Page 41 of Old Girls on Deck

‘Nothing actually, although he might roll his eyes a bit.’

‘I always thought you were so lucky,’ Diana said, ‘being married to such an easy-going man. Nothing ever seemed to upset Eddy.’

‘Only if I ran out of biscuits,’ I said. ‘I suppose we might seem a bit boring to some people. I mean, we don’t do much that is exciting, we haven’t travelled like you did. Our house isn’t as tidy as yours. My boys aren’t as well-mannered as your son.’

I could see it was a mistake mentioning Sam. Diana’s face clouded a little.

‘The three of them got on well didn’t they, as children,’ she said, ‘before Sam went off to boarding school.’

‘Yes, but they are still in touch. They message each other quite a lot,’ I said, and Diana looked shocked.

‘Do they? I didn’t know.’

I changed the subject. ‘I think you should wear that black dress with the sparkly neckline. And the satin evening sandals with the bows. And some statement earrings.’

‘Those shoes are very uncomfortable and as for statement earrings, I don’t think I own any,’ she said.

‘Then we will buy some. Earrings that say something meaningful.’

‘Like I am not interested in any of your French charm, thank you very much. This is a sort of business meeting. So don’t think you can wear that tight shirt and twinkle your eyes at me and do that French pouty thing, because I’m not interested. That sort of thing?’

I raised my eyebrows. ‘I never mentioned Raphaël. How fascinating that you did. I don’t think earrings can be that expressive to be honest, and it’s interesting that you have noticed those things about him.’

Diana started blushing again. ‘I didn’t. I’m just saying. Anyway, I can’t leave you on your own, so perhaps you should come with me after all?’

‘Not a chance. And I’ve already told you I’m planning an evening with Evelyn. I’m not going to spoil your shipboard romance?—’

‘It’s nothing of the sort!’

‘And then we might go to the show. It’s Cabaret-themed night so there will be bowler hats and eyeliner galore. I’ll tell you all about it when you sneak back in with your lipstick all smudged.’

‘Jill!’

‘Well, it might make a nice change. You know, nothing wrong with a bit of harmless flirting between two unattached people.’

‘You don’t know he’s unattached. He might be married, anyway I am not looking for anything of the sort!’

‘Okay, if you say so. If Raphaël was paying me all those compliments, and I didn’t have Eddy, I’d be tempted. And to be honest Eddy doesn’t pay me much attention these days, I’m like a favourite old chisel in his toolbox. Reliable, useful. It’s not exactly romantic, is it?’

‘Would you?’ Diana said doubtfully. ‘I always thought you and Eddy were unbreakable.’

‘Well, we are, we just seem to be in a bit of a rut these days. I’d love it if a handsome stranger made eyes at me and told me my wrinkles were interesting. Absolutely. It makes the world go round, doesn’t it? Now then, here’s the shop I wanted to go in. Look at those lovely platters. Can’t you just imagine them filled with seafood? Huge lobsters, and mussels, crab claws and scallops, all attractively garnished with lemon wedges and parsley.’

‘Perhaps you ought to buy one?’ Diana said.

I shook my head. ‘Eddy can be a bit squeamish. He doesn’t like his food looking at him.’

9

Raphaël was waiting for us in the Art Lounge when we arrived just before six o’clock that evening. He greeted us both with a lovely smile and a warm handshake which I thought for a worrying moment was going to develop into those cheek-kissing rituals that the French go in for. Instead, he took us through a linen-covered door into a very unimpressive room, filled with computers and printers and piles of paper stacked up against the wall. There was a strong smell of hot cables and chemicals.

‘Now then, I have put together some of the pictures I took, Radio Wonderful are very keen to get hold of some to put on their website. Apparently, there has been quite a lot of interest from their listeners in this trip.’

‘How amazing,’ I said, leaning over the desk and peering at some photographs of the crew dressed as pirates. ‘These dancers are stunning, aren’t they?’

Raphaël pushed his lower lip out in a very French way and nodded. ‘They are hard workers, they will not last more than a couple of seasons on this boat, then they move on to new contracts with other cruise lines. They see the world that way.’

‘But what if they meet someone and want to get married and have a family?’ I asked. ‘That must be difficult.’

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