Goss turned and faced him grimly. ‘Well, Sir?’
Lindsay kept his face impassive. ‘It’s not Navy, Number One.’ Then he reached out and touched Goss’s forearm. ‘But it’s bloody marvellous! I knew you’d do your best, but this is more than that!’
Goss stared at him uncertainly. ‘You like it then?’
Barker appeared at his side, beaming. ‘Just like the old days!’
Goss ignored him. ‘You really like it, sir?’,
‘I do.’ Lindsay saw Jupp making towards him with a tray. ‘It’s what I needed. What we all need in this bloody war!’ And he knew he meant it.
Goss snapped his fingers at a steward and said, ‘I heard a boat alongside. The first guests are arriving.’ Then he strode away, his eyes darting across the laden tables to ensure nothing had been eaten.
Fraser watched him go and then said, ‘You’ve made his day.’ He looked at Lindsay searchingly. ‘I’m drinking to you.’ He lifted a glass. ‘That was a damn nice thing you just did.’
In no time at all the wardroom seemed to get crowded with visitors. As the din of conversation and laughter mounted and the trio of musicians did their best to rise above it, Lindsay was conscious of the impression Goss’s party was having. What had started almost as a joke was gathering way, so that he too could sense a kind of pride for the way this old ship, his ship, was hanging on to her past and so giving pleasure to the present.
Faces swam around him, handshakes and slaps on the,shoulder marked each new arrival. Officers from the base and other ships. Some nursing sisters and the wives of senior officers and officials added the required feminine interest, and the plentiful supply of drink did the rest. There were several Wrens, too, but not the one he had been waiting to see. He knew it was pointless to try again, just as he realised he wanted very much to meet her once more before the ship sailed.
His own officers appeared to be enjoying themselves. de Chair, impeccable as ever in his best blue uniform, was entertaining two of the women. Stannard and SubLieutenant Cordeaux seemed to be having a drinking contest, while Dancy was speaking gravely to a blonde nurse on the trials of being surrounded by so much literary material.
She was saying huskily, ‘It must be marvellous to be a real writer.’
He looked at her and nodded, his eyes already glazed. ‘It can also be a great responsibility.’
Even Emerson, the elderly warrant engineer, was coming out of his shell. He was talking with the wife of a dockyard manager, his voice loud with enthusiasm.
‘Yeh. So I says to me old woman, what about a run to Margate? An’ she-says-‘ he paused to dab the tears from his eyes, ‘-she says, wot d’you think I am? A bloody rabbit?’
Behind him Lindsay heard Dancy’s nurse ask, ‘Is he really an officer?’
Dancy said thickly, ‘One of my best, actually.’
And through and above it Goss moved like a giant, his voice carrying over all else as he received his compliments and replied to many of the questions.
‘Yes, I recall the time when we were at Aden, that was quite a trip.’ Or, ‘She was the best paying ship in ‘the line. Always popular on the Far East run, was the old Becky.’
Lindsay took another drink, trying to remember how many he had swallowed so far. Goss was really enjoying himself. It was just as if the opportunity to show what his old ship could do had released some of the pressure.
Jupp said quietly, ‘There has just been a telephone call, sir. Captain Lovelace will be coming aboard shortly.’
But Lindsay was looking past him towards the door. Boase, the doctor, was greeting several latecomers and leading them to the tables. One of them was the Wren called Eve.
At first he could not be certain. Without her scarves and baggy coat she looked quite different. For one thing, she was much smaller than he had imagined, and her hair was cut very short, giving her a sort of elfin simplicity.
He pushed through the press of figures and saw Boase stiffen and say, ‘Oh, this is the captain.’
She held out her hand. It was small and very warm. ‘I know.’
Lindsay said, ‘I’m glad you could come.’
She had hazel eyes, very wide. And she was studying him with that same mock gravity he had remembered so vividly from their first meeting in that wet, quivering staff car.
She said, ‘It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. She’s a beautiful ship.’
He realised with a start he was still holding her hand and said awkwardly, ‘Here’s a steward. Take a drink from the tray and tell me what you’ve been doing.’
She smiled up at him. ‘Not much.’ She lifted the glass. ‘Cheers.’
Boase had sunk back into the crowd but Lindsay had not even noticed. He said, ‘I’m sorry I was a bit stupid the other night. You must have thought…’
She interrupted quietly, ‘I thought you looked worn out. I was sorry, too. About that dance.’
Lindsay glanced round. ‘Have you brought him with you?’ He forced a smile. ‘He seemed a nice chap.’
‘You hated him, and it showed!’ She laughed at his confusion. ‘But he’s not with me.’ The laugh wavered. ‘He was a friend of Bill’s. The one who was killed.’
Then she waved her glass to another Wren who was in deep conversation with Lieutenant Hunter. ‘Watch it, Judy! You know what they say!’ The mood had changed again.
Lindsay guided her to the bulkhead. ‘We’re leaving tomorrow, but I imagine you know. I was wondering. About that meal I promised you?’
She looked at him with new concern. ‘Oh, I forgot to tell you. I’ve been drafted.’
‘Drafted?’ The word hung between them like a shutter.
‘Well, I’ve been trying for ages to go on a signals course. I should have gone when I joined, but I had a driving licence, you see.’
Lindsay did not see. All he knew was he was losing her almost before he had found her. ‘Licence?’
She wrinkled her nose. ‘Yes. So they made me a driver. You know how it is.’ She staggered against his arm. ‘Oops. I’m getting tipsy already!’ Then she saw his face and added, ‘Well, my draft-chit has at last arrived. I’m being sent on some new course.’ She faltered.. ‘In Canada.’
Lindsay looked away. ‘I’m very glad for you.’
‘No you’re not.’ She rested a hand on his sleeve. ‘Neither am I. Now.’
Canada. Not even where he could visit her. He cursed himself for allowing his disappointment to show. It wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault.
He said, ‘You didn’t come aboard. to be miserable. Come and meet the others.’
She shook her head. ‘I can only stay a little while. They’re shipping me out tonight. I expect I’ll be joining a convoy at Liverpool.’ She was not smiling. ‘Rotten, isn’t it?’
‘Yes.’ He wanted to take her away. Free himself and her from the noise and enjoyment which hemmed them in like a wall. ‘I shall miss you.’
She studied his face for several seconds. ‘You mean it, don’t you?’
Maxwell’s polished head moved from the crowd. ‘Sorry to interrupt, sir, but Captain Lovelace is here.’ He kept his eyes on the girl. ‘He has an important visitor with him.’
‘Tell him I’ll be right over.’ As Maxwell hurried away he said urgently, ‘You won’t leave the ship without saying goodbye?’
She shook her head very slowly. ‘No. Of course not.’ She tried to bring back her cheeky grin. ‘I’ll go and yarn with your delicious doctor.’ But somehow the grin would not come.