“They’re like two little boys,” Mary said to Gloria. “They’re having more fun than if we’d taken them to Revere Beach.”
Gloria wore a slim leaf-green dress, and she set one gloved hand on the peplum on her hip. “I hope it warms up before Arch ships out. I have a simply darling new two-piece swimsuit, and I want to show it off at the beach.”
Mary forced a smile. Gloria was one of the golden ones who could show off and not be punished. It didn’t seem fair.
Gloria eyed Mary head to toe. “You have a cute figure. Maybe if we get the boys to the beach, Jim will finally notice you.”
Thank goodness Jim was too far away to hear and too immersed in discussing the gun’s mechanics. “I’m not trying to be noticed. We’re just friends.”
“But I so enjoy watching people fall in love.”
“Then watch yourself with Arch.”
She patted her upswept hair under a matching green hat. “We’re a boring old couple now. He’d better ask me to marry him soon. All these tests are so tiring.”
“Tests?”
Gloria leaned closer, bringing a whiff of perfume with her. “He’s so skittish, thinks girls only love him for his money. He wants a girl to be unimpressed by his wealth, even to disdain it.”
Mary studied the handsome blond officer, who peered down the barrel of a gun. “That makes sense. I’m sure he wants someone to love him for who he is.”
“Except wealth is part of who he is, part of what makes him attractive. And it’s so hard to pretend.”
“Pretend?” The word tasted like dust.
“Just between us girls, okay?” Gloria winked. “The Vandenberg estate is spectacular. Who wouldn’t want that? And the money? Heavens, you could buy anything you wanted, never have to count pennies. I’d be a fool not to want that. But with Arch, I have to wrinkle my nose and pretend the whole thing is quite distasteful. The sooner we get married, the better.”
Mary swallowed the dusty mouthful. Gloria might not be a gold digger, but she was standing in the stream with a pan, ready to sift out a nugget.
“Come on, ladies. Come see.” Jim beckoned them over.
For the next ten minutes, the men showed them how the gun worked, how the sailors hauled it back and forth on its wheels, loaded the shot, rammed it in place, lit it, and protected their hearing with the tips of their neckerchiefs jammed inside their ears.
Gloria made appreciative noises—another act? How could she pretend to like and dislike in opposition to her own tastes, in order to trick Arch into marriage?
“Look at that, Mary. Twenty-four-pound shot.” Jim patted a cannonball.
“That’s incredible.” She didn’t have to pretend, nor would she ever do such a thing.
Mary could watch him all day, the way his smile tilted slightly higher on the right, the boyish glint in his hazel eyes, the smooth cut of his hair, the perfect fit of his double-breasted jacket, his long fingers and the way he moved them.
She ripped her gaze away. Who was she kidding? She was as guilty of pretending as Gloria. Every day she pretended not to be attracted to Jim, pretended the sound of his voice didn’t scramble up her insides, pretended the thought of him shipping out and not returning to Boston didn’t leave her aching.
The men led the ladies down another hatch to the berth deck, filled with dozens of hammocks.
Arch fingered the canvas. “Our enlisted men should be required to come aboard theConstitution, see how sailors lived in the nineteenth century. They’d be more appreciative.”
“That works for us too.” Jim leaned through a door. “Officers’ quarters. They have hammocks too. Although I sure wouldn’t mind that desk.”
Mary poked her head inside. A gorgeous oak desk topped with green felt, adorned with antique telescopes and sextants and things. “I assume your accommodations are less colorful.”
“Plain old steel.” His grin flashed, far too close to her face, then he strode away, back to the hatch.
Mary followed the group up the ladders, not easy in a skirt and heels. Perhaps it would be best if theAtwooddidn’t return to Boston. Sure, she’d miss Jim and his friendship, but then she could recover from her crush.
On the main deck, Mary drew in a breath of cool air. A mild overcast hinted at coming rain. Wind played with the skirt of her dress, and she anchored the blue fabric sprigged with sweet little white and yellow flowers.
Arch and Gloria headed for the bow, but Jim circled the main mast, face tipped up and glowing. “Two hundred twenty feet tall. Can you imagine her with sails unfurled, flying with the wind?”
