The Royal Handmaid

by Gilbert, Morris

  He turned abruptly and walked by her, heading toward the bow of the ship. She watched him, her face pale, and angry words coming to her lips. She saw him sit down beside Shep Riggs and begin a conversation as though nothing had happened. As for her, she found that her hands were shaking, and her knees were not quite steady. She wanted to follow him and continue the argument, but she knew she had nothing to say that could answer the light that glowed from his face. She hastened down to her cabin and shut the door.

  ****

  Maggie Smith came out on deck to flee the galley, where Oscar was letting her try some of his dessert creations. She had always loved to eat, especially desserts, and she had carried on a running battle for years against the accumulating pounds. For a time she had bought clothes much too tight until she discovered that the looser her clothes, the less her overweight figure would be revealed. Now she wore a loose pale gray dress and a light cotton jacket. Her hair was tied back with a ribbon, and she forced the thought of sugary treats out of her mind.

  “Hello, Miss Maggie.”

  Quickly turning, Margaret saw Shep Riggs making his way along the deck carrying a coil of rope in his hand.

  “Hello, Shep.”

  “Enjoying the sunset? We’ll get into port by morning.” He stopped beside her and pointed ahead. “Hawaii ought to be right over there somewhere.”

  “Have you been there before?”

  “Oh sure. The boss has brought the ship down three times. The crew likes it.”

  “What about you?” Maggie asked.

  “Oh, it’s all right.”

  “Where are you from, Shep? Where’s your home?”

  “Louisiana. Baton Rouge. Sure do miss that place.”

  Maggie was interested in Riggs. He was always cheerful, and there was something about him that set him apart from the rest of the crew. He wore no hat, so the wind tumbled his wavy black hair, and there was warmth in his deep-set brown eyes. He was tan like all of the crew, and she admired his tight-fitting white T-shirt. It outlined his muscles, and Maggie couldn’t help envying his fit physique. She continued to question him about his past and found out that he was raised by an uncle and aunt in Baton Rouge.

  “My uncle was a shrimper, but he was a preacher too. I used to go with him over to New Orleans. He would get out on the street corner right in the French Quarter,” Shep said, grinning. “He would just stand there preaching. He wasn’t a shouter or a hollerer. He just stood talking as calm as I am to you.”

  “Did anybody stop and listen?”

  “Sometimes they did. I seen one time a . . .” He hesitated and then cast an odd look at her. “I’d seen a woman of the street come outta one of them bad places in the Quarter. She was half drunk, and you could tell she was on the very bottom. I think I must have been no more’n fifteen at the time. She stopped and began to cuss my uncle out. She knew words I’d never heard before.” Shep grinned again.

  “What happened?”

  “Well, Uncle Paul, he just kept on talkin’ about Jesus, and the first thing I knew this woman started crying right there in the middle of the street. Just fell all to pieces, and my uncle went over and took her hand and prayed for her right there in the street.”

  “Do you know what happened to her?”

  “Reckon I do. He took her home with us.”

  “A prostitute! He took her to your home?”

  “Sure did, and my aunt Mae, she took her right in. She got cleaned up, was baptized the next Sunday, and never missed a step after that. Married a fine fellow, a plumber. Last I heard they had seven kids—all of ’em on the straight and narrow.”

  Maggie’s eyes were wide. “That’s a wonderful story! I’ve never had anything like that happen to me.”

  “Well, me neither, but it did to Uncle Paul lots of times. But I guess you bein’ a missionary and all, you’ll be doin’ the same thing.”

  Maggie shook her head and bit her lip. “I can’t imagine doing a thing like that.”

  “Why not?” Shep asked curiously. “That’s what preachers do, isn’t it?”

  “Some of them just stay in a church, and I’m not even that kind of a minister. I just taught girls Sunday school. That’s about all I’ve ever done.”

  “Well, there’ll be plenty of girls there.” Shep studied her for a moment. “I’m surprised you’re not married.”

