Alice-Miranda, Millie and Jacinta finished their breakfast and, together with Lucas and Sep, who’d arrived a little while after the girls, planned the day ahead. They decided to spend the morning at the pool, followed by some games on deck and maybe a movie in the theatrette during the afternoon. Admiral Harding had announced at breakfast that there was the strong possibility of a storm that evening and given some recent weather activity in the region, he predicted that the passengers may be confined to their cabins if a gale blew up.

‘Well, come on, we’d best make the most of the day,’ Alice-Miranda instructed. She stopped to greet her parents on the way out of the breakfast room but still couldn’t get near her aunt or Lawrence, who seemed to have a never-ending queue of well-wishers demanding their attention.

The children hurried off to change into their bathers and met back on the glass-covered pool deck. The deck chairs were filling fast as the guests were making the most of the unseasonally warm sunshine.

Alice-Miranda and Sep laid their towels out on adjacent recliners and sat down.

Sep glanced around at the rows of glamorous women in their brightly coloured swimsuits. ‘My mother would have loved this,’ he remarked.

‘How is she?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

‘Oh, fine, I think. She and Dad adore Spain and I’m assuming my mother spends all day every day lying by the pool at their villa anyway,’ he replied. ‘It’s funny, but I do miss them a little.’

‘Of course you do. That’s perfectly understandable,’ Alice-Miranda replied. ‘Have you talked to your sister at all?’

‘No, not really. Whenever I call, she just hands the phone straight to Mum or Dad.’

‘I’ve written her a few letters,’ Alice-Miranda offered. ‘I hope she’s received them.’

‘Really? I mean, after what Mum and Sloane did. It was pretty unforgivable.’ Sep concluded.

‘They just got carried away, that’s all. There’s always a reason why people behave the way they do. You can’t really blame Sloane – she was just doing what your mother asked her to – and it’s hard to say no to grown-ups,’ Alice-Miranda replied.

‘I’m sure you don’t find it hard to say no – to anyone,’ Sep smiled.

‘Well, if you’re talking to Sloane at all, please tell her that I’d love to hear some news,’ said Alice-Miranda. ‘In fact, I think I might write to her this afternoon.’ And with that she skipped over to the side of the pool and jumped into its crystal depths.

Sep grinned to himself. He’d really never met anyone like Alice-Miranda.

The children spent so long in the water that by the time they hopped out, their fingertips and toes were shrivelled like raisins.

‘I’m starving,’ Millie complained. ‘We should go and get some lunch.’

‘Last one to the dining room’s a rotten egg,’ Lucas challenged.

The children raced across the deck towards their towels when Alice-Miranda felt a stabbing pain in her left foot.

‘Ow,’ she winced.

‘What’s the matter?’ Jacinta asked.

Alice-Miranda hopped over to the sun lounge to inspect the damage, leaving a trail of red spots behind her.

Millie and Jacinta rushed over to her.

‘It feels like there’s something in my foot,’ said Alice-Miranda, flinching as she held it up for her friends to examine. Small drops of blood leaked onto the deck.

‘I’d say you’ve got a splinter.’ Millie pulled Alice-Miranda’s leg up to take a closer look. A shard of timber was poking out from the soft flesh between her toes.

‘That’s not a splinter,’ Jacinta remarked. ‘More like a miniature javelin or a giant’s toothpick.’

Millie glared at Jacinta. She didn’t want to alarm Alice-Miranda but it did seem a little more serious than a splinter and Jacinta wasn’t helping at all.

‘We’ll have to tell Admiral Harding,’ Jacinta proclaimed. ‘That’s really not good enough for a royal yacht.’

Millie and Alice-Miranda exchanged quizzical glances.

‘Splinters. You shouldn’t be getting splinters off the deck of the Octavia,’ Jacinta tutted. ‘You’d think they’d have better maintenance, and the ship’s just been renovated.’

Lucas peered at Alice-Miranda’s foot, which was now streaked with red.

‘You’ll have to get it out,’ he offered. ‘Or it might turn septic.’

‘And then you’ll have to get your leg amputated like my granny’s friend Ossie,’ Jacinta added.

‘That’s terrible,’ Alice-Miranda gasped. ‘Did he have a splinter?’

‘No, he had gangrene from years of heavy smoking, but his leg turned septic and they had to cut it off anyway.’

‘Jacinta!’ the children chorused. Millie gave her a shove.

‘You’ll need to see the doctor,’ Millie advised as she grabbed a towel and tried to mop up some of the blood.

The children glanced around the deck. It seemed that all of the adults had already headed off to lunch.

Alice-Miranda stood up. She couldn’t put pressure on the front of her foot at all, so with Lucas on one arm and Millie on the other, she hopped inside.

‘We’ll come too,’ Jacinta offered.

‘No, why don’t you and Sep go and organise something to eat? We won’t be long,’ Alice-Miranda called.

‘Are you sure?’ Jacinta replied. ‘You might have to have horrible huge needles and it could take a while to get that monster out.’

‘Jacinta!’ Millie glared. ‘Just go and get some lunch.’

Lucas looked at Alice-Miranda. ‘It won’t be that bad.’

‘I’m sure Dr Lush will be very gentle,’ Millie reassured her friend.