by Mac Flynn
"It's just a scratch, really," I assured him.
I stood and noticed my luggage beneath the table. The lid had popped open, and the contents were strewn over the body and onto the floor. My underwear and pink socks were displayed for all the world to see which fortunately at that moment consisted only of Stuart and the stranger.
"I'm so sorry!" I yelped.
I jumped at the clothes, but the mystery man beat me to the pile. He shoved many of the delicate articles into the luggage, shut the lid for me, and stood with the handle in his hand. There was a mischievous smile on his lips and the same look in his eyes.
"You apologize too much for such a beautiful woman," he commented.
I frowned at him. "I don't think beauty has anything to do with apologizing. Now if you would just give me back my suitcase-" I snatched at the luggage, but he swung it out of my reach.
"I accept your correction, but I get the feeling you don't quite believe what I'm telling you," he teased.
"I'm asking you to please give me back my suitcase," I insisted. I made another go of it, but he was too nimble and the suitcase remained in his grasp.
"Mr. Archer, if you would?" Stuart spoke up. "She hasn't seen her room yet."
Mr. Archer hesitated, and I struck and snatched the suitcase from him. Rather than be annoyed his smile widened to a grin.
"You have more spunk than you let on, Miss Jane," he commented.
I stood straight and frowned at him. "That's Miss Johnson to you, Mr. Archer. Good day."
CHAPTER 3
I turned my back on him, and Stuart led me down the hall. We'd only gone a few yards when curiosity overcame me and I glanced over my shoulder. Mr. Archer still stood there, and he still had that bemused smile on his lips. A porter came up and pointed at the broken bowl, and still he continued to stare at me.
I looked away and thankfully we reached the near end of the hall. My room was the second-to-the-last on the left side. A woman about my age stepped out of a room opposite mine. She wore a chic white skirt with matching blouse, and her long blond hair was pulled back in a becoming ponytail. Her eyes were a bright auburn, and they looked me over with all the kindness of a cougar. She laughed at me and walked down the hall.
"This way, Miss Jane," Stuart invited me.
He held the door open and I stepped inside my suite. The space was larger than my apartment. There was a full living room, dining room, and a modern kitchen. Off to the right was the master bedroom and adjoining bath.
"I hope you'll be comfortable here," Stuart commented as he joined me by my side.
I smiled. "I think I can manage."
"I'm glad to hear that. If you need anything, the fridge is fully stocked and room service is only a phone call away," he assured me. "If you prefer not to cook, the meals are posted in this brochure guide." He pulled out the thick brochure and handed it to me. "As a permanent member of the captain's table you'll have your choice of the best cuts of meat and the freshest vegetables."
"Is there a map to the dining room?" I asked him.
He smiled and pointed at the brochure. "You'll find a map and a schedule for all the ship's events. There's a spot reserved for you on all activities, so don't hesitate to join."
"All of them?" I teased.
"Only if you don't want to get any sleep," he warned me. "The activities go from early morning exercises to the late-night party in the exclusive clubhouse. Merely show them your pass and they'll let you in. Do you have any other questions?"
I wiped my hand across my forehead and smiled. "Where can a girl put up her feet?"
He pointed at one of the doors. "Your bedroom's right through there. The bed is a king-size, but if it's too large-"
"King will be fine," I assured him.
"Then I'll leave you to rest. You can use the phone and dial nine-nine for assistance, and they'll reach me," he told me.
"Thanks, I'll do that," I promised.
"I hope you enjoy your stay," he finished. He turned towards the door.
"Stuart?" I suddenly called.
He looked back at me. "Yes, Miss Jane?"
"Who's
He smiled. "Mr. Maximilian Archer, the tech billionaire. He has the room next to yours."
"Thanks. That's all I wanted to know."
Stuart bowed his head and left the suite.
It may have been called a suite, but to me right then and for the next week it would be my palace. I would rule here as a queen. A benevolent one, of course, but a queen with the ability to do whatever activity I wanted.
