Chapter 34
Supper was finished by the time Bridie and Alf clambered down the ladder into steerage. All along the deck, people cleared mugs from the tables and stowed cards, maps, and letter books for the night. Bridie joined the privy queue, only tiptoeing back to her bunk as the carpenter turned down the lamps. She loosed her bodice, slipped out of her skirts, and slid into bed beside Annie.
But her thoughts wouldn’t stop churning. Her crackling mattress joined the chorus of after-dark snoring. She heard the watch change on the deck above, the half hourly bells tolling midnight. She sat up, fumbled for her notebook, and lay back down again, hugging it to her chest.
Fancy Alf understanding about her dad. He was right. She had to talk to Rhys. After all they’d been through, they couldn’t
