THE BETTER PART OF VALOR. Morgan Mackinnon

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СКАЧАТЬ medallionsBaked carrot souffleSliced hamSpinachBoiled riceMarinated new potatoesPlover on toastLettuce saladDessertVanilla puddingChocolate cakeLemon meringueFrench ice creamFruitCheeseBiscuitsCoffeeBrandy

      Myles leaned over and whispered to Cresta, “Have you sailed on this line before?”

      When she replied she had not, he pointed to the menu. “First class gets French ice cream. Second class gets American ice cream.”

      “Does third class get ice cream?” She was trying not to laugh.

      “They probably get stale rice pudding.”

      In the end, Cresta chose the chicken with peas and crème potatoes, and Myles ordered the duck with carrots and salad. Everyone was served the starters and a dessert unless instructed otherwise by the diner and small dinner rolls with butter were standard. Both Cresta and Myles chose pinot grigio for their wine.

      During the meal, Captain Haynes regaled the table with stories of life at sea. It seemed like his only life since his time on land with his wife was minimal. This voyage he’d brought his young daughter with him since she had been begging to accompany him for ages.

      He also explained how important lighthouses were to ships and asked Myles if he’d seen the one on Hook Head in Ireland. Myles replied he’d been born approximately thirty-seven miles north of Fethard-on-Sea where the lighthouse was located and that yes, he’d seen it many times.

      Captain Haynes went on to describe how the lighthouse in question was one of the oldest in the world and had been built in its present state in 1172. The lighthouse was first manned by the monks in the nearby monastery who labored to haul wood up to the top to fuel a beacon. Ever since 1871, it had been lit by gas light.

      “Yes, indeed. That light has been guiding ships for seven hundred and three years. Just think!”

      Cresta did not have a chance to really talk to Missus MacRae or to Missus Jefferson; Antoinette MacRae was across the table, and to speak with Cordelia Jefferson, Cresta would have had to lean rudely across Myles and speak across the Second Lieutenant. That left her chatting mostly with Captain Haynes or an occasional comment to the Master of Illusion, who promised to provide a little prestidigitation before the evening was finished.

      When the orchestra began playing waltz music and dessert was finished, it signaled the time many couples took to the dancing floor. Cresta had more or less been expecting the Lieutenant Colonel to be her dance partner, but he did not offer, preferring instead to suggest he would like another glass of whiskey. Since he and the Second Lieutenant had apparently not finished their battle stories, the two excused themselves and said they would be in the men’s smoking salon.

      This was not the first hint Cresta had Myles was a smoker, and she remembered a photo she’d seen where he’d had a cigar in his hand. She mentally downgraded him to a 6 because she disliked gentlemen who smoked.

      That left Cresta to dance with either the Master of Illusion, Mr. O’drette or the Captain. Still, there were three ladies and three gentlemen at the table so that worked out fine. During one dance, she asked Mr. O’drette what his firm in New York did, and he replied it was an exporting and importing firm specializing in French wines and brandies. He was presently en route to Paris, where he would be meeting with the managing board. Missus MacRae? Well, her parents were French, of the Roubilleau family, and she would be doing shopping while in Paris. The two of them had “an arrangement” which did not include their spouses. Since Mister O’drette was rather portly, he begged to be allowed to sit down.

      And HE had the nerve to suggest Myles and I were being indelicate? Cresta was so annoyed, she ordered a second brandy.

      She did not see Keogh again until nearly midnight when diners and guests in the restaurant were beginning to say their good-nights and seek their own accommodations. Rather than just go to his own apartment, at least the Lieutenant Colonel made an appearance to escort Cresta back to her rooms. It made him look gallant and attentive to the other guests. But something was off, and Cresta knew it immediately. He had an expression on his face she had not seen before, but it smacked of the exasperated face of a father who had forbidden his young son to track mud into his library, only to find the boy has done it anyway.

      At the corridor leading to the first-class apartments, Cresa paused and turned. “Myles? Is anything wrong?”

      Keogh blew out his breath but didn’t say anything at first.

      “Please tell me what is wrong. You have been sulking most of the evening.”

      “All right. You have asked, and I will tell you. The affair tonight with Mister O’drette. It was my place to settle the accusation, not yours. By you taking over, as you did, you supplanted me and, in the process, diminished my masculinity.”

      “I am sorry. I did not mean to do that. I only wanted to prevent blood in the dining room. You have told me of your temper, sir. I promise the next time someone accuses us of sleeping together, I will let you handle it.”

      With that, Cresta walked away, leaving a flabbergasted Lieutenant Colonel staring after her.

      Chapter 6

      Cresta knew things were still very wrong when she did not see Myles for breakfast the next morning nor was he waiting for her at lunch. She ate by herself, noting with interest that single young ladies in the casual dining room received far less attention than did young ladies who were dining with a gentleman. Requests for water, wine, and coffee were slow to appear. She was thinking to herself that this was rather like entering a posh restaurant as a single lady, only to be seated near the kitchen or next to the restrooms.

      Rather than worry about the Lieutenant Colonel being in a snit, Cresta spent her afternoon in the writing room, making notations in her notebook and reading a little. There were copies of Alcott’s Little Women, newly published in 1868 and 1869, so she contented herself with those and was soon lost in the enchanting world of the March family, surviving the Civil War with Papa gone and the girls growing into young ladies. It had always been a favorite of hers. She leaned back in the comfortable upholstered chair and closed her eyes. She’d always been jealous when Jo found her tender, gentle Professor Bhaer and sometimes wished for a Professor Bhaer of her own. An intelligent, well-read man who could be honest without being insulting.

      Cresta started awake, slightly embarrassed she’d fallen asleep in her upholstered chair in the reading and writing room. Whatever would people think? She sincerely hoped she had not been sleeping with her mouth agape, drool dribbling down her chin. She quickly determined, with relief, that had not been the case. Seeing the clock on the mantle, she was startled to find it was late. Already after 7:00 p.m. The informal restaurant was not open beyond 9:30. By the time she got to her cabin, freshened up, and changed, it would be 8:00 p.m. But that would be all right. Besides, if one missed a meal in the restaurant, one could always order a light tray from the steward and eat in one’s cabin.

      She reached the informal restaurant slightly after eight o’clock. She didn’t see Keogh anywhere around so concluded his ego was still sticking in his craw. When she asked to be seated, she found herself behind a potted plant. Practically catching a waiter on the fly, she ordered two glasses of white wine. That way, she wouldn’t have to wait an hour to order her second. On this evening, she would just opt for the buffet, whatever it offered, because she would not require a menu or any thought. Feeling lazy, not ready to СКАЧАТЬ