Adultery on the High Seas

'I'm off to find a last drink in the lounge and then go to bed, so I'll leave you two love-birds in peace!' she exclaimed archly, giving Jane a final wink as she left. The gloom hid the sudden blush that came to Jane's cheeks at her incorrigible friend's presumption, but she made no protest as Brian took her arm and led her towards the ladder that led up to the boat deck.

Keeping away from the few other hardy souls who were already there, her escort found the shelter of the davit and leaned on the rail.

'This will keep some of the wind off us', he said. 'Are you sure you're not too cold?'

Jane hugged the stole about her more tightly. 'No, I'm fine,' she lied, determined not to be driven from the company of such an attractive man by a mere sea-breeze.

They stood talking for a long time, each probing the other to learn more about themselves. Having already noticed that he wore no ring, she was itching to discover whether or not he was married, but was reluctant to actually pop the question. However, after a long exchange about their childhood, schooling and jobs, Brian suddenly said, 'Heidi told me that you are married to an intelligence officer, is that right?'

Slightly taken aback, she nodded. 'Yes, for three years, but no children. What about you?'

' I'm married right enough,' he replied rather abruptly, then suddenly changed the subject. Pointing towards the shore, he exclaimed 'Look, see that flash, that must be a light-house on the coast!'

It was an obvious evasion and she knew he didn't want to pursue the subject, so she returned to their former small-talk for a while.

There was a sudden gust of wind and in spite of her previous denial, she momentarily shivered. Immediately she felt a strong arm around her shoulders, pulling her towards the solidity of his large body.

'You are cold after all!' he said accusingly.' We'd better go back inside.'

'No I'm fine, let's stay a few more minutes. You're big enough to make a perfect wind-break!' She snuggled up against his side and felt his arm tighten around her. No way was she going to let the English Channel deprive her of a cuddle from this lovely man.

'I was dreading the boredom of this voyage,' he said, bending so that his face was almost touching Jane's hair, as he was a head taller than her. 'But now having met you, I don't want it to end,.'

She felt the cold suddenly replaced with a warm glow - and to her delicious consternation, it seemed to concentrate itself in the more secret places of her body.

'This reminds me of that Ella Fitzgerald song - "I'd like to get you on a slow boat to China!'' she whispered. 'A pity we're both not going all the way.'

She felt an even harder squeeze around her shoulders.

'Maybe we will be going all the way,' he murmured enigmatically.

*****

Next day, the Empire Avon knuckled down to work as she steamed at sixteen knots across the Bay of Biscay, for once as calm as a millpond. The infantry officers spent much of the day below, sorting out their troops' accommodation and going through the bureaucratic military rituals beloved of every army. All officers had to be in uniform until after lunchtime, when they could wear casual dress until the evening, when jacket and tie were required at dinner.

Jane answered a call for volunteers to act as teachers for the smaller children and acquired a handful of seven year-olds to look after for a couple of hours each morning. She saw no sign of Brian Wolfe until lunch, when he came in late and had to find a seat at another table. However, he came across to her afterwards to say he was obliged to spend much of the day down on the troop-decks, but would see her that evening.

Feeling strangely alone, she found a deck-chair on the promenade deck and took out a book borrowed from the library shelves in the lounge. Before she had opened the first page, the vivacious Heidi appeared and settled herself in the next chair.

'Where's your lover-boy, Jane? Haven't chucked him already, have you?'

'No, he's playing soldiers down below, but he says he'll be up for dinner.'

'We'd better 'glam up' a bit for that,' said Heidi. 'Last night wasn't typical, but this evening we'll almost certainly get some music and dancing after the meal.'

Jane had noticed that in the large 'Smoking Room' next to the main lounge, was a record-player set up near the small bar. The commandant frowned upon any excessive drinking and at lunchtime, only beer was provided by the stewards, but at night, the most popular tipple was gin-and-tonic, which suited Jane fine, as she hated the taste of whisky. Many of the other ladies seemed to favour Pimm's Number One, which to Jane was just another way of eating fruit!

Heidi was keen to hear from her friend how her late-night promenade had gone the previous evening, as she had been asleep by the time Jane had come back to the cabin.