For my first official act, I decided a nap was in order. The long flight and even longer wait for the cruise had worn me thin. I tossed off my thoughts of rich Archer, my shoes and all my cares, and went into the bedroom. The bed was definitely a king, and there were a pair of large nightstand on either side with lamps. The master bathroom had a jacuzzi tub with free shampoo that cost more than a month's salary.
My face fell. "If I had a salary. . ." I reminded myself.
I shook myself from my brooding thoughts. This was a time for a new me, a window of opportunity to have fun before harsh life intervened. I turned, dashed across the floor, and catapulted myself onto my bed. The mattress sank beneath my weight and sprang up so I flew a few inches in the air.
I laughed and rolled onto my back. The white ceiling stared back at me. I sighed and felt a wave of exhaustion wash over me. The long day took its toll. My eyes grew heavy, and before I knew it I slipped into a deep sleep.
A ringing noise woke me up. My eyes fluttered open and I looked around a strange, luxurious environment. I glanced to my left and noticed the phone on the nightstand. It rang again. I struggled onto my arms and grabbed the receiver.
"Hello?" I mumbled.
"Miss Jane? It's Stuart," the voice on the other end told me. "I just wanted to tell you that dinner will be ready soon."
I noticed a clock on the nightstand alarm and saw the time was nearly six. "What time is dinner?" I asked him as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.
"Six-thirty," he answered.
"Oh shoot!" I rolled out of bed and tumbled to the hard floor. "Ouch. . ."
"Are you all right, Miss Jane?" Stuart asked me.
I sat up and rubbed my head. "Yeah. Could you show me to the dining room?"
"I can be there in five minutes," he offered.
I looked down at myself. My clothes were creased beyond recognition, but fortunately I had a backup plan.
"Could you make it fifteen?" I pleaded.
"Certainly. I'll be there at six-fifteen," he promised.
"Thanks."
We hung up and I jumped into action. I had a nice blouse and dress pants stowed away in my luggage along with a simple but elegant black evening dress. That comprised the entirety of my fancy evening wear, but I'd make it count.
"This is your time to shine," I whispered to myself as I slipped into my blouse. "Make a good first impression and have the time of your life."
At six-fifteen on the dot there was a knock on my door and I opened it to find Stuart on the other side. He was dressed in darker evening attire, but had a bright smile on his face. His eyes swept over me and his smile widened.
"You look great," he complimented me.
I returned the smile. "You don't look so bad yourself."
"It's just standard uniform," he told me. "But are you ready? The captain's table is served punctually because the captain can't be away from the wheel for long."
"Yep." I stepped out of my room and walked down the hall with him. "They don't really have a wheel still, do they?"
He shook his head. "No, just a bunch of controls, but it's easier to say 'wheel' because everyone recognizes that more than 'helm.'"
Stuart led me up the stairs, but we turned off on one of the higher landings and walked down the hall. The hall connected with the other lower residential compartment halls and a steady stream of people joined us in the wide passage.
"Can we all fit?" I asked Stuart.<
br />
"This isn't everyone," he told me. "We couldn't seat everyone in the dining hall at the same time, so there's assigned hours."
We flowed through one of three pairs of doors on the left and into the large dining hall. The hall was as large as a ballroom with the kitchen at the rear. The closest right corner was an empty dance floor with a small orchestra on a platform. They played soft music for the inflow of people. There were dozens of round tables nailed to the floor with four chairs around each. The only exception was a table close to the kitchen. That was long and rectangular, and could seat about a dozen people.
Stuart led me over to the long table. Each seat had a small placard on the plate, and he pulled out the chair in front of my plate. My seat was one away from the head where I read the name of our captain on the placard. Half of the seats were already filled, and I wasn't thrilled to see the woman from across the hall opposite me.
The woman scrutinized my clothes and lifted her nose. I put on my best face and bowed my head to her.
"Good evening," I spoke up.
"Good evening," she grudgingly replied.
"I think our rooms are close together," I commented.
