Dreamboat (20 page)

Crissy had never seen Jenny in this particular mood before, and she didn't like it. “No, of course not,” she said. She went into the bathroom and closed the door. For a minute, she thought she might cry, but she forced the tears back.
She's got to be wrong,
she told herself.
And Monika, too. Luca cannot be like that. I just know it.
But even as the thought came to her, doubts surfaced at the same time, niggling at her mind, worrying her.

After dinner with the usual group, the table left together for the show, where they sat in their customary seats near the back. Afterward, Jenny and Dr. Von Meckling joined the crowd on the small dance floor to dance to a few slow tunes played by the show's three-man ensemble. Mina and Rudy, who hardly missed a dance, joined them.

“Jenny seems to be very interested in Dr. Von Meckling,” Monika said to Crissy when they were alone.

“Do you really think so?” Crissy asked.

Monika nodded. “Indeed. She's much more clever than I first gave her credit for.”

“How's that?” Crissy asked.

“She's discovered that there is satisfaction to be derived from something other than very good-looking young men who can make love all night.”

“And what kind of satisfaction do you think she's getting from the doctor?” Crissy asked.

Monika looked at her and laughed. “Money, of course. Which translates into security, my darling.”

“So the doctor is rich?” Crissy asked.

“Very,” Monika said. “Everyone in Germany knows of his family and their great wealth. I'm sure that Jenny has heard of it now, too.” She laughed again. “She's a heartless little tart, but she'll go far, I expect.”

“But she has money of her own,” Crissy said. “She got a big divorce settlement and alimony.”

“I would doubt that it compares to the wealth of the Von Meckling family,” Monika said. “Nor does it assure her the kind of social position marrying him would automatically give her.”

“Marrying?” Crissy laughed. “You don't seriously think that Jen would even consider such a thing do you?”

Monika slowly nodded her silvery head, then smiled secretively at
Crissy. “I don't just think it,” she said. “I'm quite certain that before the trip is over, Dr. Von Meckling will ask her, and she will accept.”

Crissy was speechless for a moment. “I can't believe it,” she said. “She's always gone after really good-looking younger men. One after the other. She's never gone after an older man.”

“Crissy, my darling,” Monika said patiently, “don't you see? Jenny doesn't even care about men. Not really. That's one reason she goes from one to the next. She uses them merely to entertain herself. Rather like some women use a . . . vibrator.”

Crissy laughed. “You don't mean that.”

“Of course I do,” Monika said. “Jenny only cares about Jenny.”

Crissy sat in silence, digesting this comment. Monika wasn't the first person to say something along that line about Jenny. Adonis, the man they'd met in Athens, had said something similar. And come to think of it, so had Luca. Her mind immediately turned to thoughts of him. The confusion and seeds of doubt sewn by Monika and now Jenny left her in a quandary. She didn't know what to think, but she could hardly wait to see him again tonight. In fact, she was surprised that there had been no message from him when she boarded the ship in Nice, but so far she'd heard nothing at all. Maybe he was very busy in the hospital, she told herself. With all the new passengers who boarded in Nice, he might have his hands full.

The others returned to the table as the ensemble ended its string of dance numbers, and packed up and got ready to go to the disco. “Well,” Rudy asked, “is everybody ready for some real dancing?” He did a corny pelvic thrust and twist and threw his hands into the air, much as one of the showgirls might have done. Everyone laughed. “Mina and I will run on ahead,” he offered, “and save a table. With all the new people, it might be very crowded tonight.”

Crissy watched with fascination as Dr. Von Meckling led Jenny away on his arm as if she were a decorous trophy he had acquired. Monika turned to her and nodded as if to say “I told you so.” They gathered up their purses, Monika her customary enormous gold leather one, and followed along. Monika made a spectacle of herself in the way she dressed and wore her hair and makeup, but Crissy thought that her look was perfectly suited to a sophisticated woman who was the author of numerous novels of romance and glamour.

