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protested. “ What a thing to say! Do you think that Michael was deliberately killed? ”
    Helen shrugged. “ I don ’ t know, ” she said. “ The only explanation of his death that we received was confused to say the least. That was another reason why I wanted to come here—to find out exactly what happened to Michael. ”
    “ You were in love with him? ” Miss Corrigan asked, much as though the whole topic of love made her feel uncomfortable.
    Helen said nothing for a long moment. “ I think so, ” she said then.
    “ But you ’ re not sure? ” Miss Corrigan pursued her ruthlessly.
    “ No, ” Helen agreed, “ I ’ m not sure. It seems so very long ago. We only had three weeks together and then he was gone, it ’ s almost a year now since he died, and when I shut my eyes, I can ’ t even see his face any more. All I can see is his mother— ”
    “ And you would prefer not to? ” Miss Corrigan added shrewdly.
    Helen smiled sadly. “ Yes, I would prefer not to. ” she agreed.

 
    CHAPTER THREE
    IN the morning, Helen was still having breakfast when Gregory de Vaux arrived.
    “ Have some coffee? ” she offered him, hastily finishing the piece of toast she was eating.
    “ Okay, ” he agreed. He poured himself some and heaped several spoonfuls of sugar into the cup. “ What have you got in that bag? ” he asked, kicking it with a bare foot.
    “ I always carry my own rubber suit, ” she answered. Didn ’ t he ever wear any shoes, she wondered, or anything else but those torn jeans and a shirt that had seen better days?
    “ You won ’ t need it here, ” he said tersely. “ A swimming-suit is enough. The water stays pretty warm. The ship is jammed on to the reef, by the way. It isn ’ t at all deep, thank goodness. At least it saves on the lights. ”
    “ How deep? ” she countered, buttering another piece of toast because he didn ’ t seem to be in such a hurry after all.
    “ About a hundred feet . ”
    Helen looked puzzled. “ But how did Michael die, then? ” she inquired. “ I was sure in my own mind that he must have gone down too deep. I mean, I don ’ t suppose you have a decompression chamber here? ” She paused, studying his face. “ Then it wasn ’ t the bends? ”
    “ I thought I ’ d explained in my letter, ” he said patiently. “ Didn ’ t you bother to read it ?”
    Helen winced away from the tone in his voice. It still hurt when she thought of the way her mother-in-law had whisked the letter away, not even allowing her a sight of it.
    “ Unfortunately, ” she said dryly, “ it didn ’ t appear to be addressed to me, so I never actually saw it. ”
    “ Well, for crying out loud! Who do you think it was addressed to? ”
    “ Michael ’ s mother, ” Helen answered with restraint, because she couldn ’ t bear him to see how badly she had been hurt.
    Gregory stared at her, open-mouthed. “ You must have very strange customs in your family, ” he said at last. “ But it isn ’ t any of my business. Are you ready to go? ”
    She nodded and stood up, pushing her chair in under the table. Miss Corrigan had been right about the lonely state of the dining-ro o m, she thought. It was too big for anyone to have to eat in it alone. And the palm tree that was the central feature of the decorations was a great mistake, for it towered up into the glass-domed roof and one couldn ’ t even see it unless one craned one ’ s neck to do so.
    She grabbed her bag containing her rubber suit and hurried out after Gregory, a faint stirring of excitement within her as she thought of the clear blue water and how lovely it would be to feel it all round her. It was so long since she had been diving! Not since before her marriage. She shivered suddenly, remembering that that had been when she had met Michael. Oh well, she wouldn ’ t dwell on it, she promised herself. She would think back to far happier days, when her father had been alive and they had dived together in the