by Julie Caplin
She popped back up on deck, ostensibly to offer more drinks and see if anyone wanted more bread, and was relieved to see Tara making her way to the table. Thank God for that. Crossing to the table, she lifted the empty bread basket and caught Nick’s eye.
He shrugged. ‘I was hungry.’
‘You’d better have left room for the lamb kebabs; you chose the meat.’
‘I’ve always got room, don’t worry.’
‘Well, let’s just hope they’re not ruined,’ she whispered back and was about to turn to head down to the galley when Tara’s cutting tones stopped her.
‘Seeing as how none of you are the least bit sympathetic, Cory and I are going to have dinner in my cabin – she’s really upset. We’ll have a girls’ night. Watch a Netflix movie. You don’t need to worry about us.’ She lifted her long neck and looked haughtily down her nose at the assembled group before turning to Maddie. ‘Send dinner to my cabin.
‘Oh, and Douglas … Cory will be sleeping in my room tonight.’ She shot him a triumphant smile.
Not once did she look at Nick throughout the whole exchange.
As she walked off, Simon began to snigger under his breath. ‘So that’s told you, Douglas. You’re not getting any oats tonight.’
Siri started to laugh too, until she noticed that Douglas was actually looking a little stricken. ‘Hey, don’t fret, babe. She’s just throwing a tantrum. She’ll come round. It’s about time you stood up to her for a change.’
‘I know,’ sighed Douglas.
‘You really should,’ added Simon. ‘She treats you like shit sometimes.’
Siri nudged Simon sharply in the ribs but Douglas smiled forlornly at her. ‘He’s right. I’m a muppet.’
To Maddie’s surprise, Siri leaned over and squeezed his hand. ‘I wouldn’t say that. You’re just too kind-hearted and she takes shameless advantage of you. Maybe it would do you good to stand up to her this time. Let her have her tantrum. Ignore it.’
‘Do you think?’ he asked with a hopeful lift to his voice.
She patted his hand again, before saying firmly, ‘Yes, I do.’
‘You’re the one that holds the purse strings,’ chipped in Simon. Siri glared at him.
‘You’re right, old man.’
Maddie’s heart went out at his quiet resignation and she felt a burst of irritation at Simon being unnecessarily cruel. It was obvious that Douglas genuinely loved Cory, or at least believed he did. Simon’s callous words highlighted the underlying subtext: Cory loved Douglas’s money rather than him.
During all this Nick’s face was curiously impassive, as if he were a detached onlooker. When he caught her looking at him, he turned away and stared out over the moonlit sea.
The rest of dinner was a subdued affair and for the first time since they’d left the marina in Split everyone went to bed by ten o’clock, for which Maddie was rather grateful. After all the drama she felt exhausted, so an early night was most welcome. She left Ivan drinking a solitary whisky on the deck, looking rather pleased with himself.
Something woke Nick in the night – piercing whispers that bounced off the water. He lay listening for a moment and then heard the wheels of suitcases on cobbles. With a sigh he checked his watch – four in the morning and still dark. Some lucky person with a ferry to catch. For a foolish moment he was almost tempted to throw back the light duvet and shout, Wait for me. What the hell was he doing here?
Last night, well, to be honest, it had … shocked – maybe that was too strong – disturbed him was a better way of putting it. You didn’t live in a family of seven, with assorted in-laws and a dozen cousins, without some drama but, no matter what the disagreements around the family kitchen table, there was always a degree of understanding or sympathy.
The previous evening’s unpleasant comments, with their swirling undercurrents of nastiness, had left a slight churning in his stomach and a desire to put distance between himself and these people.
Ill at ease and with regret at coming on the holiday clouding his thoughts, he finally dropped back to sleep and thought nothing more of what had woken him until Simon stormed onto the deck halfway through breakfast the next morning, having been despatched to check whether Tara and Cory wanted any breakfast. Ivan was preparing for departure and waiting impatiently for Maddie to be released from galley duty to help with the fenders and undo the mooring lines. A couple of times Nick almost stood up to offer to help.
‘Bloody stupid bitches,’ seethed Simon, waving a sheet of paper.
‘What?’ asked Siri with a mouthful of toast.
