Chapter Twenty-Three #2
Henry was in the buffet restaurant and despite hoping that he’d catch sight of Joy to share a table, the restaurant manager had cheerfully seated him with Nora and Sid, and he’d felt it churlish to decline.
Over a second helping of crunchy granola, Nora suggested that Henry join them for Kyle’s early-morning fitness sessions.
‘It’s not too late,’ she said brightly, ‘and you’ll feel the benefit by the end of the cruise. ’
‘Not if you belly-flop into the pool while doing the conga,’ Sid muttered and rubbed his sore tummy.
‘You needed waking up,’ Nora laughed.
Nora was wearing a bright red dress with a candy cane pattern and wore reindeer antlers on her head. Sid’s Santa hat sat low on his forehead and came complete with a fluffy white beard.
‘Damn thing is tickling,’ Sid grumbled, wrinkling his nose.
Henry smiled politely as Nora told him that the previous evening, the pair had narrowly missed first prize at the midnight Christmas trivia quiz.
Sid, chewing on a slice of toast, shook his head. ‘How the devil would we know what year “White Christmas” was released?’ he said solemnly, brushing crumbs from his beard. ‘We might have guessed that posh couple, the Montgomery Joneses, would know. Probably a guess, but they stole it from us.’
‘The answer was 1942, Bing Crosby,’ Nora nodded.
‘The year Barbara was born, no doubt,’ Sid sniped.
‘Don’t let Her Highness hear you,’ Nora chuckled, ‘she swears she’s not a day over fifty.’
‘Aye and I’m twenty-one,’ Sid grinned.
Between crunching her granola, Nora shook her head. ‘That Barbara isn’t a very nice person,’ she said. ‘She was bad-mouthing one of the guests, but I wouldn’t join in.’
Henry kept his silence, unwilling to be drawn into anything that involved Barbara – unaware that the guest at the heart of her gossip was Joy.
‘Come on, Henry,’ Nora insisted, ‘it’s Christmas, fill your boots.’ She reached for a bottle of champagne and poured.
Henry raised his glass, but his eyes flicked towards the entrance, still hoping to see Joy. As he sipped the champagne, he thought back to their evening and felt his shoulders slump.
The cocktail party had been thoroughly enjoyable, and as they made polite conversation, they mingled with the guests in the room.
At one point during the evening, Lucinda took to the centre of the room and regaled everyone with a poem she’d written about art in the Arctic, which began with the line,
‘The Arctic is the spirit’s way of painting the Earth,
with brushes of silence and palettes of mirth …’
She’d waved her cigarette holder for emphasis, and as the light caught her dress, Henry remembered several guests averting their eyes.
Lucinda’s breasts shimmered through the sheer tulle, swaying from side to side, reminding him of the metronome on Audrey’s piano.
At the end of Lucinda’s performance, there was a polite ripple of applause before she sauntered to the bar.
As the party wound down, Henry and Joy looked for Lady Eleanor to thank her but were told by Margaret that their host had retired.
‘Too much for the old gal,’ Margaret said.
‘She’s knackered and has retired to her stable …
’ Margaret lowered her voice and confided.
‘Between you and me, she’s like a thoroughbred, entertaining, temperamental, and prone to bolting.
’ Margaret moved away, her floaty scarf fluttering behind her like a saddle blanket caught in the breeze.
Henry and Joy left the party and headed to the Malabar restaurant, where Leticia and Jim welcomed them. They wanted to know all about the party and were delirious with delight when Henry told them that Joy was an MBE.
‘You dark horse.’ Jim grinned.
‘I knew there was more to you.’ Leticia laughed and reached out to pat Joy’s arm. ‘You’ve been holding out on us.’
Joy appeared embarrassed. She blushed as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
Henry’s gaze took in the soft pink that spread across her cheeks and the way her eyes darted away.
He thought that Joy looked impossibly delicate, and in that instant, he couldn’t help but think how lovely she was.
Joy’s shyness and the tiniest flicker of self-consciousness made her more captivating than any words could.
Jim raised his glass in a toast, ‘To Joy, our undercover MBE.’
The meal was delicious, and Henry enjoyed his starter of flaky fish, wrapped in banana leaves and subtly spiced.
His prawn moilee was so tasty that he exclaimed he must remember to ask for the recipe for silky coconut milk, flavoured with chillies and ginger, and served with ghee rice.
He told them that Audrey loved to try new recipes, and he felt sure that she’d enjoy such a dish.
They were sipping mint tea when an announcement came.
A gentle chime was followed by Simon’s voice on the PA, informing the guests that the Northern Lights were visible off the starboard side, and Bill Zhang was on the observation deck and urged everyone to join him.
With boyish excitement, Henry leaped up. ‘I must see them,’ he said. ‘Audrey will never forgive me if I don’t report back in detail and take lots of photos.’
‘Do go ahead,’ Joy had said, smiling politely at his enthusiasm. ‘I’ll need a coat and will join you up there.’
‘More champers?’
Nora’s voice jolted Henry now, and placing his fingers over his glass, he declined.
‘Me and Sid are off for a couple’s Christmas massage,’ Nora said. ‘The early session with Kyle has hit Sid’s lumbago like a fandango.’ Taking Sid’s hand, she stood. ‘Happy Christmas!’
As Sid hobbled to his feet, he gave Henry a wink as the pair moved away.
Henry sighed. There was no sign of Joy in the restaurant, and in the end, she hadn’t joined him on the observatory deck last night.
It was a shame, because the aurora borealis had been breathtaking.
A shimmering wave of vibrant blues and greens rippling across the sky, and the photographs he’d taken were spectacular.
Audrey will be so impressed, he thought.
He hoped Joy wasn’t unwell but hesitated to call. Would it seem too forward? Too presumptuous? Henry weaved through the festive bustle of the ship as carollers sang ‘Joy to the World!’
At the mention of her name, he frowned.
Henry had always been hopeless with women, as Audrey often reminded him, either too eager or too cautious and never striking the right note.
Still, they’d all agreed to dine together at their table in the Terrace Restaurant for Christmas lunch, and as he pictured Jim and Leticia dressed for the occasion, Henry crossed his fingers and hoped that Joy would be there too.