Antarctic Affair (13 page)

He gave her a sly grin. “Darlin’, I’m going to get
you on camera before this trip is over. You mark my words.”

Georgina had to laugh. “You’ll be wasting your time,
you do know that.”

“That’s for me to decide,” he said, licking his fingers
noisily and with much satisfaction.

Georgina excused herself and went inside. It was
freezing and she wanted to warm up before she lost all feeling in her
extremities. This trip was getting stranger and stranger by the minute. She got
a cup of coffee and wrapped her hands around it. The nautical clock on the wall
above the coffee machine read three o’clock. By her estimation that would make
it seven o’clock in England. She decided to call Charles. Taking her coffee
with her she went to the communications room to ask if she could use the
satellite phone.

There was the familiar static on the line and then
Charles answered, he sounded so far away.

“Hello darling, it’s George…
gina
,”
she added quickly. Now she was even calling herself George.

“Georgina, I was wondering when you were going to
call. How is your article coming on?”

“Well I made it up the volcano, if you can believe
that. And down into the crater. It was amazing. We nearly got attacked by an
enormous elephant seal, and there are penguins everywhere, even on isolated
icebergs.”

“My God, Georgina, it sounds like a zoo out there.
Are you sure its safe?”

Georgina laughed, “No, it’s not safe at all. In fact
I nearly fell off a kayak yesterday. Taj, that’s the photographer, got stranded
on a sinking ice sheet and I had to rescue him.”

There was a long pause.

“Hello?” called Georgina, thinking she’d lost the
connection.

“Have you been drinking?” asked Charles suddenly.
Georgina was astounded. “Why would you ask that?” she wanted to know.

“You sound so different. Not at all like yourself.
The Georgina I know would never take such unnecessary risks. You hate the
wilderness. You hate the water. Remember how we turned down that diving holiday
last year with the Braithwaite’s because you said Zanzibar wouldn’t agree with
you.”

She could hear Charles’s confusion, she could even
understand it. “It’s hard to explain,” she began. “I
feel
different, Charles. I never knew I could do this stuff.
Perhaps I had to be forced to realise I would enjoy it. I thought I would hate
being out of my comfort zone, you’re right, but it’s exciting. I feel
invigorated and alive.”

“I see.” It was clear he didn’t.

Georgina bit her lip in frustration. “Aren’t you
even a little bit excited for me? I’m having this huge adventure and I’m trying
to share it with you.”

“I’m sorry, darling. It all sounds a bit bizarre to
me, but I am happy for you. I just can’t relate. London is a long way away from
Antarctica.”

And she’d never felt further away from Charles.

She sighed. “I know. I suppose I can understand. How
was the book launch?”

She heard the enthusiasm inject back into his voice.
“Great, a rollicking success. All the important players were there. I suspect
we’ve got a best-seller on our hands.”

“Great,” she replied, amazed at how little she
suddenly cared about who was at his book launch. It wasn’t just the distance,
she felt worlds apart from him right now. In this fascinating natural
environment where life was a constant adventure, things like networking and
impressing the right people seemed very unimportant. She didn’t blame Charles
for his lack of interest, it must be hard to imagine how she felt without
having experienced any of this.

There was an awkward pause and then Charles said,
“I’d better go. Sir Rowley is coming round for dinner, he’ll be here any
minute.”

“Oh right, of course.” Sir Rowley was Charles’s late
father’s friend and the non-executive chairman of the company’s board of
directors. Georgina found him to be painfully boring but she’d always been too
polite to say so. Now she was relieved she wasn’t playing hostess.

“We’ll talk in a few days then,” said Charles.

“I wish you had come with me, Charles. Then we’d be
able to experience this together.” Georgina blurted out.
 

“I think I’d rather be here, if it’s all the same to
you.” He sounded horrified at the thought. Georgina swallowed hard over the
lump that had formed in her throat. “Well, maybe we can take a holiday together
sometime.”

“Let’s see when you get back, shall we? Look, I
really have to go now, Sir Rowley…”

“Yes, yes, I know,” she cut in. “He’ll be there any
minute.”

Another pause. “Good bye, Georgina,” Charles said
slowly.

“Good bye, Charles.”

Georgina walked back to the bar with a heavy heart.
Her coffee had gone cold so she got another cup and sat alone at a table,
staring out of the window, thinking about her disappointing conversation with
Charles.

“Are you okay, George?” She turned to see Taj
leaning against the doorframe, camera around his neck, watching her.

“I think so,” she said, taking a sip of her coffee.

“Do you want some company?”

She tried to hide her surprise, “Sure.” She couldn’t
get used to him being so friendly to her.

He took a seat opposite her. “Look, I’m sorry about
before, I didn’t mean to harass you about your mother. I know what it’s like
having parents you don’t get on with.”

She met his eyes, “It’s a common problem.”

“I got stuck in boarding school at the age of five.
I hated every minute of it. It’s probably why I’m so anti anything to do with
routines or schedules.” He smiled wryly. “And why I’ve given you such a hard
time.”

“Ah, well never mind. I’m not complaining. If you
hadn’t forced me to go on those excursions I would never have known what I was
missing.” She smiled at him, “I realised something today, that I actually enjoy
being out of doors, in nature. I’d never really thought about it before, but
this trip has made me realise how,” she searched for the right word,
“invigorating life can be.”

“How does it feel knowing you have to go back to a
desk job next week?” he asked.

“Oh, I’m not worried about that. I’m due a promotion
after this story, which I’m quite excited about, but I do plan to take far more
holidays this year.”

If Taj was disappointed with her answer, he didn’t
show it.

“I just hope I can get Charles to come with me,” she
finished, her eyes losing some of their sparkle.

