A Very Special Marriage

by Jennifer Taylor

  She went to the dining-room, wondering how the change in the weather would affect the passengers. Although she was feeling fine, she suspected that a lot of people would be affected by the sudden increase in motion. Liam obviously shared her concerns because he was waiting outside the dining-room for her and drew her to one side.

  ‘I’m going to open the surgery after dinner. Yuri is going to make an announcement to that effect over the loudspeaker system. A lot of people will probably start feeling ill pretty soon so I’ll be available to hand out sea-sickness tablets to those who need them.’

  ‘Good idea.’ She clutched hold of his arm when the ship suddenly rolled to the side. ‘Oops, sorry!’

  ‘That’s OK. Anyway, you don’t need to be there. I know it’s your day off, Sophie, and I don’t expect you to work. I just wanted to let you know what was happening.’

  ‘Of course I’ll be there,’ she protested. ‘It’s my job to look after the passengers, isn’t it?’

  ‘Well, if you’re sure you don’t mind, it would be a help if there were two of us.’

  He smiled at her and Sophie had to make a determined effort to control the little flutter her heart gave. It was casual dress that evening and she couldn’t help thinking how handsome he looked in the crisp white shirt and navy trousers. Liam had always possessed an innate elegance which stemmed partly from his height and partly from the aura of confidence he exuded. She’d never been more aware of it than she was that night, strangely enough.

  ‘Some folk might not be able to make it to the surgery so I may need to visit them in their cabins,’ he explained. ‘I can leave you to hold the fort in my absence, if you don’t mind.’

  ‘That’s fine by me,’ she agreed, willing the nervous fluttering to abate. ‘With a bit of luck the storm will pass over soon and everything will be back to normal.’

  ‘Let’s hope you’re right,’ he observed wryly as the ship heaved again, making the glasses on the dining-room tables rattle noisily. ‘Otherwise we could be in for a busy night.’

  The words turned out to be prophetic. As soon as they finished dinner they went back to the hospital and opened up the surgery. They had a steady stream of visitors for the rest of the evening so that by the time ten o’clock arrived, Sophie had logged up over fifty people who’d required sea-sickness tablets and there were half a dozen more in the waiting room.

  ‘If it carries on like this, we’re going to run out,’ she said, anxiously checking the drugs cupboard.

  ‘Mike Soames told me they keep extra supplies in the hold so we should be fine,’ Liam assured her. He grimaced when the ship bucked as it hit a particularly large wave. ‘The storm seems to be getting worse. Do you have any idea how long it will take before we clear it?’

  ‘No, but surely it can’t last much longer.’ She couldn’t quite keep the concern out of her voice and she saw him frown.

  ‘You’re not scared, are you? The Esmeralda is one of the most modern cruise ships around. It has every sort of safety feature imaginable.’

  ‘So did the Titanic and look what happened to that,’ she retorted.

  He laughed. ‘I doubt we’ll run into any icebergs in the middle of the Mediterranean, sweetheart.’

  Sophie’s heart skipped a beat when she heard the endearment. She knew it was foolish to set any store by it but she couldn’t help herself. She returned his smile, hoping he couldn’t tell how much it had affected her to hear him speak to her in that warmly caring tone.

  ‘I’ll take your word for that. And now I’d better send in the next poor soul.’

  ‘You do that.’

  He was all business once more and she sighed as she went to summon the next patient. Liam was finding it as difficult as she was to separate the past from the present, but it didn’t mean he still loved her, and it hurt to realise that.

  It was almost eleven before they finally locked up and by that time Sophie was exhausted. The constant motion of the ship, combined with the tension which had plagued her all day, had given her a headache. Liam looked at her in concern as he slipped the surgery keys into his pocket.

  ‘You don’t look so good. Do you feel sick?’

  ‘No, I’ve got a headache. I kept meaning to take some aspirin but I never seemed to get the chance because we were so busy.’

