called him home, and Selina’s father apparently received a call announcing a crisis in one of his firms. He needed to fly home too, immediately, and Selina and her mother went with him. Derek announced that he would also leave the ship.
Grace said it was all my fault.
‘He’s seizing his chance to get Selina to himself,’ she snapped. ‘They’ll be engaged before you’re home.’
‘I sincerely hope so.’
‘Poor Selina has been disgusted by your behaviour,’ Grace declared, managing to speak in italics.
I grinned. ‘No, she’s just realised what a lucky escape she’s had. Why don’t you write me off as a hopeless case and spend the rest of the trip being nice to Harry?’
Grace sniffed.
I was making plans. After all, Bully Jack was supposed to be the great organiser, the strategic genius who won out by planning everything to the last degree. Let’s see if I could do it when it really mattered.
I fixed it so that when we docked in Southampton a fleet of cars would meet the passengers and whisk them back to London—except for me and Della, who would remain onboard for one more night. That way I reckoned we’d have privacy.
Grace didn’t like leaving the two of us alone together, but she restricted her comments to, ‘Well, I suppose if you’re determined to make a fool of yourself—’
‘I am,’ I assured her. ‘Absolutely determined. And I’ll tell you something else. I’ve never enjoyed being a fool so much.’
On the last full day the sun was hot and we all lounged by the pool. Della was the last to arrive, advancing slowly so that everyone could look their fill.
I had to hand it to her. As per my instructions, she wore a different bikini every time, and she did things to a bikini that no other woman had ever done. Her figure was deceptive. While it was covered she looked almost too thin. In fact she was merely slim, and nicely rounded, but to realise that you had to see her wearing next to nothing, which was fine by me.
A steward came to say that the captain would like a word with me, to sort out last-minute things before we reached home. With an effort I tore my eyes away from Della and went to the bridge.
It took only half an hour to deal with the details, then I hurried back to the pool to find that Della had gone.
‘She went down to the cabin,’ Jenny said. ‘I think she wanted to make a phone call.’
I thought Jenny had probably got that wrong, because as far as I knew Della had nobody to phone. But when I approached the cabin I could hear her voice, obviously talking to someone.
‘Darling, I didn’t know—I wasn’t expecting this yet—are you sure you’re all right? Oh, that’s wonderful—I can’t wait to see you again. ‘Bye, darling, bye.’
I heard her hang up.
I stood there a moment. For some reason I was reluctant to go in and see her. I wasn’t sure why.
While I waited I heard a noise I didn’t understand. If I’d been fanciful I might have thought she was crying. But that soft, gasping sound could have been anything—even my imagination.
Why should she cry? It had been a happy phone call. She’d said ‘that’s wonderful’. When I went in she would tell me what it was all about.
When I opened the door she was standing at the window, looking out to see. She turned and gave me a brilliant smile. And if it looked a bit forced, I decided that was my imagination too. I’d started seeing ghosts around every corner, and no other woman had ever made that happen to me.
‘All right?’ I said.
‘Fine,’ she said brightly. ‘Never better.’
‘Jenny told me you’d come down here. She said something about a phone call.’
‘Yes, I needed to make one, but everything’s all right now. Come on, let’s go back to the pool. I need another swim.’
She sashayed past me and for a moment I was distracted by the sight of her smooth golden skin. I’d already admired it earlier that day, but each time was like seeing it for the first time.
So I forgot that she hadn’t told me about the phone call and followed her tamely and happily back to the pool. Which, I realised later, was exactly what she’d meant me to do.
In the water she was like a mermaid, diving and twisting, always just ahead of me, teasing, tantalising, driving me off my head. I’d never wanted her as much as I did right then, and time was passing. Being a perfect gentleman had been fine while there was all the time in the world, but we would soon be in port.
In the late afternoon we docked at Southampton. Cars were waiting, goodbyes were said. Grace gave me her blessing in her own inimitable way.
‘Whatever happens, you’ve brought it on yourself.’
I grinned. ‘Thanks, Gracie.’
‘And don’t call me Gracie.’
Instead of eating on board I took Della to a tiny waterfront restaurant where the lights were low and the atmosphere intimate. Corny stuff, but it was an evening of sheer delight.
‘I never did manage it, did I?’ I asked her. ‘I thought I could find out all about you, but you covered your tracks so well it’s like you don’t have any tracks.’
She didn’t rise to it, and I suppose by that time I knew that she wouldn’t. Her mysteries were too well concealed, but I could bide my time. So when she just smiled at me, I smiled back.
‘Why does it matter?’ she asked. ‘I did my job well, didn’t I?’
‘Is that all it was? A job?’
‘You hired me, at a very generous rate of pay.’
‘I hired you when we were strangers,’ I reminded her. ‘But we’re not strangers any more.’
‘No,’ she whispered, and I wondered if I only imagined that she sounded sad.
Suddenly I made my mind up. No more fooling. I knew what I wanted.
‘Della, I don’t ever want us to be strangers again. I want to marry you.’
From her startled look I knew she hadn’t foreseen this, although I couldn’t think why. Lord knows that I must have made myself obvious.
‘What did you say?’ she asked faintly.
‘I want to marry you. I’m in love with you. Surely that can’t come as a surprise?’
‘It does in a way,’ she said slowly. ‘You haven’t acted like a man in love.’
‘You mean I haven’t pounced on you like a starving teenager? I can’t tell you how often I’ve wanted to. I’ve watched you walking about that boat, and I’ve watched the other men slavering
