Harold Lowe has managed to claw his way up the career ladder of the British merchant marines, rising from a ship's boy to a master mariner with one of the world's elite passenger lines. Along the way, he's learned to master not only his craft, but...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Corrine had to admit, washing up felt grand. Rinsing all the salt from the sea out of her hair made her feel fresh and reborn. She scrubbed her body and hair multiple times with the soap as best she could, and then spent a long time with her head under the running water, reveling in its warmth. She was pretty sure she was never going to take heat for granted again in her life.
Still, despite the relief she felt from scouring away the grime of that terrible night, Harry's words echoed over and over in his mind: '...fastened a few in my time...' She pressed her palms to her eyes to rid herself of the unwanted images his glib comment had unwillingly conjured.
Stop it, she scolded herself. What, did she expect him to be chaste? He had a life before her!
No; she just hadn't expected that it would cut so deeply to be reminded of that. Nor did she expect him to, well... brag about it. Or rub her face in it.
Angrily, she yanked the tap, shutting off the water. She grabbed a towel and hurriedly dried herself, then wrapped her hair in it. She opened the door and peeked out into the corridor.
No Harry. Smart move, lad, she thought.
She closed the door and walked back to the bed, looking down at the dress. Although some of her earlier excitement had faded with Harry's remark, she thought the dress was beautiful, and she still looked forward to wearing it. She scrounged in the pile of clothes in the corner until she located her laundered undergarments and then put them on. But she found that the exertion of standing while she cleaned herself, as well as the varied emotions of the past hour, had exhausted her. Utterly spent, she lay back, hair fanned out on the pillow behind her, and fell asleep.
When she woke again, Harry was in his usual place in the chair by the bed. He wasn't asleep, though. He was watching her warily, his right knee jiggling nervously.
Too late, she realized that she was nearly naked, and she blushed. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She was sure he had gotten an eyeful while she was dozing. But he looked steadily into her eyes, and said, "I want you to know that that was the barmiest thing I think I've ever said, Corrine. None of that-" he waved his hand dismissively, "-before... it didn't mean anything to me at all. And I never should have been so crass. Christ, the last thing I want to do is hurt you."
She stiffened involuntarily. Nothing about it being not true, or an exaggeration on his part, just an admission that he shouldn't have said it. Good God, she thought, exasperated, did he have to be so brutally honest all the time?
"I thought you said you didn't have a girl in every port," she blurted before she could stop herself. Oh, why couldn't she just let this be?
"I didn't- I mean, I don't, Corrine." He exhaled in frustration. "That's the truth. But what is also the truth is that although I have been with other women before, it wasn't anything serious," he said softly. Not like this, he left unsaid, the words hanging between them.
