Page 11 of The Girl Out of Time
There he was.
Emmeline did a double take, but Leon was still there, leaning on his own section of the railing, gazing out to sea. He’d changed into a dark brown jacket, but she couldn’t mistake his tall, lean figure and those black curls shifting in the breeze.
“Leon!” she called.
No response.
She yelled louder, but the only reaction she got was a piercing look from an older lady passing by. Emmeline bit her lip and ran along the railing. There was no passage to the deck below; none except for a small ladder, indistinct enough that it couldn’t be meant for passenger use.
Emmeline wrung her hands, checked the area to ensure nobody was looking at her, and climbed. She ran to Leon; he must’ve heard her footsteps since he turned before she reached him.
“Hello,” she said, her heart suddenly thumping.
After a momentary, astonished stare, he smiled, extinguishing any concerns that he might have been avoiding her. “Hello. What are you doing on this deck?”
“I called you, but you didn’t respond. What areyoudoing here? This is …” She confirmed the designation on a small sign hanging over the nearby door. “This is the third class deck.”
“I know.”
“Oh.” Her mouth dropped open. That was why she couldn’t find him in any of the first class public rooms! “You’re—uh—was that what you needed to sort out at the inquiry office?”
He hesitated, then finally went for a simple “Yes.”
She didn’t know how to respond. It didn’t bother her; she was simply happy to have found him, but saying that felt strange.
“I hadn’t finished your book yet,” he said. “But if you want it back, I’ll retrieve it.”
“No! No, read it to the end. But not right now—I mean, would you like to go for a stroll?”
“You shouldn’t be on this deck.”
“Then come to mine.”
He gave her a shy smile. “The point still stands.”
“Oh, come. Nobody will care if you’re in my company. And they were setting up shuffleboard.” She clasped her hands behind her back and swung on her heels.
“Very well,” he conceded. “But only for a short time. I don’t want to land you in trouble.”
“I’ll be fine.” She took his hand and led him to the ladder, then around the deck to where she’d seen the game.
Two pairs of players had already gathered, tapping and twisting their cue sticks: two women and two men.
“Good morning,” Emmeline greeted as she and Leon approached. “Would you have room for two more?”
“Absolutely,” said one of the male pair—a handsome younger gentleman with slicked-back dark hair and a well-groomed mustache. “We have not begun yet. In fact, we were discussing which color disks to appoint to each pair. Perhaps you can settle the score for us.”
The other man—his brother, based on the likeness—smirked, and a woman from the other pair, a blonde in a striped beige jacket and skirt, rolled her eyes with an, “Oh, John.”
“All right.” Emmeline looked at Leon. “Shall we go with dark red?”
“If you wish.” He stared at the oval-shaped diagram on the floor.
The disks were appointed and distributed, and John handed them a cue each, winking at Emmeline. As he moved away, Leon whispered, “How do we play this?”
“You’ve never played shuffleboard before?”
He twitched his head in a barely perceptible shake.
