Read Online Cold April by Phyllis A. Humphrey - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Phyllis A. Humphrey
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No.” The question startled her and set her pulse to racing. Why would he ask such a thing? “Is something the matter?”
“ Kathleen’s missing. I can’t find her.”
Chapter 7
Impossible. Beth sputtered the first thing that came to her mind. “She can’t be missing.”
His voice rose. “She is, I tell you. Did I ... I mean did I ask you to ...?”
“ No. I believe you said we’d meet again at dinner.”
Richard came fully into the room, his face flushed, one fist clutching at his thick, dark hair. “I can’t believe this.”
“ Are you certain?”
“ One moment she was right there, standing next to me and the next ...”
“ Where were you?”
“ On the boat deck.”
“ What were you doing?”
“ I was talking to the Marconi wireless operators. We’d sent a telegram to Kathleen’s aunts and I decided to send one to Lord Wheatly, and when I looked again, she was gone.”
“ She’s only three. She can’t have gone far.”
“ But I’ve looked everywhere.” He paced the floor rapidly, distress etched into his features.
“ Here, sit down. Tell me where you looked.”
Quickly, he related searching everywhere on the boat deck, then the next lower deck. “I thought she might have returned here.”
“ All by herself? How could she know the way?”
“ I don’t know,” he wailed. “But she must be somewhere.”
Not just somewhere: Kathleen could be anywhere. The brochure mentioned ten decks, 840 staterooms, and miles of corridors. Beth’s muscles tightened in her midriff, and her hands grew clammy with cold, even as her face flushed hot with fear.
She sat next to Richard and took a deep breath. “Please tell me again where you looked for her.”
“ Just the Boat and A Decks. Then I came here. I know she’s very young, but we’ve been in and out of these cabins several times already. I thought she might have remembered how to do it. She’s almost four, a very smart child, you know.”
“ I know.”
He wiped his brow. “And usually obedient. It never occurred to me she would go off alone while I talked to the wireless operators.”
“ Children can become restless in a very short time.”
“ But where could she have wanted to go so eagerly that she couldn’t wait for me?”
“ The ship is too large for us to search alone. Is there someone you can ask? The steward? The purser?”
“ I did ask the steward as I was coming here. He hadn’t seen her.” He was pacing again. “But the purser is a good idea. I’ll go and find him. Maybe there’s some way ... Perhaps they can ...”
Richard seemed unable to imagine how a purser, or anyone, could locate a missing child, and neither could Beth. Had the brochure addressed the subject of lost children? The only information she could recall that pertained to children was the hours they were allowed to use the gymnasium and that they were permitted in the dining saloon at dinner. On many other ships that was not the case. She felt as helpless as Richard looked.
Richard stopped pacing and straightened his shoulders. “I’d better go at once.”
“ Perhaps I should stay here in case ...”
“ As you like.” He was already out the door.
Worry nibbling at her nerves, Beth did some pacing of her own, trying to think where Kathleen might have gone. Nothing came to her. There was really little on board that would be of interest to a child. This ship was designed for adults. Wealthy adults. Yet, it had its share of emigrants, and Kathleen had remarked that she saw some children arriving on board by way of the tenders that morning. Was it possible she had attempted to find them? No, that didn’t sound like something she would do on her own.
Beth sat at the desk, chin resting on her upraised hand, and tried to picture the little girl walking beside her when they strolled the decks. What had interested her?
The “ela-bators.”
What if she had simply retraced her way to the lifts and the doors had opened—perhaps for
“ Kathleen’s missing. I can’t find her.”
Chapter 7
Impossible. Beth sputtered the first thing that came to her mind. “She can’t be missing.”
His voice rose. “She is, I tell you. Did I ... I mean did I ask you to ...?”
“ No. I believe you said we’d meet again at dinner.”
Richard came fully into the room, his face flushed, one fist clutching at his thick, dark hair. “I can’t believe this.”
“ Are you certain?”
“ One moment she was right there, standing next to me and the next ...”
“ Where were you?”
“ On the boat deck.”
“ What were you doing?”
“ I was talking to the Marconi wireless operators. We’d sent a telegram to Kathleen’s aunts and I decided to send one to Lord Wheatly, and when I looked again, she was gone.”
“ She’s only three. She can’t have gone far.”
“ But I’ve looked everywhere.” He paced the floor rapidly, distress etched into his features.
“ Here, sit down. Tell me where you looked.”
Quickly, he related searching everywhere on the boat deck, then the next lower deck. “I thought she might have returned here.”
“ All by herself? How could she know the way?”
“ I don’t know,” he wailed. “But she must be somewhere.”
Not just somewhere: Kathleen could be anywhere. The brochure mentioned ten decks, 840 staterooms, and miles of corridors. Beth’s muscles tightened in her midriff, and her hands grew clammy with cold, even as her face flushed hot with fear.
She sat next to Richard and took a deep breath. “Please tell me again where you looked for her.”
“ Just the Boat and A Decks. Then I came here. I know she’s very young, but we’ve been in and out of these cabins several times already. I thought she might have remembered how to do it. She’s almost four, a very smart child, you know.”
“ I know.”
He wiped his brow. “And usually obedient. It never occurred to me she would go off alone while I talked to the wireless operators.”
“ Children can become restless in a very short time.”
“ But where could she have wanted to go so eagerly that she couldn’t wait for me?”
“ The ship is too large for us to search alone. Is there someone you can ask? The steward? The purser?”
“ I did ask the steward as I was coming here. He hadn’t seen her.” He was pacing again. “But the purser is a good idea. I’ll go and find him. Maybe there’s some way ... Perhaps they can ...”
Richard seemed unable to imagine how a purser, or anyone, could locate a missing child, and neither could Beth. Had the brochure addressed the subject of lost children? The only information she could recall that pertained to children was the hours they were allowed to use the gymnasium and that they were permitted in the dining saloon at dinner. On many other ships that was not the case. She felt as helpless as Richard looked.
Richard stopped pacing and straightened his shoulders. “I’d better go at once.”
“ Perhaps I should stay here in case ...”
“ As you like.” He was already out the door.
Worry nibbling at her nerves, Beth did some pacing of her own, trying to think where Kathleen might have gone. Nothing came to her. There was really little on board that would be of interest to a child. This ship was designed for adults. Wealthy adults. Yet, it had its share of emigrants, and Kathleen had remarked that she saw some children arriving on board by way of the tenders that morning. Was it possible she had attempted to find them? No, that didn’t sound like something she would do on her own.
Beth sat at the desk, chin resting on her upraised hand, and tried to picture the little girl walking beside her when they strolled the decks. What had interested her?
The “ela-bators.”
What if she had simply retraced her way to the lifts and the doors had opened—perhaps for
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