  ‘We’ve run out of aspirin, I’m afraid. I’ve just put in a requisition for some more, in fact, but it will be morning before they fetch up the supplies. I’ve got some paracetamol tablets in my cabin, though, if they would help,’ he offered immediately.

  ‘Thanks,’ she replied gratefully. ‘I never thought to pack anything like that because I rarely ever get a headache.’

  ‘Come along, then. Let me get them for you.’

  He led the way to his cabin and opened the door. Sophie hesitated but it seemed ridiculous to stand outside like a nervous schoolgirl. She sat on the bunk while Liam went to the bathroom for the tablets. He returned a few moments later and went straight to the tiny fridge and took out a bottle of mineral water. Breaking the seal on the cap, he half filled a glass and gave it to her.

  ‘Here you go.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Sophie popped the tablets into her mouth and washed them down with some of the water.

  ‘It will take a while for them to work, I’m afraid. Just how bad is your headache?’

  ‘Pretty grim,’ she admitted. She rolled her shoulders to try and relieve the pressure that had built up at the base of her skull.

  ‘Turn round.’ Before she could protest, Liam placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her so that her back was towards him.

  ‘What are you doing?’ she demanded in alarm when she felt his fingers glide over the nape of her neck.

  ‘I’m just going to give you a massage. You’re all tensed up, Sophie, and that’s making your headache worse.’

  ‘Oh, but there’s no need. Really!’ She tried to shrug off his hands but he didn’t release her.

  ‘Relax. You’re quite safe. I know what I’m doing.’

  His fingers moved from her nape to her hairline and gently began massaging the base of her skull. Sophie closed her eyes as a shiver ran through her. The warm touch of his hands felt so wonderful but she was afraid of what might happen if she relaxed.

  ‘Stop tensing up. You’re just making matters worse.’ He used his thumbs to gently knead the knotted muscles in her neck and a reluctant sigh escaped her.

  ‘That’s better,’ he said softly, without breaking the rhythm. ‘Just close your eyes and let yourself go limp. I’m not going to hurt you. I promise.’

  Sophie closed her eyes purely and simply because she couldn’t resist. She exhaled softly when she felt Liam’s fingers move further up her skull and begin to massage it in a soothing motion that almost had her purring with pleasure.

  ‘Where did you learn to give massages?’ she murmured, because it seemed wiser to keep at least some of her wits about her.

  ‘While I was working at a hospice for the terminally ill in India.’

  His tone was just as quiet as hers had been yet she felt a ripple of shock run through her. ‘I didn’t know you’d worked in India as well!’

  ‘I was only there for a couple of months before I went to Africa. It was my first posting for the aid agency, a sort of test to see how I coped with both the work and the conditions.’

  He carried on massaging her skull while he spoke, his fingers moving in gentle circular motions now. ‘The staff at the hospice had very little in the way of modern medicines to give their patients so they had to rely on traditional remedies to relieve pain. Massage can be a highly effective means of reducing pain because it creates counter-irritation in the nerve endings in the skin. The staff at the clinic were all experts at it and I learned a lot from them.’

  ‘There’s so many things you’ve done in the past couple of years that I didn’t know about,’ she admitted sadly.

  ‘There’s no way you could have known, Sophie.’ His hands stilled. ‘We we
nt our separate ways after the divorce, didn’t we? I had no way of knowing what you were doing, for that matter.’

  ‘That’s easy. I stayed exactly where I was, doing the same job.’ She sighed. ‘No wonder we split up when it’s obvious we both wanted such very different things out of life.’

  ‘That’s not true.’ His tone was fierce all of a sudden and she jumped.

  ‘No?’ She knew she should let it drop but something drove her on. For some reason it seemed important that she find out how he really felt about their marriage.

  ‘No,’ he repeated, but more quietly this time. ‘All right, so circumstances might have dictated that I made a career change, but I was happy with the life we had. I certainly never felt that I’d missed out in any way.’

  ‘And yet if you hadn’t gone overseas then you would never have met Julia,’ she pointed out reasonably.