  Startled, Maggie looked up and saw that he was watching her with an even gaze. At first she thought he was making fun at her, and then the words seemed to just leap out of her. “Men don’t want to marry a fat woman.”

  “Why, I never thought of you as bein’ exactly fat,” Shep said with surprise. “You’re heavier than most women—”

  “I’m fat, Shep. I eat too much.”

  Shep Riggs was unable to speak for a moment. He let the rope drop, then coiled it again while he tried to find the right words.

  “Well, I don’t know about all that. To me it’s not what a woman is on the outside, it’s what she is on the inside.”

  “Men want pretty, slender wives, Shep.” Maggie tried to look at him but couldn’t bear the compassion in his expression. She turned and walked away stiffly, unable to speak another word without bursting into tears.

  Riggs watched as she disappeared down the stairs. “She sure is touchy,” he muttered. “And she’s a right pretty woman too. If she feels so bad about it, I don’t see why she don’t just lose a few pounds.” He struggled with her problem for a moment and then shrugged. “I guess we’ve all got our problems.”

  ****

  The Mary Anne pulled into the harbor at Hilo on the big island of Hawaii with every passenger and crew member up on deck. Rena caught her breath as she looked up at the soaring volcanic mountains, the highest of which she knew rose to nearly fourteen thousand feet above the sea. As the captain guided the ship into place at the dock and the crew swarmed to tie the craft down, Rena was anxious to get on shore. She turned to Dalton and smiled. “Well, we’re halfway home.”

  Dalton turned and grinned at her. “You’re calling the islands home already? It’ll take me a little longer than that. San Francisco is still home to me.”

  “Of course. To me too. I’m just trying to get used to the idea. Well, let’s get organized here.”

  Dalton laughed. “You have to organize everything, Rena. I hate to think how you’ll organize me after we’re married.”

  “You’re organized enough,” Rena said, smiling. She called out for everyone to gather around, then told them, “We’re all going ashore. I want us to stick together.”

  Captain Barkley waited until she was through with her instructions, then said, “You’d better get your shopping done quick. I’d like to pull out first thing in the morning.”

  A mutter of protest went up, and Dalton said, “Look, Captain, we may not have another chance to see Hawaii for a long time. I think we ought to stay here for a few days.”

  “The weather’s pretty iffy, Mr. Welborne. I think we ought to leave as quickly as we can.”

  Rena interjected, “I do want to stay at least two or three days, Captain. I’m sure the weather will hold out.”

  Captain Barkley stared at her and appeared almost ready to challenge her but then shrugged. “All right. Two days. Then we have to leave.”

  Maggie was standing next to Professor Dekker. “Isn’t this exciting, Professor?”

  “I suppose it is”—he turned and smiled—”for you young folks. Personally, I don’t intend to do much shopping.”

  “Oh, I don’t either, but the others probably will.”

  They were joined then by the Townsends. Abigail still looked pale, and Maggie asked, “How are you feeling, Abby?”

  “I’m still feeling sick, but I hope I’ll be better when I get on dry land.”

  The professor lifted one eyebrow. “We still have a long way to go. Maybe we could find a doctor to prescribe something for that seasickness. Benson might be able to suggest something.”

  “I think I’ll go ask
him.” While the others left to get ready to leave the ship, Abigail went to find Karl Benson and asked, “Karl, is there a drug you could recommend for this seasickness? Maybe we could get a doctor’s prescription while we’re here.”

  Karl turned to study Abigail with a critical eye. “I’m not so sure that it is seasickness.”

  “Oh, but it must be. I was all right when I first got on the ship.”

  “I think you might consider another possibility.”

  “Another possibility? What do you mean?”

  “You may be pregnant.”

  Abigail stared at Karl, thinking he must not know what he was talking about. “I’m sure you’re wrong. I can’t be!”

  Benson smiled humorously. “You can be if you are,” he said. “If I were you, I’d see a doctor while we’re here in Hawaii. Have him check you over.”

  “Couldn’t you do that?”

  “I’ve told everybody a hundred times, I’m not in practice and never was. I didn’t finish medical school, remember?”

