ELENI 10 JUNE
ELENI
She’d headed to bed when she’d finished talking to Sam last night after the fractious dinner party; she’d been rattled and edgy, but exhausted.
When she got to their cabin, there was no sign of Nick – she hadn’t seen him since he stormed off during dinner.
She’d been so deeply asleep, she’d barely stirred when he crawled in next to her at some point, presumably in the early hours.
She had a vague, dream-like memory of his arms scooping her body, whispering sweet words in her ear, pulling her close to him …
and the pulsing that still throbbed between her thighs reminded her what had happened after.
Careful not to wake him, she held the phone close to her ear and pressed play on Mariana’s message; her eyes filled with tears – of relief, this time.
It was so good to hear her sister’s voice.
Then she tapped a quick reply: Thank you soooo much, Maz, I can’t tell you how grateful I am.
Can you show this to the boys? Wow, look at you two!
Mummy is so proud. Miss you both so much.
Not long till we’re back home! Love you. Xoxo
Breathing more easily now, she sat up slowly and placed her feet on the floor, managing not to make a sound.
She rested there for a moment, noticing how still it all was – no motion of the water underneath the yacht; no gentle bobbing of the waves on the Lusso’s underbelly.
They weren’t sailing yet then. The realization struck her as odd: Eleni was sure they’d been due to cast off for Raiatea at first light for their final day, before starting their long journey home tomorrow. She felt a flash of anxiety.
It’s got to happen today. It’s my last chance.
She tiptoed to the window, edged back the blackout curtains and peered outside.
They were still anchored in the same spot off Huahine; something must have happened to interfere with their scheduled itinerary.
The sky was its usual cloudless, deep blue, and the sea was calmer than she’d seen it since they’d arrived: almost completely still, only the gentlest of waves lapping onto the nearby strip of sandy beach.
Her mind drifted back to dinner last night.
How did it all end up such a fucking car crash?
She’d hated every minute of it – the tension, the accusations, Nick’s thinly veiled resentment towards Rory.
She expected he’d regret it afterwards – but still, it was embarrassing, her husband getting so close to losing his rag like that in front of everyone.
I hope everyone was drunk enough not to remember.
Then the awkward conversation afterwards with just the three of them left – and Sam’s weird theory about Lucy being one of Rory’s ‘women’.
Eleni knew what Rory was like – and yes, he did turn his attentions to young women when they first joined.
She’d always sort of accepted it: it was just part and parcel of working for him.
And he’d never made her feel truly uncomfortable; he’d never actually crossed a line with her.
But Sam’s hushed rumour-mongering made her stomach turn – because of how he was going about it, more than anything. She didn’t like the way Sam seemed to be lingering close by when she was alone, or when it was just women gathered together.
This morning, all of that and Eleni’s own, more private fears curdled in the pit of her stomach as she looked out to sea. I’ve got twenty-four hours left. Everyone’s counting on me.
Nick stirred in bed; she turned to look at him as he blinked groggily. ‘Can’t you close the curtain, babe? It’s too bright …’
‘Sorry,’ she murmured, pulling the blinds back into place. ‘I’m going to get dressed and go up. We should have set sail by now, and I want to know what the hold-up is.’
No response; after a few seconds, he was snoring again.
She sighed, headed to the wardrobe and slipped off her silk cami and shorts, folding them neatly and placing them in the correct drawer.
Then she dressed quickly in linen trousers and a vest and left the cabin, taking care not to make a sound as the door closed behind her.
Under the awning on the main deck, the other five guests were already sipping coffee around the dining table, their breakfast plates now empty, Rory’s morning papers spread out in front of him, taking up half the table.
She sat down next to Lucy, taking note of the frosty silence. I’ll have to try to cheer everyone up.
‘Morning, all,’ she said in her chirpiest voice. ‘I can’t believe I stayed in bed so late – I think that’s the longest I’ve slept in years.’
Lucy rewarded her small talk with a tight smile. ‘Good for you,’ she said. ‘There’s still some croissants and things left …’ She gestured towards the centre of the table, where the usual array of dishes was on display.
‘Good morning, Eleni,’ said Johanna, appearing behind her. ‘What would you like – eggs Benedict again today?’
‘That would be lovely.’ She waited for the stewardess to leave, then leaned in towards the others and whispered: ‘I can’t believe I’m thinking this, but I’ll be happy to have a good old bowl of Shreddies for breakfast when I get home.’
‘Ha,’ said Sam. ‘I know what you mean. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to hack another gourmet pineapple pudding in my life after this, either.’
There. I’m lightening the mood already. Relieving the tension: it was what she was good at; it was what she knew.
She wished it was working for Talia too, but she still looked downcast this morning, glumly picking at a bowl of tropical fruit.
Eleni added a couple of pastries to an empty plate, then filled a cup with filter coffee.
She sat down, took a bite, then asked: ‘Any idea why we’re not moving?
I thought we were casting off early this morning, and it must be gone eleven by now. ’
Rory held his hands up. ‘Ah, yes. That’s my fault, I’m afraid.’
Eleni took a sip of orange juice. ‘Oh? Why – what’s happened?’
‘The Wi-Fi still isn’t fixed, and I need to get to my emails with some urgency today to pick up on this opportunity with Rosenberg.
