“Why was he attacking you? Did you anger him?”
Rennie paused, his eyebrows drawing together. “Where does this idea come from? I don’t even know the man.”
“Well, you know. It’s a logical conclusion.” I shrugged. “Perhaps he said something, you said something, and he attacked you.”
Scoffing, he resumed slogging forwards. “Logical conclusion my arse,” he muttered.
I paused. “Manners!”
His reply was a groan. What an impossible man.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“Never mind. You’ve been stabbed.” I waved dismissively.
“No, I mean, I’m sorry for having stared.” He avoided gazing at me.
“Oh.” I staggered under his weight, and he held me upright. “Don’t worry. We have more pressing matters at the moment.”
“Yes, but my behaviour was inexcusable.” He shook his head.
“Let’s forget about the whole incident, shall we?” Because I was going to be the first woman to die of embarrassment.
He grimaced. “Damn, it hurts.”
The smell of carbolic acid filled the air when we made our way along a pristine white passageway. We stopped in front of a set of double doors with the name of a doctor written on a plaque. There was no one in the passageway, and the room behind the doors was empty. Great.
“Hmm, help?” I shouted. What did a bleeding passenger have to do to get medical attention?
Finally, a couple of nurses came out of the lateral doors.
Twenty minutes later, a nurse was visiting me while a doctor was attending to Rennie’s wounds in another room. She was the same red-haired girl I’d seen when I’d been dancing with Edward.
“Good gracious, madam,” she said, applying an ointment to the huge black bruise on my ribs. Her gaze flickered over the scar on my arm, but she didn’t comment. “That deranged man kicked you so very hard. You’re lucky he didn’t break any ribs.”
“It felt like he did.” I winced as she probed around the bruise. “Every time I inhale, it hurts.”
“I’m sorry. I’m sure the security officers will catch the man soon.”
I released a breath when she finished attending to the bruise. “I remember having seen you in the dancing hall the other night. You said my partner and I were good dancers.”
“Of course, I remember you, madam.” She smiled, wiping her hands on a towel.
“Do you know Edward, the man I was dancing with? It seems he can’t be found anywhere on the ship. I asked the lady at the reception desk, but she couldn’t find his name on any lists.”
“That’s surprising.” A little frown creased her forehead. “But surely, other people must have noticed him. He was so handsome. His long black hair and sharp grey eyes aren’t common.”
Black hair? Grey eyes? I stopped buttoning my dress. “I think there’s a misunderstanding. Edward has blond hair and blue eyes.”
Her frown deepened. “I’m sure the man I saw you with had long black hair tied in a bun at the base of his neck and grey eyes, madam.”
The description didn’t fit Edward at all. “We’re talking about two different men. I didn’t dance with any man with long dark hair.” I couldn’t completely remove the frustration from my voice. But honestly. She remembered me, but not Edward. Was she making fun of me?
There was a moment of awkward silence. The nurse stared at me, as if wondering if she should check my head as well. The knock on the door broke the spell.
“May I come in?” a man said from the other side.
I tugged at my shirt and patted my hair. “You may.”
