Chapter 41
Ruth hammered on Hannah’s cabin door. There was no reply, and yet when she tried Hannah’s number, she could hear a ringtone from inside. The phone was there. But where was Hannah?
In desperation, she called for a porter. Martin arrived and unlocked the door, Ruth hoping Hannah would be inside, maybe having a luxurious soak in the bath, earphones in, oblivious to all the fuss.
‘Doesn’t the ship know where everyone is?’ Ruth shouted at Martin. There were comprehensive boarding and disembarking processes they’d had to follow at every destination, so how was today different?
‘We thought everyone was accounted for – according to our records, Hannah Maynard should be on board. Do you know if she might have slipped off ship without letting anyone know?’
Ruth frowned. ‘No. Last I’d heard she was on board. How is this happening? Can you check with the captain? I know he’s tried to call her, but I think he’s also one of the last people who saw her.’
Martin radioed the bridge for clarity, listening to Louis’ response with the same serious concentration as Ruth – she could hear most of it and cursed Louis for being so stupid as to leave Hannah on the dock.
‘So, she could still be on shore, but without any means of being contacted?’ Ruth said, directing all her frustration and anger at Martin as she pointed at Hannah’s abandoned phone. ‘She wouldn’t have received the message like we did – she won’t know she needs to be back on board.’
Martin checked his watch. ‘There’s still ten minutes until we’re due to leave port. I’ll get a team together and if she’s not back by then, we’ll head ashore to look for her.’
‘Is she the only passenger unaccounted for?’ Ruth asked.
Martin had the decency to look embarrassed as he nodded.
As Martin secured Hannah’s cabin, and he and Ruth stood in the corridor, another radioed message had loudspeakers hailing from all directions.
‘If passenger Hannah Maynard is on board, would she please make a member of crew aware immediately. That’s an urgent call for Hannah Maynard…’
Louis heard the Tannoy message, repeated everywhere on board, including the bridge. Couldn’t believe he’d allowed Hannah to stay on the dock earlier when he’d flounced off.
His desire to save face, to have time to wipe away his emotion before he headed back on board, had meant he’d left her there. He had expected her to leave an appropriate amount of time, then reboard, too.
Why hadn’t she? And, far more important than that – where was she now?
‘The weather won’t cause the ship any trouble, not once we’re in open water,’ Maria said, misunderstanding his expression.
‘No. I know. It’s not that. It’s Hannah. She’s still unaccounted for.’
‘I’m sure she’s fine. It’s probably just an admin error, you know?’
‘With our systems?’ Louis shook his head.
‘We have one of the most state-of-the-art systems for keeping track of passengers. No – this is my fault, Maria. We went off ship to talk. We went via the loading bay entrance, and I’ve only just realised the passenger keycards don’t register there.
Why would they? Passengers aren’t supposed to use those routes; they’re for us to head on and off ship without confusing the computers. ’
‘Oh.’ Maria’s concern sounded in her voice.
‘Yes. And now I can’t go and find her. I have to stay here and navigate the Ballygowan through this weather. I’m a complete moron, Maria. What the hell have I done? Anything could happen to her, and we won’t know.’
The situation had crystallised something in Louis’ head, though.
Hannah deserved far better than him. She deserved someone who wouldn’t leave her stranded because his own pride had taken control.
She had made the right decision after all.
If Ian was as repentant as Hannah seemed to believe, then they would be able to move forwards with the life they were always supposed to have, and Louis would linger, if at all, as a distant memory.
The status quo would have been reinstated, the blip surmounted, and everyone could carry on as though nothing had happened.
‘It’s nineteen hundred hours,’ a member of the crew said.
There were over two thousand lives in his hands, people whom Louis had been entrusted to keep safe, and even though the one who truly mattered to him was the only one he was failing, he had no choice.
With the help of one of the Bridgetown harbour masters, Louis knuckled down to the task of moving the ship to safety.
Ruth was so worried she asked if she could go shoreside with the team to help look for Hannah. She was firmly rebuffed, Martin telling her it would be far better if she remained with her children, and he would be sure to phone her the moment he had any news.
‘Yes, of course I should,’ she’d said, feeling a bit daft that she’d been ready to abandon Millie and Nathan, even though she knew they were now spending the evening with Keisha’s family who had returned to the ship.
But that didn’t resolve her jittery nervous energy, buzzing around her like a swarm of wasps.
She headed out along one of the promenades, a great view of the island as the ship sliced its way through choppy water accompanied by increasingly strong wind and rain, which battered at any available surface, including her face.
Ruth ignored the water dripping its way down her neck and made for the only person she wanted solace from. Teddy.
Whether or not he would allow her any of his time – well, she’d just have to find out.
She knocked briskly, wiping rain from her eyes as she waited to see if he would open the door to her. Half expected him to tell her to bugger off.
Instead, the lock clicked, and Teddy opened the door wide, a confused expression on his face.
‘Why are you soaking wet?’ he asked.
‘Am I?’ Ruth said, allowing herself a moment of amused nostalgia when she cocked her head at him and added, in a bad American accent, ‘Is it raining? I hadn’t noticed…’
It was a line from the movie they’d both loved a million years ago before everything had fallen apart. Teddy didn’t react. Maybe he’d forgotten.
‘Sorry. The rain’s blowing sideways, and I got caught out in it.
And, well, I don’t know if you’re up to speed with what’s happened with Hannah – and I just needed a friendly…
’ She paused. ‘I needed a familiar face to talk it through with. It’s almost like she’s my daughter, or something, and I’m ridiculously worried about her. ’
Teddy shook his head but stood back from the door.
‘Oh, for God’s sake come in, then.’
Inside his cabin, Teddy handed Ruth a large towel and waited while she rubbed away the worst of the water, then gestured for her to sit on the small chair beside a compact desk.
‘So, what’s going on?’ he said, settling on the edge of his bed as Ruth began to explain.