“The fiancé?” he asked.

She nodded. “I spoke to him tonight. It was the
strangest conversation. It was like we were strangers. He could not relate to
anything I was telling him, and suddenly everything he said seemed so dull and
boring compared to this trip.”

“Travelling has a way of doing that,” he said and
Georgina knew he was talking from experience.

“I suppose it’s not real though, is it? I mean after
the holiday is over, you have to return to reality.”

“Not me,” he stated.

“No,” she mused, “but not all of us are lucky enough
to have jobs like yours.”

“You could have,” he pointed out. “You’re a writer.
You can work anywhere.”

Georgina gritted her teeth, “I’m not a travel
writer. I work for a fashion magazine.”

“I know, but what’s stopping you from working for a
company like mine? You could do full length features about gorillas caught in a
war zone, for instance, or Bolivia’s indigenous people and their traditions, or
even what coral reefs should look like. There are endless stories out there
waiting to be told. Exciting stories. Stories that will invigorate you.”

Georgina stared at him. “You make a good case, you
know that?”

“It’s my father’s genes coming out,” he said with
little humour.

She smiled. “Actually, now that you mention it, I
was contemplating doing an article on Antarctica while I’m here, perhaps to
sell to a wildlife magazine.”

“Like National Geographic, maybe?” he suggested with
a grin.

She smiled back at him, “Maybe, you never know.”

“I could put in a good word,” he offered.

“Thanks.” Without thinking she leant forward to pat
his hand. It was a playful, friendly gesture, but ended up being more of a
caress than a pat. Then he turned his hand over and gently held hers. Her eyes flew
to his face and what she saw there startled her. Instead of his usual cool
aquamarine gaze, she encountered a look of such passion that it instantly
turned her insides to mush. She gasped softly, and withdrew her hand. “I’m
sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

She was so flustered, that she took a large gulp of
coffee and nearly chocked.

“Easy,” he said. “Don’t worry about it. I understand
you’re upset and probably missing your fiancé.”

She frowned. “That’s just the thing… I don’t think I
am missing him.”

At Taj’s surprised look she explained, “I know
that’s terribly disloyal, and it doesn’t mean I don’t love him, but he seems so
far away right now. When I told him about everything I’d been doing he asked me
if I was drunk. Can you believe that?”

Taj burst out laughing. “Drunk? He’s obviously never
seen this side to you before,” he commented.

She giggled, “No, I suppose he hasn’t. Come to think
of it, I haven’t seen this side to me before either. It’s kind of taken me by
surprise, so I can just imagine how shocked Charles is.”

“Better to find out your fiancé isn’t who you
thought they were before you tie the knot, right?” he said lightly. She knew he
was joking but his words hit home and she suddenly wondered if that’s what
Charles was thinking at this very moment.

Taj took one look at her face and said, “That was
insensitive of me. I’m sure he’s just having trouble relating, that’s all.”

“That’s what he said too,” she said quietly.
Suddenly nothing made sense anymore. Taj was right, she’d discovered another
side to her personality on this trip, one that she really liked. Problem was it
didn’t fit easily into the life she’d made for herself. This new independent
spirit was a far cry from the highly-strung, materialistic girl who’d got on the
plane in Santiago a few days ago. She hadn’t styled her hair since she’d
arrived on board the
Explorer
,
preferring to tie it up so it was out of the way. She hadn’t worn make-up since
she’d looked in the mirror after the volcano hike and nearly died of fright.
That was a scary moment, one that she definitely didn’t want to dwell on. Now
she scrubbed her face clean in the morning and that’s how it stayed until she
went to bed. There were other changes too, like her feelings for Taj. She liked
him, but he was definitely not the kind of man a girl could be friends with, he
was just too damn attractive. It was that whole fearless bad-boy thing. He
oozed sex appeal with his rugged good looks and slightly wild demeanour – and
he jumped out of helicopters and abseiled into volcanoes for God’s sake. Not
many men could compete with that. To cut to the chase, he was a man women
dreamed about, not actually dated. Which was precisely why he made such a great
cover story. Even she was having trouble keeping her hands to herself – and she
was engaged!

With that thought in mind, she finished her coffee
and stood up, “Thanks for the chat but I’m afraid I’ve got some writing to do
this evening, so I’m going to get my laptop and find somewhere quiet to work.”

He nodded, “No problem. I’ll see you tomorrow. We’re
doing another hike I believe.”

“Oh, sounds like fun,” she smiled gamely. “At least
my hiking boots are worn in now.”

He laughed, and then said, “Just for the record, I’m
enjoying this new side to your personality, George. I hope she sticks around
for a while.”

“Thanks,” she said, moved by his thoughtful words
and then with a little smile, “she certainly intends to.”

He stood up. “You’re welcome.”

He checked the settings on the camera around his
neck and Georgina watched as he strolled out onto the bow, presumably to take
some photographs in the fading afternoon light.

CHAPTER EIGHT

“How much do you know about photography?” asked Taj
as they set off along a scenic cliff path edged by soaring ice-covered peaks above
a pristine bay along the Antarctic peninsular, appropriately named Paradise Bay,
early the next morning.

“Enough to be dangerous,” admitted Georgina
candidly.

“You in the mood to learn something new? I could use
a hand here.”

“Sure.”

He was carrying something that looked like a cross
between a flash and a cell phone. “This is a light metre,” he explained,
handing it to her. “It measures the available light and takes a reading. That
way I know what settings to use on my camera to take a particular shot.”

She nodded. He stood behind her and placed his hands
over hers on the light metre to show her how it worked. They were warm and his
touch was gentle. She went very still, pretending to concentrate on what he was
saying.