Archer's Lane Case 01 Ch. 05

"Frau Archer, Frau Lane." The steward tapped his cap and bowed deep while the baggage porters were already busy carrying the suitcases across the gangway. "You've already been announced, so welcome on board of the Albert Ballin." Kathleen just smiled and gave Eliza a meaningful look. They were both tired from the long train trip, but seeing this proud ocean liner made up for it.

Eliza was especially excited. This was her first long distance trip since she came to the German Reich four years ago, and the prospect of going all the way to America made her almost giddy. She didn't know how she was supposed to act, and she didn't quite care, just breathing in the new experiences with every breath she was taking. The gangway, which swayed lightly under her steps, the ropes, which served as a railing, the gurgling of the harbour water, screeching of the seagulls, the many voices and all the busy people around her. The smell of salt and sea, which she knew from her homeland and had almost forgot about how much she missed it.

The moustached man finally led them up the gangway, when something at the shore caught her attention. Gently she poked her boss in front of her. "What's going on over there?" she asked in a hushed voice.

Kathleen followed her look to a crowd that had gathered down at the pier and shrugged. "That's the second and third class, they go aboard from there," she said laconically.

Eliza tried to get a better view of the people down there. They looked even more exhausted than she did, many of them malnourished and some of them wore just rags. If things had been different, it would be her standing down there, she thought. Down there, hoping for a better life in America, to find a job, to escape poverty, maybe meet a husband, marry...

She tore herself away from the view and looked back to her boss, who had almost reached the deck. Eliza hurried up to catch up with her. How did she end up here? What kind of strange turn had her life taken?

They arrived at a nicely engraved door at the upper end of the deck, which the steward opened for them. A luxurious sleeping cabin spread out behind it, expensively furnished with valuable carpets, tapestries and lanterns. "Oh how pretty!" Eliza exclaimed and entered to have a look around. "Is this here our bedroom?" she asked excited.

Kathleen cleared her throat while the steward eyed her dumbfounded. "This is Frau Archer's cabin," he answered dryly. "Yours is right next to it."

"Oh," Eliza replied embarrassed. "Of course."

The steward gave her a disparaging look and Kathleen had to hide a grin when he led her to the next cabin which was just as lush and luxurious as Kathleen's. "Meals are at 6 AM, 12 AM and 6 PM, at 3 PM tea is being served and at 12 PM there's a midnight snack. You're invited to join the captain at his table."

He left them, a little too brusque and Eliza finally had a good look around, while her luggage was being brought in. She didn't pack much, since she owned almost nothing worth packing. Clothes, a few toiletries, her typewriter and a stack of manuscripts to keep busy during the trip.

Finally she sat on the bed and folded her hands. The cabin seemed much too large for her, almost larger than the room she had inhabited just a short time ago. Reverently, she ran her fingers across the bedsheets and the dark, polished wood. Everything here seemed luxurious and much too expensive for a simple office help like her.

Eliza sighed and hesitantly made her way to the cabin next door. She didn't want to be obtrusive or annoying, but she felt lonely and lost in her large, empty room. Lightly she rapped on Kathleen's door.

"Come in," her boss answered in English.

With an insecure smile, Eliza entered a cabin that was furnished almost exactly like her own, just strewn with a lot more clothes. "Oh, it's you," Kathleen said surprised.

Eliza nodded. "I... I didn't want to interrupt, it's just..." she stopped. It's what, she thought. What was it? "I'm flattered by the luxurious cabin and the long trip and everything, and you're certainly much too good to me, but... Frau Schütz, I'm just a simple translator, and don't even know what I'm doing here. What..."

"Shhhh," Kathleen said and put a finger on her lips. "My good Frau Spur, you're here, because you're my very esteemed assistant. That wasn't a joke, I certainly meant it when I said it. And moreover you're here, because I value you as a friend. I... get lonesome easily, and so your company is very appreciated, if you don't mind."

Eliza nodded. She was relieved, in a way, to know her boss seemed to have similar feelings, which made her feel less like dead weight. "Thank you very much," she said with a restrained, but hearty smile. "Just... I still don't know why we're going to America."

Kathleen shrugged. "I don't know either," she admitted. "And the Mr. Secretary wasn't very forthcoming as well. So, parts of it I can put together, but we'll learn the specifics only at our destination, I'm afraid." She leaned back into an armchair and crossed her legs. "I believe there have been a few discrepancies at the death of the president, and that means sometimes someone is required to get the story to a satisfying conclusion. And incidentally, that's exactly what I do."

Eliza looked at her confused. The more Kathleen explained, the less she understood. "What do you mean, bring the story to a conclusion?" she asked.

Kathleen smiled and waved her aside. "That's hard to explain and easy to demonstrate," she replied. "So just let me show you when we're there. In the meantime, at least they paid for our trip and everything, so let's get pretty for dinner, shall we?"

Eliza blushed and looked down. "Well," she mumbled. "I don't think I've got anything that would be fitting..."

"Nonsense," Kathleen exclaimed cheerfully and threw a bunch of clothes her way. "So you just take something of mine! And now enough tribulations, we want to enjoy the trip, after all."