The Sins of the Father - By Jeffrey Archer Page 0,21
that companionway,' replied the girl. 'You can't miss it.'
Emma followed her pointing finger, and when she reached a door marked Purser she took a deep breath and knocked.
'Come in.'
Emma opened the door and stepped inside to find a smartly dressed officer seated behind a desk that was strewn with forms. He wore a crisp, open-necked white shirt which had two gold epaulettes on each shoulder.
'How can I help you?' he asked in an accent she'd never heard before, and could hardly decipher.
'I'm looking for a job as a waitress, sir,' said Emma, hoping she sounded like one of the maids at the Manor House.
'Sorry,' he said, looking back down. 'Don't need any more waitresses. The only available position is on the information desk.'
'I'd be happy to work there,' said Emma, reverting to her normal voice.
The purser gave her a closer look. 'The pay's not good,' he warned her, 'and the hours are worse.'
'I'm used to that,' said Emma.
'And I can't offer you a permanent position,' continued the purser, 'because one of my girls is on shore leave in New York, and will be rejoining the ship after this crossing.'
'That's not a problem,' said Emma without explanation.
The purser still didn't look convinced. 'Can you read and write?'
Emma would like to have told him that she'd won a scholarship to Oxford, but simply said, 'Yes, sir.'
Without another word, he pulled open a drawer and extracted a long form, passed her a fountain pen and said, 'Fill this in.' As Emma began to answer the questions, he added, 'And I'll also need to see a reference.'
Once Emma had completed the form, she opened her bag and handed over Maisie's letter of recommendation.
'Very impressive,' he said. 'But are you sure you're suited to being a receptionist?'
'It was going to be my next job at the Grand,' Emma said. 'All part of my training to be a manageress.'
'Then why give up that opportunity to join us?'
'I have a great-aunt who lives in New York, and my mother wants me to stay with her until the war is over.'
This time the purser did look convinced, as it wasn't the first time someone had wanted to work their passage in order to get away from England. 'Then let's get you started,' he said, jumping up. He marched out of the office and led her on the short journey back to the information desk.
'Peggy, I've found someone to replace Dana on this voyage, so you better get her started straight away.'
'Thank God for that,' said Peggy, lifting a flap so Emma could join her behind the counter. 'What's your name?' she asked in the same almost impenetrable accent. For the first time Emma understood what Bernard Shaw had meant when he suggested that the English and the Americans were divided by a common language.
'Emma Barrington.'
'Well, Emma, this is my assistant, Trudy. As we're so busy, perhaps you could just observe for now, and we'll try to fill you in as we go along.'
Emma took a pace back and watched as the two girls handled everything that was thrown at them, while somehow managing to keep smiling.
Within an hour, Emma knew at what time and where passengers should report for lifeboat drill, which deck the grill room was on, how far out to sea they had to be before passengers could order a drink, where they might find a partner for a round of bridge after dinner, and how to get to the upper deck if you wanted to watch the sunset.
For the next hour, Emma listened to most of the same questions being asked again and again, and during the third, she took a step forward and began to respond to the passengers' queries herself, only occasionally needing to refer to the other two girls.
Peggy was impressed, and when the queue had dwindled to a few latecomers, she said to Emma, 'Time to show you your quarters and grab some supper while the passengers are having a pre-dinner drink.' She turned to Trudy and added, 'I'll be back around seven to relieve you,' then lifted the flap and stepped out from behind the desk. Trudy nodded as another passenger came forward.
'Can you tell me if we have to dress for dinner tonight?'
'Not on the first night, sir,' came back the firm reply, 'but every other night.'
Peggy never stopped chatting as she led Emma down a long corridor, arriving at the top of some roped-off steps with a sign declaring in bold red letters, CREW ONLY.