He waved his hand. ‘Never mind. Just something I saw in a French music hall once. Quite scandalous, and equally enjoyable.’ His expression turned serious. ‘There is no complicated magic to the way I transport more living flowers than most orchid hunters. It is just that I spend a great deal of time with the flowers and talk to them every day. They enjoy being spoken to in any language, of course, but the native tongue of their country is more familiar and therefore more comforting to them. And you’ll need all the help you can get when attempting an ocean voyage of that length. Flowers dislike being at sea. I cannot think that trees will be any different. Especially given that it won’t be possible to take them from the ship’s hold to soak up the sunshine on the deck.’ He shook his head. ‘No, if you have any hope of this working at all, then you will need me to come with you.’

‘V-Very w-well,’ Beatrice said. ‘I s-suppose it c-cannot be h-helped.’

James gave her a sudden grin. ‘That’s the spirit,’ he said. ‘It’ll be like old times.’

To Beatrice’s surprise, he held his hand out to her as if she were an equal. There was an amused gleam in his brown eyes, and she wondered if he was testing her in some way. Of course he must know they were not equals. Despite their ill-advised childhood friendship, Beatrice was still a titled lady, whilst James was the son of a gardener. Yet if he would persist in viewing them as the old play-fellows they once had been, there wasn’t much Beatrice could do about it. It didn’t change the fact that she needed his help, so she took his hand and they shook.

‘Thank you for the tea and cake,’ James said. ‘We have much to plan and discuss, but I have some business of my own to tie up before embarking on any new expedition, so I hope you will excuse me.’

‘Of c-course. Perhaps y-you m-might c-call again n-next week?’

‘Yes, I’ll do that. Thursday? Three o’clock?’

Beatrice nodded and James stood up, already reaching for his hat and coat.

‘Orchid h-hunting is h-highly d-dangerous,’ Beatrice suddenly said. ‘You s-said you had l-lost a f-friend yourself. Any s-sane m-man needs a r-reason. You s-said other h-hunters ch-chase riches …’

James looked at her. ‘Are you trying to ask me a question?’

She could hardly believe she was about to ask something so personal, yet she was intensely curious about the answer. What had drawn James away from Half Moon House, when by rights he ought to have stayed, done the job his father had trained him to do and looked after her black apple trees?

‘What d-do you ch-chase?’

James paused. ‘Various things,’ he finally said. ‘Adventure. Seeing the world. But, mostly, I wish to participate in the race.’

She frowned. ‘What r-race?’