He ground his teeth. My temper was rising. I’d never disliked anyone so much after such a short time as I did this woman.

‘Goodnight, Grace,’ he called again.

‘Open this door!’

‘That’s it,’ I muttered. ‘Now I’m mad. It’s time for action.’

He looked nervous. ‘Are you going to be violent?’

‘If necessary. Come here!’

I reached for him, hooking my arm about his neck, drawing him very close, very fiercely. He barely had time to draw breath, but after that I think I managed to make him forget about breathing. When we parted he was gasping.

‘I hope I’m never the one you’re mad at,’ he managed to say.

‘Shut up!’

I returned to the action, but this time I freed one hand and unlocked the door, so that Grace came marching in to find us wrapped in each other’s arms.

I did it purely out of expediency. He’d been good to me, and I was going to be good to him. It had nothing whatever to do with the way he’d kissed me in the boat. I was not looking for an excuse to do it again.

And you can believe that or not-as you like.

With the audience being closer this time, we had to make it look realistic, and he really worked at that. I could feel his hands roving all over me, and I wondered how much more my nervous system could stand in one evening.

Grace, I’m happy to say, nearly went ballistic. She stood there yelling, ‘Will you stop this and listen to me?’

I don’t know how long she kept it up. Everything was fuzzy, and I was only vaguely aware when she stopped abruptly and a man’s voice said, ‘Jack!’

We managed to disengage ourselves, and I saw a young man and woman whom I’d vaguely noticed on deck. Now, as then, they were holding hands. They seemed to come as a pair.

‘There’s someone to see you, Jack,’ the young man said, standing aside so that we could all see Vanner.