Chapter 4 #3
“Perfect, thank you.” Lillith had been shocked when she discovered that he had gotten her a first-class ticket, so it would be an easy trip for her and she would be well rested when she arrived.
He had planned some activities with her, for when they got to St. Barth.
There was lots to do and to see, and he was afraid she might be bored with him.
He preferred staying on the boat, but he knew that she would need more to do at her age, and he wanted her to have a good time.
Just being there, she added life and a feeling of vitality and excitement.
His own daughter hadn’t been on the boat in years.
There was a huge library of books and films, their own movie theater to view them, and even an outdoor screen for warm nights.
The purser had assured him that they had all the most recent popular movie hits, although John never watched them.
He preferred to read or work. It was something he and Helen had provided for their guests, and Helen had enjoyed them.
As they left the port behind, they picked up speed, motoring in order to get to St. Barth quickly. There was very little wind that day, and Lillith sat watching the powerful wake behind them, thinking how lucky she was to be there.
“She’s beautiful when she’s under sail,” John said proudly.
“It took them three years to build her in Italy,” he added.
“She’s a work of art, and a technical wonder.
She combines the elegance of sailing with the efficiency of powerful engines when we need them to get somewhere in a hurry.
I love the silence when we’re sailing, she moves through the water with such grace.
She’s the biggest and the best of her kind.
My grandfather taught me to sail as a boy.
” There was a showcase of his father’s and grandfather’s trophies, which he didn’t mention to Lillith, but was very proud of.
The wind riffled through her hair as they sat on deck, and he handed her a blanket in case she was chilly, but she wasn’t.
The air was warm. She looked up at John gratefully as he handed it to her.
“Thank you,” she said in reverent tones, “for bringing me here.” She could already tell it was going to be the most remarkable week of her life, and it would be unforgettable. It made him happy just seeing the look on her face.
“Let’s pick a cabin for you,” he said in a fatherly tone when she finished her champagne. She felt a little giddy and she wasn’t sure if it was the champagne, John, or the boat, which was so much more than she had expected, and so beautiful.
The art that lined the halls were mostly maritime scenes by famous artists.
Two of the cabins John showed her were decorated in brighter colors and more contemporary with a Calder, a Damien Hirst, and some Ellsworth Kellys on the walls.
Lillith’s bags were waiting in the hall for her to choose a cabin, and two maids smiled at her as they passed them.
She picked the larger of the two cabins.
It was flooded with sunlight, and had a big bathtub in a white marble bathroom.
Without knowing it, she had picked the cabin closest to his, and he showed her his study with an intricate model of the Lady H in silver.
Helen had had it made in London for him as a birthday gift years before, and he treasured it.
All of his computer equipment was there for when he wanted to work, and he showed her his own cabin, which was huge, all done in a rich blue fabric. The room was a designer’s dream.
Lillith couldn’t even guess what the interior design had cost him, not to mention the art, and the boat itself.
It was obviously astronomical. The whole boat was a work of art, put together with love and passion.
Helen had chosen the interiors with the designer, and John had focused on the technical details and the physical design of the boat.
Even the guest cabins were beautiful, and designed to make one feel at home with the utmost comfort.
Each one of them was bigger than Lillith’s entire apartment.
She was dazzled by everything she’d seen.
The living room on each floor was white, to showcase the art.
Every living space was inviting and made her want to curl up with a good book, and the outdoor spaces were equally so.
The sundeck had its own dining area, if one didn’t want to go downstairs for meals.
It made guests want to stay forever and never return to the real world.
“How do you ever leave here?” she asked him, feeling breathless from everything she’d seen.
“With great difficulty,” he said, and laughed.
“I could stay on her for months, and sometimes I do in the summer. Helen loved our house in Southampton. She had a lot of friends there, but it’s a little too social for me.
I’d rather be here on the boat. We used to go to Saint-Tropez, because she loved it too.
She turned everywhere we went on sea or land into a party.
She loved people and had friends all over the place.
I’m a sailor at heart, and I’d rather be on the boat, even if I’m alone. ”
“I can see why,” she said, as they motored toward St. Barth.
When she went to leave her jacket and bag in her cabin and freshen up before lunch, her suitcase was already unpacked and the meager wardrobe she’d brought was put away neatly in the closet, looking sadly inadequate for a boat of such splendor.
She wondered if she should have brought fancier clothes, though she didn’t have many.
But she had youth and her own beauty, and could have worn anything and looked beautiful, which she didn’t realize.
John still couldn’t decide if he wanted to date her or adopt her.
He wasn’t sure if it was too soon, but something he had thought was dead stirred inside him each time he looked at her.
It was impossible to overlook her beauty.
And her simplicity and na?vete made her even more attractive.
Just being near her and talking to her made him feel young again.
She breathed hope and life into every corner of the boat, and looked perfect in the surroundings.
She responded to the boat in the way he had always hoped Gabby would and she never did.
They had a delicious salad for lunch, and sandwiches and cold pasta, with gelato and cookies for dessert.
She declined the white wine he was drinking and had iced tea.
She already felt drunk on all the things she was seeing and experiencing just being there.
She went to her cabin to change while the captain and crew docked the boat, and John went to the wheelhouse to be with them.
The technology on the boat was so advanced that one highly experienced person could dock it, and occasionally John took the wheel.
He was a supremely skilled sailor and some of the trophies in the library were his. He loved talking with the captain.
Lillith found her way to them after she had changed into white jeans and a white shirt with a pale blue windbreaker and she carried ballerina flats with her in case they went ashore.
She looked cool and breezy and pretty and young as John gazed at her admiringly.
She brought the happy aura of youth to the boat, like a summer breeze.
Helen had been more serious and sophisticated, and had exquisite taste in art.
Lillith offered something very different, a promise of happy times to come, with childlike innocence.
More than ever, it made John want to protect her from any harm that might come her way.
She was like a lamb in a harsh world. Even Gabby no longer had that na?vete.
She saw the dark forces around her and potential threats as real.
Lillith didn’t, but Gabby was nine years older than Lillith, and had seen more of life.
And as the daughter of a powerful, very rich man, Gabby had strong instincts about when people wanted to use her, which had been an undeniable factor in her life since she’d grown up.
She never admitted to strangers that she was his daughter until she knew them well and trusted them, and her friendships had withstood the test of time.
She and Angela were still close, and Angela was Gabby’s only real friend, whom she trusted.
“Are you ready to discover St. Barth?” he asked Lillith, as they docked and turned off the motor.
The trip from St. Martin had taken less than an hour.
Usually, John preferred to be at anchor outside the port, but he thought it would be more fun for Lillith to be at the dock, at least the first night.
It was noisier in port, and people stopped constantly to admire the boat and inquire whose it was, which he didn’t like. It felt intrusive.
“I can’t wait.” Lillith smiled broadly at him, and they left the boat a few minutes later to stroll through the port and explore the shops.
Hermès and several other luxury brands were well represented, along with Chanel, Cartier, and some beautiful jewelry stores.
She saw a bag she loved at Hermès, but didn’t buy anything.
Nothing they saw was in her budget, and he noticed her self-restraint and respected it.
She was levelheaded and sensible, and well aware that she was a short-term tourist in his world and not a resident.
She wasn’t his wife or his daughter, she was a guest. He could have bought anything he wanted, but he didn’t.