Dark Journey Home (4 page)

But then she did see something, something bulky, dark
and huge.  Right in front of her!  As she started to step quickly back into the
room, she heard a groan, then a stumbling and thrashing about, as something
grasped and tugged at her heavy woolen skirts.  Then a solid thud, as that
something crumpled at her feet, still clutching the rough material of her plaid
skirt.

Olivia muffled a scream, panicked, then terrified, she
froze.  “Uncle ...Uncle Claude …here, quick!”  She’d tried to shout, to scream,
but the words only came out in a muffled choked gasp.

The Silver Princess gave a soft fluid feeling she
glided gracefully through the peaceful seas.

The sun shone bright, and they were four days gone. 
An early morning breakfast was being served in the dining hall, and Olivia sat
quietly at the Captain’s table, she on the right of the captain, who sat at the
head of the table, and her Uncle Claude at the captain’s left.  It was a
well-set-up table, and the settings were elegant, truly a luxury liner in every
sense of the word, as Lord Beckford had failed to mention to Olivia before
embarking on the journey, though she should have known that he would see to her
comfort in every way on this trip.  She was nevertheless impressed.  Her
staterooms were comfort themselves, and she was anxious for the meal to end so
she could return.

Captain Stuart McBride, a young dark-haired serious
young captain, sat at the head of the table looking very distinguished.  Two
other couples sat at the table, at the captain’s invitation, as was the custom,
Mr. and Mrs. Dale Peterson, and the Orville Becks, two older couples who
undoubtedly had traveled extensively, as they couldn’t stop telling Olivia of
their many trips abroad, and to the Orient.  Olivia tried not to yawn, as Mrs.
Peterson just finished telling about their latest journey, for the fourth
telling since she had met the woman two days before. 

As the woman paused to take a breath, Captain McBride,
who had been overly attentive to Olivia thus far, turned to her and said, “Tell
me, Miss Worthington, are you enjoying your journey so far?”

“Oh yes, indeed, Captain, you are so kind to ask.” 
She answered.

The captain smiled, while patting his lips carefully
with a white linen napkin, “Fine, fine,” he answered, “I wonder if,” he nodded
in the direction of Lord Beckford, and continued, “with your uncle’s permission
of course, you would care to take an excursion around the deck, so that I can
show you the entire ship.  It would be most pleasurable to me to show you
around.”  He leaned back in his chair very proud that he had finally broached
the subject of spending some time alone with Olivia.

Olivia was most flattered, and did not want to hurt
the captain’s feelings, but needed to tactfully decline, as she was most
anxious to return to her suite of rooms below deck.  Before she could think of
a proper way to refuse the captain’s kind offer, she was saved by her uncle
answering for her, “Actually,” Claude began, as he kindly nodded toward
McBride, “I was planning to show my niece around ‘my’ ship myself.  Although we
appreciate your kind offer, I believe I can find my way around after all these
years of sailing on ‘her’.  I know how ‘busy’ a captain you are sir, and we
would certainly not wish to part you from your ‘duties’, though if you feel
that you can ‘spare’ the time, maybe the Petersons and the Becks would
appreciate a personal tour from such a gracious host as yourself.  I’m sure
that in ‘all’ of their previous travels they have never been given a personal
tour from the captain himself, and how very kind of you indeed to offer.” 
Ignoring the captain’s flushed and irritated countenance, Lord Beckford stood. 

Olivia choked back a snicker, and swallowed, as her
uncle quickly excused them from the table. Standing tall then taking Olivia’s
arm, he thanked the red-faced captain again for his hospitality, and he
escorted her back to her three-room suite off the lower deck.

The sea was calm and peaceful as they walked into the
sitting room area.  Lord Claude spoke to the chambermaid, who just entered from
one of the other rooms, and he asked, “Maria, how is he?  Is there any change?”

“No, sir, the gentleman still sleeps, though more
peacefully now.  A bit of the ranting and raving, talking nonsense as of the
last few days, but not as much as when you first brought him.  I did get a few
mouthfuls of broth down the lad, but not all that much.”

Olivia said, “Why don’t you have a bite of food, Maria,
and rest a while.  I’ll watch over the patient now, just be sure and be back
here by lunchtime, but please bring me a tray.  I don’t think I want to sit
through another meal in the dining room today.  Bring an extra plate too; we
need to try to get some nourishing food in him if at all possible.”

Maria, a petite little Spanish lady, answered and
nodded, “Si, Señorita.  I’ll be sure and do that, and thank you for trusting me
this way.  I’ll not let you down, my husband, Ricardo, told me of the
situation, and you can rest assured that no one else on the ship knows of the
young man.”  With that Maria picked up a tray stacked with bowls and spoons,
and after nodding, left the stateroom. 

Lord Claude shook his graying head, “What have I done,
Ollie, putting you in the middle of a situation like this?  But I just couldn’t
live with myself if we’d left the bloke to the street ruffians back there, and
then we were due to sail.  What more could we have done?”

Olivia smiled and hugged her uncle, “Uncle Claude, you
are just an old softie, as I have often told you.  Sometimes you put on that
stern exterior, but I know you better.  You couldn’t have left him there, even
if I hadn’t insisted in bringing him with, in spite of your protests.  It’s a
good thing the men hadn’t loaded my steamer trunks yet, as he did fit nicely in
the larger one.  That is after unloading all that extra clothing I shouldn’t
have packed in the first place.  It did work out, now didn’t it?”

“Yes dear, my men wondered why that trunk seemed so
much heavier when they toted it back out of the office though.  I told them I’d
added a few vases and trinkets and statuettes from the Orient, that you’d set
your heart on.”