Simon dropped the sheet of paper in front of Douglas, who’d been staring morosely into his coffee for the last half hour. ‘They’ve only gone and run away to sea.’
Douglas’s head shot up and he snatched at the piece of paper as Siri bobbed up and skirted around the table to read it over his shoulder.
His lip quivered and Nick genuinely thought he might cry. Siri patted him on the shoulder, her eyes wide in disbelief.
‘What’s happened?’ he asked.
‘Cory and Tara have gone to Hvar.’
The words didn’t make any sense. ‘When?’
‘About four o’clock this morning,’ said Maddie, quickly adding when several heads turned accusingly, ‘I heard lots of whispering but I didn’t think anything of it. I never dreamed …’
‘How?’
‘They must have taken a water taxi,’ said Ivan. ‘There is only the catamaran to Hvar and that doesn’t leave until quarter to five.’
Nick shook his head, pulling out his phone, looking to see if there’d been a text from Tara. Not a word. He gritted his teeth.
‘But that’s mad,’ said Siri. ‘What are they going to do when they get there? Where will they stay?’
‘You think a couple of airheads would have thought that far ahead?’ snarled Simon. ‘Spoiled bitches.’
‘That is enough,’ Douglas suddenly snapped and turned on Simon. ‘Don’t talk about Cory like that.’ In one sharp movement he rose to his feet, heedless of the cup of coffee he’d upended, and stalked to where Ivan stood at the wheel in the cockpit area, his body language suddenly authoritative and grim determination stamped on his face. ‘We’re going to Hvar. Now. Start the engine.’
Ivan’s eyes flashed momentarily but he nodded. Within minutes he barked a dozen orders at Maddie, who looked like a startled rabbit, not sure which way to run or which command to follow first.
‘Let me help,’ said Nick, jumping to his feet, needing to get away from the others and not caring what they thought. ‘Want me to take the left-hand rope?’
‘Line,’ said Maddie as they scrambled away from the table, where Siri was frantically mopping up coffee. ‘For some reason they’re called lines. And it’s starboard as we’re at the stern of the boat.’
‘Do you want me to help or not?’ He glared at her. ‘It’s only because I’d rather be doing something than sitting, especially with an atmosphere like that.’
‘Yeah, must be a bit odd. Your girlfriend doing a bunk and not telling you.’
Nick couldn’t help himself and he snorted. ‘Tell it how it is, why don’t you?’
‘Oh, God.’ Maddie slapped a hand over her mouth. ‘Did I just say that? I’m so sorry.’
‘The tact instinct gave you a wide berth, didn’t it?’
‘’Fraid so.’
‘Don’t worry. It’s not as if you’re telling me anything I didn’t know. My girlfriend has done a bunk and it’s bloody rude. Glad you’re not pussyfooting around it. Now, come on, let’s sort these lines out.’
‘Thank you, I appreciate the help.’ Her grateful heartfelt smile made him forget the tension gripping his shoulders.
With the lines secured, they jumped back on the yacht as Ivan began to steer out of the harbour, the engine’s propeller churning up the water and leaving a small wake behind them.
Following Maddie’s lead, Nick went to the port side (see, he was learning) and hauled in the
fenders on that side, while Maddie took care of the others.
As he worked his way forward to the bow of the boat, he saw that Douglas was standing on the little walkway that protruded out over the water from the prow of the ship. Simon had followed him, but Nick was surprised when Douglas suddenly shook Simon’s arm off with an angry expletive.
Good, thought Nick. Simon, he’d decided, was pure poison. A two-faced, back-stabbing little git. He hadn’t liked him since he had met him. Always whispering in Douglas’s ear, making comments about other people, when he was as much a hanger-on as Cory. He’d noticed Simon’s wallet seemed to be missing in action on any occasion where drinks and food were being consumed. Douglas, generous to a fault, always picked up the tab, even though he’d paid for the boat charter. Nick had managed to get a round of drinks in the other night but Douglas had refused to let him pay for his and Tara’s meals, either at lunch or dinner.
Simon walked off, leaving Douglas on his own. The man looked like he wanted some time alone so Nick carried on pulling the fenders into the boat, but when he looked up Douglas had come to stand next to him.
