CHAPTER SEVENThe next day a different mood seemed to fall over the party. Now they were out in the open sea again. The weather was glorious and, with no land in sight, it was possible to forget the world and become light-hearted.
Lionel flirted shamelessly with Effie, who received his overtures with a chuckle. Shona had feared that her friend and maid might end up broken-hearted, but when Effie sighed and said,
“I wonder what my Jimmy is doing right now,”
Shona concluded that if any heart was to be broken it was unlikely to be Effie’s.
As for Lionel –
“It will do him good,” Effie observed cheerfully. “Cheeky young pup!”
“Is that my heir you are referring to?” asked the Marquis, who happened to be passing them on deck.
“Is he really your heir?” Effie asked with interest. “He keeps te
