Eight
The mess deck was empty but for Allchin and a small, dark-haired man that I didn't know. William said something to Allchin in a voice so low I didn't hear the words, but the cook nodded and disappeared into the kitchen.
The small man and William bowed their heads to one another, much like my people did. "MacuGuregoru-san," the man said.
William responded, "Kaito-san." He glanced at me. "This is Maria. Maria, Kaito-san is from Japan."
Kaito inclined his head. "Hajimemashite, Maria-san."
I smiled uncertainly and ducked my head. "Ha…hajimmy…" I looked to William, lost. I couldn't pronounce what Kaito had said, nor did I understand it.
"He said he's pleased to meet you, lass, or at least I think that's what he said. He might have asked about your health." William shrugged. "It's been a long time since I spoke any Japanese."
Kaito smiled. "It means both. Would you and Maria-san like to join me for tea?" He poured hot water from the kettle into a squat, shiny teapot. A wisp of steam curled up from the dark liquid.
I inhaled, then took another, deeper breath. The scent hit the back of my throat and transported me home. For a moment, I'd just finished a meal with my mother and sister. The brief flash of memory was so clear, but over so fast that tears sprang to my eyes. I'd never share a meal with either of them, ever again. I opened my eyes to find both men staring at me. The smell had strengthened and it was coming from Kaito's teapot.
"You like my tea, Maria-san?"
"Yes," I breathed. Surely the liquid wasn't the same brown stuff that William had given me. Each murky cup had looked and smelled like stewed seaweed and wet wood.
Kaito's smile didn't fade as he poured two cups of the fragrant tea. His teapot hovered over a third, empty cup. "MacuGuregoru-san?"
"No, I'll take my tea like we do at home." William lifted the large, brown teapot that dwarfed Kaito's black lacquered one, and poured his own tea. It was the darkest I'd ever seen it – or perhaps it was just in contrast to the fresh green of my drink. A splash of milk turned dark brown to tan, but it didn't attract me in the slightest.
"Maria-san," Kaito said, lifting his cup in salute. William did the same, as if this were some sort of ritual I didn't understand. Both drank together and I lifted my cup to do the same. The flavour was stronger than the smell and memory slugged me again, but I managed to control it this time as I sank onto a bench to cover my preoccupation with the past.
William sat across from me, slurping his tea with a smile pasted on his face.
The ship lurched beneath us and I grabbed the table to stop myself from slipping off the bench.
"Where did you learn Japanese, MacuGuregoru-san?" Kaito asked, his face paling as he sipped.
William appeared surprised at the question. "One of my friends at university was half-Japanese. He was a champion boxer, but he'd learned to fight in some ancient Japanese style and he wanted to continue to practice. I was the only one who'd beaten him in the ring – once! – so I offered to learn. We studied together for four years and I learned some Japanese when he couldn't remember the words in English. Bad juju fighting, the other boys called it, for it made me a better fighter." He took a deep draught of tea, which threatened to spill as the ship continued to move. "Or a worse one, if the boy was my opponent!"
Kaito smiled. "Did your friend study jujitsu in Japan? I would be interested in training with you some time. My father insisted I practice samurai hand-to-hand fighting every morning before breakfast and I fear I will forget his teachings if I don't continue to practice diligently." He ducked his head and I saw his knuckles whiten as he clung to the bench beneath him as if his life depended on it. "MacuGuregoru-san, Maria-san…please excuse me. My tea is yours." His hand shoved the teapot toward me before he staggered out of the door. His face was a delicate shade of green as he braced himself along the corridor and out of sight.
The ship was indeed moving more in the swell – there were waves within my cup when I set it on the table. Grateful for Kaito's gift, I poured more green tea for myself and took a moment to savour the smell.
"Stewed grass," William said, nodding at my cup. "I don't know how you can drink that stuff. It even turned Kaito green, though the ship rolling's usually enough to do that to me – no strange drink necessary. Maybe I'm getting my sea legs after all. A bit bloody late, but better late than never."
William's unsettled stomach didn't seem to bother him any more, I reflected, noting that he happily drank his foul brew without any sign of the distress Kaito suffered from the ship's motion.
"You're in luck!" Allchin said, hurrying across the deck as if the swell didn't bother him in the slightest. "I found a whole box of the stuff, but it took me some time to find it. It says Plaistowe's British chocolate on the outside, but it's not a name or a sweet I've ever heard of. Must be some strange colonial imitation of the Cadbury's back home. Untouched until now, so I brought you two bars." He set a tin plate on the table, adorned with two long, brown blocks of something. "I found a good bottle of rum, too. I thought we were out before we hit the Panama Canal, but it turned out there was one left behind the condensed milk. No idea why the captain would order so much of the stuff."
William glanced at me. "Keep the rum in reserve – and out of sight. You never know when you might need it for medicinal purposes."
Allchin grinned and winked. "I think I just might." He disappeared into the kitchen.
