by Katie Fforde
‘It's a bit crowded in here,' said Ed when Jo came up. 'I'll go, I just wanted to see where we were, on the chart,' said Jo apologetically, glad to have an excuse to leave, really.
‘No, you're all right. You have a look at the chart and I'll get my head down for a bit, now we're through the shipping lanes. That big container ship on the port side is clear of us now.'
‘Go and get some kip! It'll be your watch in a couple of hours,' Marcus said.
Jo remembered the state of the forepeak before Dora and Tom cleared it out and felt a surge of pride and gratitude towards them both.
‘I'll just take some of these mugs down-’
Suddenly the barge lurched heavily to the right and Ed fell against the door that opened under his weight. The next thing Jo saw was Ed clutching at nothing, and then he was gone.
‘Oh my God!' said Jo.
‘Man overboard,' snapped Marcus, pulling the control lever right back, and then he shot past Jo, lifted the lifebuoy from its cradle and threw it over the side. 'Now I want you to watch that lifebuoy and don't lose sight of it,' he barked. 'I'm going to turn the barge first one way and then the other so I come back to him and can get him aboard. But don't let it out of your sight.'
‘I can see him! His cagoule is holding him up a bit.'
‘Good. Now call Carole and get her to get Tom up here.’
Now the first shock was over, the lecture Marcus had delivered a lifetime before began to come back. Her eyes watered with the effort of staring at the lifebuoy and she called Carole without looking at her.
‘Carole! Get Tom up here. Ed's fallen overboard.’
‘What?' Carole unplugged her headphones.
‘Ed's fallen overboard!' Jo was shouting and her mouth had gone dry. 'Get Tom!’
Fortunately he appeared from the forepeak, Dora behind him. He raced up to Jo. 'What's up? We heard the engine slow. Oh fuck!' he finished as he saw the lifebuoy and near it, Ed.
‘It's Ed,' explained Jo to Dora. 'He's fallen in.’
Marcus was very calm. 'I'm turning the barge and getting it into position so I can pick him up. I want you two to get ready to launch the dinghy and tie it securely at each end so it's a platform we can get him on to. We'll get him on to the barge from there. Do you understand?'
‘Yup. I did a man-overboard exercise when I was on a sailing course,' said Tom.
Marcus put the engine ahead and turned the wheel in big movements. Gradually the barge swung round. Jo's eyes never left the lifebuoy and Ed, just beyond it. As the barge moved, so Ed appeared to move also, although Jo realised she was in more or less the same place. 'Thank goodness there's no wind.’
Then Marcus swung the wheel in the opposite direction. Why is he doing that? she wondered, knowing better than to ask. He answered her unspoken question. 'If I'd carried on round, we'd have overshot; this way we'll come straight up to him.’
Now the lifebuoy and Ed appeared to be in front and, to keep them in view, Jo ran up to the bow and pointed to him. Oh God, please don't run him over, she muttered under her breath.
‘Lower the boat, Tom, Dora. Make sure the ropes are really tight so the dinghy can't move around,' Marcus called out.
When Jo realised that Marcus could see both the lifebuoy and Ed she went back to help Tom and Dora.
‘Carole!' called Marcus. 'I want you to get the heaving line from the forepeak entrance, throw it as near to Ed as you can and then make it fast once he's got it. Clear?’
Jo looked at Carole and realised she didn't understand. She went to get the line herself and took it to Tom. 'I can't throw!' she said to him, anxiety turning her voice into a whisper.
‘Give it here,' said Tom, sounding remarkably calm. 'There we go, he's got it. Now tie it on to that cleat.' He pointed. 'Right now, take a round turn and then just wind it round in a figure of eight.’
Jo did as she was told and then watched as Tom and Dora tried to heave Ed aboard. Dora leant over the side to him and water came rushing in, nearly capsizing the dinghy.
‘Keep your weight as far inside as you can,' gasped Tom.
Marcus came up with a thicker line. 'Tom, can you get this round Ed's arms and tie a bowline? Then we can heave on a single line.’
Miraculously, Tom seemed to know what a bowline was and everyone watched as he flattened himself on the waterlogged dinghy to get the rope under Ed's arms. But eventually the line was round him and Marcus heaved. Tom and Dora caught whatever bits of Ed they could reach and at last he flopped into the boat.
