Footsteps in the Sea Vol 4 - Chapter 76
by Francespenwiddy
Chapter 76
It took less time than I thought to finish my overlay for the maps and I went onto the bridge looking for Byron but he was down in the engine room discussing upgrades and propeller glands but Tamati was there. “Tamati, I thought you were on duty tonight?”
“Split watch. I’m doing nine until eleven then Martin takes over and I’m back on at six till eight. I’m standing in for the captain at the moment whilst he’s down with the chief engineer.”
“Do you still want the private meeting with me?”
“Yes please. I need your advice with regard to a young lady from the science side. I’ve never seen her before but she did mention that she knew you.”
“Okay, I do know her. Her name is a bit unusual, Undine, the same as our new boat, still these days a lot of parents are giving their children unusual names, sort of reverting to the good-old-days. When the captain is back, come down to my cabin but you do realise I can’t tell you anything confidential about her unless of course she agrees.”
“Yes I realise that but well, I must admit, I’m very attracted to her but as I’m in the navy and I do need the Captain’s permission to marry and things like that, well I,” he became a little flustered, “I don’t mean I am going to marry her, well it’s a bit soon, I’ve only spoken to her once and that was only for about twenty minutes but well, I do like her but I think I ought to speak to somebody before I start asking her for dates, you know, just in case I…”
It was time I helped him out, “Just in case she doesn’t have the necessary security clearance to be allowed to become close friends with an officer engaged on secret work?”
“Yes, something like that…huh? Is our work here secret? I didn’t realise that , the captain has never mentioned it.”
“It’s top secret, the captain isn’t allowed to mention it. I only know because I’m a commander and directly involved but it has something to do with the strange things that I’ve been doing and some of the discoveries I’ve made so don’t go talking to anyone else,” I had my fingers crossed when I said it and it was partly the truth but I couldn’t very well come out with all the truth and tell him that Undine was a water sprite until I’d sounded him out.
“Of course not, but there is one thing I should tell you, Undine said something a little unusual.”
“Go on.”
“She said she knew I was quarter Maori and that Maori people are very spiritual and I too had a strong spiritual essence in my personality.”
“Nothing unusual about that, some people are very spiritual, some not.”
“But how did she know it, I mean she must have done some research on me and that’s a little bit suspicious. She saw the surprise in my eyes because that’s when she told me she knew you.”
“Nothing unusual about that either, we’ve all been guilty of it. She’s been over here two or three times and probably saw you and thought you were handsome and looked kind which you are. In fact you’re very kind, that’s why you promised to let me have a go on a Sterling sub machine gun. Once she’s taken a fancy to you she probably asked a few friends if they knew anything about you and when she’d found out enough, decided she wanted to meet you. That’s something else people often do when they want to meet somebody they think may be a bit special. Anyway, come down to my cabin when Byron gets back.”
When I walked into my cabin Undine was sitting on a straight backed chair with a lightly padded back, seat and arm rests. She was wearing my two inches above the knee baby blue skirt suit and a white cotton blouse with two inch white block heels. Her legs were pressed together, her back straight and her arms were folded under her breasts with the fingers of her left hand tapping lightly on her right elbow. There was the suggestion of a frown around her eyes and her lips were just a touch pursed. The frown vanished and the lips relaxed as I entered but her arms remained under her breasts and the fingers continued tapping. “You saw him? You spoke to Tamati?” her eyes became a little dreamy, “Isn’t it just the most beautiful name in the world, all the worlds.”
This one is definitely in love and judging by the way Tamati was speaking of her, he was experiencing the same feelings, both of them accurately speared by the same Cupid’s arrow and locked together on its shaft. “Yes, I’ve spoken to him. Now where were we when you rushed off earlier today?”
“You wanted me to explain how I managed to get on board Pacific Wanderer without raising the alarm.”
“Go on then, I know they only keep an anchor watch but there were still men about.”
