Chapter 2

 That evening, Helena noticed that Mrs.Swan was not amongst the diners in the first class restaurant. She retired to the smoking room after her meal where she delicately sipped her Martini whilst reading her Ian Fleming, and she was just about to return to her berth for the night when Mrs.Swan swept in through the crystal glass doors at the opposite end of the room. As ever, a dozen or so heads turned and eager eyes looked furtively in her direction. She smiled down at Helena as she coasted by her, her mink stole brushing her arm, leaving the scent of Chanel hanging in the air. She kept walking until she reached the ostentatious glass doors that led out onto the deck and there she turned around and winked provocatively at Helena in view of the whole room, Helena quickly looked down at her book, reeling in embarrassment. As soon as it was safe once more, she looked up to see Mrs.Swan outside, standing by the rail and staring as if into the cold blackness of the night.

 From where she stood, Mrs.Swan could see the lower deck and standing there forlornly was the broken hearted young man, palely illuminated in the dim light, also apparently staring out into the dark night. She set off down the stairway that separated the two classes of passenger. She walked over to him and took out a cigarette.

 “Light honey?” she purred in his ear. He didn’t look round; his eyes were fixed on the cold blackness beyond the side of the ship. He had a sad but pleasant face; his eyes were filled with pain and resignation. “Before you do what you’re going to do” she said “A light, if you please?” Now he looked round at her, as if summoned from a trance. “Oh, sorry” he mumbled as he clumsily searched his jacket pockets. He pulled out a box of matches with trembling fingers. He lit a match and held it up to her face. She studied him for a couple of seconds, her lips parted slightly in readiness for the cigarette, the warm glow of the flame illuminating the insides of her mouth. Eventually the cigarette was lit, she slowly inhaled before sending a cloud of smoke high up into the night air.

 “You know honey” she said, “I once knew a guy who decided to jump into the East River off East 99th Street. Don’t ask me why, but that’s what he did. Well, the moment he hit the water he went and changed his mind, wanted to get out again. Lucky for him there were people around who could hear him hollering and screaming, so they threw him a lifebelt.” The broken hearted man stared disinterestedly into the night. “He said afterwards that the water was so cold, it was like being stabbed a thousand times by a thousand needles of frozen steel.” She took another drag of her cigarette and blew the smoke out to the sea. “Not a great way to go, huh?” She held out a gloved hand to him. “Elizabeth Swan, I’m pleased to make your aquantence.”

 The man now turned to look at her. “David Small” he said purely out of politeness, in a quiet monotone voice, shaking her hand quite pathetically.

He looked at her face properly for the first time; she was astonishingly beautiful, she wore a veil over her eyes, her auburn hair cascaded like a river over her shoulders. She was wearing a grey fur stole over a red satin dress. Her lips glowed crimson in the pale light, and her neck; it was long almost to the point of deformity. Two diamond earrings hung like lanterns above it.

 “Well you know David; if I’d have wanted to do away with myself I think I’d have chosen somewhere a little warmer than the East River to jump into, wouldn’t you say? She left her lips slightly apart and let him glance down at them. She took a step closer and whispered “Someone break your heart David?”

 “Look, miss.” He turned to face the blackness again. “Yes, I do intend to end my life and it’s very noble of you to want to stop me, but ….”

 She interrupted him with a polite laugh. “David” she said “I’m not trying to stop you; I’m trying to help you!”

 He frowned. “What do you mean?”

 “Let me tell you a little secret, I’m attracted to men with broken hearts. Let’s just say, I’ve developed a taste for them.”

 He looked into her eyes for a clue as to what she meant. She raised a hand up to the back of his head and gently stroked it and then arched her long neck forward and whispered something in his ear.

 Meanwhile, Helena had furtively stepped out onto the upper deck to see where Mrs.Swan had gone to. She looked down from the shadows as Mrs.Swan all but draped herself over the young man below. Bitch she thought. She’s been giving me the eye all this time and now she’s making out with some oik from the lower decks. It’s disgusting!

 She could see the man’s face as Mrs.Swan leant forward and whispered to him. His eyes were opened wide, as if he was hearing of some terrible dark secret. Then curiously, she moved round to face him, took the sides of his head in her hands and slowly opened her mouth right in front of his eyes, making him look inside for what seemed like eternity. He remained motionless, it was as if she’d put him in some kind of hypnotic trance. What on God’s earth is she doing?  Thought Helena. It crossed her mind that maybe he was a dentist or something. Suddenly, Mrs.Swan let him go and turned to walk away. “I’ll leave you to ponder shall I David?” She said, her voice loud enough for Helena to hear, as she marched back towards the stairway that led to the upper deck.

 Helena quickly scurried back into the lounge, resumed her seat and pretended to read her Ian Fleming. Seconds later Mrs Swan came striding in through the same doors. “A fine evening Lady Helena. Weren’t the stars lovely?” She announced as she breezed past her on her way towards the huge crystal glass doors at the other end of the lounge through which she then disappeared. Helena didn’t dare look up, aware that every eye in the room was looking at her. She hoped the floor would swallow her up.

 Several minutes later, just as she’d decided it would be safe to get up and return to her berth, a waiter appeared next to her and handed her a crisp white envelope with her name written elegantly across it. Inside was a visiting card which read:

 Dear Lady Helena

 Please join me later for refreshments in my suite. I’ll expect you at 11.45.

 Compliments of Mrs. Elizabeth Swan

Berth 7  

 Her heart quickened. She glanced at her watch, it was still only five to ten. Trying to maintain an air of calmness, she got up and returned to her cabin.