Bring Me Sunshine Read online

As if called by Lian’s thoughts, Vera suddenly appeared, clutching her ever-present purple bag.

  ‘Hello Lian,’ she said as she approached. ‘Are you all right, dear? You look a little frail.’

  ‘I’m feeling a bit ill,’ Lian said. ‘It must be seasickness,’ she added quickly. Vera was a sweet thing, but Lian wasn’t going to tell her about her condition. Colin was going to be the first person she told. That was the whole point of this journey.

  ‘You are going ashore, aren’t you?’ Vera asked. ‘It would be such a shame to miss out. It all sounded very interesting.’

  ‘I don’t know that I’m up to hiking across the hills,’ Lian said. ‘I wouldn’t want to hold everyone up.’

  ‘I’m not planning any hiking either,’ Vera said. ‘I thought I’d just stroll around and look at the old buildings. Maybe we’ll see a bit of one of the old wrecked ships. Nothing too adventurous. Why don’t you come with me? We can keep each other company while the rest go stomping off into the wilds.’

  That seemed a very good idea. What seemed less of a good idea was that the inflatable boat that was going to take them ashore.

  ‘It’s perfectly safe,’ they were assured by the seaman waiting on deck two to help them board the Zodiac through what appeared to be nothing more than a hole in the ship’s hull. The little boat was bobbing up and down in the water beside the ship in a most disconcerting fashion.

  ‘Let me help you,’ said a voice at Lian’s side.

  Lian was pleased to see Jenny Payne. The presence of someone from the expedition staff would be very reassuring.

  ‘Jenny, Lian’s feeling a bit … seasick,’ Vera offered helpfully. ‘And she’s not altogether sure about the boat.’

  ‘Neither was I, the first time,’ Jenny confided with a wink. ‘But it’s easy. Just follow me.’

  Lian took a deep breath and did as she was told. She scrambled down into the boat, taking her seat along the side. Her fingers closed around the rope that was there for just that purpose. She was slightly ashamed to see Vera clamber aboard the boat with more ease than she had managed. She really was quite amazing for someone her age. Jenny joined them and they set off. The journey to the pebble beach must have lasted only a few minutes, but by the time they got ashore, Lian definitely wasn’t feeling much like hiking. Some sort of park ranger was waiting for them. He looked young and fit and eager, and immediately started talking about heading off along the shoreline to visit a penguin colony. Lian wasn’t that fond of penguins.

  ‘I’ll stay here, if that’s all right,’ she said.

  Not only did Vera stay with her, but Jenny also. Apparently the rules required one of the ship’s team to be with them at all times. The rest of the group set out down the shoreline, listening to the enthusiastic guide’s descriptions of the mating habits of the 850,000 pairs of royal penguins. Lian, Vera and Jenny strolled slowly towards the cluster of tumbled down buildings.

  ‘This island used to be a hunting ground for sealers,’ Jenny said, ‘and penguin hunters. They used to boil down the penguins for their oil in these things.’

  As Jenny pointed out the rusty iron boilers, Lian felt her stomach heave again and sweat break out on her forehead.

  ‘I don’t think Lian is particularly keen on that topic of conversation right now,’ Vera interrupted Jenny.

  ‘I think I just need to sit down for a minute.’ Lian dropped onto a nearby rock with relief. ‘I guess I’m just having trouble getting my sea legs.’

  ‘If you say so, dear.’

  Vera was looking at her with such sympathy, that Lian suddenly burst into tears.

  ‘There, there.’ The older woman sat next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. ‘It’s all right.’

  ‘I don’t know why I’m crying,’ Lian sobbed. ‘I’m all right. Really.’

  ‘Of course you are,’ Vera said. ‘It’s only your hormones playing up. It happens a lot when you’re pregnant.’

  ‘You’re pregnant?’ Jenny sounded shaken. Not judgemental but as if somehow the news startled her.

  Lian felt another surge of tears in her eyes. ‘How … How did you know?’ she asked Vera.

  ‘My dear, I have four children and nine grandchildren,’ Vera said quite matter-of-factly. ‘I should know a pregnancy when I see one.’

  Lian sniffled a couple of times. ‘I wanted Colin to be the first person I told,’ she said.

  ‘And he will be,’ Vera exclaimed. ‘You didn’t tell me anything. I just figured it out.’