‘What do you think I should do?’ he asked miserably. ‘Everyone else seems to want to chuck their two penn’orth in. Have you heard from Tara?’
‘No,’ said Nick shortly.
‘I texted Cory. Told her we were on our way.’ His mouth turned down. ‘Course the little monkey asked me to text when we arrived and she’d let me know where to meet her. She knew I’d come after her. They’re just sussing out places for lunch.’
‘Fair enough.’ Nick paused. ‘You could always keep them waiting, though.’
‘What do you mean?’ Douglas frowned.
‘Well, given this seemed quite an impetuous flight, it’s fair to assume that they have nowhere to stay for the night. Although they took some luggage with them to make it look good.’ He recalled the sound of wheels on cobbles in the wee small hours. ‘Which means they’re going to have to spend the day lugging their bags around with them, hanging around in bars and restaurants. They’re soon going to get bored. They’re relying on being back on board tonight, but we could take our time. Make them sweat a bit. You know they’re in Hvar. They’re safe.’
A slow reluctant smile curved Douglas’s face. ‘You’re a strategist. I like that. Think slow, plan long.’
‘Something like that,’ said Nick dryly.
‘Yes, our trip could take longer than planned,’ suggested Douglas, almost cherubic innocence supplanting the earlier misery etched on his face.
‘And there’s no mooring in Hvar.’ Nick raised his hands, a who-knew?-style gesture. ‘It’s going to take a while to find a place to weigh anchor.’
‘And then the launch is going to take a while to motor in.’
‘And, by that time, it could be as late as ten o’clock at night.’
‘Or even eleven.’
Nick laughed. ‘You really want to make them suffer.’
Douglas winced. ‘They have been rather naughty.’
‘Douglas, they’re not schoolchildren. They’re two adult women, capricious, selfish and thoughtless. This yacht, this holiday – it’s a real treat. You’ve paid a lot of money.’ He held up his hand as Douglas started to demur. ‘But not once have you said that to anyone. Not once have you made any of us feel beholden. You’re a generous host. And I’m cross that the pair of them – I know Cory is your girlfriend – but that the two of them have so blatantly taken the piss out of your hospitality and generosity. They’re not just thoughtless, they’re bloody self-entitled and, to be honest, it’s really wound me up.’
Douglas shrugged, a pink tinge further deepening his normally rosy cheeks.
They stood side by side in silence before Douglas finally said, ‘I think, Nick, that’s a fucking brilliant idea. Don’t suppose you play poker?’
‘Only with my brothers. My second eldest, Jonathon, is a card shark.’
‘I play with Siri; she’s pretty sharp with a pack of cards too. Fancy a beer?’
Maddie climbed the stairs to the top deck with another three bottles of beer balanced on her tray, following the sound of raucous laughter.
Downstairs, on the main deck, Simon was sulking in the shade on his own, although Maddie wasn’t sure why. He’d plugged in his earphones, put on his sunglasses and turned a sun lounger to face the sea. When she’d offered him a drink earlier he’d given her a curt, dismissive shake of his head, a clear reminder that she was just the hired help.
At the top of the steps she paused to take in the view and enjoy the smooth rolling motion of the boat as the wind teased her hair. The air felt fresh and sharp, rippling over her face, while the sun heated the skin on her arms and legs with a delicious glow. This was the life. The engine throbbed as the yacht skimmed across the open water towards Hvar and now that Ivan had resigned himself to the change in schedule he’d finally stopped stomping around doing his Blackbeard impersonation.
‘Ah, there you are, Maddie,’ called Douglas at the top of his voice, as if she’d been missing for hours instead of a scant five minutes. She laughed; he was absolutely steaming but Douglas was one of those delightful drunks, happy, avuncular and very chatty. It was the most relaxed she’d seen him since they’d embarked on the trip.
‘Hello, Maddie,’ called Siri, holding her cards up in front of her face so that only her mischievous dancing eyes could be seen.
The three of them had been playing cards for the last two hours, steadily drinking their way through the stock of lager.
‘Who’s winning?’ she asked, dishing out the cold bottles of Karlovačko, the local Croatian beer.
‘Nick!’ screeched Siri in disgust, poking at her dwindling pile of matchsticks, pinched from the galley. ‘Making out he’s all innocent and clean-living. Huh!’