“I swam from the pool, down the rapids and into the lagoon and then I swam to the jetty, climbed up the bank and ran along the jetty to the ship and managed to fly just high enough to get onto the deck and then I flew up to the saloon deck and once I was in the saloon I ran to here and changed into my human form and got dressed in your clothes. When I was ready and everything seemed quiet I went back to the saloon and up the stairs to the bridge and spoke to Tamati. I asked him if he knew where you were.”
“Nobody saw you?”
She shook her head, “No and if anybody had come along, I would have made myself invisible. What did he say, does he like me?”
“Yes and he wants to see you again and that’s all I am going to tell you because from here on, it’s up to you and Tamati. I don’t know how you do things in sprite land but humans usually prefer to get to know each other before they make lifelong commitments.”
She frowned a little, “I don’t know very much either. I did go out with an air sprite once, his name is Oberon but he was a sort of leader, a king I think you call them and I didn’t really want to be a queen so I stopped seeing him.”
“Was he angry?”
“No, we don’t get angry about things like that, we just go off and find somebody else to be friends with. It wouldn’t have worked anyway, Oberon was an air sprite and I’m a water sprite and we both liked being what we were and neither of us really wanted to change.”
“Why? Are you so different that it never works if you marry a different sprite?”
“Oh yes, lots of sprites or fairies marry other sorts of sprites but it was just that Oberon and I didn’t want to change.
“I’ve been out with forest sprites who live in trees, water sprites like me and other air sprites and twice with flower sprites and we have good fun but I always knew that one day I would find a human and I did so want a soul so I never got serious. When we marry a different type of sprite one of us has to change to become the same type of sprite as the other. If we don’t then we can’t always be together. Air sprites are unable to fly under water, their wings don’t work when they are wet and they have to swim by paddling with their hands. Water sprites like me can’t fly very far. I could fly as high as three times where your head is but then I would have to stop and rest and tree sprites can’t fly at all or swim under the sea like me but they have very slim hands and long fingers and toes and can run and jump enormous distances and if they want to, they can stand on a single leaf and even leap from one tree to another. If we want to marry a human then we have to sacrifice our immortality as you know so we must always be very serious about things when we fall in love.”
“You certainly sound serious at the moment. Now Tamati is coming down to speak to me soon so you had better vanish.”
“Can’t I stay and speak to him.”
“No, you can speak to him this evening. I’ve already told you I am not going to interfere other than to arrange things so that you can be alone together.”
“Can I borrow these clothes, the colour is so pretty, it’s like love-in-the-mist?”
“Yes but wear a lighter shade of lipstick and eye shadow and you can borrow my pearl earrings and necklace and one of my thin gold bracelets. Have you had your ears pierced?”
“What does that mean?”
“Had little holes made in the bottom of your ears so you can wear earrings.”
“Oh yes, we all do that so we can wear parts of little flower blossoms in our ears.”
“Do you want me to tell him you are a sprite?”
“What do you think?”
“I think you should wait a little longer until he gets to know you and if he really falls in love, he won’t care much what you were if you tell him you’re changing into a human. If you want to hide here, go into my bedroom and find something soft to lay on and sleep in a wardrobe just in case he wants to use my bathroom.”
She got up and gave me a hug, “Thank you for helping us,” and went straight into the bedroom and I heard her open a wardrobe door. I gave her a few minutes and followed her and peeked in. My clothes were hung over a wardrobe door and the panties and bra hung over the skirt with the shoes on the floor directly beneath them. To somebody going through to the bathroom nothing would seem amiss. I closed the door and went and sat in the armchair and waited for Tamati thinking about what I could or should tell him. This acting as a go between for two lovers from different worlds was going to present a lot of problems even if the two worlds were intertwined with each other or for that matter, figments of my imagination. I’d be glad when Randolph got here though I was beginning to have doubts as to whether even he could explain what was going on. Still, it was a unique and very nice experience and if I played my cards right, not only would I be helping a couple in love I might be able to get Undine to go and find the dolphin I had swam with when I had my operation. There was another spin off; Undine had modelled her body on mine and I had been able to see the whole of me, moving, breathing and speaking. It was better than watching it on a video because it was life size and I had even been able to see the dimples at the back of my knees and the little birthmark on my bum and that was nice as well, I might allow my vanity to run riot and touch it up with body paint and enhance it with little stars and planets. After all, if I was going crazy, I might as well try and enjoy the experience.
