Three

Evelyn woke up on the first day of work on the SS Venture brimming with excitement. Anyone would think she was mad for being so happy at such a large amount of hard work, but Evelyn didn't mind it. It was true, she had little experience of it, but she was eager to begin nonetheless. The fact that she had done little with her life, that she'd experienced almost nothing in the grand scheme of things, often frustrated and annoyed her and she was keen to remedy that. For once, she would be thankful for having something useful to do, as well, for sitting around looking pretty was not something she deemed helpful to society.

She dressed for the day, pulling on a pair of trousers she'd borrowed from her brother – well, stolen as she wasn't likely to give them back – and tucking in a cotton shirt. It was one of her old school shirts; she'd spent weeks unstitching the sides and adding more material so that it fit her again. Her Mother had caught her doing it once and had given her an approving look, apparently pleased that she was getting on with a suitable pursuit for a young lady. She'd laughed about it afterwards and thought it was very ironic. Though her needlework was good enough, unfortunately the shirt now looked rather mismatched and shabby. Evelyn had been a little worried by this at first, but she definitely needn't have been, for one look at the crew told her that by wearing it she would fit right in. She then pulled on her boots and stepped out of her little cabin.

As she did so, she found that the cabin door opposite her had also opened simultaneously. A sleepy looking Jimmy met her in the hallway. His hair was ruffled slightly and he was rubbing one eye. He straightened up as he saw her.

"Oh, morning," he greeted. "You're up early."

"Got to make a good impression on my first day, am I right?" Evelyn answered briskly. Jimmy said nothing, only nodded slightly in agreement and the awkward silence from the night before fell between them again. "Err, you couldn't show me to the galley, could you? I'm to start work helping the cook apparently, but I can't quite remember how to get there…"

This was a lie. It ship wasn't that big and, although she'd only been there a day or so, Evelyn already knew where all the key places were: the bridge, the galley, the cabins and the cargo hold, for example. But it broke the ice, anyway.

At least, she thought it would. It seemed Jimmy was a man of few words. But he really was an interesting boy. Evelyn could not help but be drawn in by him, which she found strange, as young men usually wooed young women by complimenting and charming them, but Jimmy did neither. In fact, he barely spoke at all. She knew what her Mother would say about him, that he was simple, that the lights were on by nobody was home. But that would be a cruel thing to say. He was just shy, Evelyn could tell. And who knows what he'd experienced in the world to make him like that? She certainly wouldn't judge him for it. And besides, she had a feeling there was more to him. She was sure that there was more going on inside his head than people thought. He really was intriguing. They continued to the galley in silence before Evelyn grew tired of it and piped up again.

"So…how long have you been on the Venture?" she asked.

"'Bout seven years, maybe eight."

Evelyn's eyebrows rose at this. "But you must have been so young."

Jimmy made a soft 'hmm' sound in agreement, but said nothing more on the subject. Evelyn did not push it.

"And what about you? What made you join our crew?" Evelyn was surprised at his attempt at conversation, but pleased nonetheless that he showed an interest, whether it was out of politeness or otherwise.

"Fancied a change," she shrugged. Jimmy looked at her, slightly surprised by the flippancy of her answer. She laughed and threw up her hands. "Why not?"

They continued to the galley without another word spoken between them. Except, this time, the quietness between them was pleasant, not awkward as before. Jimmy hummed under his breath as they walked out in the clear sea air and Evelyn felt rather content. Not to mention pleased that she had found at least one person aboard the ship that she could be friends with. She was to be there for a while and did not intend to keep to herself.

When they reached the galley, Jimmy quickly wolfed down his breakfast, made his goodbyes and hurried away to find Hayes, leaving Evelyn alone with the cook. She eyed him from across the room, cooking something unidentifiable from the kitchen. She decided it would be better to be upfront about things, than to shrink like violet into the background. She wanted to make a good impression more than anything, she was desperate to show that she could be useful around the ship. And in fact, she was rather happy that the Captain had assigned her to the ship's cook – better to start with something easy. So she took the plunge and walked over to introduce herself.