  She muttered under her breath and walked away.

  Benson stood looking after her, shaking his head at her stubbornness to accept the obvious. He spotted Travis standing at the rail and went over to him. “Shall we go ashore, Winslow?”

  “I’m not much on this kind of thing. I saw enough clowns when I was in the circus.”

  “I suppose that does get boring, but I’d like to see some of the fauna here.”

  “What’s that?”

  “The flowers.”

  “There seem to be plenty of those. Just look at them all over that hillside.” Travis hesitated, then asked, “I saw you talking with Mrs. Townsend. Is she all right?”

  Everyone on board had been concerned about Abigail being sick for so long, and now Karl said cautiously, “Keep it to yourself, Travis, but I think she’s expecting a baby.”

  “Did you tell her that?”

  “Yes, and I told her to go see a doctor.”

  “But you’re as good as one.”

  Benson laughed harshly. “I know enough to be dangerous, Winslow! As far as you’re all concerned, I’m just a missionary. C’mon. Let’s go do some exploring.”

  ****

  For two days the Mary Anne rested quietly in the harbor while the passengers explored the Big Island. Some stayed and rested on the beaches, while the more adventurous hiked up Mauna Loa for magnificent views of the island and ocean. Others kept busy shopping for souvenirs in the port city of Hilo. Most of the crew availed themselves of the local bars and came staggering back each night drunk—all except Riggs. Captain Barkley made no comment on this. He was an exacting commander at sea, but when his crew had shore liberty, he thought what they did with it was their own business.

  While in Hawaii Captain Barkley added a member to his crew—a small native named Chipoa. Travis was standing at the rail looking at the shoreline when Barkley came aboard and introduced him. “This is Chipoa, but we call him Chip. He’s island born and wants a vacation, so he’ll be Oscar’s helper. He’s a good man with the sails, and he knows the islands like the back of his hand. Chip, this is Mr. Travis Winslow. He’s a preacher, so you two should hit it off fine.”

  “You’re a preacher? Fine! You can preach to me.” Despite his small size, Chip was lean and well muscled. His skin was golden and his eyes large and alert. “I became a Christian three years ago. Not too good of one, though.”

  “I’m sure you are, Chip,” Travis said, smiling. “I’ll want to hear all about how you got saved.”

  “I’ll tell you the short version right now! Jesus God, He came to me in a dream and told me to let Him in. I said, ‘Sure, you can come in.’ ” Chip smiled broadly. “The next Sunday I went and found a church and got baptized. I’m very happy now. I was very bad before. Your turn. Do you want to preach at me now?”

  “Don’t know about that, but I want some details about how Jesus came to you.”

  “Chip is a good sailor,” Captain Barkley said, “but he gets on the nerves of the crew a little. He made a voyage with me once and tried to get all the crew saved. I had to keep them from chucking him overboard.”

  “Come with me, Chip,” Travis said. “Do you speak Malay?”

  “Sure, a little bit.”

  “Good. We can use another teacher for the language. Come on and I’ll introduce you to the others.”

  “Watch out for him, Travis,” Captain Barkley said, grinning. “Don’t let Novak or Olsen throw him overboard.”

  “I’ll keep a hold of him, Captain!”

  ****

  A two-day layover in Hawaii was not enough for Rena. She told the captain in no uncertain terms they would stay at least two more days, and despite Barkley’s grim warnings about the weather, she merely laughed. “Look at that sky. It’s perfect weather.”

  On the fourth day Travis, Meredith, Pete, Lanie, Maggie, and Shep decided to stay on the ship to study the language. Shep had taken an interest in the language and had started taking advantage of Meredith’s lessons when he wasn’t on duty. After they had studied all morning and had lunch, Travis said, “Say, is anyone up for a little fishing?”

  “Sounds like fun to me,” Shep answered, and the rest of the group agreed. “We’ll have to get the captain’s permission to use the cutter,” Shep added.