’ Rory sipped his coffee. ‘I’ve been using my data to get online, but it’s slow – and costing me an arm and a leg.
Once we’re sailing, I won’t even be able to access that.
So I told the captain early this morning that under no circumstances are we leaving without it being fixed.
’ He winked at Eleni. ‘It may have helped that I threatened her crew with no tip if it’s not sorted. Ha!’
In the chair next to her, Eleni noticed Lucy’s fist clench, then release again. She tried to catch her eye, but Lucy was staring at the table, unblinking.
‘I see,’ said Eleni. ‘And is it going to get sorted soon?’ She glanced at Talia, who was staring resolutely into her coffee cup.
‘Sorry, Rory, but it’s our last full day.
It seems a shame to miss out on our time in Raiatea – we should be making the most of every minute now, all of us …
’ And being stuck here on a stationary yacht with the atmosphere so tense isn’t going to get us together the way I need …
‘That’s what I said,’ agreed Mark. He looked sullen this morning, arms folded across his chest, his chair turned away from Lucy’s. ‘Whatever it is, it can’t be that urgent.’
‘Yes, yes, you’re both quite right, of course,’ Rory said.
‘The captain wasn’t best pleased either – apparently there’s a spot of rough weather along the way.
If we don’t leave soon, there’s a bigger chance we’ll run into it.
But I’m sure it’ll be working again any minute – we should miss the rough seas and still have plenty of time at our final stop. ’
Eleni stifled an eye-roll. They wouldn’t get plenty of time in Raiatea – it was a four-hour sail to get there.
They wouldn’t even drop anchor until mid-afternoon, at the earliest. And rough sailing conditions did not sound appealing.
So we’re now going to miss most of the day there and probably hit a storm – all because of bloody Rory.
In one swift movement, Talia shoved her chair back and stood up, picked up her phone from the table and stalked through the doors into the salon. Eleni watched her go.
‘What’s wrong with Talia?’ asked Sam.
Rory stared at Sam darkly across the table for a moment, then returned to his newspaper. ‘She’s quite all right, I can assure you.’
‘She didn’t look all right,’ Sam muttered.
Sam and Rory are still at odds this morning, then. The whole group is cracking at the seams …
Michaela returned with Eleni’s breakfast. Eleni took a mouthful, then cleared her throat. ‘Rory, why don’t you go and check on her? It all got a bit … tense last night, didn’t it? Maybe she could do with some cheering up?’
Rory frowned and shook the pages of his newspaper. ‘Goodness, no. I expect she’s enjoying some time alone.’
Eleni lowered her voice and leaned towards her boss. ‘And you’re sure everything’s … all right between you two?’
Rory put the paper down and looked at Eleni. ‘Of course. When you’ve been together for as long as Talia and I have, disagreements are simply part of the package – throw menopause into the mix and – well! But that doesn’t mean we don’t still …’
Abruptly, Lucy pushed back her chair with a screech, interrupting Rory’s monologue; Eleni managed to disguise her snort of laughter at Lucy’s rudeness as a spluttering cough. ‘I think I’ll take the rest of my coffee up to the sun deck,’ said Lucy. ‘Mark, would you like to come too?’
Mark shrugged. ‘Fine,’ he said. ‘Let’s go.’
Eleni picked up her plate and coffee and moved to Talia’s empty seat, next to Rory.
She turned to him and placed a hand on his wrist. ‘I’m sure Talia’s fine – like you say.
’ From further down the table, she could feel Sam’s eyes on her; she lowered her voice.
‘I do wonder, though – have you ever thought that she might be—’
‘The Wi-Fi’s back up and running,’ called Captain Taylor.
‘Brett tried a harder system reboot, and it worked. No need to wait for an engineer.’ Eleni turned to see her at the bottom of the stairs that led down from the upper deck.
‘Now, I’ll make our final preparations for casting off and we’ll be on our way in the next few minutes. ’
Rory erupted into enthusiastic cheers; Sam immediately got his phone out of his pocket and starting scrolling.
Eleni was glad they were setting sail soon – they might get a few hours on Raiatea before it got dark – but she still had more to say to Rory, and their moment had been interrupted yet again.
Rory plucked his laptop out from underneath his newspaper. ‘Just what I’ve been waiting for,’ he said, brandishing the computer like a trophy. ‘I’m off to work on that proposal.’ He got to his feet.
Eleni’s heart leapt; she sprang out of her chair. ‘Oh, are you going down to your cabin? I was about to head back too – I’ll come with you …’
‘Eleni, were you listening to a word I said earlier?’ Rory rolled his eyes playfully.
‘Come on, keep up. Talia enjoys some time by herself, and I’ll work much better without my wife in the same room.
I’m off to the sky lounge upstairs – and I’d appreciate not being disturbed, please.
’ He glanced at Sam, who glared back at him, then headed up the spiral staircase.
Eleni stepped away from the bow, made her way to the stern of the boat and stared out into the vast, endless ocean. Rory was gone; she’d missed yet another chance, and the yacht would be moving soon.
By tomorrow, it would all be over – one way or another.
Eleni clasped her palms together and breathed deeply. This is it. One last day.
Her final chance to do what she came for.