‘Long, dark winters’ nights.’ He grinned, clumsily tapping his mini mountain of matchsticks.
‘And I’m about to lose the shirt from my back,’ said Douglas cheerfully, waving a solitary matchstick. ‘Good job I’m not this bad in the City; Cory wouldn’t want to know me then.’
There was a collective pause as all three of them looked at him. He took a long swallow of beer, blinking owlishly off into the distance over the sea. ‘Mmm, that is good stuff, and don’t all of you look at me like that. I’m not daft.’ He borrowed Nick’s northern vowels for a second. He kept his gaze turned away, his voice quieter. ‘I know she’s only with me for my money. Stands to reason. Gorgeous girl like that with a short, dumpy, ugly bloke like me. Not like you, Nick, handsome, athletic. No wonder Tara fancies you.’
Siri grabbed his hand. ‘Douglas Spencer-Jones, don’t you dare say that.’ Her voice trembled with all the ferocity of a mama bear protecting her cub but her eyes softened as she looked at him. ‘You’re the kindest man I know.’
‘I’m a bloody fool, that’s what I am.’ He waved his beer bottle. ‘A bloody fool, but I love her.’ His face crumpled in apology, oblivious to the sudden bleakness in Siri’s eyes as her face became curiously expressionless.
And in that moment Maddie saw it. Siri was in love with Douglas.
She glanced at Nick, who winced and took a long swallow of beer, oblivious to Siri’s unhappiness and clearly uncomfortable with Douglas’s declaration.
‘Anything else I can get you?’ she asked.
‘Sit down and have a beer with us.’ Douglas suddenly rose to his feet. ‘Can you play poker?’
‘I’m afraid not,’ said Maddie with a polite smile. ‘And I need to prepare lunch.’
‘You’re a nice girl. Why can’t I fall in love with a nice girl like you?’ he asked with a mournful sigh.
Maddie looked helplessly at Siri, who rolled her eyes and winked, the brief sign of her earlier emotion wiped away. ‘She’s far too good for you, Douglas. For one thing, she knows how to work hard and isn’t some decorative, sponging layabout.’
‘Harsh, Siri, harsh.’
‘No, it's not,’ she said, flinging hersel
f back in her chair, crossing her ankles and taking a swig of beer. ‘Admit it, Cory does bugger all. Fannying about on the occasional shoot. What? She’s had two jobs this year. I don’t know why you put up with it, not when you have a strong work ethic. We might have come from money but neither of us expected to have everything handed to us on a plate. I had to work like stink in my first job at Vogue to prove that I wasn’t just the CEO’s best friend’s daughter. And Charles didn’t give you an easy time when you started at Citibank, just because you were his godson or because you were at school with his son.’
Nick caught Maddie’s eye and raised his eyebrows imperceptibly. She suppressed an answering smile.
‘Siri, don’t get yourself all worked up.’ Douglas patted her hand. ‘You don’t understand. Cory’s very insecure. She needs me … She just –’
‘Takes advantage.’ Siri’s voice was flat.
‘Now, now.’ Douglas took her hand. ‘You don’t need to worry about me. It’s my problem and I’m a big boy.’
‘Big idiot, more like,’ said Siri, a smile returning to her face as she squeezed his hand back. ‘I just hate to see you get hurt.’
‘Hmph,’ said Douglas. ‘I’ll survive.’ A sudden naughty grin broke out over his face. ‘But there’s no reason for me to be a pushover.’ He glanced at Nick. ‘Eh?’
Nick looked puzzled for a second and then his face cleared and he gave Douglas a nod.
‘Maddie, dear, there’ll just be four of us for dinner tonight.’
‘Four? But aren’t … but we’ll be anchoring just outside Hvar in less than an hour.’
‘Yes –’ Douglas’s eyes danced with a touch of gleeful naughtiness ‘– but Cory and Tara don’t know that. We’ll go and collect them when we’re ready.’ He looked at his watch. ‘What do you think, Nick? About half ten, eleven?’
‘Oh,’ said Maddie, trying not to giggle. ‘I get it.’
Siri sat up and raised her bottle in toast to Douglas. ‘’Bout time both of them realised that the world doesn’t revolve around them. Go you, Douglas.’