Gypsy - Lesley Pearse [51]
Silence made her peep out again. They were kissing so passionately it made Beth blush. The woman’s back was to her, and the fur stole had slipped down from her shoulders, revealing the flesh on her shoulders and neck which was very white and smooth.
Their breathing was heavy, there was a rustling of clothes, and though Beth couldn’t be sure, she thought the man was touching the woman in an indecent manner.
‘I need more than this fumbling, Clarissa,’ he sighed. ‘I want to make love to you on a bed, to see you naked beneath me. Come to my cabin tonight.’
Beth was burning up with embarrassment now, but if she moved they would hear her and it would look as if she’d been purposely spying on them.
‘I’ll try,’ the woman replied. ‘I’ll slip Aggie one of my powders.’
There was more frantic kissing and fumbling, then Beth heard Clarissa say she really must go, and a second or two later she heard her heels tapping back along the deck.
The man remained where he was and Beth saw him light up another cigarette. As she was now frozen to the marrow she began to sidle away towards the door of the companionway. But in the darkness she didn’t see there was a small ledge in front of her and she tripped over it, falling down on to the deck.
‘Who’s there?’ the man barked out.
Beth knew without turning her head that he was just four or five feet behind her, looking straight at her as she lay sprawled on the deck, and that only the railing was preventing him coming over to her.
‘Get up and speak to me,’ he ordered her.
She was so used to doing what she was told that she didn’t even consider running away, and obeyed him.
‘How long have you been there?’ he asked.
‘A while. I came up because it’s so stuffy below.’
She couldn’t help but stare at him for he was so handsome, impeccably dressed and had such a cultured voice. She guessed he was in his mid-twenties.
Until that moment Sam had been the yardstick she measured men’s looks by, and she’d seen few as handsome as her brother. But Sam looked almost girlish in comparison to this man, for his hair was coal black and he had deep-set eyes, a proud nose and high cheekbones.
‘Are you in the habit of spying on other people?’ he said with a sneer.
‘Are you in the habit of being rude to people?’ she retorted with some indignation. ‘I was here first. You should have checked to make certain you were alone if you were intending to do something secret.’
‘You’re a cheeky minx,’ he replied, looking her up and down. ‘Will a florin buy your silence?’
Beth didn’t understand that question and just stared at him.
‘Five shillings?’ he said.
All at once she realized what he meant. Witnessing an adulterous meeting was shocking enough to her, but to be offered a bribe not to speak of it was insulting. ‘How dare you assume my silence can only be bought?’ she said indignantly. ‘I have no interest in you or your lady friend. It would have been quite sufficient just to ask that I didn’t tell anyone what I saw.’
He looked slightly chastened. ‘I apologize,’ he said. ‘It’s just that—’ He broke off lamely.
Beth felt bolder now. All day she’d been aware that the ship’s company cared little for the comfort or well-being of their poorer passengers, and having something over someone from first class made her feel she was evening up the score. She moved closer to him, right up to the railing. ‘That she’s another man’s wife?’
He could easily have snapped at her, but he just looked saddened. ‘You are too young to understand,’ he said with a sigh.
‘You’d be surprised what I understand,’ she retorted, thinking of her mother’s dying confession. ‘I know passion makes people behave recklessly.’
He gave a humourless laugh. ‘And what, oh Wise One, should I do if I love a woman who is married to a man who makes her utterly miserable?’
Beth was surprised and a little touched by his honesty.