"Katherine Winters, at your service, sir," she said brightly, giving a mock salute. The man looked up, frowning at her slightly, before his face relaxed and he gave a chuckle.

"Lumpy, young miss," he replied, saluting back. "Ship's cook."

"So I see," Evelyn said, rather impertinently. Lumpy eyed her suspiciously.

"Cheeky one, you are," he said, laughing again. "I like ya already!"

"Same to you, sir." She grinned.

"Now, let me give you the grand tour…"

Evelyn's first day under the watch of Lumpy was everything she'd hoped it would be, if more than a little tiring. Firstly, he had shown her where everything was. Not that it was particularly organised. Most things didn't exactly have a particular home, except for the food that stayed in the larder, everything just sort of sat where ever it was placed after being used and was put away if they needed to clear some space. But Evelyn had to admit, Lumpy could manage the kitchen well enough. It was organised chaos, she supposed. And it was clean, that was all that mattered to her.

Next, upon finding out that she had never, ever cooked before, he had sighed and taught her the basics. It was easy enough, learning how to chop vegetables properly and what flavours went with what. Not that they had much variety to work with. She had squealed when he had shown her the sheep's brains and other types of unknown, low cost meat that they had stored away, before point blankly refusing to ever touch them. "I'd rather starve!" were her rough sentiments on the matter. Lumpy had only laughed and told her that she may go back on that yet.

After that, the hard work started. He made her scrub the floor and wash up all the dishes and cutlery from breakfast. Not that she'd minded. Considering what an odd man Lumpy was, Evelyn found him to be wonderful company, always laughing and making jokes. He teased her on the way she spoke and in turn she had made a rather unflattering impression of him. He had only roared with laughter, along with the other crew members present at the time.

Her bright mood spread to everyone who entered the galley that day and by the evening meal it was positively bustling with people, all laughing and talking together. She had not seen the young couple she had met the previous day again, but many of the crew, who had finished for the day, had come to join them for dinner. They all sat cramped in the small galley, piling round the table and, if they could not fit, sitting up on the sideboards to eat.

Evelyn recognised many of the faces in the crowd – Hayes, Jimmy and Choy, for example – but mostly, it was the first time she was to meet the majority of the crew. Most of them weren't particularly interested in her, too wrapped up in their own conversations, but a few were rather talkative and Lumpy made sure that everyone introduced themselves. Again, she felt glad of Lumpy's company; he was familiar with all of the crew and, whether he was consciously doing it, really helped Evelyn to settle in. Finally, she felt like she belonged somewhere.

Meanwhile, back in onshore, Leonard Hartley sighed at his desk. He turned and looked out of the window. The city of New York rising up around him. Not too far away, he could see the Empire State Building, towering above all else. He stopped to appreciate the amazing feat of engineering, before his mind had to return to the matters in hand.

He was annoyed. He had just been in the middle of doing something extremely important when his secretary had called through and informed him that a certain Lawrence Hargrove wished to see him. It was just what he needed. Mind you, he did like the man, it was just bad timing.

"Lawrence, my man!" he cried as the man in question entered the room. He rose to greet him, shaking his hand and patting his shoulder simultaneously.

"Mr Hartley," the man said with a nod of his head. Leonard returned to his seat behind his desk and motioned for Lawrence to sit opposite him.

"What can I do for you, son? Did your Father send you?"

"No, actually. I won't keep you for a minute, I promise…I came to speak with you about Evelyn." Leonard could have guessed that. Lawrence could have easily phoned, spoken to his secretary and she'd tell him exactly the same as he was about to tell him, but then again, he was like that, always on the case. "I was wondering if you'd had any news."

Leonard sighed again and rose from his chair. He liked the man alright, but he didn't have time for this.

"Nope, 'fraid not," he answered, casually, his New York accent coming out strong.

