‘Great-Aunt Flora will know the whole story,’ said James confidently.

‘Great-Aunt Flora?’ asked William, leaving her name floating in the air, in the hope it would induce the young man to even greater indiscretions.

‘After Grandfather left home to join the merchant navy, his sister Flora became the first person in our family to go to university. After graduating from Glasgow with an honours degree in math, she studied accountancy, where she came top of her year. Well, top equal. It seems they weren’t quite ready to admit that a woman might be brighter than any man from her intake. That all happened around the time Grandpa was discharged from the Royal Navy, having served King and country with distinction, as he never stops reminding us. He then somehow raised enough money to buy a clapped-out – his expression – ferry company that transported vehicles and passengers from the mainland to the island of Iona.’

‘I’ve sailed on one of those boats myself,’ said William.

‘Great-Aunt Flora told him he was bonkers, but as there weren’t many firms offering women serious jobs after the war, she reluctantly joined the company and took charge of the books. Her favourite expression remains: “While he raised the pounds, I took care of the pennies.” However, despite her natural caution and shrewd common sense, the company nearly went under on more than one occasion.’

‘What self-made millionaire hasn’t had to face that problem at some time in their career?’

‘On one occasion, Grandfather was within twenty-four hours of declaring bankruptcy, and would have done if the Dundee Bank of Trade and Commerce hadn’t come to his rescue. Even I haven’t worked out how he pulled that one off. All I know for certain is that when his first cruise ship was being built on the Clyde, at the end of one particular week he couldn’t afford to pay the dockers’ wages, and they threatened to go out on strike. He once told me he didn’t sleep for a week, and this is a man who slept soundly every night during the Battle of the Atlantic.’

‘I read all about the role he played in that encounter in the Ship’s Log.’

‘Not to be relied on,’ said James, tossing a ball in the air.

‘Why not?’ asked William, genuinely curious.

‘Grandfather wrote it himself. Or to be more accurate, should I be called to give evidence in court, he dictated every word of it to Kaye Patterson, his private secretary.’

‘Who, I suspect, was the lady seated next to you at breakfast.’

‘Not bad, Chief Inspector. But if I told you my grandfather has two secretaries, one who can spell and one who can’t, which is Kaye?’

‘The one who can.’

‘What makes you so sure of that?’

‘Your grandmother appeared to be having an animated conversation with her, which she was clearly enjoying,’ said William, as Franco reappeared by their side.

‘Anything more, gentlemen?’ he asked.

‘No thank you, Franco,’ said James.

‘Why does Franco want the passengers to think he’s from Italy?’ asked William once the waiter had left them.