Rudy waved to them, and they wove their way through the crowded
disco to the table and sat down. “You see, it's very crowded tonight,” he pointed out.

He had thoughtfully ordered champagne as he always did and immediately poured them glasses. “Jenny and the doctor are dancing,” he said, nodding his head toward them on the dance floor.

Crissy looked and saw that Jenny's head was laid on the old doctor's shoulder, her eyes closed. She looked content, happy even, and the doctor held her to him as if she were a piece of priceless Meissen porcelain. “I can't get over it,” she said.

Mina laughed raucously, her red lips gleaming in the reflection of the ever-changing lights roving over the dance floor and the area surrounding it. “My dear,” she said through her laughter. “It is one of the oldest stories in the world. Jenny is clearly a girl who has made up her mind about what she wants, and it has very little to do with sex.”

Crissy glanced toward the back of the room, hoping to see Luca, but there was no sign of him or the captain's party. She wondered why she hadn't heard from him since boarding in Nice. He must have had duties at the hospital that prevented him from contacting her, she thought. Despite the seeds of doubt that Jenny and Monika had sown, she found that she missed him and wanted to see him as soon as possible. She would confront him with the truth, she decided. Or rather, she amended the thought, with what Jenny and Monika had said.

Suddenly Monika took out one of her many fans and started fluttering away madly. “Oh, darling,” she said, excited, “here comes the most divine man on the ship. Don't be a fool again.” She half stood and lifted a hand into the air and began waving. “Darling, do join us,” she called. “Over here.”

Crissy tried to see who Monika was summoning, but she couldn't see anything except the people who were standing around in front of the table, moving to the beat of the music and blocking her view.
Monika must have radar,
she thought. Then, twisting this way and that to get through the wall of people, Mark appeared.

He went straight to Monika and gave her air kisses on both cheeks. “Madame Graf,” he said, “it's such a pleasure to see you. How are you enjoying the trip?”

“It's lovely, my dear,” she said. “And I've discovered the most delightful young lady from the States. But you've already met her. Crissy Fitzgerald—” She gestured to Crissy with her fan. “You know Makelos Vilos. Called simply Mark.”

He looked at her with that superior smile, and Crissy smiled back. “Yes, we've met,” she said. “Several times in fact.”

“You have?” Monika said, surprised. She turned to Crissy. “Why didn't you tell me? Or did I forget?”

“I guess I didn't think of it,” Crissy replied. “Besides,” she added jokingly, “you might not have approved, and I would never hear the end of it.”

“Ach!” Monika said. “Never. Not with Mark.” She gestured to him. “Sit down, darling. Join us for a glass of champagne, won't you?”

“I would love to,” he replied. He took a seat facing them both at the little round table.

“So you two met on the ship, I presume,” Mark said.

“Yes,” Monika said, “and I'm so lucky because Crissy is a divine creature. Like you.”

Mark smiled. “How fortunate for you both,” he said. “Traveling alone can be tiresome,” he said. “It's so much more interesting to have a good traveling companion, isn't it?”

“Oh, yes,” Monika agreed. “Crissy is traveling with a friend, Jenny, but she's left Crissy adrift, if you'll pardon the expression. She's always off with one man or another. Having quite a time for herself with the men.”

“I'm sure Crissy could do the same if she chose,” Mark said.

“Our Crissy is much more selective than her friend,” Monika said.

One of Mark's eyebrows arched, and he looked at Crissy. “One must be careful not to end up all alone,” he said. “Even a beautiful young lady such as yourself.”

“I don't think there's too much danger of that,” Crissy said.

“I've been hibernating myself,” he said. “How would you like to dance?”

“Fine,” Crissy replied, although she didn't actually relish the idea after his strange behavior in Monte Carlo.

“You don't mind, do you, Monika?” he asked politely.

“No, my darling,” she said gaily. “Of course not.”