My thoughts were interrupted by a quiet tap on the door and I opened it and Tamati was standing there. We was wearing his best summer uniform, meticulously ironed shirt with the lonely single stripe of a sub-lieutenant, neatly pressed shorts and spotless socks and highly polished shoes and a cap under his arm. He was definitely a nice looking man and he had gone to great lengths to tame his black hair. The natural curls which spent most of their time trying to escape from under his cap when he was working was now neatly combed though I suspected it wouldn’t be long before they reverted to their normal unruly chaos. “I hope it’s not an inconvenient time Marm…”
“Tamati, this is an informal meeting not a disciplinary hearing so don’t start that Marm business. Now come on in and sit down.” I opened the door wide and followed him waiting to see if he would pick one of the arm chairs or the chair Undine had sat in. He picked Undine’s chair and sat, bolt upright, his cap placed on the small desk and his hands folded in his lap a thumb nervously stroking the web between the index finger and thumb of his other hand. “I’ve had a word with Undine and she is going to visit you this evening after you are relieved from the bridge. I suggest you go for a walk along the beach where you will have some privacy but still be visible. That way you can get to know a little about each other and at the same time not cause comment by vanishing into the bushes.”
“I wouldn’t do that.”
“I know, neither would Undine expect it but I am just making sure you understand. I do know that Undine is a little old fashioned and would prefer to be courted in a conservative manner and she has told me she likes you so remember, you are an officer and gentleman and will be expected to act as such.”
“Of course, I understand that, she doesn’t strike me as being flighty and I will treat her with respect.”
“Good. Now about her past; I met her in England, she was lodging in a house in my village and when it was suggested that the New Zealand government would like to use part of my house to accommodate visiting dignitaries and that parts could also be used as a temporary office for security guards I was able to persuade the High Commission to employ her in a clerical capacity. She was efficient and was offered a post with the New Zealand Antarctic team now based here on the island and that is where she currently works. Her security status is fine and there’s no reason why there should be any objections to your meeting her socially. She has had a good education and is interested in archaeology, marine biology, dancing, swimming but is a shy girl so take things easy when you first start talking. Oh yes, she’s an orphan and was orphaned at a very young age, her mother and father were fishing folk who operated an inshore fishing boat and died when their boat was sunk in a storm off the Cornish coast so she knows little about them. She was brought up in an orphanage and is very bright and has had a very good education so I think you are well matched and that is as much as I am prepared to tell you.”
“Thank you. I’m really happy you were able to fix things so we could meet. What do you think I should give her as a little gift? Something that says I like her and would like to meet and get to know her.”
That caught me on the back foot. I had no idea at all what sprites did for hobbies, did she appreciate flowers, chocolates, jewellery, clothes, come to think of it, I couldn’t even suggest a place for him to take her whilst they were on the island. We had the saloon here on Wanderer and the club at Revelation Bay and perhaps a dinner party at my house but other than that, it was country walks, exploring the beaches and perhaps little trips in our cruiser or even one of the lifeboats. There was one thing that a girl, any girl would always appreciate and that was perfume. “I think that you should have a word with my Auntie Kate and ask her to suggest a perfume or something of that nature. Something relatively inexpensive as it’s a first date, something that might suggest how pleased you are that a beautiful girl has agreed to go out with you.”
“Yes, yes, thank you, I’ll do that.”
“Undine will be here in my cabin at eleven this evening and if you want to go somewhere quiet and there are too many people about on the beach, then I suggest you go up to the observation bridge or onto the private part of the promenade deck at the rear of the passenger cabins. That way you can move about without having to pass through the saloon.” I stood up, “Right you need to go and see Auntie Kate about a small gift and I have other people to see. Remember, Tamati, I have brought you two together so anything that happens will be down to me. I will expect you to remember ‘Officer and Gentleman’ whilst you are with Undine. She knows very little about human relationships, courtship and love because she has been in an orphanage for most of her life, until she was eighteen in fact and may want to experiment. You are a year older than she but more worldly so if she does try to experiment I am relying on you to guide her, not take advantage. You must act in a manner that would make your Maori ancestors proud of you.”
