The perfume of love (rain-bi)

chapter 5

jenna woke up, in the first instant of consciousness, before she opened her eyes, she thought she was still in an aeroplane, shortly to be served with yet another plastic tray of airplane food. then her eyelids lifted and with delight she recognised the luxurious cabin with its moss-coloured carpet and green and white decor.

how long had she been asleep?

after her shower she had unpacked and then lain down for a quick cat-nap, expecting to be woken a few minutes later by Mrs lee coming back. if the stewardess had returned she must have decided not to disturb the new passenger's snooze. the digital clock which was part of a panel of switches and press buttons showed that janne had been sleeping for almost an hour. it was probably time for her to be making herself presentable for her first encounter with her future brother-in-low.

she had not yet bestirred herself and was wondering what time they dined on board and whether the evening meals were informal or dress-up affairs, when the cabin door opened and hana peered round the edge.

"Oh, you're awake now" she stepped inside, her appearance resolving the second of her sister's uncertainties.

Clearly dinner aboard Ocean Wanderer was very dressed indeed. hana was wearing tight black silk pants with a loose gauzy black and gold top with huge sleeves. the neckline was high, but through the diaphanous fabric her beautiful breasts were visible. she had repainted her face with a dramatic evening make-up and she brought into the cabin a delicious, sensuous gust of expensive french scent.

jenna sat up. "you look marvellous!"

it was true her sister did look marvellous, not in a way which professor kim or Aunt minji or the teaching staff at the girl's boarding school where both her nieces had been educated would have admired. indeed they would all have been horrified by hana's glittering glamour. it was neither 'well bred' nor 'in good taste' .... their two highest terms of approval. it was flamboyant and sexy and worst of all 'out of place' on board a yacht, even one of this order.

nevertheless jenna had to admire the panache with which enabled her to carry off the clinging pants and see through top.

"thank you" hana paused to admire her reflection in the mirror behind the dressing counter. then she came and perched by jenna's feet.

"listen, joon has brought back some people he met at the tournament today. they're American and very animated and i think being tired from your trip you'd find them rather a strain i suggest you have supper right here on a tray in your cabin and then catch up some more sleep. you can meet joon tomorrow when he's stopped rabbiting on about this bloody boring tournament"

"but won't he think that rather rude of me?"

"not at all, he already knows that you've been through one hell of a time with father and I'll tell him you're wiped out by jet-lag. if you don't appear for two days, he'll understand. there is plenty of time for the two of you to get to know each other. now, what would you like for your supper? we've two chefs on board, and they can whip up whatever you fancy"

"I'm not really very hungry, an omelette and perhaps a bit of salad?" jenna suggested.

"right, I'll go and order it for you. by the way, if you find yourself awake in the small hours you can make yourself a cup of tea" hana opened a locker containing an electric kettle and other equipment. "or fix yourself a drink" another door revealed a small refrigerator stocked with canned drinks and bottles.

"and as you can see, there are plenty of books and magazines to read"

half an hour later, when Mrs lee brought her supper tray, jenna asked her how long she had been on Ocean Wanderer.

"i came back to sea three years ago,after my husband died" the stewardess told her.

"you spoke of coming back to sea. had you been at sea before you were married?"

the stewardess nodded. "you could say the sea's in my blood. my father was engineer with old Captain jung... the present Captain's father. mother never liked the sea. you can't blame her. what woman wants to be left on her own most of the time? she was always warning me never to marry a mariner. my first job as a children's nurse was with a family at Rose Bay, which is one of the bosh parts of sydney. i was with them for ten years, looking after three babies. then old Captain jung's wife had her baby and it did something to the nerves in her spine, so she couldn't walk. but she was determined to go on living on board her husband's ship, as she always had, and the Captain asked me if i would consider becoming there nanny"

by this time she had finished transferring the things on the tray to the writing table. as well as something under a silver cover... presumably the omelette... there was also a covered soup cup from which Mrs lee removed the lid before drawing out the chair and waiting for jenna to seat herself.

"none if my brothers wanted to follow in dad's footsteps" Mrs lee continued. "but I'd always had a hankering for the seafaring life. so i looked after Captain jihoon from the age of six weeks until it was time for him to go to school. what a to-do that was! he didn't want to be packed off to Australia and he tried to get out of it by...." she paused. "but that's a long time story and your soup will get cold if i tell it. enjoy your supper, miss kim. I'll come back later to clear away"

the soup cream of chicken, not out of a tin, was excellent, as was the rest of the light meal. as she ate, jenna wondered if she had been mistaken in sensing that Mrs lee did not rate the present owner of the yacht as highly as his predecessors.

she had also had an intuitive feeling that hana's suggestion that she should eat in her cabin had not been motivated solely by consideration for her sister.