“I’m sure we shall be great friends,” she said. But he was still staring suspiciously at her colleagues.
“They’ve been drinking,” he said. “What have they been drinking?”
“Oh, nothing much,” she said. “Only my health.”
“Your health?” he repeated.
“Yes, it’s my birthday,” she said.
“My dear Miss Mary,” I said. “Let me congratulate you.”
“Yes, yes, yes,” said Ezekiel. “But what’s the fluid?”
He tilted his face a little, sniffing the air.
“Oh, I see,” said Miss Moonbeam. “How stupid of me. Reggie, come forward and show them your glass.”
She glanced over her shoulder, and a young man, whom I instantly recognized as the naval officer, then approached us carrying a wine glass filled with a dark, translucent liquid.