"I thought as much. You see, I was wondering if you'd let me get my man on the job."

Leonard turned to face him, intrigued. "Your man?"

"Yeah, names Crowe, Victor Crowe. Ex-army man and the best there is. Just thought seeing as the cops aren't making much progress, we'd better take the matter into our own hands."

"He's not bent is he?" Leonard asked, eyeing the card Lawrence had just handed him suspiciously. Lawrence chuckled.

"Course not. Like I said, best there is. He'll find your daughter in no time and we all know how important that is."

Leonard nodded, thinking the whole thing over. "Very well. Send the bill to me. But I'd appreciate it if I was kept out of it. Things are really kicking off around here at the moment."

"Not a problem, Mr Hartley." Lawrence rose. "Well, I'd best be off. I'll keep you informed."

"Thank you," Leonard replied with a firm nod.

He watched as the young man exited the room, before going back to his work. The meeting had been more useful than he'd expected, at least that was one thing off of his mind. Though why Hargrove should take such an interest in finding the girl, he didn't know.

Of course, they talked about a marriage between the two of them, but Leonard thought the man would have given up on that by now, with the kidnap and everything. He certainly didn't love the girl, surely?

It'd been a natural coupling. Evelyn hadn't liked it, but it had been a good idea for everyone. Lawrence had asked the girl not too long ago and she'd refused outright. But apparently, he was still adamant that they should marry. This was fine with Leonard though, he would gain a lot from it. He supposed that was why he'd allowed Lawrence to take matters into his own hands. She would be found much more quickly if there was someone to chase things along and he himself just didn't have the time.

He had to hand it to him though, Lawrence knew how to get what he wanted. Leonard guessed that was why he was so successful, that coupled with the guidance of his Father. He would go a long way if he stayed like that. Leonard admired him greatly for his ambition, it was one of the reasons why he'd picked him out for his daughter. Grace had been happy with the match too, not that he needed her permission, but still, it was yet another reason why the match should go ahead. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more pleased he became that he'd let the man take charge of things. Then perhaps Evelyn would actually be found and they would be able to marry. He rather liked the idea of him as a son-in-law. It seemed everything was working out rather well.

A week passed and Evelyn was more than settled in. It had been odd at first, getting used to the new surroundings and to being addressed by a different name, but after seven whole days of Lumpy's constant shouts of "Katherine!", she was soon used to it. Not to mention the fact that he had her running all over the place, she knew the ship top to toe in no time. She supposed it was a good thing, jumping in at the deep end, it made her remember things. It forced her to learn where everything was and exactly what she was meant to be doing. She was a bright girl and picked it all up very quickly.

Aside from the kitchens, she was to assist in whatever needed doing at the time – much like Jimmy. In fact, more often than not, if she wasn't in the galley, then she was off helping him instead.

Her friendship with Jimmy surprised Evelyn. She truly did not think she would be able to form a close friendship with anyone on board – friendships yes, but close friendships? Well, she had little in common with these sea-faring men. Yet, on both accounts, she was wrong. Not only did she find most of the crew more than agreeable and very easy going, but she found that her and Jimmy got on rather well, too.

She'd found it difficult at first. Usually, she couldn't get away from young men, trying to woo her and constantly talking at her like she were a wall or a piece of furniture, but Jimmy was different. As she'd observed before, he didn't talk much, for starters, and when he did, Evelyn found him to be unexpectedly perceptive and curious.

One day, she'd accidentally let it slip that she'd gone to school and after that he'd constantly quiz her on it. He was eager to learn, she could tell. She often thought that they should have traded places – it was Jimmy who should have been given all the opportunities, he deserved them far more. He was inquisitive and enthusiastic about learning new things. She'd been impressed when he'd told her he'd taught himself to read and she often encouraged him to read passages of his book aloud to her when they had a spare moment and they had spent a few evenings reading to each other as well.