‘You should have seen the one that got away,' said Tom to him.
Ed, gasping and short of breath, said, 'Maybe we should splice the main brace, Skipper. For medicinal reasons.’
Chapter Nineteen
Jo went into full mother-mode. 'A hot shower, not a strip wash. Tom, get him a change of clothes. I'll put the kettle on, or would you prefer some soup, Ed? I've got some leek and potato I could defrost?'
‘There's no need for all this fuss,' said Ed, shaking his head from time to time, like a dog. 'I'll just change me gear and carry on.'
‘You can have a tot of rum when you've done everything Jo said,' said Marcus firmly. 'Then you're for your bunk and a couple of hours' kip.’
Everyone except Marcus and Carole clustered round Ed when he emerged from the shower, warm and dry, to drink the soup. 'The catch on that door is weak,' he said. 'When the wash from that container ship hit us I just lost my balance for a moment. Then splash.'
‘Thank goodness Marcus knew what to do,' said Dora. 'He was a hero!'
‘Just doing his job, lass,' said Ed, to Jo's secret approval, 'but I do reckon I owe my life to him.'
‘That is quite heroic,' muttered Jo, buttering another of her home-made brown rolls for Ed. Seabathing had obviously given him an appetite.
‘I did a sailing course when I was in the sixth form,' said Tom. 'We had to practise man-overboard techniques. Bloody difficult! Were you terrified, Ed?'
‘Well, I had several things on my side: it's summer, so although the water's freezing cold, it's not as cold as in winter; it's daylight; and we're out of the shipping lanes.' He took a huge slurp of soup, draining the mug. 'I reckon I got a bit careless because we'd done the difficult bit.'
‘I've made you a hot-water bottle,' said Jo. 'When you've finished your rum you're to go to bed and sleep. Captain's orders.'
‘I'll go up and see if Marcus wants me to steer,' said Tom.
‘Good idea, lad. He'll be glad of a break too, I reckon.' Dora went with Tom. Seeing him help rescue Ed had made her see him in a slightly different light. She'd known he was thoroughly capable, handy about boats, but now she'd seen him being brave as well. She felt a glow of pride.
‘Would you like me to relieve you?' Tom asked Marcus almost shyly.
Seeing how the two men related to each other, Dora realised that everything had changed, not just how she saw Tom, but how Tom regarded Marcus. He had been promoted from 'man who has the perfect job' to something approaching a god.
‘That would be kind. I'll get my head down for a while. You see where we are on the chart? Dora will spot buoys with you, and there's the GPS as well.'
‘I don't think Ed approves of the GPS,' said Tom. Although Marcus had stepped away from the wheel, he hadn't yet disappeared to his cabin. He chuckled.
"Log, lead and lookout" is what he prefers,' said Marcus, 'and he's right. When all your fancy equipment goes wrong, you have to rely on your eyes.'
‘Sorry, but I don't understand,' said Dora.
‘You explain,' said Marcus to Tom. 'I'll just be down there, Tom. Don't hesitate to call me. I'll only be cat napping.’
When they were alone there was silence. Dora wanted to acknowledge Tom's part in the rescue, but she couldn't quite think of the words. She had just decided to keep it simple when Carole appeared.
‘What a commotion! You were great, Tom!’
Dora felt a stab of something that felt like jealousy, and not because Carole had used
the very form of words Dora had just decided on.
‘Just doing my job, ma'am,' said Tom, sounding like an American cop film.
Carole laughed and pushed his shoulder playfully.
Dora winced. Why was it that Carole, who hardly knew Tom, could tell him how she felt and be so easy with him? And yet she'd been easy with him when they'd been playing backgammon in the forepeak, before they heard the engine note change.
Determined not to let Carole take over the conversation, she said, more forcefully than she'd meant to, 'What's this log and lead business?'
‘Er, well, it's not an expression I'm familiar with-'
‘If you're going to talk about ship-handling, I'm going,' said Carole. 'Would you like a cup of tea, Tom?’
Dora was fairly sure this was the first time she had heard Carole offer to make anything for anyone else except Marcus. 'I'd love one, too,' she said quickly, determined to make Carole actually do something.