'It was nice, we had a nice long talk and watched the coast slipping away,' said Jane, guardedly.

Heidi sounded scandalised. 'A nice talk, indeed! Didn't he try seducing you, for goodness sake?'

'Of course not! He put his arm around me when it got cold, that's all.'

'Well, that's a start, I suppose,' said Heidi grudgingly.' But you'd better get a move on, Mombasa's only a fortnight away - you need to egg him on a bit tonight!'

Jane rolled her eyes at her room-mate for her one-track mind, but privately hoped that things might progress later. Almost immediately, the little devil of conscience that sat on her shoulder gave her a prod with his fork, reminding her that she had a husband waiting at the end of the voyage.

Dinner that evening was certainly a more formal event than on the night they had sailed. Most of men were either in uniform or in light suits with regimental ties and the ladies were in their best dresses. Heidi looked exotic in slinky red, while Jane again turned many heads by appearing in a Chinese-style dress of green brocade with a high collar and a skirt slit on each side, again sent by her husband from Singapore.

Brian again arrived too late to find a seat at their table, as so many of the younger officers had been attracted to it like iron filings to a magnet. However, Jane quite enjoyed the intense attention she received from these animated young men, all of whom appeared intent on dancing with her after the meal. There were a few frosty looks from a couple of the older wives, who apparently felt that married women should not flirt, but generally the matrons were quite happy to see the younger set enjoying themselves.

As Heidi had predicted, after dinner many of them adjourned to the Smoking Room and before long, the radiogram was fully employed in churning out dance music -- everything from Bill Haley's rock-and-roll to sentimental Sinatra.

Heidi staked a claim to one of the tables set around the edge of the room, while Brian ordered a round of 'G&T's[ from a steward. A couple of his fellow officers joined their group and soon the gin and general festive atmosphere loosened them all up. As always, Heidi was the life and soul of the party, and soon she was dragging off men in rotation to perform on the dance floor. Brian shifted into to her seat next to Jane and apologised for his absence for most of the day.

'All sorts of problems to sort out, I'm afraid. It's a different world down below, almost a thousand chaps crammed in there. If they knew how well we lived up here, there'd be a mutiny!'

As soon as Heidi came back to refuel with more gin, Brian stood up and held out his hands to Jane. 'Come on, I've been waiting for this all day.!'

They went on to the floor and to Nat King Cole's 'Mona Lisa', glided around to the romantic melody, Brian proving his love of dancing by his faultless performance for such a big man. Jane was entranced, not only by the dancing, which she loved, but by the feel of his body against her. She had on her highest heels which helped to reduce the difference in their height, but her face was still only just level with his chin.

When the LP record began more smoochy music, they hardly spoke as they moved expertly around the floor, each being more than content with the sensation of the other's body so close against them. She revelled in the feel of his powerful arms and he was entranced by the delicious pressure of her breasts through the silk of her dress,

For her part, Jane was increasingly conscious of another pressure lower down her body from his growing erection. The devil on her shoulder was becoming frantic, but she resolutely ignored it, lying to herself that this would be as far as it would go, and that when they went back to their table, she would refuse any more gin, as from past experience, she knew that alcohol rapidly paralysed her inhibitions. However, when the record ended and they went to sit down, another fresh G&T was waiting for her.

'That's from Lionel, who's dying to meet you, Jane,' announced Heidi archly, waving a hand across the table to where two ship's officers now sat. One was her bearded purser friend, Roger, whom Jane had met earlier, the other was a tall, lean man, extremely handsome in a craggy sort of way. Jane immediately felt a jolt of interest, especially as she was so attracted to his blue and gold uniform. The two stripes and purple band on each sleeve marked him as an engineering officer.

The newcomer stood up and gravely shook hands across the table.

'I've been looking forward so much to meeting you, Jane,' he said in a voice with a slight Scottish lilt.. 'I'm Lionel Galbraith, one of the slaves from down below who keeps this old hulk moving!'

She hardly registered the words, as his grey eyes bored into hers, mesmerising her like a rabbit caught in headlights. Apart from his hair, which was dark blonde waved back from his forehead, she thought he was the image of Charles Heston, one of her favourite Hollywood heart-throbs.

