‘Miss Smith was given a submarine by the Admiralty,’ Marina interrupted. ‘Oh, Father, I was so very scared. Paddy and I had got so tired – I think Paddy was still not at his best after he was so sick, and we had to stop and rest. But he loves the taste of pemmican. I was so worried that we would run out of food before we found you . . .’
‘How did you get so far?’
‘I made a sledge. Out of a packing crate.’ It seemed odd that her father didn’t look proud of her. Surely he should be pleased that he had such a brave and resourceful daughter? ‘I saw a black shape under the ice. I thought it was a snow spirit coming to eat me.’ She laughed at her own stupidity, but her father didn’t seem to find it amusing.
‘What do you make of the old whaling station, Commander Denham?’ Miss Smith filled her guest’s glass with more wine. ‘Wasn’t this place, and all that was found here, your discovery?’
‘It was just an old whaling station,’ her father muttered.
‘And yet you spent a whole winter here fifteen years ago. I wonder what it was that kept a man of your intelligence and talent and ambition so entranced?’
Marina’s father said nothing.
‘I was intrigued by your mission here.’ Miss Smith turned to Marina. ‘Did you know about your father’s time on Pechorin Island? Perhaps he never told you. He brought a crew of men to survey the island’s coast. Spent long, dark months up here with not enough rations. When he returned, he reported the survey was complete. And yet I have not been able to find any of the maps he said he had made at the Admiralty. And, believe me, I have looked. Yet your father is a thorough man, Marina. These missing charts made me believe that whatever he had found on Pechorin Island, he wanted to be forgotten.’
‘Perhaps there wasn’t anything here,’ her father said.
Miss Smith laughed. ‘Oh, I think there was.’
‘How would you know which maps the Admiralty keeps? Even a secretary to the First Sea Lord can’t get access to those files.’
‘Oh, you’d be surprised how I squirm and wiggle my way into all sorts of files and archives.’ Miss Smith smiled. ‘I found your expedition files, of course. From what I remember, you had made a plan of the town of Windsor but the writing was in Muskovite. Anyone glancing at it might think it was indeed a survey of Pechorin Island. And that’s what aroused my curiosity. Of course, it could have been a joke, but you are a serious man. So I set out to discover why you were so keen to cover up what you found here.’
‘And what had I found here?’
‘We both know that.’
‘And what are you doing here?’
‘I am carrying on with the work that you started. I found the sonar transmitter, you see . . . Of course, you know it’s quite broken. Such a delicate instrument. I think I was too heavy-handed.’ She pulled a mock sad face. ‘Whoops.’
‘It’s not yours . . .’ Commander Denham whispered.
‘It wasn’t yours, either. But what does it matter? It’s broken. Beyond repair.’
‘I’d like to see it.’
‘I don’t think that’s wise, do you?’
‘But my father can mend the transmitter!’ Marina blurted out. ‘That’s why he’s come to the island, Miss Smith!’
The woman smiled kindly at Marina. ‘He’s a little late for that. But it hardly matters, as I have a new transmitter that is so much better. It’s much easier to control. And, I believe, under the right circumstances, its signal could be much stronger.’
‘You are mistaken, Miss Smith. There is no other transmitter.’
‘Perhaps you have forgotten, Commander. I don’t make mistakes.’
A clock struck the hour. Marina, after the exertion of her journey, the large meal, the warmth of the room and the relief of seeing her father, could not ignore her tiredness. She stifled a yawn. Seeing this, Miss Smith said, ‘You need to get some rest, both of you. Oh, and no need to take your luggage with you, Commander.’ She glanced at the Commander’s kitbag. ‘We can supply everything you need.’
‘Thank you, but I’ll keep my bag.’
‘So heavy!’ Miss Smith had grabbed the kitbag and pulled the cord at its neck. ‘What do we have here?’ She tipped the contents on to the floor. ‘Ice shoes and rope and –’ she bent down and picked up a leather mask and a length of rubber tubing – ‘underwater breathing equipment? Why, Commander Denham, what is the meaning of this? Anyone would think that you wanted to go for a swim! Anyone would think that the sonar transmitter you came here to mend was situated under the water!’
‘Please, Miss Smith!’ Commander Denham begged. Marina could not understand what had made her father look so desperate.
Miss Smith raised an eyebrow and shrugged. She kicked the mask to one side and frowned. ‘You’re in such a bad mood, Commander. I’ve found your daughter for you after you were so careless as to leave her behind. I might have expected you to be at least a little grateful. Why, I am even considering asking her to become my assistant and work with me on the sonar transmsitter.’
‘You wouldn’t.’
‘But your daughter is so talented.’
‘She is not!’ Marina’s father said, vehemently.
‘Such a bad attitude; your daughter is quite the most talented girl I have ever met. Why doesn’t she show you? She has a lovely voice. She told me so herself. It’s just like her mother’s.’
The rich meal Marina had eaten seemed to turn into a large stone in her stomach. She didn’t want to sing in front of Miss Smith. She had no singing voice at all. Why had she lied?
‘She doesn’t want to sing.’
‘Such a spoilsport, Commander. But perhaps you are just tired.’ She reached out and pressed a bell. ‘I will have you taken to your