‘Oh God, I wasn't going to make everyone tea!’
‘Go on, there's a good girl,' said Tom.
Carole bridled charmingly and went down below.
Dora bit her tongue to stop herself saying something bitchy and, at that moment, nothing unbitchy occurred to her. `So, the log thing?' she managed eventually.
‘Right. Well, presuming he's not talking about the ship's log, which is where they write down everything that's happening-'
‘Like people tailing in.'
‘That's right, only it'll be things like "man overboard -altered course to starboard" and explaining how Marcus manoeuvred so we could pick Ed up.'
‘So not a great read then?’
Tom acknowledged her gentle teasing and Dora was relieved to feel their old ease returning. 'You learn to read between the lines. Logs can be gripping.'
‘OK, so what's the other sort of log then? When it's not part of a tree, that is.'
‘Obviously it was originally part of a tree – they used to trail one behind the ship – oh, never mind. What it means in Ed's terms is a sort of wheel that counted how many leagues or nautical miles you'd travelled.'
‘Not fathoms?'
‘No, that's depth, and it's metres now. That's the "lead" part. That used to be a bit of lead on a long line that was marked out in fathoms. Sometimes they used to put tallow on it so it would pick up sand or shale or whatever so they could tell what the bottom was like. Then, if they wanted to anchor, they knew if it would hold or not.’
Dora found herself surprisingly interested. Tom really did know his stuff. 'So that's working out how deep the water is. How does that help?'
‘The least depths are marked on the chart so you know that at any stage of the tide you've always got a bit more water than that. The lookout bit is self-explanatory.'
‘So what it all means is that you have to have old-fashioned methods to check your new-fangled machinery. I didn't realise navigation was so low tech.’
Tom laughed. 'It involves a lot of calculations which fortunately I don't have to do. Oh, here's Carole with the tea.' He smiled warmly at her and she smiled back. 'That was quick.'
‘Oh, Jo had already made it. I just brought it up. Here.' She handed Dora a mug, slopping a bit over her hand. Fortunately it wasn't desperately hot.
‘Has Marcus gone for a nap?' she said, putting Tom's mug down carefully. 'I might slip in and join him.’
She gave a little giggle and Tom and Dora exchanged pained glances as she went below.
A moment later she reappeared. 'He doesn't want to be disturbed,' she said importantly. 'I'm going to get a drink of water.’
Dora thought she seemed tense and wondered if there'd been time for a row in those few minutes she was in the cabin with Marcus.
‘I hate to be fussy,' said Tom, oblivious of any tension, 'but this tea is really cold. You wouldn't make me another cup?’
Carole smiled winningly. 'Anything for you, Tom, if I can work out how to do it.'
‘On the gas,' snapped Dora. 'It's quite simple.’
Jo was still clearing up when Carole joined her in the galley. 'I've got to make more tea for Tom,' she said. 'At least he wants me,' she added in a mutter so soft Jo could ignore it.
‘Oh, OK. Shall I do it for you?'
‘I'm not stupid, you know. I can boil water.'
‘It was just that I'm over here.' Jo sensed hurt behind this somewhat belligerent statement. 'Of course you're a very capable young woman, Carole.' Jo didn't know this for a fact, but she had run Marcus's life for him for a while. She must be capable or he wouldn't put up with her.
Carole filled the kettle and banged it on to the stove, slopping water over the burners so that when she tried to light the gas, it spluttered and refused to co-operate.
‘What's the matter?' asked Jo gently.
‘Everything! I wish I'd never come on this horrid trip. Everyone hates me. Marcus is being vile. I just wish I could go home!'
‘Well, you can, quite soon. Don't get upset, Carole. No one hates you.'
‘I think Marcus does.'
‘I'm sure he doesn't.' Jo's words were automatic but she thought something must have caused Carole to feel like this, and she blamed it on Marcus. It wasn't fair to bring Carole on this trip, when he must have known what she'd be like, and then be unkind to her. Jo had noticed that he was rather dismissive of her and their relationship wasn't exactly loving, in public at least, but she did hope they could hold it together until the end of the trip. Being a ship's agony aunt wasn't part of Jo's job description.
