“One would expect to be well attended, even under circumstances as trying as those,” said Mrs. Bainbridge. “But where were the children?”

“That was the damnable thing, pardon my language,” said Buchanan-Wollaston. “There we were, supposedly defending British interests at sea, and Talbot’s telling us that we have to go to Corfu to pick up the children and the rest of their retinue and take them across to Italy. Like we were a bloody pleasure cruise, pardon my language again.”

“Oh, a bit of salty language from an old salt is only to be expected.” Mrs. Bainbridge laughed. “It will scandalise the ladies, and they will love it. Please, continue.”

Buchanan-Wollaston stared out across the Thames, watching the boats go by.

“We didn’t know if the Greeks would change their minds, so time was of the essence,” he said. “One cable from Athens to Corfu, and we would have the local revolutionary garrison waiting for us. The Calypso had a top speed of twenty-nine knots, but only for the utmost necessities. We ran her at twenty-two knots and reached the island in the early morning.”

He sipped his tea.

“Of course, there wasn’t a dock there built for the likes of a C class cruiser, so we had to take a landing party in. We took two boatloads of sailors, issued with rifles and a pair of Lewis guns. The prince, the princess and Talbot came as well.”

“Lewis guns!” exclaimed Sparks. “You were ready to go to war.”

“You’re familiar with Lewis guns? You surprise me, young lady.”

“Military family,” said Sparks quickly. “Learned all I know about guns from my uncles. The Lewis was a light machine gun.”

“Quite so,” said Buchanan-Wollaston. “I was ready to defend my men and my ship. The situation was iffy, to say the least. We docked at a marina about a mile and a half north of the villa. Talbot somehow commandeered a truck, and half of us piled in while the rest secured the dock. We pulled up at this rather pretty two-storey villa on a rise overlooking the straits. We woke the butler, and straightaway there was a quartet of young lovelies swarming the prince, crying their eyes out.”

“His daughters,” said Mrs. Bainbridge. “It must have been a terrifying experience, not knowing the fate of one’s father.”

“I suppose it was,” said Buchanan-Wollaston. “After that, it was pure chaos. The prince ran around grabbing everything valuable he could carry. The girls had to pack, but only what they could fit into one trunk apiece. The nanny had the baby—I remember they fashioned a crib of sorts by putting his bedding into an orange crate, and he slept right through it all.”

“And Princess Alice?” asked Mrs. Bainbridge.

“She saw to the children at first, but then she and Talbot started collecting papers from the offices and burning them.”

“Did they?” asked Sparks. “What sort of papers, do you know?”

“Correspondence, I expect,” said Buchanan-Wollaston. “Anything official that the revolutionary government might use against them in the future. Who knows? Didn’t read them, didn’t need to. We loaded what we could onto the truck. The butler and another servant took the family and servants to the dock in a pair of autos, and we loaded the entire lot, along with the nurse, a governess, and another lady’s maid for the girls, back onto the Calypso. We left for Brindisi that same night.”