But there was somehow a lack of conviction behind his assertion and he knew already that his defences were falling and that he was finding it hard to abandon her to her fate.
*
The yacht encountered surprisingly good weather in the Mediterranean.
It was cold at night but the sun shone during the day and, as they sailed Eastward from Gibraltar it became warmer still so that Shikara wore the thin gowns she had bought to wear in Egypt with only a shawl round her shoulders to protect her from the chill of the sea breezes.
The Marquis, who was on deck every daylight hour, was becoming sunburnt and she thought it became him and that he looked if possible even more handsome than he had before.
He had not said anything about her leaving him when they reached Algiers and yet apprehensively eve