  Lian almost smiled.

  ‘Colin – that’s your husband?’ Jenny asked.

  ‘Fiancé,’ Lian corrected, telling herself it wasn’t a lie. He would be as soon as he knew. ‘He’s with a research station on Antarctica. He signed up to winter on the ice as electrician, plumber, lab tech and general maintenance man.’

  ‘Winter on the ice?’ Vera raised her eyebrows. ‘Now that sounds interesting.’

  ‘It meant a long time apart – but the money is good,’ Lian said. ‘Enough to set us up with our own place. So we can get married … It seemed a good idea at the time.’ She felt the despair coming back.

  ‘And it still is a good idea,’ Vera said cheerfully. ‘But he doesn’t know about the baby.’

  ‘No. That’s why I had to come. If I didn’t come now, I wouldn’t see him until after the baby is born … and I want … I want …’ The words just didn’t come.

  ‘Of course you want to get married before the baby is born,’ Vera finished for her. ‘There’s nothing wrong with that.’

  Lian turned to look up at the other two. ‘And we will get married. I just know he’ll be thrilled about the baby. We talked about having a family … eventually.’

  Jenny didn’t say anything. She looked slightly discomforted by the whole conversation, but Lian didn’t really have the energy to wonder why. ‘The captain will marry us – won’t he?’ Lian asked.

  Jenny shrugged. ‘I honestly don’t know. I don’t even know if it’s legal.’

  ‘We can soon find out,’ Vera assured her, squeezing her shoulders again. ‘Don’t you worry.’

  Lian nodded and sniffled a bit, but she did feel a certain sense of relief. ‘You know,’ she said smiling at Vera, ‘it’s nice to have someone to talk to about it. It’s been pretty hard being all on my own.’

  ‘You didn’t tell your parents?’ Jenny asked.

  ‘God, no!’ Lian exclaimed. ‘They’d be horrified. They don’t even know about Colin. They’re a bit old fashioned. Well … he’s not Chinese. They are going to be so angry when they find out.’

  ‘No they won’t,’ Vera cut in. ‘They’ll be excited and happy with the thought of a grandchild. Just you wait. They will be there when you need them.’

  ‘I’m not so sure …’ Lian said.

  ‘I am. Nine grandchildren … remember?’

  Vera certainly was a comfort, and it did feel good to have it out in the open. It was also probably a very good idea that someone on the ship knew. In case … well in case she had any problems on the journey.

  The three sat in silence for a while, enjoying the sunshine.

  Jenny kept her eyes out to sea, where the Cape Adare floated serenely at anchor. She felt less than serene. Why was she suddenly surrounded by pregnant women? Well, not surrounded by them, but coming across two in just a few days was more than she was used to. First there was the vice chancellor’s daughter. It was much easier to think of her like that than as Ray’s fiancée. And now Lian. Pushing all thoughts of the first quickly aside, Jenny glanced sideways at Lian. Although they were probably about the same age, Lian looked about seventeen. It was partly her gorgeous skin, now a little puffy with crying and partly because she was so tiny. She also had an air of vulnerability that made her seem very, very young. No wonder Vera had decided to take the girl under her wing. Still, that was probably a good thing. The more time she spent with Vera, the more she liked her. The older woman was really very kind. She had a wonderful sense of humour and a l
ightning fast mind. Jenny just wished she knew why Vera had such a passion for blood and gore, murder and mayhem. There was also that huge purple bag, and the notebook. What was that all about?

  The sound of an engine cut through the otherwise quiet day. Another Zodiac was coming ashore with more of the passengers. Jenny watched the passengers wade through the gently lapping waves onto the beach. They milled around chatting to their guide before setting out in the direction of the penguin colony. She tried not to feel disappointed.

  ‘I don’t think he’s coming,’ Vera said. ‘He doesn’t seem to want much company.’

  ‘Who?’ Lian wanted to know.

  ‘There’s a very attractive gentleman just above me, in the big suite,’ Vera answered. ‘Jenny is rather taken with him.’

  ‘I’m not …’

  ‘And that’s not surprising,’ Vera continued before Jenny could finish her statement, ‘I’ve met him and he is very handsome.’

  ‘When did you meet him?’ Jenny was shocked to discover she felt almost jealous.

