The Ship Sailed On by Valerie Lawson

Author:Valerie Lawson [Lawson, Valerie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Winter & Drew Publishing Ltd
Published: 2024-04-04T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 24

The Ocean Star sailed slowly into Rio harbour. Margaret was drinking in the breath-taking view, when Billy tapped her on the shoulder.

“That’s Sugarloaf Mountain,” he said, pointing across the bay.

“I can’t wait to get ashore,” said Margaret, on her toes with excitement. “It’s just what I imagine paradise to be like.”

“A lot of blokes on here think like that too,” laughed Joe, the other laundry boy.

“We’d better get down and get some work done, kid,” said Owd Rosie, “The quicker we get finished, the quicker Freddy will let us go.”

“Off ashore with Ricky tonight, Maggie?” asked Johnny.

“No,” answered Margaret, “but he’s going to take me out tomorrow night.”

“Where’re you going today then?”

“Well, this afternoon Rosie and I are taking a taxi to Christ’s Statue,” said Margaret. Rosie nodded.

Johnny paused a while, and then said, “Seeing Old Freddy’s giving us the day off tomorrow, why don’t you come to the beach with us? We’ll be back early, because we want to go out as well later. You’ll have time to get ready for Ricky.”

“Thank you, Johnny, I’d love to,” answered Margaret with enthusiasm. “That’s if you don’t mind me tagging along with you all.”

“Oh, you won’t be with us in the evening,” he laughed back.

The laundry staff finished at eleven o’clock that morning. Margaret and Owd Rosie had some lunch in the mess room, then disembarked by twelve-thirty.

They both entered the terminal, and Margaret stopped to look through the windows of Stern’s, the famous jewellers. She was thinking what a fantastic display of precious stones. The settings were beautiful; very unusual.

“I’ve never seen jewellery like it,” she gasped. “I wish I was a millionaire, I’d buy the lot. Could you picture the look on the faces of that crowd in the laundry if I came down wearing all this?”

“I don’t think you’d be working in a laundry, kid, if you were that rich,” said Owd Rosie dryly. They decided to have a quick look inside the shop.

“Can I help you?” asked one of the assistants, who spoke in a half-American and half-Portuguese accent.”

Margaret stared at the girl. She was very pretty, with an olive complexion. The kind Margaret had always longed for.

“No, thanks, kid,” said Owd Rosie. “We’re just looking.”

“Could I have a look at that ring, please?” asked Margaret, pointing to one with a pale blue stone.

“That one?” asked the girl, reaching for the ring.

Margaret nodded.

“You’ve picked Rio’s most famous stone, an aquamarine.” A smile came over the girl’s lovely face. “An exquisite stone.”

Rosie asked the price, and when told, both women pulled a face at each other.

“It would be very expensive in England,” continued the assistant.

“We’ll look around the shops, kid, I bet they’ll be cheaper there.”

“Maybe cheaper,” repeated the girl, still smiling, “but beware, they have many shops in Rio selling stones. They might not cost as much, but sometimes they are made of glass. Here, all our stones are of a very good quality. We are a reputable company.”

“How can you tell the difference between a real stone and a glass one?” asked Margaret, out of curiosity.

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