Raven arrived at the agreed time, and he sensed a change. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore a white hoodie and a pair of white trackpants. In leisure clothing she was all curves, and more confident than he’d seen her previously.

‘You put those away and I’ll get the engines started,’ she said, handing him two grocery bags, one of which contained two bottles of Mumm champagne.

She unlocked the cabin and walked through to the bridge, while de Payns put the picnic and booze in the galley fridge. Her scent was different, he decided. Something lighter than her usual Opium—perhaps Arpège?

The engines growled to life beneath him as he poured two glasses of the champagne and walked them through to Raven.

‘Thanks,’ she said, taking her glass. ‘You’re the deckhand, time to cast off.’

When he got back to the bridge, she was easing the launch out of its berth and into the Grand Large. They headed north for the Nimy Canal, and turned to the west, the water sparkling in the sun. She clinked glasses with him and they sipped as they motored.

‘I didn’t see you as the maritime type,’ said de Payns, genuinely impressed. ‘I thought you said your background was academic?’

‘My father was a boating enthusiast,’ she said, smiling. ‘He raced yachts, built boats. My brother wasn’t interested so that left me.’

‘Nice,’ said de Payns, drinking. ‘Tomboy?’

She laughed, almost wistfully. ‘I don’t know about that. I guess when a father has a daughter who loves the outdoors and a son who likes books, then he starts to spend a lot of time with his daughter.’

De Payns noticed something a little deeper but decided not to push. ‘So you sailed in the Persian Gulf?’

‘Yes, he had his boats in Karachi and we’d tour around Shomali Island and across to Bahrain and Abu Dhabi. We went on a holiday once to the Maldives and toured around the islands. I got all my certificates before I turned twenty.’

De Payns felt happy for her and relieved that she was resourceful. On a boat she was in her element, less a victim, more capable of bouncing back from what was coming.

‘You look surprised,’ she said, laughing at him.

‘Honestly, I had an image of women in Pakistan not being allowed to skipper a boat like this. Maybe I was wrong?’

‘Well,’ she said, ‘you’re basically right. But if you have a great father, then you have a great life.’

‘And then you marry your husband?’

She laughed so hard that she breathed in her champagne and de Payns had to pat her on the back. She was warm and soft through the fabric and he could feel her hip against his crotch.