He stood up and I saw him stiffen and push his shoulders back, “Officer and Gentleman, I promise, Charlotte but would it be correct if, when we parted this evening, I kissed her goodnight.”
“One kiss, perhaps two would be correct but if she gets a little clingy that will be your test. You must ease her away without offending her, make some excuse if you need to, and arrange for a subsequent date.”
“I want to win her heart, I’ll do nothing to stop that from happening.” He placed his cap on his head and saluted, “Thank you for your time, Commander,” and left.
I phoned Auntie Kate as soon as his footfalls faded, she was the one person I knew who was able to cope with unusual girls and would make sure that Tamati would buy a suitable gift. I Picked up my shoulder bag and opened the door to the bedroom, “You can come out now, Tamati has left and he will be calling for you soon after eleven this evening.”
The door to the wardrobe opened and the tiny figure grew until she was my height. “What did he say? Does he still like me? Did he smile when you mentioned my name?”
“You’ll have to ask him yourself this evening but try and be a little more subtle, let him ask the questions. You can encourage him a little by linking your arm under his when you go off for a walk and later, if he places his arm around your waist or shoulder, you can snuggle up a little.”
“Oh I do hope he does, I’d love to snuggle up with him.”
“Just make sure that’s all you do and if he kisses you goodnight, don’t throw yourself at him. Be nice and warm with him but no more. You will need to speak to Artemis or Penelopeia, they will explain how you should act and if Artemis heard me speaking to him which I hope she did, she will tell you how I explained your presence here on the island. Are you staying here or going home?”
“I have to go home and straighten my place up a little, I was too excited this morning to make my bed properly and I also need to see a friend of mine who knows some dolphin people, she can arrange for you to meet one. I must speak to Artemis as well.”
“Okay and ask Penelopeia to help you with your makeup this evening. You had better leave the clothes where they are and you can change here and have everything you need close by. Now I have urgent things to be getting on with so I’ll leave you here but don’t forget to close the door when you leave.”
I left the cabin and went back to the bridge, “Commander Charlotte on the bridge, captain,” called the coxswain who was standing at the wheel, why I don’t know, we weren’t moving or likely to be so until early next week. “Watch yer helm dam yer eyes, cox’n.”
“Engines stopped, speed zero, course if we get under way three five nine magnetic, Marm.”
“Come to two nine five when we get under way and aim for the gap. If you put us on the reef you’ll be decorating the yard arm.” I answered and went over to speak quietly to Byron. “I’ve spoken to Undine and Tamati and there’s a budding romance on the ship. Do you approve or could it be a problem?”
“Auckland isn’t bothered, neither of them are doing restricted or top secret work, so yes, I approve as things stand.”
“He still has to ask permission though?”
“Might be a bit old fashioned but the forces work like that. The officer commanding a ship or unit is to all intents and purposes acting as a parent as well as a commanding officer, especially where the more junior members of the crew are concerned. If and when he comes to me, I will need to consider his rank, pay and prospects and decide whether or not he is able to support a wife and family and even then, should I have doubts I would refer them to the fleet commander or dockyard admiral and eventually to the naval authorities for their ruling.”
I nodded, it did make sense and to all intents and purposes it ensured that young sailors weren’t swept of their feet in an exotic port by a whirlwind romance when they were separated from the mothers, fathers and older siblings who would normally be the expected ones to advise them. “Do they tell the parents or guardians that they’ve asked permission to marry?”
“Yes, twice. The naval authorities advise the parents that a request has been made and invite their opinion and I would write personally and tell them what I thought.”
“What’s the oldest sailor you’ve had to do that to?”
He grinned, “He was a stoker on an inshore patrol vessel and got a little too romantic with an island girl when we were on a courtesy visit to French Polynesia. At the time he was forty nine and I refused him permission and advised him to appeal to the admiral. A week later he withdrew his request because he discovered the girl was a tattoo artist who moonlit as a dancing girl and prostitute and was trying to work a ticket for permission to live in New Zealand.”
