between tables to a secluded corner of the room that was subtly lit by lamps.

  She stopped at the sight of Carlos waiting beside the table. He was out of uniform and wearing a white dinner jacket and black pants.

  “Welcome, Miss Clift,” he said then looked at the waiter. “Thank you, Benjamin. Please pour the champagne.”

  “Carlos?” Ketty gave him a wary glance. “What’s going on?”

  “Our last chance for a get-together on the Diamond Duchess.” He pulled out a chair for her. “Please sit.”

  She did as he bid. He flicked out the napkin and placed it across her lap.

  “I’ve had dinner, Carlos.”

  “This is not dinner. We are having champagne and cake.” Carlos took a seat opposite her and raised his glass. “To the Diamond Duchess and all who have sailed on her.”

  Ketty was a little bemused but also touched that he had gone to all this trouble. “To the Duchess.”

  Benjamin was back with a small cake with coffee icing, decorated with shards of chocolate. He placed it in the centre of the table and stepped back.

  “We can manage now, Benjamin.” Carlos gave a nod. “Thank you for your help this evening.”

  “Yes, thank you,” Ketty said and, as he moved away, she looked back at Carlos.

  “The champagne is for the Duchess,” he said. “And the cake is for you. You left before I could deliver it the other night.”

  “What a lovely surprise but I do hope there’s nothing more.”

  “No, this is it.”

  “So I am not going to be surrounded by wai
ters singing me ‘Happy Birthday’?”

  “I could arrange it.”

  She shook her head. “Don’t you dare, it’s enough that poor Benjamin has been kept back.”

  “He was happy to earn a few extra dollars.”

  They both took sips of their champagne.

  Carlos looked over his glass at her. “I wasn’t sure that you would come.”

  Ketty chuckled. “When one is summoned by the maître d’, one doesn’t refuse.”

  “I am so sorry your fellow diners have caused you a lot of grief this time. It was not my intention to spoil your cruise.”

  “You didn’t. It’s turned out all right.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really. On the whole it’s been a lot of fun and I’ve made several new friends.”

  “And caught up with some old ones?”

  She ignored the question in his eyes and took a small forkful of cake. It was chocolate; dark, rich and creamy. “Mmmm!” She rested the fork back on the plate and patted at her lips with her napkin. “I think I’ve laid a few skeletons I didn’t know still lived in my closet to rest on this holiday, and I think a few of my table companions have more to look forward to when they return home.”

  “Good.” Carlos raised his glass. “We should toast your success then. Perhaps it hasn’t been quite the cruise you planned but it has not been a total failure.”

  Ketty tapped her glass gently against his. “And here’s to retirement, Carlos. I wish you happy days in the sun. Who knows, perhaps we will meet up on a cruise one day where you will be a passenger.”

  Carlos nearly choked on his champagne. “Oh Ketty, you are a funny woman. I have loved this life but once I leave it, I never want to set foot on a cruise ship again. I think I’ll become a train traveller. There are some intriguing journeys to be had around the world. Several in Australia that interest me. Do you like the idea of train travel, Ketty?”

  She met his questioning look across the table. Cocooned in the glow of the lamplight, it was as if she and Carlos were the only two on the whole ship.

  “Carlos,” she said. “Anything is possible.”

  Thirty-nine

  Day Nine – At Sea

  Christine pressed against the back of the deckchair and relished the warmth and the invigorating fresh air. It was their last morning at sea and she’d be sad to leave this cabin and even the luxury of Maria whipping in to clean and tidy after them, although Christine would only admit that to herself. Frank had surprised her with room service for breakfast and she was feeling pleasantly sated and even a little light-headed from the champagne they’d shared. It was the first drink she’d had since the night of her outburst. She was very lucky to have a man like Frank. She wasn’t sure she appreciated him enough and she was determined to do better.

  She poured another coffee. “Tell me about this job. What exactly does a Director of Engineering and Horticulture do?”

  He glanced up, put the last piece of his bacon and toast in his mouth and sat back. “Is there coffee left?”

  She poured him a cup.

  “They want someone with bigger picture ideas who could oversee a variety of projects from design through construction to maintenance. My department—”

  “Your department?”

  He nodded. “If I were to get the job I would have to oversee a large staff. It would be much more demanding than my last role. Different hours, some travel.”

  Christine sat up. “How are we going to manage, Frank? The kids have so many commitments.”

  “We might have to look at that.”

  “It’s not fair to curtail what they do because of our work.”

  “Why not? We have to work, Christine. Lucca and Anna are older now, maybe they need to make some choices about what they want to do outside school. They’ve done so much, it might be time for them to decide on their favourite interests and stick to those instead of trying every new thing that comes along.”

  “I want them to have lots of experiences.”

  “They are, but life is getting busier. Anna’s going to be in year eight, Lucca’s study will be more demanding. We have to build in some downtime.”