“Well, it was your quick thinking, Uncle, in having
your men bring in my trunk in the first place, I hadn’t thought of it.  We
really did have to do some cramming to get him into it though, didn’t we?”

“Well, whoever the bloke is, let’s hope that he
recovers, and starts a new life somewhere, not to be sold into bondage again.” 
Claude then turned to leave, telling Olivia, “I’ll return in about an hour, let
me know if there is any change.  I’m sorry that he has to stay in here, but as
I said, I don’t have the extra room, also many of the ship’s crew stop by my
stateroom for some reason or the other, even our very attentive captain.  So it
would be risky to have him in there.  I have given strict orders that no one
but your personal maid, Maria, shall be allowed to bother you in your
quarters.  Except for Maria’s husband Ricardo.  And those orders, of course, are
much to our amorous captain’s great sorrow. 

“However,” he continued, “with Maria and Ricardo
staying the night in the sitting room here; you are perfectly safe should the
young man awaken. I’m so sorry, dear niece, you had to leave so much of your
clothing in the closet of my office back at the warehouse, so we could make
room for a perfect stranger to be ‘stuffed’ into the trunk.  Believe me; you
shall be outfitted with a whole new wardrobe when we reach the new land.” 

“Heavens, Uncle, you act as if I’m some spoiled little
debutante!  You should know me better than that.  I care naught for a lot of
frills, only my books, of which I did put a few into my carpetbag then.  Well,
we couldn’t just let the poor fool be taken back, after I had gotten over my
initial shock anyway.  It was really a fright having him fall at my feet like
that, but when I saw that the poor man was injured, my own fright fled in a
hurry.  Those bruises have been there awhile, and that awful head injury was
recent though.  What a pitiful state for any living creature to be in.”

Claude agreed, and then asked, “You are going to watch
over him now?”

“Of course, and it really does beat walking the deck
with our ‘amorous’ captain.”  She laughed.

“Oh yes,” Claude turned back to her, shaking his head,
“what to do about our captain.  The poor bloke is quite taken with you now
isn’t he?  Well, just don’t try to keep up with your brother’s record, breaking
hearts, my dear.”  He laughed.

“Oh mercy, Uncle Claude, perish the thought, and
anyway that would be undoubtedly very hard to do, besides I seriously doubt the
nice captain is in love with me, probably more with your wealth.”

“No, Ollie, do not underrate your charms and looks.  You
know you are quite lovely, and one of these days the proper young man will
capture your heart.”  He chuckled.

“Certainly, Uncle, and pigs fly too.”  She laughed.

“Well, Niece, I can see that I got you away from the
influence of your maid Amelia just in time.  That woman is a terrible influence
on your language.  That humor of hers will get her in trouble some day.”

Olivia laughed, and waved him away, “Go rest.  I’m
going to check on our patient.”

Claude left, and Olivia clicked the lock on the door.

They had had the large steamer trunk delivered to
Olivia’s suite, as it would be safer there for the poor sick stranger who
they’d hoped wouldn’t smother with a few pieces of clothing tucked around him,
as he lay stuffed and crammed into the trunk.  He was still breathing though,
as Claude with the assistance of Ricardo Cortez, a long time employee of the
lines, and now working on the Silver Princess, had pulled him out of there and
bedded him down on one of the bunks which were attached to a wall in the extra
room of Olivia’s suite. 

Ricardo was a very trusted employee, and loyal to Lord
Beckford.  Having worked for him and travel with him for years, Beckford knew
that Ricardo and his wife, Maria would be completely trustworthy, and possibly
the only ones that they could trust in circumstances like the present one. 

The captain now, on the other hand, was a good
captain, but an ambitious young man, and very loyal to the government in every
way.  So keeping the patient hidden was of the utmost importance.

Olivia pulled up a chair alongside the bunk, sat down,
and listened to the labored breathing of the patient, while she gazed at the
sleeping figure.  It was hard to tell whether he was handsome or not, with the
sunken cheekbones, and bruises covering him.  “Mercy,” she thought to herself,
“what am I thinking of his looks for at a time like this.  The poor fella may
be dying, and here I’m thinking about what he may look like.”

But she couldn’t take her eyes off the fascinating
stranger.  His hair was long, past his shoulders’ though matted, but black as
coal, skin bronzed from either sun or heritage, she couldn’t be sure which,
maybe a mixture of both.  Massive shoulders and muscular arms, probably from
back-breaking labor for many years it seemed, though his face was gaunt and
haggard, his stomach flat.  “Oh my,” she thought suddenly, “When his health
returns, he would be the most magnificent, impressive of creatures, if not
downright handsome, well at least greatly proportioned.”

He stirred, mumbled a few unintelligible words,
nothing of which she could understand, then loudly rasping, “Chow time, let’s
put the feed bag on.”  Then he said clear as day, “Rope that calf and get that
hot iron over here, brand that maverick ‘fore the critter gets loose.”  He’d
been thrashing his arms about and Olivia reached around him with both arms, and
literally held him down to keep him from falling from the bunk.  She needed to
call to her uncle, but couldn’t let go of the patient either.

Then all of a sudden he spoke slowly, distinctly, as
if in awe, “Well, what do we have here?  A wench ready, willing and able.  Ah’m
a little under the weather right now love, but soon as I get my strength back,
I’ll be happy to oblige you with ever’thin’ I got.”

Olivia jumped back startled, and quickly let go of
him, as she looked down into two very bloodshot emerald-green eyes, in which
danced stars of humor, mixed with pain, and on the sexiest lips, the sappiest, most
lazy expression she’d ever seen.

“Oh,” she sputtered, gasping, “I was just trying to
save you from falling, you egotistical lout.  To think that I’ve been trying to
save your worthless life.”