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from the rear of the villa.
    â€˜Help! Heeeeelp!’ September shrieked.
    She arrived to find her mother standing on her sun lounge, squealing like a stuck pig.
    â€˜What’s the matter, Mother?’ Sloane asked.
    â€˜There . . . down there . . . it’s a . . . a . . . skink,’ September held her hands over her eyes and shuddered.
    â€˜Really? A skink?’ Sloane enquired, looking completely nonplussed.
    â€˜You know they’re deadly, Sloane. If Mummy gets bitten, well, that’s it.’ September had now begun to cry.
    Sloane couldn’t help enjoying the scene in front of her. And she wasn’t keen to tell her mother the truth about the not-so-deadly Spanish skinks either.
    â€˜I’ll get it,’ Sloane offered.
    â€˜Oh, darling, be careful. I don’t know what I’d do if . . .’ Her mother’s voice trailed away.
    Sloane grabbed her towel from the recliner next to her mother’s and threw it over the unsuspecting reptile. She scooped the wriggling lizard into a ball and promptly walked around to the front of the villa where she released the frightened beast into the grass.
    â€˜Off you go.’ Sloane gave him a grin as he shot off under the villa. ‘I know, she’s terrifying.’
    Poolside, September Sykes checked carefully before she climbed down from the safety of her sun lounge. She raced across the hot tiles into the kitchen, slamming the terrace door behind her.
    â€˜Well, that’s no use.’ She opened the pantry and pulled out a giant box of corn chips. ‘How am I supposed to get my tan now?’

B ack on the Octavia , family and friends were catching up, nattering about this and that. There was still no sign of Jacinta’s parents so Alice-Miranda asked her mother if it was all right for her and the other children to explore the ship. Hopefully they would come across them during their sightseeing.
    â€˜You’ll have to check with Aunty Gee, darling,’ Cecelia replied. ‘It’s her ship after all, and some places might be off-limits.’
    Alice-Miranda found Aunty Gee chatting with her granny, Valentina Highton-Smith.
    â€˜Hello Aunty Gee, hello Granny.’ She executed a perfect curtsy.
    â€˜There you are, darling girl,’ Granny Valentina replied. ‘How are you enjoying the ship?’
    â€˜It’s wonderful,’ Alice-Miranda beamed. ‘Aunty Gee, I’ve come to ask you a question.’
    â€˜Yes, what is it, dear?’ The older woman leaned forward. Tiny flecks of powder sat in the smile lines which had taken up permanent residence on Aunty Gee’s face.
    â€˜May we have a proper look around the ship, please?’ Alice-Miranda gazed up with her brown eyes as big as saucers. ‘I promise we won’t touch anything we shouldn’t and we won’t get in anyone’s way.’
    â€˜Aren’t you just the most precious child for asking?’ Aunty Gee beamed at Granny Valentina. ‘Of course, Alice-Miranda, you can explore wherever you like, my dear – perhaps except the engine room – I fear it might be a little dangerous down there. Otherwise, just make sure that you turn up on time for meals and the ship is yours for the whole voyage. And who are you going to do your sightseeing with?’
    Alice-Miranda beckoned to the other children who were milling about behind Granny Bert and her beautiful granddaughter Daisy, who often helped Cecelia out at home.
    â€˜Aunty Gee, do you remember my good friend, Millie?’ Millie stepped forward and curtsied as awkwardly as she had the first time she’d met Aunty Gee at Highton Hall.
    â€˜Dear, I’d remember that curtsy anywhere. You thought I was Mrs Oliver’s sister,’ Aunty Gee replied. ‘And look at dear Dolly over there today – it’s no wonder you thought we were related. I’d say she’s more my twin than