She felt strangely comfortable around the boy. She supposed it was because they were of a similar age. But she felt completely different around him compared to how she felt with the others. The Captain she saw rarely and when she did he was stern and said very little to her, Hayes was gentle enough and she could see why Jimmy looked up to him, but they were both rather intimidating to say the least. Lumpy was the complete opposite, of course, she found him to be a very comic character and he kept her more than entertained through out the long days. But, more than anyone, it was Jimmy's company she enjoyed the most.

Then there was the couple she'd met on the first day of the voyage. They were a bizarre pair to say the least, but she found Nancy to be quite good company, when she wanted to be.

She didn't usually see them that often, they ate later than the rest of the crew and kept to their rooms mainly, only coming out for a smoke every now and again. But occasionally Nancy would knock on Evelyn's door and talk with her for a while, probably more for the female company than Evelyn herself, but she didn't mind.

Nancy was a sweet girl, though quite a bit older than Evelyn, she guessed her to be nearly thirty, perhaps. They formed a quick friendship, again probably owing to the fact that they were the two females on board and to Nancy's persistent boredom. She enjoyed trying to dress her up and sometimes Evelyn let her, just to stop her from pestering so continually. They would sit in Evelyn's cabin and Nancy would bring in all her rollers and beauty products and curl her hair. Evelyn had to admit that she rather liked it. She made Nancy do it so that it didn't look too curly and too neat, she thought it silly to walk around the ship in shabby clothes but perfectly styled hair. And she did it wonderfully, with just the right amount of curl.

Even Jimmy had liked it, in fact. Evelyn did not think a boy had ever commented on the way she looked before, not even when she spent hours getting ready and she was wearing her best and most expensive dress. But now that she was wearing her brother's old clothes and no make-up did she receive her first compliment, it was almost laughable. But it happened. His eyes had lingered on her a little longer than usual and he'd reached out and touched the curls softly.

"You look pretty with your hair like that," he'd said. She'd blushed and tried to cover her embarrassment by making a joke. Thank God, no one else had been there to see. After that she'd let Nancy do it more often.

It was a shame Evelyn did not have such enthusiasm for Bobby. She'd only encountered him once or twice, he didn't like roaming the deck much. But she was more than glad of this. She didn't like him much. She often wondered what Nancy ever saw in him, aside from the fact that he was rather good looking, like an actor or something. But it was the way he spoke, like a snake. He always seemed to smirk and leer at her. He would make lewd jokes and tease her, even in front of Nancy, though she seemed unfazed by it. Evelyn imagined that he did it to every girl he'd ever encountered. Usually it wasn't a problem anyway, because she never spoke to him alone. Until one day, when he caught her unawares.

It was the evening and she had stopped to watch the sunset. It was a sight she never grew tired of seeing, especially out at sea. There was nothing to obscure it, you see. She loved the fact that every night it was different. Sometimes there was a red sky, sometimes it was a soft pink, making the clouds look like candyfloss, and sometimes it was purple. Tonight it was orange. The rays of the sun lit up the entire sky and the waves only reflected them back, making it seem like the whole world was on fire. She sighed contentedly and leant forward onto the railings. There was a cool sea breeze in the air that played in her hair and with the loose material of her shirt.

"Pretty sight," she heard all of a sudden. She had not heard him approach but Bobby stood to one side of her, cigarettes in hand.

"It is," she replied, keeping her answer short. She did not wish to get into a conversation with him very much.

"Not with Jimmy tonight?"

She turned to look at him, after he said it, and frowned. Why should he assume she'd be with Jimmy?

"Apparently not," she answered curtly. He took a few steps forward and stood beside her at the railings. Taking out a cigarette, he offered it to her.

"No, thanks. Don't smoke."

"Suit yourself," he responded, putting it in his own mouth and lighting the end. Evelyn watched him take a few drags out of the corner of her eye and wondered what to do. She had to make her excuses right away, she did not want to get sucked in by him, there was just something about him…But before she could get a word out, he beat her to it.