"Yes, I suppose they are," she remarked.
Our friendly conversation came to an abrupt end when the captain strode up to the table. The man was on the right side of fifty with graying hair temples and a stern but kind face. He wore a dark blue uniform with a name tag on the breast.
The captain was flanked on one side by a man in a similar suit but younger, and on his other side was the man I'd met in the hallway by the candy dish. Mr. Maximilian Archer. He glanced at the table his natural smile widened. Archer walked over to my chair and bowed to me.
"Good evening, Miss Jane," Archer greeted me.
I plastered a smile on my face and bowed my head. "Good evening."
The captain walked up to Archer's side and extended his hand to me. "You must be the lucky woman who won our contest."
I shook his hand and nodded. "That's me."
"It's a pleasure to have you at my table, and I hope you enjoy your stay," he told me.
"I'm sure I will. Everyone's really helpful," I replied.
"I'm glad to hear it," he answered.
Archer tugged on the captain's arm and jerked his head towards the vacant seats. "We should sit down or they'll serve without us."
The captain got the hint, and the three men took their seats. I was unfortunate enough to have Archer take the one beside me. The haughty woman had the other man, who I guessed was the first mate, sit beside her so the men still flanked the captain at the head. The rest of the table held other people of aristocratic air, and I noticed two women who sat on the other side of Miss Haughty seemed to make a triplet of disdain.
The one to Miss Haughty's immediate left was a woman of twenty-five with short blond hair and a narrow face. She had a thin nose and bright brown eyes that matched her face. On her left was a dark-colored woman with black hair and pursed lips. All three wore fine sets of evening wear complete with slaughtered animals and an overabundance of perfume. The three made a triplet that I nicknamed the Neapolitan Ninnies. They looked at me like I was lower than a bug, and stared at Archer like he was higher than God.
Waiters hurried up to us and handed out the menus. They were thick, cumbersome things filled with more food than a grocery store. The most common language among the lists of foods was French, a tongue of which I was not familiar. I lowered my menu and looked over the top at the other guests. The Neapolitans conversed among themselves in French and pointed out various lines. The other guests looked equally at ease.
"Troubles?" a voice whispered.
I whipped my head to my left and found it was that annoying Archer man. He had a twinkle in his eyes and a smile on his lips. He nodded at the menu.
"Can't decide?" he wondered.
I frowned and snapped the menu shut. "I-I'm just waiting to see what everyone else is ordering," I stammered.
"Is that what you call it?" he mused.
"I'm fine, really," I insisted. I was completely out of my league, but I wouldn't admit it to him.
"Then you won't mind me helping you choose," he returned. He scooted our chairs closer. I leaned away from him, but he didn't seem to notice. He forced open my menu and pointed at the dinner set. "I recommend the duck with the orange sauce along with some red wine and, for dessert, the chocolate cake. How does that sound?" He looked up into my eyes and I couldn't help but blush. The guy was annoying, but still handsome.
"I-I guess," I agreed.
"Excellent choice, mademoiselle!" he applauded as he leaned away from me.
His outburst caught the attention of the others at the table. The three women glared at me, and noticed there was a tinge of jealousy in their depths. I had to admit it felt good to get a little revenge from them.
Maybe Archer wasn't so bad.
CHAPTER 4
The orders were taken and the menus taken away with them. The leader of the three women, the one who's suite was across from mine, leaned her elbows on the table and cradled her chin on the tops of her overlapped hands. She batted her eyes at Archer.
"So how's the search for your fairy-tale wife going? Find her yet?" she teased.
The uniformed man beside her grinned. "What's this about, Archer? Looking for love in all the wrong places?"
Archer chuckled. "It's not like that at all, Charlie."
"It isn't?" the woman continued. She leaned towards Charlie while her eyes remained on Archer. "He's been telling everyone around him that he might settle down and disappoint his millions of tabloid admirers by marrying."
"Hope to be a part of them, Renee?" Charlie asked her.
Renee leaned away from him and shrugged. "Isn't every girl?"