  Christine felt the weight of life at home settle on her shoulders. She’d managed to shrug it off these last few days. Cruising, being on holiday, was such a release. She missed her kids but she didn’t want to think about going home.

  Frank leaned forward, took her hand. “You get so tired, Chrissie. I thought with my new job you could maybe change to part-time.”

  “Part-time, so I can do more for everyone at home?”

  “No.” He shook his head slowly. “I was thinking you could have more time for yourself.”

  “More time to cook and clean?”

  “To do what you want. Cook and clean if that’s what you want to do, take up a hobby, go to the gym, walk the dog, anything. You’re always saying you don’t have any you-time.”

  She frowned. She’d worked full-time since Anna had started school and part-time before that. There had never been the luxury of time to herself.

  “We have to sit down and look at the finances, Chrissie, but maybe we could get a cleaner.”

  She put her coffee back on the table. “Are you really saying this job is going to earn you so much that I can cut back hours and we can run to getting a cleaner?”

  “I told you it’s a bigger responsibility and it’s significant money. The cleaner might only be a once a month thing for the bigger jobs but we can look into it.” He moved his chair closer so their knees were touching and he was looking directly into her eyes. “This is a chance to make a few changes in our lives.”

  The feel of his bare legs against hers sent a little shiver of desire through her but she tried to remain focused. “I don’t want to leave our house, Frank.”

  He leaned closer, his hand on her thigh. “We don’t have to move if that’s what you really want.”

  She nodded. The thought of packing up and moving house was beyond her.

  “But we can’t renovate. Even if we had the money, construction on the scale you are thinking would mean living out of one corner of the house for months, in fact we’d probably have to pack up and move out while it was done.”

  She stared steadily into Frank’s deep brown eyes. It was as if he’d read her mind. It was hard to concentrate as his hand slid further up her leg.

  “I’m excited about this job, Chrissie.”

  He leaned in and kissed her, soft at first then firmer, deeper. When he stopped she opened her eyes. His face was only centimetres from hers.

  “I’m sure we can find a house you’ll love.”

  A lock of his hair had fallen forward over his cheek. She reached up and caressed it back into place. He kissed her wrist. She slid her arm around his neck and drew him closer till their lips almost touched.

  “Okay. Let’s discuss it later. But for now…” She wrapped her other arm around his neck. “Take me back to bed, Frank,” she murmured.

  Bernard stepped carefully down into the spa and handed Josie a long tall glass of orange-coloured cocktail with a cheerful cherry on top. They tapped the glasses together.

  “Cheers, my dear,” he said and before she could take a sip, he kissed her.

  Her spare hand pushed on his chest. “Down, boy.”

  They both took a mouthful of cocktail.

  Josie licked her lips. “That is delicious. What is it this time?”

  “Mucho Mango. It’s blended with Bacardi and Malibu.”

  Josie raised her eyebrows. “Drinking in the middle of the day can be treacherous. I will need to have lunch soon.”

  “I’ve booked a table at the Italian place.”

  “Perfect.” She took another sip then rested her head on the edge of the spa. “This is divine.”

  Bernard took in her bare shoulders then his gaze drifted down to the top of her bikini. “I’d say so.”

  She looked at him, a cheeky smile playing on her lips. “You’re not bad
eye candy yourself.”

  “We are going to keep seeing each other when we get back to Brisbane, aren’t we?” He didn’t want this time with Josie to end.

  She sat forward, her face close to his. “You said you had a pool and a spa?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I’ll need to check it out.” She trickled her fingers down his chest. “And you, on a regular basis.”

  Bernard smiled and put one arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer. “What do you say after lunch we book our next cruise?”

  “Seriously?”

  “No time like the present.”

  “I did like the look of that one to South-East Asia.”

  “Let’s do it.”

  “I’d have to check the dates and my diary.”

  “Fair enough.” He leaned down and nibbled her ear. “We can share a cabin.”

  “Wouldn’t that be nice?” She twisted under his arm and lifted her sunglasses to look him straight in the eyes. “I’d be paying my own way though. Wouldn’t want anyone to think I was sponging off you.”

  “Of course.” He laughed. “That’s the only reason I asked. Makes it cheaper for me.”

  She gave him a nudge and settled back into the nook of his arm again. “This is the life.”

  “It was the best decision I’ve made in a long time to come on this cruise.” He kissed the top of her head.

  “I’ll drink to that.” Josie tapped her glass to his.

  Celia smiled at Jim across the table. “I hope you don’t mind Maude having lunch with us.” She glanced in the direction her friend had gone towards the sweets buffet.

  “Of course not.” He looked in Maude’s direction too. “She seems rather sad.”

  “Things have fallen apart a bit. Pete’s wife is much improved and she’s wanting to do lots of things to make up for lost time. Maude’s feeling a bit the odd one out. I’m not sure what’s gone on but from what I can gather it seems since the night of the planned meeting in our cabin that didn’t happen, Pete has backed off and spends most of his time with his wife.”