"I think you got one of them faces," he said, taking another drag and facing out to sea.

"What faces?" she asked, puzzled somewhat.

"You know, when you think you recognise someone, but really you've never met them before."

"Oh?" Had he guessed who she was?

"Yeah, 'cause you sure do look familiar."

"Bet you seen a lot of girls in your life, Bobby. Wouldn't be surprised if they all just looked the same to you now."

He chuckled, but it was false. He recovered and sidled in next to her. "You sure I ain't met you before?"

"I don't usually associate with people like you," she said, moving away. She was growing wary now, what if he really did recognise her?

"Is that so?" He took a step closer, smirking. "Used to more…refined company?"

She struggled for something to say, but was luckily saved by the sound of footsteps approaching. Jimmy appeared a second later. At the sight of him, Evelyn leapt into action.

"Jimmy!" she exclaimed. "I was just about to come looking for you."

"Yeah?" he said quietly.

"Yeah…" She grabbed his arm and linked it with her own, guiding him away from Bobby. "Come on, let's go."

She risked a look back, only to wish she hadn't. Bobby still stood there, smirking at her, smoke from his cigarette rising ominously from his mouth. He winked at her, just before he fell out of sight.

He knew, she was sure of it.

The rest of the evening, Evelyn could not help but feel a tad jittery. She'd been having such a good week helping Lumpy and spending time with Jimmy that she'd almost forgotten about her old life. She almost felt like she was no longer Evelyn, she was Katherine now. It was strange to think back to it all, it felt like a lifetime ago, and she'd grown to be so comfortable on the Venture.

But she had to think practically. Bobby was a creep, he was probably just trying to intimidate her and she was not about to let that happen. She admitted to herself that she probably looked a tad out of place on that ship full of men, but it was not a crazy notion for her to be there, surely it wasn't? It was only because she knew she had a secret that she suspected he knew. He was just trying to wind her up, he had been doing it since the moment he'd met her. He was a low-life, looking for young girls to prey on, just for sport. She tried to put the thought of him out of her mind, not wanting to waste anymore time on the man.

She'd had steered Jimmy back to gallery right away, walking briskly so as to be as far away from Bobby as she could. He'd frowned at her and asked what the matter was.

"Oh, nothing. He's just a creep," she'd said casually, not wanting to draw attention to any of it. "Lumpy will be waiting for us in the galley. We promised him his night off, remember?" She giggled.

The previous evening, Lumpy had been complaining about his bad knee and so Evelyn had promised that she would cook the next evening meal by herself to give him the night off. Despite the fact that she contributed greatly to the preparation of every meal, Evelyn was still rather worried about the extent of her cooking skills, therefore, she'd roped Jimmy in to help. He'd been unsure at first, having had little experience in the kitchen, but after a reassurance that he would only have to chop up a few things and get the plates ready, he had agreed.

They arrived in the galley to find Lumpy still busying himself in the kitchen. At the sight, Evelyn marched over to him, a determined look on her face.

"Right," she said, starting to gather all the appropriate utensils together. "Let's get this dinner cooked. Jimmy, get that saucepan over there. Oh, and the potatoes beside it."

When she had all the ingredients together, she turned to look at Lumpy who still stood a little away from her. She stared at him pointedly.

"What?" he asked, gruffly.

"I must ask that you leave," she replied, as politely as possible.

"Leave?" he repeated.

"A true chef never reveals their secrets, not even to you." Jimmy stifled a laugh at her response. She flashed a smile and giggled. "Sorry, Lumpy! Go and enjoy your evening off."

He didn't reply, only grunted and stalked off. Evelyn did not believe that he even wanted any time off, he was practically married to that kitchen. He had most likely been moaning for the sake of moaning and thought that she would not keep to her word. But Evelyn intended to prove herself that night. She wanted to show herself, show everyone even, that she could do it.

