Dark Waters by Nick Korolev

Author:Nick Korolev
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Salvo Press
Published: 2013-11-04T16:00:00+00:00

19

KATE STERNER

After a lunch in the salon dining room, where they were all serenaded by the ship’s musicians, Thom had gotten himself involved in a marathon game of gin with his father and Uncle Hugh in the men’s smoking lounge. Marion had gone off with Aunt Patricia to play bridge with Lady Snow and Lady Garrett at the Saloon Lounge. Not wanting to associate with the harpies, Kate had left lunch to sit in the warm sun and read on the Deck - A Promenade. That was a couple of hours ago.

Dressed in a casual hobble skirt ensemble of a dark burgundy color with matching broad-brimmed straw hat, Kate waited for her tea at a small circular table in the Verandah Café. With her were Aunt Ethel and their new friend Carol Evans, a fashion writer for the London Times she had met a couple of days ago. She enjoyed their company and had taken to accompanying them when not with Thom. They all did their best to avoid the harpies and at times the magnificent ship, for all her size, did not seem big enough.

Meal times were the most difficult of all for her as Thom’s parents had insisted on everyone eating together in the grand Saloon Dining Room or in their cabin for dinner every night. But at least when eating in a public place, all she had to endure from Aunt Patricia were dirty looks and pointed silence. Either way, Kate had come to dread and resent dinner with her new family, but was afraid to say anything to Thom for fear of hurting his feelings, yet was quickly getting to the point of convincing herself to do so. After all, she knew there was no love lost between him and dear Aunt Patricia. The woman was ruining their enjoyment of the trip, but at least they had only two more nights to get through. Saturday morning they were due in Liverpool.

“What do you plan on for tonight?’ asked Aunt Ethel, bringing her out of her thoughts.

“Thom and I plan on having dinner right here, just the two of us. We haven’t told his parents yet. Then, we will be attending that party being thrown by Charles Frohman for a little while before going to the Seaman’s Charities Concert,” she answered.

“Well, I don’t blame you lovebirds one bit for wanting to get away to a quiet dinner without the head harpy hovering by you,” Aunt Ethel said sympathetically punctuated with a sly smile.

“The Lady Plum sounds like she is an absolute shrew,” Carol commented.

“You don’t know the half of it,” Kate returned. “I know it is not polite to speak ill of others, but I have had my fill of that woman and do not know how much more I can take and keep a civil tongue. If she was not Marion’s sister, I think I would be able to handle her better, but I am trying so hard not to make waves. I have never been treated so cruelly in my whole life.

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