  Captain Barkley gave his permission gladly, and after putting on their old clothes, they got into the small boat and Shep raised the sail. The small craft spun over the water, and Shep superintended the fishing lines. They had good luck, and soon the bottom of the cutter was filled with exotic fish.

  “Mmm—fresh fish tonight!” Shep said.

  “I’ve never caught a fish before,” Maggie said, her face glowing with excitement. For once she seemed uninhibited.

  “Have you ever cleaned any?” Shep asked with a grin. “Somebody’s got to clean all these.”

  “I can do it,” Travis said, and with a wink to Shep he added, “and you all can help me!”

  The afternoon passed quickly, and the sun was dropping toward the west when Shep suggested, “Maybe we ought to go along the shore and see if we can pick up anything there.”

  No one was ready to go back to the ship, so they agreed to Shep’s plan. As they were nearing the shore, an unexpected wave caught the cutter and spilled them all out. Travis went under briefly and bobbed up to find that Meredith was still under. The water was not deep and was crystal clear, so he was able to grab her easily and pull her up. “Are you all right?” he asked.

  Meredith shoved her hair back and coughed but managed a grin. “I just swallowed a little water is all.”

  “It won’t hurt you,” Travis said. He turned and saw that Pete had rescued Maggie, who had been rolled over by the surf, and pulled her to her feet. He laughed and said, “We’re a sorry bunch of fishermen. Shep, you’re fired!”

  Shep was struggling to get to the boat. He caught it and said, “I’ll tell you what. If you like, we can cook the fish here. I brought a frying pan, and it’s still here,” he said, lifting the pan for all to see, “and there’s plenty of driftwood.”

  “Oh, let’s do!” Meredith cried at once. “That would be so much fun.”

  “It’ll be dark soon,” Travis said, glancing at the sky.

  “We don’t have anywhere to go,” Maggie said. “I’d love it.”

  ****

  The surf washed a soothing, caressing sound over the four that sat quietly on the beach. Lanie was sitting across the fire from Pete and said, “I never ate so much fish in all my life.”

  “Nothing like fresh fried fish on a beach in Hawaii!” He looked farther down the shoreline, where Meredith and Travis were walking along in the light of the rising moon.

  The two had been silent for some time, but then Meredith began to talk in an animated fashion. She turned to him, and her curly hair had dried out and now made a mass of ringlets around her face. “Most women would give anything to have naturally curly hair like that,” Travis said. “It must save a
lot of bills at the beauty parlor.”

  “I thought about trying to straighten it once.”

  “Why would you want to do that?”

  “Oh, I suppose because no one’s happy about what they look like.”

  “Why, I am!”

  “Oh, you’re so handsome you don’t want to change anything?”

  Travis laughed. “No, not that. I just don’t think about it much.”

  “Tell me some more about your days with the circus.”

  “I wish you could meet my sister Joy and her husband.” He told Meredith about Joy’s career as an animal trainer and said, “I worry about her sometimes. Those big cats can nab you before you know it. Of course she knows that better than anybody. It wasn’t all that many years ago that she was attacked by a tiger that got out of its cage.”

  “That’s awful,” Meredith expressed. “And she still works with lions and tigers? She must be quite a woman.”

  They moved on down the beach and heard Shep calling. Travis said, “We’d better get back to the ship. The captain will have my head.”

  “I suppose you’re right,” Meredith said. “But it’s been fun, Travis.”

  They rejoined the others and climbed into the cutter. They headed back to the ship, laughing and rehashing their day. Shep held the boat still as they all went up the ladder, and then Travis saw that Dalton was standing waiting for them.

  “Where have you been?” Dalton demanded. “We’ve all been worried sick about you.”

  “We just went fishing,” Maggie said quickly. “We had such fun. Why, we even cooked—”

  Rena appeared and interrupted her. “This is pathetic!” she cried. “You’ve had us all worried sick—and just look at you!”

  “The boat overturned,” Travis explained. “We got a little wet and wrinkled but no harm done.”

  Rena shook her head. “You should have had better sense.”