I had to laugh, “I should imagine that happens quite a bit.”
He nodded, “From time to time, those type of girls are sailor magnates. If they do get away with it they usually vanish after a couple of months and take up their chosen vocation in a New Zealand town or try their luck in Australia.”
“Did you know that Will married me without asking permission?”
“Your case might be different. You are both Commanders, outrank the ship’s captain and own the ship if he was attached to Pacific Wanderer. Do you want me to have New Zealand annul the marriage?”
“I don’t think you can because a registrar was present and we did sign the register. But I’ll bear it in mind if an occasion arises when he won’t let me have my own way over something. Returning to Tamati, I’ve arranged for them to meet each other tonight on board. She’s going to wait in my cabin has had the rules explained to her and so has he, is that okay or could it cause a problem?”
“No that’s fine as long as they don’t remain in the cabin or make a display of themselves.”
“They won’t, I’ve suggested they go for a walk along the beach or go up to the viewing bridge and look at the moon but no hanky-panky.”
He laughed, “They don’t have a chance of hanky-panky with you watching over them.”
“And Auntie Kate and Gwyneth Evans, not to mention the other girls and Philips and CPO Mark. I’m going home to help get ready for this evening’s dinner party, I take it you won’t be coming this time?”
“No, I’ll do a night watch this evening and give Martin and Tamati a night off.”
“Do you always have to have an officer on the bridge?”
“No, we can use a CPO but Victor has enough to do with keeping the crew fed and Mark must always be available in case we have an immediate medical emergency but the chief in the engine room stands a trick or two when he can be spared.”
“I’ll do a watch for you if you need. There are times when affairs of state can be put to one side and I’m sure Will would. It’s not as if we’re under way and at sea getting ready for a naval engagement.”
“It would be useful. As long as I was in my cabin and only a few steps from the bridge. I’ll have a word with Andy and see what he has to say.”
“Right, I’m off and I’ll be at the house if the North Koreans invade.” I glanced at the compass as I passed the helm, “Keep her steady on those revs and bearing, Cox’n.”
“Revs for zero knots, helm amidships, course stationary with the sharp end pointed at three five nine, aye-aye, Commander.”
When I arrived back at the house Auntie Kate was preparing a salad and Gwyneth was mixing a salad dressing. “What do you want me to do?”
“My laundry for starters,” said Gwyneth, the ironing not the washing.”
“Make a pot of tea for seven, that’s Gwyneth, David, Penny, Clair, Ted, myself and you. Will is out somewhere with Geoff Roman and they will probably stick their noses in if they get a whiff of the homemade doughnuts on the dresser.”
“I’ll hide the doughnuts.”
“No you won’t because knowing you only half will make it to the cupboard. We can have one each with the tea.”
“Okay and after we’ve had tea I want to pop up to Butterfly Glade for twenty minutes and then I’ll come back and lay the table. How many are there for dinner?”
Auntie Kate paused and counted, lost count and started again, gave up and told me who was on the list, “You, Will, me and Ted, Gwyneth, David, Emma and Faye with their boyfriends, Penny, Morris, that’s it, twelve.”
“Faye is a definite is she?”
“So she said and Liz is working late and won’t be back in time so she’s having hers at the Revelation club.”
“Tamati is coming up soon…”
“He’s already been and gone and I let him have a small bottle of perfume. He liked it and wanted a large bottle but I told him that was too extravagant on a sub-lieutenant’s pay and anyway, if his girl didn’t like it, it was wasted money.”
“Who is she,” asked Gwyneth.
“You mustn’t tell anybody just yet until after Artemis and I can be sure it’s a serious thing but it’s Undine.”
“Undine!” Auntie Katie stopped her work and looked at me, ” Undine the water sprite, can he see her?”
“Be a funny sort of date if he couldn’t. Yes he met her last night and they fell in love. She made herself human and the same size as me but with her own face and this evening they are going for a walk and get to know a little about each other.”
