Chapter 34: Cruising With Wives

Henry Hargreaves had been the skipper of the Imperial Voyager for well over ten years before the Emir set foot on board again. The vessel had entertained many military conferences and a few private cruises. Every two weeks, without fail, she sailed up and down the Gulf. If there were no passengers on board the staff practised their duties, taking it in turns to be guests It was a great privilege for senior non-commissioned crew members to stay in the guest suites, using all the facilities including the women, and it gave their deputies good training in command. Then the call finally came. Three hours notice was given that the Emir would board for a cruise, accompanied by a few guests.

"How long a cruise? What itinerary? How many guests?" Henry threw the questions tersely at the functionary on the other end of the telephone.

"Master, His Magnificence, the Emir Mahmoud Abdullah, may he live for ever, will decide when he wishes to return. He will decide where he wishes to travel. The number of guests is no more than five. The Emir himself; Ghada Baroud, his Advisor on Diplomatic Matters; Ramzy El-Najjar, the Master of Quarry; Kamal Qumsiyeh, the Head of Protocol; and General Mustapha, all of whom you know."

There was a click and the telephone went down. Henry sat pondering for a few seconds. Lifting the telephone, he spoke to the more important members of his staff, alerting them to this eventuality. After the calls he was relieved that all was in readiness, as it was supposed to be, for the Emir to take his pleasure.

'At least the Chief Engineer didn't have the engines in pieces, ' he consoled himself, 'And we are fully provisioned.'

Two and a half hours later, resplendent in his best ceremonial uniform, Admiral Henry Hargreaves stood at the head of the gangway as four buses pulled up and a whole host of people descended.

"Who are these?" he asked his Charles.

"These are the Emir's and his guest's staff," came the reply; then the man added, quite unnecessarily, "The ones in abayas are women."

The arriving crowd made its way to the forward gang-plank, the one the sailors used.

"Ah, good," said the Second Officer, "Someone has told them what the protocol is. The Purser is down there to direct them to the correct cabins."

"Why do I not have a list of the cabin assignments?"

"Skipper, relax," said the Second Officer, "The Purser deals with all that. You just concentrate on chatting to the bigwigs and keeping the Emir out of the way while your staff deal with the details."