“I shouldn’t really be out here.” Darcy looked around, but the foredeck was deserted, apart from us. He went over to the railing and looked out. I followed him and he pulled me close to him again. “But frankly at this moment I don’t care. If the gentleman thief doesn’t know I’m on his trail by now then he’s not as smart as I thought he was.”

“Princess Promila wasn’t at dinner again tonight,” I said. “She must be very upset.” Then another thought struck me. “I suppose she really is Princess Promila? The burglar couldn’t have snuck on board, killed the real Princess and dumped her body over the side?”

I felt Darcy holding me a little tighter. “You’re suggesting that my jewel thief is a woman and has killed the real Princess Promila?”

“It’s a possibility,” I said.

He frowned. “But the princess’s faithful retainer would surely notice the difference.”

“Unless her faithful retainer is also a fake?”

“But the number of passengers adds up—unless?” He paused. “We didn’t count on a stowaway when we did our cabin check. I suppose stowing away wouldn’t be impossible on a ship of this size.” He was staring out past me, trying to assess the situation, or visualize the princess’s suite.

“Couldn’t you check up on the princess after she leaves the ship? Follow her? Make sure she’s genuine?”

“I could. I believe she said she’s going to stay with the Astors. They’d certainly know if she was a fake.” He stared out to sea. “So did you spread the word about your valuable jewels?”

“Yes, I did. And I stayed in my cabin most of the afternoon but no visits from the burglar. So I thought I should make the bait more tempting. I borrowed something flashy from my mother. It looks quite real, doesn’t it?” I held up my arm, then I said, “It’s gone.”

There was no longer a sparkling bracelet on my wrist.

“When did you see it last?” Darcy asked.

“Before I started dancing with Algie. But he was flinging me around a lot. It’s possible it just got knocked off from my wrist and is lying somewhere on the floor.”

“Possible,” Darcy said. “Do you remember anyone dancing too close to you? Bumping into you?”

“Actually I was bumping into other people,” I said. “Algie’s idea of the jive was quite dangerous.”

“We’d better go back and look,” Darcy said. “I don’t really want to show my face in there, but would you go in again and look for the bracelet? Let people know it’s missing. Seem upset. Watch reactions.”

“I suppose so,” I said. “Why does something always seem to come in the way when we’re together? Are we destined to have no more than two minutes alone and in peace?”