“Is that wise?” Gwyneth asked. “We aren’t sure if she really exists.”
“She exists all right and she’s really fallen for him. I’m going up to see Artemis and bring her up to date but if anybody asks, just tell them she’s a friend of mine from England and she works as an assistant in the New Zealand laboratories over the other side of the island.”
The both shook their heads, “She does know that if she makes love to a human and marries him, she’ll lose her powers and immortality?” asked Gwyneth.
“I’m glad you asked me that, because when I mentioned it she said she knew and then said something I thought was really lovely; she said she would rather live a normal human life span and know love than live forever without it. Apparently it’s not uncommon for sprites of both sexes to marry mortals.”
“Yes but, what will she look like, how will she act?”
“Same as any other girl of her age but with a bit to catch up on, like me I suppose. She’s certainly very beautiful,” I grinned at them, “She said when she made herself change through magic, she used me as the model and then she made her clothes invisible and I saw what I look like except for the colour of her hair, eyes and a different face, which she isn’t allowed to change. I want to make sure she knows her own mind though, that’s why I want to see Penelopeia and Artemis and then I’ll have to speak to Tamati and explain it all to him.”
“He’ll think you are out of your mind when you do that,” said Auntie Kate.
“I don’t think so. Undine told me she could see that his Maori blood made him more susceptible to the existence of a parallel world peopled by gods, goddesses and other spirits and it might scare him a bit but she thinks he can adjust to the idea especially when it’s explained that when they marry and make love, she will become human and lose her fairy type powers.” I sat down on a chair, “I’ll be glad when I see Randolph and just hope he can explain it to me.”
“Auntie Kate took hold of my hand, “And if he can’t?”
“I’ll ask him to find a doctor who can, or a shaman, witch doctor, priest and if he can’t do that I’ll just have to accept that something has happened to me that gives me these strange dreams and that has led to me discovering all the things on the island that I have and perhaps even the sexual identity crisis I went through is connected in some way, though I doubt that.”
“And me,” said Auntie Kate. “I saw that in you when you were a young child and I’ve told you that.”
“And you’re a sensible, practical person as well,” added Gwyneth. “You joke about things, and take chances that other people wouldn’t but despite your light-heartedness and determination to have fun in your life, there is a very intelligent side to you and you do have the ability to draw people close and make them join in. Remember we’ve seen these visions as you call them and as far as I’m concerned and I know the others are of a like mind, they were real enough. The other thing to remember is that good things have happened to you, not bad and you are sharing it with us. If anybody must have that kind of help from this other world, then there’s nobody on this island who is better suited than you. I believe in life after death anyway so I don’t need a lot of convincing and nobody has been able to prove that to me I just believe in it, our bodies die and our spirit goes on to another place, a nice place.”
“Me too,” said Auntie Kate, “And I often find myself talking to Mo and your mother and father and I’m sure they are really happy the way things are turning out for you.”
I got up and poured the water into the pot, “I just hope I never have to meet an evil spirit, I’m not sure I could handle that. Perhaps I should keep a posy of garlic flowers in my bag, just in case.”
“They won’t be able to touch you with all the influence you have with the gods.”
I grinned and poured the tea, “It hasn’t stopped either if Faye confirms what I think I may have discovered today.”
“What’s that,” asked Auntie Kate, “A stone age tablet with hundreds of long lost recipes for making cures, warding off evil spirits and making nasty people turn into slithering snakes with warts all over them.”
“Better than that but you’ll have to wait until I’ve spoken to Faye, but it’s good and we’ll have to keep it a secret.”
“Not another load of buried treasure?” said Gwyneth.
“I’m not saying because it may be nothing and all I’ve done is get my physics and natural history wrong. I have to get up to the glade, I shan’t be long. Perhaps I’ll meet the people who may have the answers, on the other hand, I’m not so sure I want the answers just yet.”
I will be posting another chapter but that will have to be the last. For those of you who want to read on, Footprints in the Sea Volume 4 is available on Amazon Kindle and may be ordered through the Top Hat link in the right hand column of this page. Doing it that way earns a small commission for the site.
