Yvette merely nodded to show that she understood what she had been told, but Kelda asked,
“Where shall we meet his Lordship before dinner?”
“I will be waiting, m’mselle, at the foot of the stairs to escort you to whichever room his Lordship wishes to receive you in.”
“Thank you,” Kelda murmured.
She rose to her feet as she spoke and she and Yvette went upstairs.
Because it was early in the year darkness came swiftly and by five o’clock it was already much cooler than it had been all day.
They had celebrated Christmas Day at sea and, while the staff on the Steamship had done their best to make it a joyous festive occasion and there had been crackers to pull and small souvenirs brought in by ‘Father Christmas’ for all the guests, the passengers had been mostly too old or too dull to ma