  ‘No. I don’t expect I would.’

  Sophie frowned when she heard the sombre note in his voice. Was he thinking how empty his life might have been if he hadn’t met Julia, perhaps? It seemed the most logical explanation yet she wasn’t convinced it was the real one. It was a relief when he changed the subject because it would be far too easy to start looking for a deeper meaning that probably didn’t exist. She had to remember that Liam was happy with the new life he had made for himself.

  ‘So how does your head feel now? Any better?’

  ‘Much.’ Sophie summoned a smile but it hurt to be reminded that Liam had someone else to share his dreams now. He and Julia would probably have children one day and the thought was so painful that she couldn’t bear it.

  She hurriedly stood up, knowing that she had to leave before she made a fool of herself. It would be wrong to begrudge him the family he’d always dreamed of having, but it just seemed to bring it home to her how much she had lost.

  ‘I’d better go. It’s late and we could be busy again in the morning if this bad weather continues.’

  ‘Hopefully, the sea will be a bit calmer when we reach the Italian coast.’ He caught hold of her arm when she went to hurry past him and she could see the concern in his eyes. ‘Are you sure you’re all right, Sophie? You still don’t look too good.’

  ‘I’m fine. Or I shall be after a good night’s sleep.’ Her smile was a shade too bright but it was the best she could manage. She was only human and it hurt to know that another woman was going to fulfill his dreams.

  He didn’t try to stop her again when she moved away. She hurried to the door and paused to glance back. Liam was still sitting on the bunk and there was the strangest expression on his face, a kind of yearning that immediately touched her heart. He looked so sad and lonely that she was tempted to go back and ask him what was wrong, only it would be a mistake to do that. He didn’t need her comfort or her help when he had Julia!

  Tears filled her eyes and she quickly turned away before he saw them. ‘I’ll see you in the morning,’ she murmured as she let herself out.

  ‘Goodnight, Sophie.’

  The words floated after her as she crossed the passage and let herself into her own cabin. She closed the door then went to the porthole and stood there, watching the black swell of the waves pounding against the ship. What was that saying about time and tide waiting for no man? It was true, too, because she couldn’t turn back time any more than she could turn back those waves, but it didn’t stop her wishing that she could. If she could relive the past few years, she would do things differently. She would listen to Liam and believe him when he told her he wasn’t having an affair. She would trust him because she loved him and because she knew in her heart that he loved her as well.

  It was all so simple that she couldn’t understand how she’d lost sight of the truth two years ago. Maybe it had been her grief over Zoë’s death but that was no excuse. She should have known in her heart that Liam would never have betrayed her! Now it was too late to put matters right and far too late to wish they could try again because he loved someone else.

  CHAPTER TEN

  THE weather had improved considerably by the time they reached Naples the following morning. It was still very hot but the sea was much calmer. Nevertheless, there were a number of empty places at breakfast, a sure sign that some passengers were still suffering the after-effects of the storm.

  Liam took his place at the table, wondering where Sophie had got to. She was normally in her seat by the time he arrived but there was no sign of her that morning. Gloria and Randolph were also missing so he made a note to visit them in their cabin as soon as he’d finished breakfast.

  Sophie still hadn’t appeared by the time Liam left the dining-room and he was torn between a desire to check if she was all right and a need to tell the Walterses what their doctor had said the previous day. In the end, duty won because if the Walterses did decide to leave the ship that day then he would have to liaise with the hospitality team so they could make the necessary arrangements.

  He went straight to their cabin and knocked on the door. Randolph opened it and he laughed when he saw him. ‘Good morning, Dr Kennedy. This is a day for visitors, it seems. Come along in and join the party.’

  Liam went into the cabin and felt his heart lift when he discovered Sophie was there. ‘So this is where you’ve got to. I wondered if you’d succumbed to the dreaded seasickness.’

  ‘Not so far, I’m pleased to say.’ She gave him a tight little smile as she stood up. ‘I’ll leave you to have a word with Dr Kennedy, Gloria. I’m so glad the storm didn’t affect you too badly last night.’