He raised his glass of beer to toast her. 'Here's to the prettiest red-head that's ever set foot on this ship!'. He was careful to be diplomatic, as Heidi was a brunette.

All the others responded willingly, even Brian who did not seem put out by the arrival of a potential rival. Forgetting her recent vow, Jane downed half of her new drink, feeling the glow of the gin as it flowed into her system.

'Thank you, kind sir!' she replied, giving Lionel a full blast of her own lovely eyes. 'Though I'm sure you say that to all the girls!'

'Only the red-heads!' answered the suave engineer. 'I've got a different line of patter for the blondes!'

The ice was well and truly broken and for the duration of the next, more vigorous record, the group chatted amicably. Several other officers came and asked the two women to dance, but both sweetly declined, using the truthful excuse that their tight dresses would not allow them to jive or rock-and-roll.

'I'm going to wear a full skirt tomorrow night,' whispered Jane to Heidi, 'Even with these slits in this cheongsam, I couldn't kick up a leg to save my life!'

However, the next record was a mixture of waltzes, fox-trots and 'cling-together' music. Brian claimed her again, much to her delight, though she did give a rather longing look at Lionel Galbraith, who had stolen Heidi from the assistant purser and was leading her onto the dance floor.

Once again, they danced as if welded together face-to-face and again Jane savoured the feel of Brian's body, from the touch of his hands to the pressure of his pelvis. They stayed on the floor for the next long record, both reluctant to give up the sensuous pleasure that they were enjoying. Jane decided that perhaps Heidi was right about making the most of this voyage and, ignoring her conscience for a while, she happily accepted the fact that she was thoroughly enjoying this unexpected resurgence of her libido.

Eventually they went back to their table, where yet another refill for her glass had appeared. Heidi was now dancing with Roger and Lionel had just come back after partnering a handsome Queen Alexandra nurse from a nearby table.

'Jane, the next dance is mine, I hope?' he suggested, in that Scottish growl that she found so attractive. In a few moments - and half a glass of gin -- later, she was in his arms for a whole series of Pat Boone love songs.

'I'm afraid I'm not such a smooth performer as Brian Wolfe,' he murmured in her ear, as Pat crooned about 'Love Letters in the Sand'. 'But I love holding you while you dance!'

Possibly the gin contributed, but she felt a trembling sensation as he held her tightly. Though he was much slimmer than Brian's big body, he had a sinuous grasp and managed to slide his body against hers as they rocked together . He was right about not being such a proficient dancer as the expert soldier, but she loved it, especially as he murmured compliments into her ear for much of the time, telling her how she was already the talk of the ship's officers as being the most attractive passenger they had had for years.

The rest of the evening passed in a haze, even though she managed to keep to only one more gin, in spite of the exhortations of the other junior officers. She danced with several of them, nice lads all, but none having the same effect on her as Brian and Lionel.

When she came back to the table, the Second Engineer had vanished, Roger explaining that he had to leave to get ready for his next watch in the engine room. After two more huggings around the dance floor with Brian, Heidi directed Roger to partner Jane, as she had been monopolising the purser all evening. Jane found him to be another excellent dancer, agile and light on his feet. He was slightly shorter than her other partners and with her high heels, she found herself level with his face - and sometimes, perhaps too near his lips, for he was another attractive man with his twinkling eyes and piratical Errol Flynn beard.

Eleven o'clock was the deadline for the music, as the sounds carried too easily around the accommodation. The lounge and bar stayed open, but many began to drift away either to bed or to the promenade deck outside or the boat deck above.

'What about a stroll, Jane, the moon's up,' suggested Brian artlessly. As they rose to go out through the wide doors to the deck outside, Heidi took her arm and whispered conspiratorially.

'Remember what I told you - time is flying by, so make the most of it!' She lowered her voice even more. 'And look, can you stay on deck with your lover boy for a bit, I need at least an hour in the cabin?'

She gave one of her roguish winks and hurried away after Roger.

'What was all that about? ' asked Brian as they reached the rail outside.

'Just Heidi up to something,' she replied evasively, not wanting to say anything scandalous about her friend,

Brian grinned. 'I can guess what she's up to - and good luck to her.'