Mark led Crissy to the dance floor, and as they began a slow dance, Monika observed them closely. They made a very good-looking pair, she thought, and would be a very good match. Crissy was a nobody from nowhere, but that didn't really matter. She was beautiful, well-mannered, decent, and had good instincts. She was also a quick study and would pick up the necessary social skills overnight. She was malleable, Monika
thought, and that was a vital consideration. She could help mold her into the perfect wife for a man like Mark.
Oh,
she thought with a thrill,
how his family would embrace me. Welcome me to its bosom for making certain that their precious Makelos was on the right path at last.
There was much to be gained by manipulating these two into each another's arms. Much indeed.

As she watched, she saw them laughing together, enjoying each other's company, and it made her heart soar.
Oh, yes,
she thought.
Crissy and Mark. A couple. And I'll forever be their fairy godmother, the woman who introduced them, brought them together.
She felt a frisson of excitement surge through her body. It was more exciting than sex, she thought. The power and influence that would accrue to her from such a match was infinitesimal. Her work had just started, she realized, but like a warrior, she was prepared to do battle. And her first order of business would be to make certain that Crissy and that Italian doctor didn't see one another again. That was essential. She knew that Crissy, naive that she was, had already developed feelings for the Italian, but she would see that it went no further. To allow feelings to interfere in an affair like this was ridiculous.

When the dance was over, Mark brought Crissy back to the table. “You're going to hate me,” he said to Monika.

“That's not remotely possible,” she replied.

“I've asked Crissy to have a drink with me in my suite,” he said, “and she's agreed. So we'll be leaving.”

Monika clapped her hands together, her many rings clanking audibly. “Wonderful,” she said. “Absolutely wonderful.”

Crissy was surprised by her reaction. She knew that Monika approved of Mark, and she realized that the woman considered him the greatest catch, but her reaction seemed too enthusiastic, Crissy thought.

“We'll be back soon,” Crissy said. “I just want to see his fabulous stateroom.” Mark had been so charming on the dance floor that she decided his behavior in Monte Carlo had been something out of the ordinary. Perhaps he'd simply been having a bad day. Anyway, she would give him the benefit of the doubt.

“Stay as long as you want, my darling,” Monika said. “The night is young, and I'll have plenty of company here.”

“Don't misbehave while we're gone,” Mark said to her.

Monika laughed girlishly and waved her fan.

As they weaved their way through the tables toward the exit, Crissy didn't see Jenny watching her from the dance floor, where she had a clear view over the old doctor's shoulder. Her eyes narrowed as she watched Crissy leave with yet another handsome young stud, just the sort of man she should be with rather than the old doctor. Wrenching
him
away from Crissy's greedy little claws would be easy, she thought. He didn't look like the type to have scruples like that creepy ship doctor. No, she decided, she could do worse than set her sights on the shipowner's son.

Nor did Crissy see the crestfallen expression on Luca's face. He had just arrived with the captain's party, and as was his custom, taken a table reserved for them toward the back of the room. His heart had leapt when he saw Crissy come off the dance floor and stop at the table where Monika sat alone. Then he had seen the man, and his hopes and excitement had plunged as his face had darkened.
Him,
he thought.
Of all people, Mark Vilos.
For a moment he thought he would chase after them, but he changed his mind. She was a grown-up after all, and she could make her own decisions. He sank down into a chair, grateful that the rest of his party was already heading to the dance floor or had started conversation with people standing about them.

Suddenly he couldn't stand being in this room anymore. He rose to his feet and rushed out, headed for his cabin. He didn't want to wait to find out if she was coming back. If she didn't, that meant she was spending the night with another man.

When they entered his stateroom, Mark's shoe kicked something on the floor. He leaned down and picked up an envelope. Crissy could see his name written on it.

“Damn,” he muttered.

“Something wrong?” Crissy asked.

“No,” he said. “Nothing.” He tossed the envelope on a desk.

“This is spectacular,” Crissy said, looking about Mark's suite. They were still on Deck Seven, only a short walk from the disco.

“I'm glad you like it,” he replied. “What would you like to drink? I have practically anything you might want, or I can order something sent up.”

“I'll just have a mineral water,” Crissy said.