"I'm sure I don't," the middle woman spoke up.
My arch-nemesis snorted. "Of course you are, Alicia. Everyone is."
"I might as well throw in my hat," the third spoke up.
"But aren't you married to the Duke of Cornwall?" one of the women down the table asked her.
She frowned and waved her hand in front of her face. "He's such a bore that we're divorcing at the end of this week. I'll be back to plain Lana Galas." Her eyes flickered to Archer. "That is, unless I can find another man who'd be better at entertaining me."
Archer held up his hands. "Before we start fighting over me in the third person, I want to dispel the rumors. I'm not looking for a wife. I've found her, and she's sitting at this table right now."
The other guests at the table gasped. The captain chuckled.
"You have a flare for the dramatic, Max," he complimented him.
Archer grinned. "And I've only just begun."
One of the boat stewards came up to the table. He held a book in his hands which he presented to Archer. The tome was three inches thick and had a plain brown leather cover. I didn't see any words on the covers or spine. The pages between the covers was yellow with age.
I had to have it.
The thought came to me so suddenly that I jerked back in my seat. I shook my head and tried to clear the strange, sudden desire, but it remained. I wanted that book. My body burned with a hot, sensual desire to possess the tome. I felt my fingers twitched. If only I could stroke its cover and brush my fingers over its pages. I felt I could die happy.
I took a deep breath and swallowed some of the heat inside me. This was nonsense talk. I was much too sensible to fall for such foolish, sudden impulses, and over a book!
Archer took the tome in hand and smiled at the three curious women opposite him.
"Perfect timing," Archer complimented the man. The steward smiled, bowed his head and left.
"What is it?" Renee purred.
"My wedding gift," Archer explained as he held up the book on the fingers of one hand. "This is one of the rarest books in the world. My bride will receive this book on our wedding night."
Alicia's lips turned into a pout. "Is that it? A book."
&
nbsp; "If you don't want it then I know two others who do," Archer teased.
Alicia perked up and reached out her hand. "You're giving it to me?"
He laughed and pulled the book from her reach. "Maybe we can play Russian Roulette."
Lana wrinkled her nose. "Isn't that where the losers die?"
"More or less," Archer confirmed.
"It will be less on my boat," the captain spoke up.
"Come on, Max, out with it. Who gets it?" Renee snapped.
Archer smiled, set the book on his plate and stood. He bowed to the table and stepped backwards towards the dance floor. "Perhaps I'll give it to the first person who dances with me, man or woman."
The book was quickly forgotten and abandoned on the table as the women tussled with each other as they tried to stand at the same time. Many at the table followed them to the floor as the orchestra, goaded by Archer, struck up a faster tune.
I remained one of the few occupants of the table. The others were older and probably hungrier more for food than dancing. My eyes invariably fell on the book, and my desire to own it overwhelmed me. I looked around the dining hall. Everyone's attention was on the dance floor. Just a little snatch. A little peek at the rare contents.
My only problem was the captain and his mate. They were still at their seats and watched the proceeding dance floor fight with apprehension and amusement. The three women grappled with each other for dibs on the first dance. Things got serious when hair was pulled and a shirt was torn.
"Captain, I really think you should interfere in this," one of the older women spoke up.
The captain sighed and stood, and his mate joined him. "So it seems. If you'll excuse us." The pair marched to the dance floor.
Now was my chance. I snatched the book and hurried from the table. No one was the wider. I hurried through the crowds of tables and empty halls back to my suite. My door was duly locked behind me, and I rushed into my bedroom and bounced onto my bed.
My legs were stretched over the bed and the book sat on my lap. I brushed my hands over the rough cover. A thrill ran over me. I took a deep breath and opened the book. There were a few words on the title page.
"The Darkness In the Heart of Man," I whispered. What a strange title.
I flipped to the next page which was supposed to show the copyright, but that was blank. I pawed through the other pages. They were all blank. All of them. The only words was the title. My shoulders slumped and I closed the book.