William's full attention turned to me. "Now, lass. You never did answer before. Have you eaten chocolate?" He waved at the brown bars.
"Chocolate," I repeated slowly, then shook my head and pressed my lips together. If this tasted like his tea, I wasn't touching it.
He laughed and leaned forward with a wicked smile on his face. "Maria, you are going to love me for the rest of your life for this. For a woman, I've heard it's better than the first time you…" He reddened and I wondered why. "Now, open your mouth."
I stared at him, mystified.
"Open your mouth, lass," he repeated, dropping his voice to a seductive purr. I may not have understood his words, but his tone brought a smile to my lips. He leaned closer, so that his deep ocean eyes bored into mine. His lips parted and so did mine, to draw a shaky breath into my suddenly dry mouth. I wanted to kiss this man, whose lips were but a breath away.
His finger grazed my lower lip as he slipped it inside my mouth. No, not his finger – a cold piece of the brown material, which he left on my tongue. His fingers pushed my chin up so that I closed my mouth on the morsel.
I closed my eyes, breathing deeply as I resisted the urge for violence that bubbled up. How dare he deny me the kiss he'd been so keen to give me, replacing his warm tongue with the cold substance I didn’t want. The stuff was melting on my tongue, much like the butter he'd spread on my toast that morning. The first taste was bitter and I drew myself up to spit the offending object at his face.
"Wait, please," he implored, pressing his index finger over my lips as if he wished to hush me.
Buttery bitterness melted and sweetness filled my mouth like nothing I'd ever tasted before. My eyes flew open in surprise as the smooth confection slid down my throat. William's grin told me he knew exactly what I was thinking as he popped a piece of chocolate into his own mouth. He chewed it and broke off another piece. "More?"
"Oh yes," I breathed.
Together, we finished off both of the blissful bars before William's hands closed over mine on the table. "Maria, I need to know what happened to you. When you were afraid in the boiler room…was it because you've seen a ship on fire before? You feared this ship was on fire, too?"
I tried to summon the words. "Ship…fire. Dead men. Burning." The memory was still painfully clear. How much time must pass before it would fade?
He squeezed my hands. "You must have been terrified. A ship on fire, alone at sea, is a fearful thing. How did you escape?" My bewilderment must have showed, because he tried again. "You're not dead on the fiery ship. Not burned. Alive – how?"
I pulled my hands out of his and tried to show him.
His arms mirrored the arcs mine made. "You dived into the water and swam away?"
I circled my hands uncertainly. "Swim? Swim…ocean."
"What about sharks? Weren't you afraid of sharks? Or weren't there any?" he pressed.
"Sharks, yes," I began uncertainly. "No fear. Big fish." I held up a fist and feinted a punch in front of him. "Sharks…fear." My smile died on my lips at William's shock.
"You leaped off a burning ship into shark-infested waters and fought them off?" He shook his head in disbelief. "Maria, that's crazy. You can't possibly have…what was the ship's name?"
"Name…ship?" I repeated.
He nodded. "Yes. What was the name of the burning ship?"
I wet my lips. "Emden."
His brow furrowed. "I've heard that name before. It was a warship…a big victory for the British during the war. You can't have come from that. They only allow men on warships and anyway, it was sunk years ago at some island in the Indian Ocean. Here. It was sunk off some colony here!" He stared at me. "You're the daughter of some rich colonist out here, aren't you? Or…you're his wife." His eyes held hurt. "That's why you didn't scream like my sister or any normal girl would when you saw Charlie naked. You're not an innocent at all. You're a married woman. Married and…your husband will be looking for you. Combing the whole damn ocean in search of you, I bet."
From the warm, admiring man, he'd suddenly turned cold and distant. It was the name of the ship. It had to be. He knew what I'd done.
William's hands cupped my face, his sad eyes holding mine. "His name. Maria, tell me his name so I can help you return to his arms." He wiped my tears away with his fingers. "His name or the name of his ship. I'll find him and I swear I'll see you safely home to him."
"Giuseppe," I whispered, the tears flowing faster still. I tried to illustrate my words with my hands, in the faint hope that he'd understand. "Ship…sank and sharks…Giuseppe no swim. Sank. Sharks. Sharks…dead. Giuseppe dead." I laid my head on the table and sobbed. He was the only man I'd ever loved and the ocean took him away from me.
I felt the bench jump as William's weight landed beside me. Warm arms enveloped me, pulling me to his chest. "I'm sorry, lass. Not a wife – a widow and a newly bereaved one, at that. I'm so sorry. If I'd known, I wouldn't have pushed so hard. No wonder you didn't want to talk about it. To see the man you love drown and have to survive at sea, all on your own…I don't know a single woman who'd be brave enough to do what you did."
His unfamiliar words washed over me, but I could still hear his warm tone as he stroked my hair, holding me tight. My heart beat faster at each caress. Giuseppe was no longer the only man I'd ever loved. I was fast falling for someone else. I knew that if any man could mend my broken heart, it was William.