Sea of Lost Love by Santa Montefiore Page A

Very posh!”
    â€œDoes it work?”
    Trevor snapped it open as if it were an oyster. “Tells the time like a lady.” He gave a whistle of approval.
    â€œYou know my joke about the lady?”
    â€œGo on, then.”
    Merlin began to laugh even before he told it. “You ask a lady for a date. If she says no, she means maybe; if she says maybe, she means yes; if she says yes, she ain’t no lady!” Trevor turned the watch over.
    â€œR.W.E.M,” he read, squinting. “Who’s that, then?”
    â€œGold watch like that? Can only be one family round here.” Merlin’s face grew serious.
    â€œWho’s that, then?”
    â€œRobert Montague.”
    Trevor whistled and raised his eyebrows. “Blimey,” he said with a smirk. “Let’s go back and break the bad news.”
    â€œYou have no idea how bad it’s goin’ to be,” replied Merlin gravely. He wasn’t laughing now.

7
    W hen Princess was dragged into Pendrift harbor, people began to gather on the quay, drawn by curiosity and the smell of tragedy that blew in off the sea. Merlin tied her to a bollard while Trevor clutched the gold watch. “What’s happened to Mr. Montague, Skipper?” a man shouted. “That’s his boat, if I’m not mistaken.” Merlin did not know how to reply. Instinctively, he knew the family should be the first to know.
    â€œNothin’,” he replied cagily. “Broke down, that’s all.”
    The crowd began to mumble among themselves, and Merlin knew they didn’t believe him. He hurried up the road towards the Snout & Hound. White with black beams and small dark windows laced with flowers, the Snout & Hound had welcomed weary fishermen and smugglers for well over three hundred years.
    â€œI need to use the telephone,” said Merlin as he entered. The room fell silent, and, through the smoky air, they could see his anxious face and read in it that something terrible had happened. As much as he would have liked to have spoken to Mrs. Julia in private, the telephone was at the bar, where a few of the locals were enjoying an early lunch. No one bothered to look like they weren’t listening, and Merlin didn’t have the will to tell them to mind their own business; they’d all know soon enough.
    â€œI’d like to speak to the lady of the house,” said Merlin when Soames’s condescending voice came on the line.
    â€œI’m afraid Mrs. Julia is indisposed,” he replied.
    â€œMr. Archie?”
    â€œAs well.”
    â€œIt’s urgent. It’s about Mr. Monty. It’s Merlin here.”
    Soames had recognized Merlin’s rusty voice the moment he had heard it, but he didn’t like to indulge in small talk with the locals. He wasn’t about to bother Mr. Archie, who was in the study with the door closed, and Mrs. Julia was supervising the tidying-up operation in the tent, running about like Purdy in chase of pheasants. However, Merlin sounded very distressed, and Soames was aware that Mr. Monty hadn’t attended breakfast.
    â€œWait a moment, I’ll go and find Mrs. Julia,” he said, placing the receiver on the sideboard.
    Merlin waited a good five minutes. He could hear Cook’s doughy voice complaining about the amount of food left over from the party. “It’s indecent,” she was saying. “This would feed an army. It wasn’t so long ago that we were still being rationed.” Finally, Soames’s voice came back on the line.
    â€œShe’s taking your call in the sitting room,” he said. There was a click, then Julia’s voice came on the line. Soames put down the receiver with some reluctance.
    â€œHello, Merlin?” She sounded anxious.
    â€œGood morning, Mrs. Julia.”
    â€œWhat’s happened?”
    â€œIt’s Mr. Monty’s boat. We found it out at sea this morning.”
    â€œWasn’t Mr. Monty in