Hugh took Stella aside after dinner. ‘Will you come on deck with me, Miss Dubois? I feel I owe you an explanation.’
Her heart thumped as she walked with him and tried not to keep glancing at his face; the straight nose, the dimpled chin and the sweep of wavy brown hair that made her want to run her fingers over its undulations. Out on deck, he led her towards the rail and leaned against it.
‘Look at those stars,’ he said, gazing up in wonder. ‘Have you ever seen such a sight?’
‘Yes, loads of times,’ she said. ‘The night sky over the Himalayas can be even brighter.’
Hugh laughed. ‘Oh, Miss Dubois, I love your candour. It’s so refreshing. Too many women just agree with men out of politeness.’
Stella blushed. She didn’t think she’d said anything out of the ordinary. The way he was looking at her keenly made her pulse start to race.
‘I’m feeling bad about leading Andrew astray last night and letting him drink,’ he said, ‘and I can tell you’re still cross with me.’
Stella half-turned away and gazed out across the dark sea. ‘As I said, I feel guilty for neglecting Andrew. I’m as cross with myself as with you, Mr Keating.’
‘Well, don’t be,’ he said. ‘I think what happened was probably a good thing.’
Stella looked at him in astonishment. ‘Why on earth do you say that?’
‘Because he won’t do it again in a hurry. It might have put him off liquor for life. And isn’t it better that he experienced his first taste of whisky in the company of someone who cares about his welfare and wouldn’t let him have too much?’
She felt wrong-footed by his argument, as if somehow the whole thing had indeed been a good thing.
‘I’m not sure about that,’ she answered.
‘Stella,’ he said, ‘may I call you Stella?’ She nodded and he continued, ‘The other good thing was that the whisky loosened his tongue. Andrew started confiding in me about things that are worrying him.’
Stella felt alarmed. ‘What did he say?’
‘How he’s nervous about meeting his mother. He doesn’t know her and is frightened he won’t like her – especially as his father and stepmother have never really spoken about her.’
Stella sighed. ‘Well, I’m concerned about it too. I remember Andrew’s mother as quite a difficult woman – moody and demanding.’
‘Well, perhaps you’d better not tell that to Andrew. The more you encourage him that it’ll be all right the better, don’t you think?’
‘Yes,’ Stella agreed. ‘Thank you for telling me.’
Hugh smiled. ‘That’s all I wanted to say. Now, I won’t keep you if you want to join Moira and the others.’
Stella turned back to stare out to sea. ‘It’s so lovely out on deck; I think I’ll stay a little longer.’
‘You don’t mind if I keep you company?’ he asked.
‘I’d be happy if you did.’
They stood very close at the railing, their arms touching. Stella’s heart drummed so hard she thought he must be able to feel the vibration through their arms. Her throat was tight with nervous excitement at being so close.
Hugh said in a low voice. ‘Last night we also talked a lot about you, Stella.’
Her heart lurched. ‘Did you?’
‘Andrew is very fond of you, and . . . I find I am falling under your spell too.’
‘My spell?’ Stella laughed gently. ‘You make me sound like a witch.’
Hugh ran a finger down her bare arm that made her tingle all over. ‘Perhaps you are. I’m certainly quite bewitched by you. I could drown in those gorgeous green eyes of yours.’
Stella shivered. No man had ever made such bold comments to her before. None of the young men of her community had ever made her feel as desirable as Hugh Keating did by merely touching her arm and gazing into her eyes.
‘Maybe it’s the beautiful night that’s gone to my head,’ he murmured, ‘but I’ve never felt this way about a girl before. You know what I really want to do, Stella?’
She swallowed, unable to speak, and shook her head.
‘I want to kiss you so much. Will you allow me to kiss you, Stella?’
She glanced around in case they were being overheard, but there was no one close by and they stood in the shadows.
‘Yes,’ she said, breathlessly.
They leaned towards each other and he kissed her gently on the lips. It felt like butterflies and set her whole body tingling again. He ran a hand across her hair and then kissed her again, this time more firmly. When they broke away, Stella felt wobbly at the knees and had to hold onto the rail.
‘God, Stella, you’re beautiful,’ he murmured. ‘I can’t believe how lucky I am that you’re on the same ship as me. The stars above must have decreed it.’
Trembling, Stella laughed.
‘I’m serious,’ said Hugh. ‘Don’t you believe in fate, Stella? I think we were destined to meet.’
‘I don’t know if I believe in fate,’ she replied, ‘but I’m very glad that we’ve met.’
He brushed her cheek with his hand and ran his thumb over her lips, which made her yearn for him to kiss her again.
‘Are you courting anyone in Pindi, Stella?’ he asked. ‘I asked Andrew but he wasn’t sure.’
‘No, I’m not,’ she whispered.
‘That’s hard to believe,’ he said, his full mouth twitching in a smile. ‘The boys in Pindi must be mighty slow off the mark.’
Stella gave a soft laugh.
He trailed a finger down her neck and traced it across the bare flesh at her heart-shaped neckline. Stella thought she would faint at the ecstatic sensation it sent right down to her toes. They kissed again and this time she opened her mouth as he did and tasted him on her tongue.
‘Hughie! Is that you over there?’
Moira’s cry had them breaking apart.