Working with the measly contents of the store cupboard, they managed to pull together some kind of stew. Evelyn could not even quite remember what they'd put in it, a mix of anything and everything decent tasting they could find, she imagined. She'd made Jimmy deal with the meat, she wouldn't even let him tell her what it was he put in it. Ignorance was bliss!

He'd turned out to be a massive help to her, not that she had doubted him before, but he surprised her, as he always did. He was attentive and listened to her every word, doing as she said exactly and they had great fun working together. Jimmy had loosened up somewhat, particularly in the last couple of days; it seemed he was beginning to feel more comfortable around her, too. And Evelyn was glad of it.

As the stew became almost ready, the crew began to gather in the galley, drawn by the smell of it. Evelyn was pleased that at least it smelled nice, that was a good sign of how it might taste.

It seemed everybody was rather excited about how it should turn out. You could tell that not a lot else happened on the ship, if this was their most exciting event. But Evelyn was nonetheless happy that everyone was so enthusiastic about it all.

It was agreed that Lumpy should have the first taste. So, when everyone was settled, Jimmy poured out a bowl and Evelyn set it before him as he sat at the table.

"The moment of truth!" he chuckled, as he picked up his spoon.

"Let's see how good Lumpy's teaching is," another crew member joked. Lumpy narrowed his eyes at him, but joined in with the laughter. Everybody watched in anticipation as he took a spoonful and slowly moved it up to his lips. But he stopped before he reached his mouth and set the spoon down on the bowl again with a clatter, making a little spill on the table.

"I can't eat with you lot all watching me! Feel like I'm on stage or something," he complained.

"Oh, stop moaning, Lumpy, and eat!" Evelyn cried, desperate to know if he approved or not.

"Or we'll make you dance instead," Jimmy added.

Lumpy did as he was told and took a mouthful. Evelyn held her breath and they watched him chew.

"Well?" she prodded.

"'S good," he replied, smiling and nodding, his mouth still full. Everybody let out a hearty cheer at his reaction. Evelyn was over the moon. She jumped up and down, letting out an extremely over the top and girlish squeal. She turned to face Jimmy, pulling him into hug.

"We did it!" she cried as she let go of him.

"Thanks to me," Lumpy interjected.

"What ever do you mean?" she replied with mock indignation.

"Well, I was the one who taught ya it all, wasn't I? Barely knew was a carrot was when you first got here!"

"I'll ignore that," she said, giving him a friendly slap on the shoulder, before turning back to the pot of stew and helping Jimmy to hand it out to the others.

Evelyn could not help but beam at the sight before her – all of them eating together, enjoying the food that she had made. She felt proud of herself for having made something, something useful at that. It was funny that such a small, seemingly insignificant thing could give her such a sense of self-worth. Something that years of learning ballet and French and embroidery and singing and God knows how many other silly pursuits, had never given her.

She felt like the mother of an extremely, and she meant extremely, odd family. It was a pleasant feeling. She turned to Jimmy, eating his meal beside her, and smiled. She didn't think she'd ever been this happy before.

Thank you so much for the reviews, its great to get some feedback and to know that people out there are reading this. Let me know what you think of this chapter. I sometimes struggle with the characterisation of Jimmy, he's so quiet and subdued in the film so it makes it difficult to know what he would say day to day about things. I suppose there might be more than one way of portraying him as a result - I see Jimmy as being quiet, but with a lot more going on up there than most people would think, as Evelyn describes. I see him as intelligent, though perhaps not obviously so, in the sense that hes observant and perceptive, he notices the world around him and wants to learn all about it. I suppose that makes him quite childlike, in a sense, but its that innocence that everyone loves about him I guess! Anyway, that explains my characterisation of him in my story, I hope it fits in with the way that most other people see him. But please do let me know if you think he's ever acting OOC, in this or in any future chapters.

Oh and to anyone who's added this story to their alert list or favourite story list, you obviously like it and plan to continue following it, so drop me a review to say why :) pretty pleaseee.

Thanks,

youonlydoll x