Jane was a little surprised at him having such a broad-minded attitude, but said nothing.

'Let's go over to the starboard side, we can see the moon from there,' he suggested.

'You're getting very nautical for a soldier,' she giggled, rather nervously, the gin still working its wonders in her brain. He put her arm through his, then walked her down to the end of the promenade deck and around to the other side, where there were quite few people leaning on the rail, looking at a full moon sliding down towards a darkened horizon

'Too many folk here, let's go up to the boat deck again,' he said masterfully.

They found a place similar to the previous evening, sheltered behind a davit. Leaning on the varnished rail, they looked out at the calm sea where a silvery path of moonlight shimmered towards them, disturbed only by the bubbling bow wave as it passed below them.

'It's beautiful, I can hardly believe this is happening to me,' she breathed. ' A few days ago, I was living in a London suburb, now I'm on the Atlantic in the moonlight, standing next to a dashing young officer.'

'I don't know about the 'dashing' part,' he said softly. 'But he's certainly a smitten young officer.'

He put his arm about her and pulled her close to his chest.

'I'll remember this moment for the rest of my life,' he whispered. 'I can see the moonlight reflected in your beautiful eyes and I think I'm falling in love with you.'

She tensed, then subsided against him as his other arm came around her waist.

'Brian, don't be silly! You've only known me since yesterday - and you're married and I'm married.'

'I fell in love with you the moment I saw you,' he said obstinately. 'You're the most attractive woman I've ever seen.'

She sighed, but slid an arm around his chest, resting her head against him. 'What about your wife -- and my husband. I'm very fond of him, you know, he's a good man.'

To avoid answering these difficult questions, he bent his head and kissed her on the lips. She drew back her head and looked into his face.

'This is crazy, Brian,' she murmured, then put both arms around his neck and raising herself on her toes, returned his kiss with passion.

Her lips parted and they kissed open-mouthed for a long moment, then the tip of her tongue caressed his lips before sliding into his mouth to seek his own tongue.

It had been years since she had done any 'necking' like this, but in her late 'teens and early twenties, she had had a great social life and was no stranger to smooching and even heavy petting. However, she had remained 'virgo intacta' until she was twenty-one, about two years before her marriage.

She had lost her virginity when she was on a cosmetics course in Paris at the headquarters of her company. After a very alcoholic final dinner, a dashing forty-year-old manager had persuaded her to spend the night in his hotel room, an experience she enjoyed very much, apart from the hang-over next morning. Six months later, an almost identical situation had occurred in London after a sales conference, when she had succumbed to the blandishments of an American director, again a night to be remembered. Neither of those men had expressed any love for her, just ardent admiration and carnal lust.

Since marrying Peter, who was ten years her senior, she had remained faithful, though becoming increasingly bored with his lack-lustre interest in sex, mainly due to pressure of police work. She loved him, as he was a nice, kind, generous and intelligent man, but she often yearned for some excitement in life -- and according to Heidi's philosophy, this was the only time she was likely to get any.

After this long and erotic kiss, they drew apart and she studied his face in the moonlight.

'We shouldn't have done that, Brian, it can lead nowhere. In less that two weeks, we shall go our different ways, and never meet again.'

He pulled her to him again, gently kissing her ears and her eyes.

'You'll be back in England in a year and for all I know, I might soon be posted home, depending on what happens in Kenya,' he replied stubbornly.

She shook her head. 'Let's just enjoy this shipboard romance! Heidi was right, it will soon be over, so let's make the most of it. I like you very much, Brian - but let's not start talking about divorce and marriage, eh?'

To stop him persisting with the subject, she raised herself on her heels and fastened her lips on his, where they stayed, with pauses for breathing and murmured endearments, for the better part of the next hour.

*****

It was almost midnight when Jane went back to her cabin. She listened at the door, but hearing nothing, went inside. Heidi was on her bunk in pyjamas and looked up with a contented smile as Jane entered. Looking at her friend's rumpled bedclothes and tousled hair, she did not need to ask what had been going on in her absence.

'Hi, Jane - and how did lover boy perform tonight? Any progress?' enquired Heidi, stretching luxuriously.