  ‘Well, perhaps met is the wrong word,’ Vera confessed with an almost cheeky smile. ‘Yesterday morning, before breakfast, I saw him coming out of the observation lounge. Very early.’

  ‘How early?’

  ‘The sun was just rising,’ Vera said. ‘Perhaps he’d spent all night in there? He left this behind.’

  Jenny and Lian exchanged a puzzled glance as Vera dived into her bag. After a couple of minutes digging about, she retrieved a folded paper napkin. She spread it open in her lap. Jenny looked at the drawing.

  ‘Wow. That’s good,’ she said. ‘Do you think he did that?’

  ‘I think so,’ Vera said. ‘I wonder if it’s his hand.’

  ‘Wait a second,’ Lian said. ‘I think …’

  Now it was Vera’s turn to look puzzled as Lian dug into the pockets of her coat. She laid a paper napkin in her own lap. ‘Snap.’

  There was no doubt they had both been drawn by the same artist. Where Vera’s showed a hand and a skull ring, the drawing in Lian’s lap was of part of a man’s face, drawn almost in profile. It was an angular face, a little cruel perhaps, but still compelling. The eyes were just empty triangles, giving the impression that the man was wearing some kind of mask. Although both drawings had been made with an ordinary grey pencil, the texture of the paper, and the skill of the artist gave the impression of many shades of light and dark.

  ‘Where did you find yours?’ Vera asked.

  ‘In the passenger lounge. It was on the floor. He must have dropped it.’

  ‘Wow.’ Jenny reached out as if to touch the drawings, but her hand stopped, hovering just a millimetre above the soft tissue. ‘Why would he draw this?’

  ‘It’s obvious,’ said Vera. ‘He’s a criminal. Look at the skull ring. The mask. Your gorgeous man is on the run from the law … that’s why he’s on the cruise. He’s hiding.’

  ‘No …’ Jenny exclaimed.

  ‘Maybe he’s a vampire.’ Lian interjected.

  ‘A vampire?’ Jenny found that even sillier.

  ‘Well, no one ever sees him,’ argued Lian. ‘He only comes out at dark. He’s a vampire.’ She held up the drawing of the haunted face. ‘This is a jiângshî. The dead who walk the earth sucking the life from mortals.’

  ‘Oh, please!’ Jenny said. ‘He’s not a vampire.’

  ‘Have you ever seen him in daylight?’ Lian queried her.

  ‘Well, no. But …’

  ‘And Vera saw him heading back to his cabin at dawn. That proves it.’

  ‘That doesn’t prove anything,’ Jenny continued to defend the poor man’s reputation. ‘For all we know, he could be lying in the sun on his private balcony right now.’

  All three of them glanced over to where the ship lay at anchor. The bow was facing away from them, and they could clearly see the balconies. The lower was the restaurant. Above that, deck five. Vera had one of those balconies. Above her, one large balcony across the back of the ship was the owner’s private space.

  ‘There is someone there,’ Jenny said in a hushed tone, as if her voice might somehow carry over the water to alert him.

  ‘You’re right,’ Lian said.

  Over so great a distance, it was impossible to see any detail, but there was definitely movement on the balcony. And a dark shape.

  ‘So maybe he’s not jiângshî. I wish the ship wasn’t so far away. I’m the only one here who hasn’t seen our mystery man.’

  ‘Just a moment,’ Vera once more opened her bag, ‘I should have … ah ha!’ She produced a black object and held it up triumphantly.

  Jenny watched her open the small leather pouch and remove … ‘Binoculars?’

  ‘You just never know when you might need them,’ Vera said, putting them to her eyes. ‘Just give me a minute. Hmm – it’s still a bit too far to see much.’

  ‘Let me see,’ Lian held out her hand.

  ‘There’s definitely someone on the balcony.’ Vera explained to Jenny as Lian peered through the binoculars. ‘You really can’t see him very well in the shadows. I think he’s just standing there, staring out to sea.’

  ‘He’s hiding from the daylight,’ Lian fiddled with the focus. ‘Waiting for the night to come so he can go in search of blood.’

  ‘Stop that,’ Jenny chided, trying not to laugh. ‘And put those things away. It’s not nice to pry like that.’