  ‘Thank you, honey. We sure do appreciate you dropping by to see how we are.’ Gloria turned to Liam and smiled. ‘You are a very lucky man to have such a lovely young woman working with you, Dr Kennedy. I hope you appreciate her.’

  ‘I do,’ Liam replied, hoping Sophie hadn’t heard the husky note in his voice. Gloria’s comment had touched a chord because he did appreciate her, far too much, in fact.

  He sat down to explain to the Walterses what their doctor had said after Sophie left. Randolph was understandably concerned about his wife so it took some time to answer his questions. Liam was glad, however, because it gave him less time to worry about his own problems as he concentrated on convincing Randolph that Gloria was well enough to continue the holiday. He obviously succeeded because in the end Randolph decided they would stay on the ship, much to Gloria’s delight.

  Liam went straight to the surgery after leaving the Walterses’ cabin and discovered there was a crowd in the waiting room again. He didn’t have a chance to tell Sophie about the elderly couple’s decision because people were eager to be seen before they went ashore. A trip to Pompeii was the highlight of that day’s visit to port and a lot of people had booked to go on it.

  Liam prescribed antiemetics for all those who required them. More storms were forecast for the coming week and nobody wanted to take the chance of being caught out. It was almost ten before the last patient had been seen and he grimaced as he handed the paperwork to Sophie.

  ‘There’s quite a stack today, I’m afraid. What’s the bet that we won’t have another night like the last one now everyone is prepared for the worst?’

  ‘Probably not.’ She took the files from him. ‘Are you going ashore today? It’s your day off, isn’t it?’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘So what are your plans? Are you going on the trip to Pompeii?’ she queried, sorting the files into order so she could enter the details into the computer. Although there was no charge levied for sea-sickness medication, a record needed to be kept of everyone who was seen in the surgery each day.

  ‘No, I think I’ll give it a miss. There’s something I need to do,’ he replied abstractedly, wondering if he should put in another requisition for antiemetics. They’d already made inroads into the supplies that had been sent up that morning and he didn’t want to take the chance of them running out.

  ‘Oh?’

  Liam bit back a sigh when he heard the curiosity in her voice. He
didn’t want to be drawn into saying too much but he could hardly refuse to tell her why he was going ashore.

  ‘I need to get in touch with Julia,’ he explained. ‘Unfortunately, there’s no telephone where she’s working so I’ll have to contact the aid agency’s headquarters in the region and ask them to get a message to her. They have a satellite phone in their office so she can call me on that when it’s convenient.’

  ‘Sounds very complicated. Still, I’m sure you must be looking forward to hearing from her. Let’s hope it won’t be too long before she gets in touch.’

  She gave him a quick smile then turned her attention back to her work. Liam hesitated, wondering if he should have explained why he was so eager to speak to Julia. He hated to think he’d misled Sophie in any way but it wouldn’t be fair to tell her that he’d decided to call off the wedding before he told Julia, would it?

  He made the call as soon as he reached shore and was surprised when he discovered that Julia was on leave. He couldn’t recall her mentioning that she was taking any leave before her contract expired but maybe a problem had cropped up at home. Although she never spoke about her family, she occasionally received mail from England so he’d always assumed that she had relatives there. He sighed because it brought it home to him again how little he really knew about her.

  The person at the agency was unable to give him a number where he could reach her so Liam had to be content with leaving a message, asking her to get in touch. However, as he hung up he couldn’t help wishing that Julia hadn’t chosen this particular time to disappear. Now that he’d made up his mind what he was going to do, he was impatient to get everything sorted out so he could make fresh plans…

  His heart sank when he realised how stupid it was to hope that Sophie would play any part in those plans. Once she left the ship, that would be the end of the matter. Quite frankly, he didn’t know how he was going to cope. He could tell himself a thousand times that they’d had their chance at happiness but it didn’t stop him wishing they could try again.