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right?”
    “Of course. You go ahead, I’ll stay here.”
    Lorna rested her arms on the rail. It was almost as though she were the only person on board. The ship cut through the deep waters like a hot knife through butter. Only a few more days, she thought, and we’ll be in Durban. The journey which had augured well had been spoiled by her meeting with Ashley Ward and now she was eager to reach her destination. It would be nice to see Margo again and catch up on the news of her forthcoming wedding, and above all it would be a relief to know that Ashley Ward would no longer be around to ruin her leisure.
    Suddenly a hand touched her shoulder. For a moment Lorna thought Wesley had returned more quickly than expected, but on turning she met the sardonically amused gaze of the man who was beginning to seem like a bad dream.
    “What’s happened to your boy-friend? Not very good manners to leave you out here alone. You never know who might come along.”
    “I might have known you would,” retorted Lorna. “You seem to make a habit of turning up where you’re not wanted. And just for the record—Wesley is not my boy-friend.”
    He smiled, the dim glow from the ship’s lights sharpening the contours of his face and making him look almost sinister, she thought. “Of course, I’d forgotten—Pieter. And so had you, judging by what I saw just now.”
    Lorna stiffened. “You were spying! How low can you get?”
    “Not spying,” he drawled, apparently unmoved by her fury. “If you insist on kissing your—er—friend in public you must expect to be seen.” He looked round. “I don’t see any signs saying this is private.”
    “Cut the wisecracks,” snapped Lorna. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must find Fay.”
    She turned, but with lightning speed his arms gripped the rail on either side of her, imprisoning her quivering body within inches of his own. “Your friend went back to her cabin half an hour ago,” he said. “I believe she had a headache.”
    “That’s all the more reason to let me go,” grated Lorna, pounding her hands against his chest. “I must see if she’s all right.”
    “I think not,” he grinned. “She had her good friend Keenan Seymour with her. I doubt if they’d thank you for interfering.”
    “Do you judge everyone by your own standards? Fay’s not like that. She’s happily married. In fact she’s on her way to join her husband.”
    “Is that so?” He raised his brows as if wondering why he should believe her. “But it’s not Fay and her affairs that bother me, it’s you I’m interested in. It struck me this afternoon how like someone I used to know you are. Then when we were dancing just now and I looked into those beautiful blue eyes of yours I was again reminded of—of this woman I knew.”
    Lorna stood motionless. If he guessed at her relationship with Margo it wouldn’t be long before he forced the truth from her. She couldn’t let Margo down now. Her sister had determinedly kept her heartbreak away from Ashley; the humiliation she felt when he had shown his preference for Avril Vickers. To bring the matter into the open now would only cause embarrassment, for he would surely seek Margo and find out for himself whether Lorna was telling the truth. No! Somehow she must divert his line of thought, and quickly.
     

CHAPTER THREE
    DECIDING that attack was the best form of defence, Lorna forced herself to speak lightly. “You mean Margo Tremayne? So many people have remarked on my likeness to her. It’s said that everyone has a double somewhere in the world, so I suppose she must be mine.” She raised her hand to her hair in an exaggerated gesture. “Do you really think we’re alike? I mean, you being a friend of hers should know better than anyone.”
    “Oh, yes,” Ashley nodded. “It’s quite remarkable. I don’t know why I didn’t spot it when I first saw you. It must be your hair. Margo always wore hers loose and it wasn’t until I saw you with yours