Isvik by Hammond; Innes Read Free Book Online

him.’
    â€˜No.’
    They stared at each other, hostility building between them so that the atmosphere in that panelled saloon was almost frigid.
    It was Ward who finally broke the heavy silence. ‘Och hell!’ he muttered. ‘What’s it matter?’
    â€˜How do you mean?’ Her eyes blazed.
    â€˜Just that Ah don’t care very much one way or t’other. Whether the ship exists outside o’ yer husband’s imagination is no’ all that important to me. Ye say this nameless navigator o’ yers has also seen it?’
    â€˜I think so.’
    â€˜Okay then. But Ah want to see him before he joins us as navigator. Where can Ah meet him?’
    â€˜At Punta Arenas. That’s if he agrees.’
    â€˜Where is he now?’
    â€˜Somewhere in South America.’
    She turned away, the movement and the expression on her face making it clear she was unwilling to answer any more questions.
    Ward hesitated, then gave a little shrug. ‘Okay, if that’s the way ye want it. But understan’ this, girl, it’s my money an’ ye don’t ship crew wi’out Ah check them first. Okay?’ And he added almost waspishly, ‘If we find the ship, good – but Ah’ll no’ lose any sleep if we don’t set eyes on her. It’s like Ah was sayin’. Ah’ve made some money an’ now Ah want to use it to dae somethin’ Ah’ve always wanted to dae. The ship is merely an objective.’ A sudden smile lit up his features. ‘If it’s there, fine. But it’s the challenge o’ the thin’. That’s what’s important to me.’
    His manner, his whole bearing, the way he faced us, was pure theatre. He was playing a part and we were the audience. ‘A challenge,’ he repeated. And then he smiled that attractive smile of his, held out his left hand and said, ‘Ah’ll be thinkin’ about it all the way back to Glasgae, Mrs Sunderby. O’ ye, too. Let me know when ye’ve fixed the boat, an’ the price – then Ah’ll talk to the lawyer men Ah seem to have acquired. Also the accountancy laddies who check the figures.’
    He left us, his mouth stretched into something near a grin as he ducked through the after cabin doorway like an actor going off stage at the end of his big scene.
    Iris Sunderby’s reaction was similar to my own. ‘God!’ she breathed, tossing her head back in a gesture of irritation as she listened to the sound of his footsteps on the deck above. ‘Much more of that man and I’d –’ She checked herself with a wry little smile, then snatched up her briefcase and began stuffing her papers into it. ‘Do you think that accent of his is real?’ She turned and looked at me. ‘Well, do you?’
    I shrugged. ‘Does it matter?’
    â€˜Yes, it does.’ There was a note almost of desperation in her voice. ‘If it isn’t, then the man’s far too complex, has much too much imagination. And if I can’t stand his play-acting here, how the hell am I going to manage in the close confines of the boat. It could be for month after month, you know. If we get locked into the ice, per’aps for a whole winter. ¡Dios mio! ’
    She stood there, staring at her reflection in the dresser’s mirror. The silence for that moment was absolute. ‘Trouble is,’ she went on slowly, ‘that man is just about my last hope.’ She snapped the lock of the briefcase shut and moved towards the door. ‘I’ve been knocking on big company doors till I’m sick of the sight of men trying to avoid telling me outright my husband was a nutter. And the endless letters …’ She shook her head. ‘If it hadn’t been for the Admiral –’ She turned and looked at me again, holding out the bulging briefcase. ‘All these notes and memos of mine,’ she said angrily. ‘All wasted