It must have been the engines, because as they made their way ashore, it was Lady Emily who did the shouting and rushing forward upon spotting Beth—and to his trained eye, her joy looked genuine, untainted by any devious motives. Not to say she couldn’t be hiding them, but if so, she was quite skilled at it. He watched as the girls embraced, Lady Emily laughing and clutching Beth close.

“Oh, I’ve been so worried!” she exclaimed. “We haven’t heard from you in so long, and when I came for a visit, you were nowhere to be found. I confess my imagination began conjuring up all sorts of nightmares. I made an absolute nuisance of myself until Father agreed to let me come back for a longer stay so I could put some genuine effort into finding you.”

“You must have been desperate, if you threw yourself on the mercy of Lottie Wight. At least if Libby’s stories of her can be trusted.” Beth grinned, looking from Emily to Libby. “You’ve met, correct?”

Hand on her hat to keep the wind from snatching it, Lady Emily turned to smile at Libby too. “On my previous visit here, yes. How do you do, Lady Elizabeth? It’s so lovely to see you again.”

Libby smiled back and murmured a greeting, but given that the newcomer was noticing the size of their party and seemed a bit taken aback by it, Beth had to interject with those introductions.

Oliver paid especially close attention to her reaction to Lord Sheridan, curious as to whether she knew he was the buyer her parents had lined up for Beth’s finds, but she greeted him with the same blank politeness she did the rest of them. No recognition in her gaze for anyone but the two Elizabeths.

“I don’t believe she knows much about what’s going on.” His observation was quiet, meant solely for Libby’s ears. Because he’d ended up at her side again, despite the invisible daggers her brother was throwing at him.

“Good.” Relief saturated Libby’s returning murmur. “I hated the thought that Beth’s friend might be party to whatever underhanded dealings are in play.”

Mabena must have heard their quiet exchange too. She fell in on Oliver’s other side as they all wandered away from the other ferry passengers. “The question, if you ask me, is what she knows that she doesn’t even realize. With a bit of luck, it’s something that will be useful to us.”

“We’ll find out soon.” Though certainly not out here in public. But Beth knew to lead the way to Mrs. Gilligan’s, which would afford them privacy enough for a conversation.