“He went to the War and acquitted himself bravely. He was reported missing and wounded⁠—believed killed.”

That told me what I wanted to know. I asked no more. But more than ever I wondered how much Colonel Race knew. The part he was playing in all this puzzled me.

One other thing I did. That was to interview the night steward. With a little financial encouragement, I soon got him to talk.

“The lady wasn’t frightened, was she, miss? It seemed a harmless sort of joke. A bet, or so I understood.”