Claire Gulliver #04 - Cruisin' for a Bruisin' Read Online Free Page A

to smile back at her before consulting his list. “Oh, ladies, we’ve had a slight change. We have moved you to table seventeen, a most congenial group and in an excellent location. I’m sure you will enjoy it.” He turned to one of his assistants and murmured further instructions before stepping back and waving them into the vast and ornate dining room.
    Claire and Lucy exchanged questioning looks at the last minute change, but they followed Millie and Ruth through the labyrinth of tables and chairs in the dining room.
    “Here you are, table seventeen.”
    The man gallantly held out Ruth’s chair while Millie took the next of the four empty seats on one side of the oval table. Lucy slipped into the next one leaving the end one for Claire.
    That last chair was to the right of the chair where sat the very same old lady she had seen in the corridor earlier. There was no getting out of it. All the other seats at the table were filled. She couldn’t believe with almost a thousand people at each sitting, she had somehow been placed next to the person, who must be the oldest on the cruise. She just hoped the lady wasn’t senile and deaf. Well, she thought, so much for Lucy’s plan for finding romance for her. She sat down hoping no one guessed the reason for her hesitation.
    Mentally she chastised herself. It’s only a meal, after all. How bad could it be? But when the woman’s claw-like hand grasped Claire’s arm to pull her closer and Claire choked on the scented cloud of Jean Nate bath powder which, in spite of its liberal use, failed to mask the slight odor of decay emanating from the elderly woman, she wondered if she could make it through dinner.
    “My dear, I’m Florence Bernbaum. And you?” Her voice quavered with age, but her faded blue eyes had a sharp gleam.
    Claire forced a smile, then coughed to clear her throat so she could speak. She was determined to be polite and make the best of the situation. “I’m Claire Gulliver, from Bayside. That’s down below San Francisco a bit. Do you know it?”
    “Of course, of course, I was born and raised in San Francisco. I’m quite familiar with the area.”
    Claire heard her name and turned to smile at the others around the table as Ruth introduced each of their party.
    “Sean Gallagher, here, and my brother Ian. We’re glad to meet you all.” Sean still showed the remnants of his Irish good looks, even though his hair was white, his complexion a tad too ruddy and his body, softened by time, had slid down to thicken his waist. His brother was obviously the younger. His hair was still salt and pepper, his large body still looked hard and his handsome face was etched with deep lines around his mouth, eyes and across his forehead, which instead of aging him seemed to add distinction. He smiled his greeting and his eyes lit his face with a bit of devilment.
    Claire pulled her leg back from Lucy’s kick. She didn’t need the sharp jab to notice that fate had dumped two of Lucy’s three male targets right in their lap.
    “Dr. Richard Walmer,” the man sitting across from Claire said pompously, “and this is my dear, great aunt, Florence Bernbaum.”
    Dr. Walmer looked to be in his forties. He was thin, darkly tanned, wore a small moustache and was impeccably groomed. He was obviously taken with his own importance, but to his credit he appeared to be very fond of his aunt.
    “The Meriwetters here, Harold and Pearl,” the florid man announced, then added, “from Houston.” His lively wife, probably in her mid-to-late thirties, was almost dancing in her chair, she was that excited.
    “This is going to be so fun. I’ve never been on a cruise before.” She looked around the table. “I hope you all will make sure we do everything right.”
    Lucy shook her head. “I think we’re with you. This is our first cruise too.”
    Ian shook his big head. “Sorry, ladies, this is a first for Sean and me, too.”
    They all looked to Dr. Walmer, who reluctantly shook