“There’ll be hell to—”
The second footman broke off when he spotted Lady Styles. The pair bowed stiffly and returned to setting out the wineglasses.
After dinner, Dr. Lewis asked his granddaughter, “Shall we walk along the Parade, you and I? Your aunt isn’t overly fond of my pipe.”
“It’s bedtime for me at any rate,” Lady Aldridge said as she gathered her things.
Julia and her grandfather crossed the road and stopped at the harbor wall. The wind had shifted, and a light breeze from land to sea barely rippled the sea’s surface. Dr. Lewis cupped his hand around his pipe bowl. After three puffs, the tobacco took his match and glowed.
Julia hooked her arm around his and rested her head on his shoulder. “Thank you.”
He tossed the match over the seawall and looked down at her. “Thank you for what?”
“For persuading me to come. For three uninterrupted weeks with my grandfather.” She squeezed his arm. “I feel like a schoolgirl, books packed away, and taken on holiday.”
“Well, Aunt Caroline said I mustn’t take no for an answer.” He swept his pipe across the harbor view. “And I ordered up this perfect evening. Just for you.”
The full moon had painted a silvery highway, splitting the dark water from horizon to shore.
Julia said, “It’s one of those nights when you could walk the Parade without a lantern to guide you.”
“A Hunter’s Moon, my dear,” he said. “The second full moon of autumn.”
“Beautiful … but I’ve always found something menacing in the name.”
“The origin is American, I believe. The time to go hunting, when the birds and animals have stored up energy for the winter.”
“Fattened and ready for the kill.”
“And what about Richard’s hunt?” Dr. Lewis said, releasing her arm and turning toward her. “Four months scouring Europe, and the man eludes him still.”
Julia bent for a loose stone. She tossed it into the water and watched the spreading rings. “There was some … confusion over aliases that slowed the chase. It turns out his real name is Edgar Romilly.”
“My dear … is it time for the inspector to give up and come home?”
Julia lifted her shoulders. “I don’t know. He has two months left of his leave from Scotland Yard. I doubt he’ll return until it runs out or he tracks Romilly down.”
“Murderous scoundrel. Well, success or failure, Richard hunts for justice.” He reclaimed her arm, giving it a shake. “Now, what say you? Shall we go on a hunt of our own? I propose we wake with the birds, explore the eastern shore, and discover the island’s beauties.”
“Yes, please. So long as we travel by carriage, not by boat.”
At breakfast the following morning, Julia said warily, “Afloatingbridge, Grandfather?”
“I know you said, ‘not by boat,’ but it’s the only way across the river to East Cowes unless you travel ten miles downstream to Newport.”
“I’m not picturing—”
“It’s a steam barge. Horse-powered chains dragged an earlier vessel across the river. This one is large enough to carry carriages, carts, and passengers.”
“This modern world of ours,” Lady Aldridge said. “You two enjoy yourselves. I intend to stroll to the Green, read in the shade of the umbrella tree, and rest after luncheon.”
A hotel servant strapped a wicker basket with a picnic lunch to the back of their hired carriage. Fifteen minutes later, Julia and her grandfather joined the queue at the ferry dock.
“Here she comes, Julie.”
She looked east, shielding her eyes from the morning sun. The approaching barge belched steam from its squat funnel and juddered to a stop. Two long seating sheds ran the length of its sides with a center space for carriages and wagons. Julia and her grandfather boarded and made the short crossing. When they reached the other side, they resumed their carriage seats and rumbled down the exit gangway.
Their coachman turned right on York Avenue, passing a man standing by a carriage with the VR cipher for Victoria Regina on its door. Dr. Lewis rapped the roof with his walking stick. The driver slowed and pulled to the side of the road.
