Ocean's Justice

Part 7

Seven

I stepped over the threshold and into a raging inferno. The heat hit me first, searing the very breath in my lungs. Reflected flames danced along the walls and in the sheen of blackened sweat on the men who fed the real fire that heated the boilers.

My memory stirred, sparked and burst into horrifyingly clear images of the Emden burning as dying men screamed…and so did I.

"It's all right, lass." William's arms closed around me, pressing my body against his so that all I could see were the blurred folds of his shirt. "Charlie was only joking about it being hell, weren't you, lad? This is the boiler room, where the firemen stoke the fires to heat the boilers that drive the ship. Nothing to fear here. The lad – we both thought you'd like to see the powerful engines speeding us to land. If you don't want to, there's no harm done. Do you want to see more of the ship, Maria?"

I looked up and glimpsed the ruddy light before I squeezed my eyes shut. "No. No more," I replied, shaking my head.

William half-carried me out into the corridor and I felt the welcome relief of the cool bulkhead beside me. Sucking in a calming breath, I drew myself up and looked into the boiler room. The hard-working men inside eyed me curiously, between furiously shovelling coal into the well-contained fire. The flames weren't consuming any part of this ship, except for the plentiful coal that fed its roaring boilers. As for the Emden…she was nothing but a burned-out hulk by now.

"What's wrong, Miss Maria? Don't you want to see the engines?" Charlie blocked the boiler room doorway, looking crushed.

William saved me from having to answer. "All that talk of hell must have frightened her, lad. I don't think she's ever seen anything like it. Now I'm going to take her up to the main deck for some much-needed fresh air, I think." He nudged me toward the ladder to the deck above and I closed grateful fingers on the handrail as I climbed, feeling the vibration from William's weight not far below me.

"Wait for me!" called Charlie as I reached the upper deck, his shoes clunking on the rungs as he followed us.

William waited while I climbed the last ladder, which led to the main deck. "Don't you have your apprentice duties?" he asked as Charlie came into view.

"Tell me what you're going to do with Miss Maria," Charlie insisted.

My eyes met William's as he glanced up at me. "I'm going to escort her to the mess deck and make her some tea." He laughed. "Why, do you think you can make a better pot of tea than I can, lad?"

I continued up, stepping out onto the main deck right in front of Captain Foster.

"Good day, Maria," he said. "Where is McGregor?"

"William?" I asked uncertainly and he gave a curt nod. I pointed down the ladder I'd just left, hearing the sounds of climbing.

William's head appeared, followed by the rest of him. "What's wrong, lass? Captain." He and the captain exchanged nods as I looked from one to the other.

"I thought you were taking care of the girl, McGregor. Maybe I should assign the boy to her instead. Why did I hear her screaming below decks?"

"I don't know," William began.

"Fire," I said firmly. "Fear…fire."

Charlie tumbled to the deck at my feet, breathing hard. "Miss Maria was afraid of the fires in the boiler room. I made a joke that it looked like hell in there and Miss Maria believed me, sir. Mr McGregor –"

"The engine room is no place for a woman!" Captain Foster exploded, glaring at Charlie and William. He pointed at Charlie. "You should be hard at work or you'll never be anything but an apprentice. Get below." He turned to William. "I don't want her wandering around below decks. It's dangerous." His eyes flicked to me and I saw fear in them. "For a woman to be alone in places like that. Don't let her out of your sight and keep to the main decks. I don't want her near the engine room again. You should get her safely back to her cabin."

Charlie turned and headed back down the ladder, glaring balefully at all of us. He seemed to reserve extra anger for William as the man's arm came to rest around my shoulders. "First, we're going to the mess deck for a cup of tea to settle her nerves. I want to try and ask her about what happened to her and I was hoping…" William coughed. "Have you heard anything over the wireless about her vessel? The one that was wrecked?"

Captain Foster shook his head. "I radioed to tell them about finding the wreckage she was floating on, but no one has word that any vessel has been lost in the storms. I haven't mentioned her because we might be ordered to return to Fremantle instead of heading to Durban as scheduled, so I want to wait until we're more than halfway. We have a better chance of finding an interpreter who understands her language there than in Australia, too. Anything you can find out about who she is and what she's doing out here...tell Allchin he can use my private stores if it'll help."

To my surprise, William winked at me as he took my arm. "There's an offer I don't need to hear twice. C'mon, lass, before he reconsiders. Have you ever tasted chocolate before? Chocolate?"

I stared at him, my feet moving automatically to keep pace with the hurrying man. What in the world was chocolate?