Chapter 21
Daniel
The blare of Daniel’s alarm reached him in the depths of unconsciousness, and dragged him to the surface. It was unusual for him, to feel like he had slept deeply. His limbs were heavy and the folds of his pillowcase imprinted on his cheek. He felt groggy.
He sat up and rubbed his eyes before remembering the events of the night before, at which point he froze. Perhaps in some vain hope that this too was some extended part of a dream, he pinched himself lightly on the wrist, and then felt ridiculous and reached over to turn off the alarm.
In the newly expectant silence of the room, he ran through his plan of action and realised it was simple: he was going to pretend nothing had happened. At first the idea of maintaining another lie fizzed a current of stress through his body, but as he settled into the idea that no was likely to ask him anything about last night directly, he calmed himself down. And then there was Agatha. She was young, sure, but he trusted her instinct for ambition would override any temptation to cause a scene.
As he showered and dressed, he managed to steer his mind back on course, planning for the day ahead. He would walk the deck, have something to eat, and take over from Dudleythis afternoon. Daniel liked to do this, to walk himself through the day; he thought of it as getting a head start.
On his lap of the ship, he consciously avoided the deck where he had seen Agatha the night before. He knew, rationally, that it was highly unlikely she would be there again this morning, but he couldn’t shake that disturbinglyirrationalniggling that he would be tempting fate if he went back to the scene of the crime. Instead he lapped round the bottom deck twice.
He saw Ore before she saw him, from the shadow of the awning over the dining table. He watched as she came out of the mess, walked across the deck and settled into the obnoxiously long outdoor sofa just outside the sliding doors into the salon.
She looked like she was writing something in the tatty reporter’s pad she carried around. Bent over slightly and with her legs curled up beneath her, he found himself noting the glints of gold crowning her hair, and the way the sunlight seemed to make the angelic lines of her face glow.
Almost without thinking, he made his way over to Ore. When she heard him approach she looked up and smiled, and he felt his breath catch slightly.
‘Hey, Captain!’ She seemed genuinely pleased to see him, putting her notepad down on the seat beside her, though she did remember to close it first, Daniel noted.
‘Sorry again about yesterday. I am around most of the day today though, if you need me.’ He offered what he hoped was an easy smile.
‘No worries at all, I was a little … all over the place yesterday anyway. Feeling more clear-headed today.’ There was that candidness again, and she was unapologetic about it. Was he envious or put off? He didn’t know.
‘I’m speaking to some of Chuck’s investors today, so I’m assuming at some point he’ll ask you to “supervise me”.’ Ore winked at him playfully and once again he was pleased for the discretion his dark skin offered when it came to the rising heat in his cheeks.
‘Although,’ Ore continued – obliviously, hoped Daniel, ‘I guess if you’re manning this boat then someone else will take us out on the island?’
That caught Daniel’s attention. He didn’t like the idea of Ore going off with Chuck and his creepy investors on her own.
‘I’m actually hoping to corner that Claude guy. He’s so mysterious, I can hardly find anything about him online.’ Ore had lowered her voice and brought her hand up to her mouth. As though she were following a stage direction, she darted her eyes from left to right and raised an eyebrow.
Daniel realised he was supposed to laugh, but he’d missed his chance and Ore cleared her throat a little self-consciously and leant back in her seat. Daniel’s mind was racing in different directions and it took him a moment to catch up with the loudest one.It’s a bad idea for Ore to be alone with Claude.
‘Daniel, are you OK?’
He needed to say something. ‘I’m sure Dudley can cover for me, then I can relieve the bosun and take you guys out on the tender myself.’ Maybe if he was there, he could make sure nothing untoward went on. He resigned himself to inserting himself into ‘the drama’ but after what he had inferred about Claude from Dudley, he was sure that he didn’t want Ore to face anything like the situation with Annie.
‘Oh no no, don’t bother yourself with all that, if it’s a hassle to change plans now.’ Ore was gathering up her notes.
‘Mr Regas wants me there if you’re interviewing people anyway.’ This was not exactly a lie; he was expecting that Chuck would probably command his presence at the last minute for this day trip. But it was not exactly the truth either.
Ore shrugged. ‘I guess that tracks. Anything you think I need to bring? I’ve never been on a speedboat before.’ Ore’s excitement was infectious and he decided to worry about his ever more problematic relationship to truth-telling later.
‘You’ll need a hat. This South Pacific sun is no joke, and maybe, you know, more generally cover up a bit.’ He sounded so parochial, but she was wearing a tight khaki tank top with very thin straps. The ozone layer would not be forgiving. Neither would the gaze of a man like Claude. Daniel himself was finding it hard to banish the intrusive thought of what it would feel like to trace the tip of his finger along her collarbone. It was certainly not his belief that women were to be blamed for men’s perverse brains, but in this scenario a long sleeve would be useful protection, in more ways than she could know.
‘And maybe a packet of those Kwells if there are any left,’ he added. The trip would not be long, but if her first day on the boat was anything to go by, it could get messy without seasickness medication.
She looked up at him then with an expression he hadn’t seen before. Not cheeky, playful or borderline flirtatious, but something softer. A warmer version of the scared look she had given him in the kitchen after her ‘episode’.
‘That was you? I just assumed Vicky had left it.’ Ahh, he thought, the look of sincere thanks. Again he felt a flush. Suddenly he couldn’t look at her directly, so instead he fixed his gaze on the cuff of his jacket and picked at a loose thread.
‘It was nothing – I have some left over.’ He sneaked a peek at her face and she looked bemused.
‘Youget seasick?’
‘Well, no, but I used to, when I started out. I’m a firm believer that you can grow sea legs. So when we get a new recruit, I always make sure to find the ones looking a bit, well, green, and offer them a couple of tabs of Kwells. I know what it’s like to feel as if you don’t belong – sometimes it can be as easy as knowing that you’re allowed to need help, to start to feel differently.’
Ore nodded thoughtfully, holding his gaze in a way that made his palms sweat but that he couldn’t break. ‘I know exactly what you mean,’ she said quietly.
It seemed to occur to her suddenly that they had been staring at each other in silence for slightly too long. She looked down, stood up and began mumbling about getting herself together. Daniel felt like he had been hypnotised, somehow unable to arrange his thoughts into working order.
‘I’m just going to go change, you know … sleeves …’ she laughed nervously ‘… and you know get questions together and …’ When she caught his eye again, he just nodded. She laughed again and trotted off inside.
Daniel didn’t move for a minute or so. He could think only of golden braids and supple shoulders. Finally a plan crystallised in his head; he needed to talk to Dudley and then somehow get Chuck to agree to let him take the tender out instead of the bosun, Fida. And then he needed to keep Ore away from Claude. That, he suspected, would be the hardest part. Ore wanted to get him alone, and Daniel couldn’t really imagine anyonenotwanting to spend time alone with Ore alone. At least he could keep an eye on things.
