‘I’ll have his name. Then you will apologise to Lady Beatrice and get the hell out,’ James said, in a voice so icily calm that even Beatrice shivered. There was a hard look in his eyes that she had never seen before. ‘And if I ever see you within fifty feet of this hold again …’

He didn’t even have time to finish his threat before Johnston offered a fumbling apology to Beatrice and then fled from the hold. To her great embarrassment, Beatrice realised she was trembling, and gratefully accepted the whisky flask James handed her. Fortunately he didn’t try to speak to her right away, but gave her a moment to gather herself. A sudden lurch of the ship made it seem as if the trees rustled softly around them, and Beatrice found herself comforted by the soft, deep haze of their purple glow.

After a few minutes she handed back the flask and tried to thank James for his help, but he blanched and said, ‘Don’t thank me for that. It should never have happened in the first place – I’m sorry.’

‘N-not. Y-your. Fault.’ She gestured at the pistol. ‘I d-didn’t know y-you c-carried one.’

‘It never leaves my side when I’m travelling,’ he said. ‘And it’s got me out of some tough scrapes in the past. I hope it doesn’t bother you?’

She shook her head.

‘May I?’ James indicated the space beside her and, when she nodded, he sat down.

‘Wh-Why,’ Beatrice said. ‘Did h-he react to y-you. L-like that?’

James was silent for so long that she began to think he wouldn’t answer her at all. Finally he said, ‘There was an incident in Hawaii. You recall the article you read in Curtis’s about the man who was gored to death in a bull trap?’

Beatrice nodded, remembering how she had read about Benjamin Smith the morning of her wedding. ‘You s-said he was a f-friend.’

James nodded. ‘He was a decent and honourable man. As always, there is a story behind the story, but I doubt if Curtis’s mentioned that Ben fell into that pit because of another orchid hunter. We were given misleading information, you see, which sent us the wrong way into the mountains. The other hunter knew that the area was dangerous. He knew there were hidden bull traps everywhere.’

Beatrice frowned. ‘You h-held him r-responsible,’ she said. ‘So wh-what did y-you—’

‘Careful,’ James said quietly.