Cover

Dedication

For Alex, with love and thanks for all your support and plot help, and because this one has a port hole on the cover. xxx

Michael has never …

Michael has never been anywhere as grand as this before. He hangs the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the handle, closes the door of his stateroom and takes it all in.

The bed is enormous. The towel placed on top has been crafted into the shape of a swan. He touches its beak. Clever. The bed linen is crisp white with the discreet blue-and-gold logo of the cruise company, Heracles, on each of the pillows.

There is a basket of fruit on a small table by a gold velvet armchair. Not apples and oranges and everyday pieces like that, but mango, kiwi, papaya and a bright pink fruit which has already been cut in half to expose a strange black and white interior – dragon fruit.

Michael picks up the silver spoon set alongside it on a white, logoed plate with a folded linen napkin. The spoon is pleasingly heavy and hallmarked, he notices, and stamped with the name of the ship – Immanis. He unties the thick, gold and blue velvet ribbon, unwraps the cellophane and takes a scoop of the dragon fruit. He’s expecting it to be delicious from the way it looks, but it’s strangely tasteless. Ah well. He cuts a slice of mango instead. The juice runs down his hand and he pops it into his mouth. Much better.

He goes into the black marble bathroom and rinses the juice off. There’s a walk-in shower as well as an enormous bath and a huge array of toiletries – not only shampoo and shower gel but exfoliators, body lotions and shaving gel. There’s also a full-sized bottle of his favourite aftershave which he has been ordering from a perfumier in Morocco since discovering it when he was on holiday there years ago. There’s a note underneath on which ‘With the compliments of the captain and crew’ is written in elaborate cursive.

He picks up the bottle, takes off the cap and inhales the woody scent. It immediately transports him back to memories of dusty squares, souks, leather stalls and hawkers trying to sell camel rides to tourists. He smiles. That was all a very long time ago. But he still orders his aftershave from the same little shop to this day, at least when he can afford it.