The captain took the dinner orders. Regan, Lady Exner and Gabby decided on the coq au vin as the main course. Kenneth and Dale ordered the rack of lamb. Cameron and Sylvie decided on the steak au poivre. Mario and Immaculata had a terrible time choosing between the lamb and the steak. They finally agreed to order one of each and share. They also ordered onion soup. When the waiter was about to make his escape Mario pulled him back and said, “You may as well give us some of them crab-meat appetizers.”

Throughout the meal the conversation varied between group talk and individual exchanges. Sylvie Arden bounced back from her initial disappointment at the slim pickings of eligible men and spoke knowledgeably with Dale Cohoon about Regency furniture. Except for his grunts of contentment, Mario didn’t say a word during the meal. He meticulously mopped up every trace of liquid on his plate with a sour-dough roll.

Kenneth listened with admirable patience to Immaculata’s description of her adorable grandchildren, Concep-cione, “who is sort of named after me,” and Mario the Third, “the image of his father.” She ordered big Mario to pull out his wallet and pass their pictures around. Regan smiled and murmured polite compliments about the two chubby-cheeked toddlers.

Veronica was too busy trying to light yet another stale cigarette to do more than glance at the snapshots of the youngest Buttacavolas. She passed them on to Cameron Hard wick, who looked visibly pained and fired the collection at Sylvie. A waiter rushed to assist Veronica, who huffed and puffed until a dismal glow at the tip of the cigarette rewarded her efforts. With that accomplished, Veronica launched into a rhapsody of how the late Sir Gilbert had always enjoyed coq au vin. She went on to describe his life and times in minute detail, proclaiming him a Renaissance man who wrote beautiful poetry. When she finally ran out of breath Sylvie quickly changed the subject by asking Gavin if the missing bracelet from the last crossing had turned up.

“Not that I know of,” Gavin said, sounding a touch abrupt.

“One of the stewards was telling me all about it,” Sylvie confided. “I’ve made several crossings with Mrs. Watkins. She wears so much jewelry she looks like Queen for a Day. But that bracelet she lost was really something. They’ve posted a fifty-thousand-dollar reward for whoever finds it.”

“What happened?” Veronica asked, sounding excited.

“Gavin, you were there. You tell,” Sylvie replied.

“Well, I was on the ship,” Gavin answered with a defensive tone, then quickly resumed the demeanor of a genial host. “Apparently it fell off her wrist. It was the night of the Captain’s party. Who knows? Anyone could have picked it up.”