Part 19 (1/2)

I had no chance to do anything else. Charley launched himself at me with a wordless cry and we landed on one of the Louis Quinze chairs, which splintered under our combined ma.s.s, tumbling us to the floor. The big c.o.c.kney wrapped his hands around my throat and began to squeeze. ”b.l.o.o.d.y git!” he said, with a growl.

My peripheral vision dimmed immediately, turning gray at the edges as the oxygen to my brain was cut off. My hands fluttered about his face, useless appendages against his brute strength.

Harlan leapt on Charley's back, trying to pull him off, but in his weakened condition all he could do was scream. ”Stop it, Charley! Stop it, NOW!”

Suddenly, he began coughing, and gasping for breath, the blood draining from his face. He was having some kind of attack, and it saved my life.

Hearing his master's distress, Charley let go of me and rushed to Harlan's side. He'd slumped to the floor, his entire body quivering, eyes rolled back up into his head. Charley ma.s.saged Harlan's throat, his face creased with fear and concern. ”Breathe, Guv'nor, breathe,” he said.

A pounding came at the door, jarring me further. ”Mr. Astor! Are you all right? Mr. Astor?”

”Shut yer bleedin' hole, Collins! Get Dr. Medford, now.”

”Right,” came the reply, followed by m.u.f.fled footsteps pounding down the carpeted hallway.

It seemed silly to be summoning a doctor for a dying man, more so to even have one on board, but with the steward gone, and Charley thus occupied, I realized nothing now prevented me from leaving.

Still trying to catch my own breath from the near strangulation I'd suffered, I staggered to my feet, using the wall behind me for support.

Charley still bent over Harlan, ministering to him, and I could see my friend's normal coloring returning.

I grasped the door handle, slipped out of the suite, and ran headlong down the hallway to my stateroom. My plan, as hazy and ill-formed as it was, was to grab my MacBook and iPod touch, find Maddy and get us off the s.h.i.+p in the lifeboat Harlan had prepared for me. With two of us, the food and water would have to be conserved, and the satellite phone would be our salvation, if my laptop cellular proved inadequate, that is if Harlan was telling the truth. And a.s.suming he was, I prayed he'd remembered the lifeboat's number correctly.

I burst into my suite, and locked the door behind me. I knew it was an absurd gesture, as the stewards no doubt had pa.s.s keys for every lock on board. Still, it offered me a measure of comfort while I set about gathering my things. A quick look at the bedside clock showed me that it was just after five. Dawn would be breaking soon. If I wanted to get Maddy and me off the boat under the cover of darkness I had to hurry. And time would be even shorter, given that I still had to locate Maddy, and convince her to leave with me.

Going to my closet, I pulled out the carryall, leaving the rest of my clothes behind. Taking them was unnecessary and would only weigh me down. I brought it over to the bed, unzipped it and placed both my laptop and the iPod touch into it, along with all of the backup disks for my interviews. I suddenly realized this was precious cargo, indeed. And not just for my own gain. These were the last wills and testaments of these people.

I scanned the room one last time, looking for anything I might have missed, and I heard the pounding of feet going past my suite. That would be the doctor and the steward returning to Harlan's suite. Time was running out.

I was about to open the door, when I heard a noise coming from the other bedroom. A soft moan. I replaced my carryall on the bed and padded over to the door separating the second bedroom from the sitting area. The moan came again, soft and forlorn. Swallowing my fear, I waited, counted to three and flung it open, snapping on the lights at the same time.

Maddy bolted up in the bed, her eyes wide with fright and bleary from sleep.

”Trevor!”

I hesitated only a moment before I was in her arms.

”Oh, G.o.d, I'm so sorry, Maddy, please forgive me,” I said, my words coming in sobs.

She held me, locked in her embrace, smothering me with kisses. ”I'm sorry, too, Trevor. I've been so silly about all of this.”

”Where have you been? I've been trying to find you for the last day.”

She shook her head. ”I was angry and I just wanted to be alone for awhile. So, I moved to a first cla.s.s cabin on C-deck. I felt betrayed-that you'd manipulated me for your book.”

”You know that's not true.”

”I do now. And, Trevor...I love you, too. With all my heart.”

The world s.h.i.+fted under me again. ”You do?”

She nodded, tears coming to her eyes.

”H-how'd you get in here?”

”Your man, Henry, let me in.”

I nodded, trying to find a way to broach the question uppermost in my mind. I decided there was no better way than being direct.

”Maddy, why didn't you tell me?”

She glanced at me, then down at her hands. A lone tear fell onto the sheets, soaking in immediately. ”You know....”

”Yes, I know. And you haven't answered my question.”

”At first, I didn't think I had to tell you, Trevor. All of us know why we're here. Then, later, when Harlan told me about you, it was too late. I-I was already falling in love with you.”

”And you thought I wouldn't want to get involved.”

”Was I so wrong to think that?”

”No,” I said, shaking my head.

And she was right. If I had known the true nature of the voyage, I not only would have kept my distance from her, but from all of those whom I'd interviewed. The whole project would have been tainted with the breath of pity. There was also a very good chance I would not have gone at all. Still, once she'd known that I was not among the terminally ill, she owed me the truth. I should have been angry, yet I wasn't. Perhaps because the truth about her condition still hadn't sunk in.

”What are you thinking?” she asked, breaking into my thoughts.

”That you're right...and wrong. You should have given me the benefit of the doubt, Maddy.”

”Maybe if you knew the whole story, you'd think differently.” She glanced toward the other bedroom. ”I a.s.sume you've got your iPod touch with you.”

”You want me to interview you, now?”

”Yes.”

”Maddy, we've got to get off this s.h.i.+p. If we don't leave soon, we might not have another chance. One of Harlan's goons just tried to kill me.”

I started to rise and she grabbed my arm, surprising me with the strength of her grip. ”Wait.”

”Maddy, we have no time.”

”Sit down, Trevor.”

Her tone was adamant, and I sat back down on the bed, my anxiety level rising. ”You're in no danger from Harlan, or anyone else. All of us have made our peace with G.o.d and life. Because of this, we have nothing to fear, least of all death coming sooner. Harlan loves you as he would a brother. He's forgiven you; he wants you to live.”

”And what about you, Maddy. Don't you want to live?”