I would lie listening to the buffeting of the waves and the protesting creaking of the ship, as though she were moaning in agonized protest at what the sea was doing to her.

Then we would pass through the storm to calmer waters.

And so the days went by.

We sailed out of Lisbon our last port of call. I had been out with Sibyl and some friends. We had explored the city, visited the Jeronimos Monastery and the Carmo Church, inspected the Tower of Belem, taken coffee and watched the people passing by, returned to the ship and stood on deck while she sailed out of the bay. Mar de Palha, as we looked back on the hills on either side of the Tagus.

Home was not far away.

The next days sped by. We packed. We were in readiness. The last night had come. Tomorrow in the early hours of the morning we should sail in to Southampton.

There was, as always, a little delay before we were allowed to disembark and the frustrating minutes seemed like hours.

Sibyl had said that we would take the boat train to London and would then go to Harper’s Green. She herself would be staying in London and I told her there would be no need for her to accompany me; but she was insistent. She had told Ronnie that she would take me to my aunt, and that was exactly what she would do.

There was no need for this, as waiting on the dock were Crispin and Aunt Sophie.

Aunt Sophie called my name with glee and Crispin’s face lit up with an indescribable joy. I rushed to them and Crispin reached me first. He lifted me up in his arms. I had never seen him look so happy before.

And there was Aunt Sophie smiling at us.

“You’re home, you’re home, my love!” She was talking incoherently and the tears were on her cheeks; they were tears of joy.

I was aware of Sibyl standing there, beaming and delighted.

This is Mrs. Fraser,” I said.

“She has brought me home. My father asked her to.”

“We know,” said Aunt Sophie.

“We’ve just had a letter from him. We’ve been arranging to kill the fatted calf ever since we knew you were coming. Letters come a little quicker than people, it seems. Oh, it is wonderful to see you!”

Crispin was grasping my arm, pressing it against him. Aunt Sophie had the other.

“I am so glad,” said Sibyl.

“I hope I get a welcome like this from my family.”

Crispin and Aunt Sophie seemed to drag themselves away from their contemplation of me and turned their attention to Sibyl.

I said: “Sibyl has been wonderful. She is such an experienced traveller. She has made everything so easy. She is coming to England to visit her son, you see.”

They thanked her with sincerity and asked what she wished to do. She explained that she wanted to get to London and from there she would go direct to her son.

It was not until we were seated in a tea-room on the station that I heard the great news.

At Paddington we had to wait an hour for the train which would fake us to Wiltshire. Sibyl had been put in a cab and had said her farewells, promising to visit us some time, and while we were waiting for our train we sat down to talk.

I could never be on a railway station after that without recalling that day.

Crispin sat close to me. Occasionally he would stretch out a hand and touch mine, as though to reassure himself I was really there.

As soon as we sat down and had ordered tea. Aunt Sophie said: “Isn’t it wonderful! Who would have thought it would have worked out like this? All the time …”

I said: “What is it? I know something has happened. I can see that by the way you look and … everything. But what? Tell me!”

“I wrote,” said Crispin, ‘as soon as I knew. It was the first thing I did. “

“You wrote? But when did you write?”

“As soon as I heard.”

“You don’t say,” said Aunt Sophie, ‘that you haven’t had the letter? ”

“Which letter? They take a long time, you know.”

“The one telling you. Crispin wrote and I wrote. And when we heard you were coming home … we thought that was why. Come to think of it, there wasn’t all that time. Our letters must have crossed in the post.”

“But we thought you were coming because-‘ began Crispin.

“Because what?” I cried in exasperation.

“It is like this,” said Crispin.

“I got one of those detective agencies working on it. Kate had said she was going to Australia, but I did not believe that. I had to be rid of her once and for all. I think I knew her plan was to go on making me pay.”

“Of course,” I said.

“She would not stop the first time.”

“There is no need to worry about anything any more. I was never married to her. She was already married, and had been for three years before I met her. She only went through a form of the ceremony with me.”

“Is this really true?”

“Proved without a shadow of a doubt,” said Aunt Sophie triumphantly.

