Nothing was said of Jan’s future; he asked no questions, gave no hints, exhibited no anxiety. He took his holiday in holiday spirit, and Lord Lynne understood and appreciated the unselfishness and the gentlemanly feeling which dictated the apparent indifference. At Margate the yacht went into harbor. Lord Lynne expected letters there, which he said would decide his movements for the winter. He was silent and anxious when he landed; he was in a mood of reckless but assumed indifference when he came on board again.
After dinner he spread the large map on the saloon table, and said: “Vedder, what do you say to a few months’ cruise in the Mediterranean? 173 I am not wanted at home, and I should like to show you some of the places we have talked about. Suppose we touch at the great Spanish ports, at Genoa, Venice, Naples and Rome, and then break the winter among the Isles of Greece and the old Ionian cities?”
Jan’s face beamed with delight; there was no need for him to speak.
“And,” continued his lordship, “as I sleep a great deal in warm climates, I shall want a good sailor aboard. I saw by the way you handled the yacht during that breeze in ‘The Wash,’ that you are one. Will you be my lieutenant this winter? I will pay you £100 a quarter; that will keep you in pocket money.”
“That will be a great deal of money to me, and I shall be very glad to earn it so pleasantly.”
“Then that settles matters for a few months—when we get back it will be time to buckle to work. Heigh-ho! Lieutenant, head ‘The Lapwing’ for the Bay of Biscay, and we will set our faces toward sunshine, and cast care and useless regret behind our backs.”
At Gibraltar Lord Lynne evidently expected letters, but they did not come. Every mail he 174 was anxious and restless, every mail he was disappointed. At length he seemed to relinquish hope, and ‘The Lapwing’ proceeded on her voyage. One night they were drifting slowly off the coast of Spain. The full moon shone over a tranquil sea, and the wind blowing off shore, filled the sails with the perfume of orange blossoms. Lord Lynne had sent that day a boat into Valencia, hoping for letters, and had been again disappointed. As he walked the deck with Jan in the moonlight, he said sadly, “I feel much troubled to-night, Jan.”
“Ever since we were in Gibraltar I have seen that thou hast some trouble, my lord. And I am sorry for thee; my own heart is aching to-night; for that reason I can feel for thy grief too.”
“I wonder what trouble could come to a man hid away from life in such a quiet corner of the world as Shetland?”
“There is no corner too quiet, or too far away, for a woman to make sorrow in it.”