‘Do you think he's too old for me?' Carole's question seemed more of a plea.
Jo took a breath to give herself time to consider her answer. 'Well, it's a very personal thing, of course.’
‘But do you?'
‘Carole, love, it's nothing to do with me.'
‘I know! I just want your opinion. Dora thinks he is.'
‘Did she say that?' It was unlike Dora to be so outspoken. Karen, now, she'd have said exactly what she thought.
‘Not exactly. She said that as much as she loved her dad she couldn't go out with someone remotely his age. How old is Dora's father?'
‘I don't know! I should imagine he's a bit older than Marcus, though.' Jo swallowed, having done a few sums and come to the wrong answer. 'Do you think he's too old for you?'
‘Maybe. I mean, he's very sexy, but sometimes he's quite bad-tempered.'
‘Younger men can be bad-tempered too, you know, but Iadmit they tend to be more tolerant.' Jo didn't want to think about Marcus's sexiness at that point.
‘Tom's really nice.'
‘Yes.' Jo really didn't know what to say now. In her mind, Tom was Dora's. But Dora always maintained they were just good friends.
‘I think he fancies me.’
Jo bit her lip. 'I'm sure he does, but I really don't think you should flirt with Tom on this trip. It would be awful if he and Marcus fell out.'
‘But it might make Marcus jealous, then he'd want me again.'
‘Nothing is certain where men are concerned,' said Jo, with feeling. 'Look what happened to me!'
‘What happened to you?'
‘On the other hand, I don't suppose that's very unusual. My husband left me for a much younger woman.’
‘Oh.' Carole certainly didn't seem surprised.
‘Who's now pregnant.’
This caused her to be a bit more animated. 'Oh, that's nice.'
‘I suppose it is.' Jo suppressed a pang of jealousy. 'For her. Carole, do you want children?'
‘Oh yes. I'd love a baby.'
‘Leave Marcus then – he's far too old to be a father.' She had spoken without thinking, but the thought of Marcus tolerating a demanding toddler with the patience demand ing toddlers required was too unlikely to be considered.
‘Quite old men become fathers these days,' said Carole, pouting a little.
‘I know, but because it's biologically possible doesn't mean it's desirable. I think if Marcus wanted a family, he'd have had one by n
ow.’
Carole considered. 'Hm. I think you may be right. Maybe I'll finish with him.' She moved as if to go and do it that very moment.
Jo put out a hand and would have physically stopped her had it seemed necessary. 'But not till this trip is over, please! We don't want a lot of upset.'
‘I won't be upset. I don't mind dumping people. I've done it lots of times.'
‘But Marcus would be! Think, his glamorous girlfriend leaving him, in front of a whole lot of people! It would be awful!'
‘But that would serve him right for being so horrible.'
‘Was he really horrible? I don't see he can have had time.' Jo drew Carole to the table and pushed her gently into a chair. Tom would have to wait for his tea.
‘Just now. He was a bastard!'
‘Everyone else seems to think he was a hero.' Jo teetered between disliking Marcus, because that seemed the safe thing to do, and wanting to stick up for him and stop his girlfriend leaving him.
‘Well, he wasn't heroic to me! I thought I'd snuggle up with him while he had a nap and he told me not to disturb him!'
‘He's probably very tired. He's been on watch more or less all day, with only the odd hour off here and there. He needs some rest, Carole.' He's old, she could have added, but didn't.
‘He could have rested with me there! He never seems to have any trouble at night, snoring away!'
‘Older men do tend to snore more. Don't know why,' said Jo, reflectively.
‘Well, it's disgusting. I'm sure Tom doesn't snore.’
‘You'd have to ask Ed,' said Jo, whose mouth was fighting for permission to smile. 'Although not now!’
‘Do you think I'm being silly?'
‘A bit. I think you should just wait until you and Marcus are home. I'm sure you'll find the magic comes back into your relationship.' The thought that she actually could find work as an agony aunt flitted through Jo's mind as this platitude emerged.
‘I don't think there ever was much magic. I think he just wants me because I'm so young and pretty.'
‘Those are not bad things to be,' said Jo, wishing she herself was above wanting to be those things. 'And he wouldn't have done more than take you out to dinner if you were only that.'
