We, the Drowned - Carsten Jensen [242]
He'd come on board from time to time, and he talked to no one but Bager, though he glanced at Knud Erik occasionally.
Then one day, after Mr. Smith's usual visit to the skipper's cabin and his usual departure of the ship without a word to the crew, Bager came on deck and approached Knud Erik. Clasping his hands behind his back, he leaned forward and spoke quietly to him, as if afraid of being overheard. "Miss Smith would like a visit from you. Tomorrow at four. I'm granting you shore leave."
Knud Erik said nothing.
Bager leaned even closer. "Do you understand what I'm saying to you? A man from Mr. Smith's office will come for you." Knud Erik nodded. "Good," the skipper said, and turned to leave. Suddenly he stopped, as if he'd almost forgotten to deliver another message. "Watch that little madam." He gave Knud Erik a warning look. Then he spun on his heel and left quickly, like a man who'd just got an unpleasant duty out of the way.
The others hadn't noticed the exchange, so there were no comments. Knud Erik was completely dumbstruck. He wasn't generally afraid of girls. After all, he'd often taken care of his little sister. It wasn't until Marie caught Anton's eye that he realized that a girl could be something other than a friend. Still, he couldn't imagine what this girl wanted and was worried that her interest in him would somehow brand him as "girly." He'd stand out from the rest of the crew, and if there was one thing he didn't want, it was that.
Knud Erik was picked up the following day shortly before four o'clock. Rikard and Algot stared and called out after him. All the way up to the villa, his escort ignored him, as if he too found the whole business embarrassing and would prefer not to be involved with it at all. When they reached the house, he abandoned Knud Erik without a word.
Knud Erik stepped onto the veranda and knocked cautiously on the door. An elderly woman in a long, old-fashioned woolen dress opened the door and led him through a large hall into the drawing room. So far no one had spoken to him. She closed the door behind her and Knud Erik found himself alone. Tea was waiting on a small table set with a cloth by the window. Next to the cups and the silver teapot was a china plate of cookies. He remained right inside the door, not sure whether he should sit down on one of the upholstered chairs. Still nothing happened, and he started to wander around the room. He took a cookie from the plate, and at that very moment the door behind him sprang open. Flustered, he turned around and hid the cookie behind his back. It was the girl from the rowboat, but she was no longer wearing her sweater and men's trousers. Instead, she wore a dress. This instantly unsettled him. So did her face, which looked far more vivid than before. True, he'd only seen her from a distance, and now he was seeing her close up for the first time. But that didn't account for her eyes being so much darker and her wide mouth being so red, which made it look even bigger. He had to look down: the impression she made was almost too strong. As she came over to him he noticed that she was taller than he was. But then again, she was older.
She offered him her hand. "Miss Sophie," she said.
"Knud Erik Friis," he said, unsure if he should have added a mister or if that title was exclusively reserved for men like her father, the mighty Mr. Smith.
"Sit down, please," she said in English, and gestured.
Knud Erik obeyed. He was still hiding the cookie. Sitting down with one hand behind his back was awkward, so he furtively placed it on the chair as he lowered himself into it, and felt it crunch underneath him. He was so embarrassed that he couldn't concentrate on a word Miss Sophie was saying to him. Not that he understood it: it was all in English. He felt completely out of place, sitting on a crushed cookie and drinking tea with this girl, who was taller