“Crispin has proof, haven’t you, Crispin? There are such things as records, you know.”

“We have indeed the indisputable proof,” said Crispin.

“There is no impediment,” went on Aunt Sophie triumphantly.

“I am so happy. I felt so guilty about seeing her and telling you. I asked myself why I had opened my mouth.”

“It’s over,” said Crispin, taking my hand.

“My dearest, it is all over. There is nothing to stop us now.”

“I can’t believe it,” I said.

“It’s too … neat.”

“Life isn’t always untidy,” said Aunt Sophie.

“What I don’t understand,” said Crispin, ‘is why you came home now? ”

I looked at him steadily.

“I came home because I could not stay away any longer.”

“In spite of…”

“In spite of everything. I could not stay away from you. My father knew it, too. He said I should never be happy away from you. So I came back.”

Crispin was gripping my hand tightly.

“I shall never forget that,” he said.

“You came back to me before you knew.”

Aunt Sophie sat there smiling at us benignly, and it suddenly occurred to me that I was living through one of the happiest moments of my life.

What a triumphant return!

Harper’s Green looked just the same as I remembered it. We took a cab to The Rowans where Lily was waiting for us. She rushed out and embraced me. Her voice was husky as she stated the obvious.

“You’re back!”

“Yes, Lily, I’m back.”

“About time, too.”

“I missed you all.”

“And don’t you think we missed you! Gadding about all over the place.

Come on in. Don’t want to stand about on the doorstep all night. “

We went into the sitting-room.

“What a wonderful homecoming!” I said.

“We’ll go ahead with our plans now,” said Crispin.

“There’s no need for us to wait. We’ve waited too long.”

Aunt Sophie talked about weddings.

“We want it quickly,” said Crispin.

“We don’t want to be bothered with lots of preparations.”

“I reckon your mother will want to have her way,” said Aunt Sophie.

“She will have to do it our way. And where shall we go for our honeymoon?”

“We’ll consider it,” I said.

“I’m too happy to think of anything but that I am home and it’s all going to be all right. And I did not know this until I was sitting in a railway tea-shop amid the clatter of crockery, people hurrying about and trains shunting outside!”

“What does it matter where you heard it?” said Aunt Sophie.

“You did . and it’s the best news in the world.”

It was wonderful to be back. The nightmare which had begun when Aunt Sophie came back with the news that she had seen Kate Carvel in Devizes was over. There was nothing but happiness ahead.

When Crispin had left us with assurances that he would come next morning. Aunt Sophie wanted to hear about my father.

She was deeply shocked to learn that he was blind.

“Why didn’t he tell me?” she demanded.

“He knew you would be upset, and he didn’t want you worrying about him. He’s like that. He’s very philosophical.”

“But how does he manage to look after himself? And what is he doing on that faraway island?”

I hesitated and then told her about Karla.

“Oh,” she said.

“A woman. There was always a woman.”

“She is half native and very kind and warm-hearted. You would love her. Aunt Sophie. She cares for him very much and does everything for him. She writes those letters to you at his dictation.”

She nodded.

“I knew the writing had changed. Not much, but it wasn’t quite the same.”

“He didn’t want you to know. Karia is very understanding. She is a sort of power in the island. She owns a plantation there.”

“What adventures he has had! If he had told me …”

“I know. You would have tried to bring him home. He is very fond of you, and he doesn’t want to use you. Aunt Sophie, you are his greatest friend, he said. He loves you, but he wouldn’t want to prey on you now that he is helpless. I understand how he feels. I got to know him very well.”

“He is a wonderful man.”

“He would laugh at that. He calls himself a sinner, and I suppose a lot of people would agree with him. But I love him and you do too, and so have a great many people throughout his life.”

She was subdued, but would not allow anything to cloud my happiness.

She talked about the change in Crispin.

“He seems like a young boy now. Oh, Freddie, how lucky you are to be loved like that.”

“I know,” I said.

“And to come back without knowing … I’m glad you did. It shows, doesn’t it? Did you see his face when he realized that?”