A diver appeared and signalled he was going down to the sea floor directly under the mast. Shelly wasn’t happy. It was a long way, almost fifty feet from the mast to the sand, and he was alone. Everyone was watching the other drone, which filmed the captain’s bathroom with its beautiful Minton tiles, and roll-edged bath with four taps, clearly visible.

‘I don’t believe it. Is that the plug, still in the bath?’ Shelly said with astonishment.

‘It is,’ Harry said. ‘Remember, Captain Bartlett was about to take his bath when the mine struck.’

The lone diver went out of shot. Shelly’s heart leapt.

‘Where’s he gone? The diver on screen 6. He was going to explore the sea floor below the mast. Now I can’t see him.’

Then a pale light came into view. ‘He must be on the bottom because he’s kicked up some silt and it’s drifted up, over him, so we can’t see him so well,’ Harry said.

Shelly thought of David and the fishing net, and felt sick.

Suddenly an awful screeching sounded. ‘That’s him,’ Harry said. ‘What’s going on? Tell sub 2 to send his drone down.’

The operator spoke into his headset. ‘He can’t, he’s running short of battery life. I’ll try drone 1.’ After a moment’s conversation with sub 1, he said. ‘He’s going to check. Also, it’s time to call everyone up for decompression.’ The screeching started again. ‘What the hell—’ the operator muttered. ‘Ah, got him on screen. Look, he’s either in great pain or very excited.’

Shelly’s mouth had dried so much she couldn’t speak. The drone came around the diver’s shoulders to get a better view of him. They could all see his eyes were wild and Shelly’s first thought was that he was in pain. He lifted his gloved hand in front of the drone, then pointed it down to the sand. The drone operator in the sub manoeuvred the drone again. Then, they all saw it in the same moment.

Three-quarters buried in the seabed, the graceful curves of Britannic’s bell.

*

‘They’re starting their ascent,’ Harry called from the prow. ‘Unbelievable, after over a hundred years, to find the bell! I can hardly believe it myself. God forgive me and a dozen others for suspecting Cousteau might have had something to do with its disappearance. It’s been there the whole time! I feel ashamed.’ His eyes sparkled. ‘Yes, shame on us all!’ Excitement resonated in his voice. Shelly’s grin widened. He swept her into his arms and kissed her fervently on the lips.

‘Dad!’ Elias shouted. ‘You’re embarrassing me!’

They broke apart, breathless and laughing.