  ‘But …’

  ‘No. Lian,’ Vera recovered her property. ‘Jenny’s right. It’s a bit like being a stalker. And she is ship’s crew – so we have to do what she says … unless …’ she turned to Jenny, the binoculars in her hand, ‘unless you want a look, Jenny dear?’

  Did she want to look? Of course she did. She hadn’t been able to get him out of her mind. And now she was curious about just what was going on in the cabin. But …

  ‘No!’ she said firmly. ‘Come on ladies, we’d better behave ourselves.’ She ruefully watched Vera put the binoculars back into her bag.

  Chapter Nine

  The ocean was becoming very rough. Jenny clutched the hand rail tightly as she headed up the outside stairs towards the observation area on deck eight. She was supposed to remind anyone up there that there was a lecture in the lounge. Not that she expected to find anyone. With the stormy seas and falling temperatures, night time strolls on the open deck were not what they had once been. Karl’s lecture on the early exploration of Antarctica inside the warm observation lounge, with bar service, was a much more inviting prospect. The lecture focused on the lives and gruesome deaths of the explorers, and Jenny expected Vera would be in the front row, pen in hand. There was something niggling the back of her mind about Vera, and she couldn’t figure out just what it was. She liked the older woman a lot, but there was something …

  The ship lurched again and Jenny’s feet slipped from under her. She reached out a hand to grab the railing, but another sudden change in the ship’s motion broke her grip. With a yell of pain as her wrist twisted, she fell down the last few stairs, crashing into the metal deck below.

  Her bum hurt. One leg was twisted in a most uncomfortable fashion and her wrist hurt like crazy. Oh yes, the deck was wet with sea spray that was seeping slowly through her clothes.

  Jenny didn’t swear often. Only in moments of extreme stress. For the third time since she boarded the Cape Adare – she let out a loud exclamation.

  ‘Shit!’

  ‘Are you all right?’

  The voice came from somewhere above the expensive looking hiking shoes that had suddenly appeared on the deck just a few inches in front of her. She looked up.

  ‘Oh.’

  ‘Let me help you.’

  A strong hand reached down to her. Nursing her injured wrist, Jenny placed her good hand in his, and allowed him to pull her to her feet.

  ‘Are you hurt?’

  ‘I don’t think so.’

  He was still holding her hand, his strong fingers clasped around hers to steady her. His touch wasn’
t having quite the effect he was probably hoping for. In fact, quite the opposite.

  ‘I guess I still have to work on my sea legs,’ Jenny said.

  ‘I guess so,’ the brow above those disconcertingly blue eyes creased in concern as he looked her up and down. ‘Are you sure you’re all right, that was a nasty fall.’

  ‘I’m sure, thanks.’ As she spoke, the ship lurched again. Jenny was thrown against the ship’s railing. Instinctively she grabbed for it with both hands, then yelled as searing pain shot from her injured wrist all the way up her arm.

  ‘It’s all right, I’ve got you.’

  He did. His arm was around her, steadying her as she cradled her injured arm against her stomach.

  ‘I think I must have hurt my wrist in the fall,’ her voice sounded a bit like the whimper of an injured animal.

  ‘You think? Come on, let’s get you to the sick bay.’

  ‘I can manage on my own …’ Jenny started to protest.

  ‘You probably can, but why should you, when I’m here to help?’

  Keeping one arm firmly around her, he pushed open the heavy door as if it weighed nothing, and led her inside. The lobby area outside the observation lounge wasn’t really any more stable than the deck outside. The thick blue carpet just offered better grip. A few hardy souls were heading for the lounge and Karl’s lecture. They stopped in surprise as Jenny was helped though the door.

  ‘Can someone please find a crew member? Ask them to find the doctor. We’ll meet him in the sick bay.’

  He brushed aside the sudden wave of questions.

  ‘It’s nothing serious. Jenny’s hurt her wrist. We just need the doctor to check it as a precaution.’

  He remembered her name!

  As if by magic, a few seconds later they were in the lift and descending slowly and silently towards deck two and the sick bay. The lift, like the rest of the ship, was rocking in a most disconcerting manner, but Jenny braced herself in the corner.

  ‘I don’t know your name,’ she said.

  Before he could answer, the lift stopped and the doors slid open. The ship’s doctor was standing there, waiting for them.

  ‘What happened?’ he asked as between the two of them they guided Jenny from the lift into the nearby sick bay.