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to their eternal confliction. Ashley’s coming into her life had certainly disrupted the peaceful interlude she had expected while on board the Oceana. Her life didn’t seem her own any more. Whatever she did he seemed to pop up out of nowhere to spoil it for her.
    * * *
    The Oceana Ball was being held that evening and Fay and Lorna had arranged to go with two of the junior officers, Keenan Seymour and Wesley Jordan. It was supposed to be one of the highlights of the journey and the girls had been deciding for days what they should wear. Lorna had eventually bought a new dress when they stopped at Madeira, a dainty delphinium blue gown in fine chiffon which clung softly to her slim young figure, enhancing her curves and falling into a misty cloud at her ankles.
    She stood now before the mirror confident in the knowledge that she looked her best. Her eyes reflected the blue of the dress and her corn gold hair danced silkily about her shoulders. She had determinedly put Ashley out of her mind, intending to enjoy this evening to the full. As she gave herself one last critical look the door opened and Fay entered in a swirl of flame red velvet, which made her look more strikingly attractive than usual. She was followed almost immediately by Keenan and Wesley.
    “Wow!” Keenan smiled broadly. “Aren’t we the lucky ones? You must surely be the two prettiest girls on board.”
    “Hear, hear,” added Wesley, eyeing Lorna and Fay appraisingly.
    “You don’t look so bad yourselves,” laughed Fay. “A uniform does something for a man—don’t you agree, Lorna?”
    “Without a doubt,” picking up her silver evening bag. “I’m looking forward to tonight.”
    Wesley took Lorna’s elbow as they walked along the corridor to the lift that would take them up to the ballroom. He was tall and slim, with sunbleached hair and a deep tan. She had danced with him on several occasions, finding him very good company without his becoming too serious. She supposed that with a job like his he knew the disadvantages of getting involved.
    Keenan was as dark as Wesley was fair. His were the dark, foreign looks of a Spaniard, although he assured them he was English born and bred. He was shorter than Wesley, but still managed to stand a good three inches taller than Fay.
    It was surprisingly dark in the ballroom, but Wesley took Lorna’s arm and guided her to a seat. “We won’t sit too near the band,” he said, “you know what they’re like once they get going, and we want to be able to hear ourselves speak.”
    “Why the darkness?” laughed Lorna, stumbling over an outstretched foot. “Don't they want us to see who we’re dancing with?” wondering as she said these words whether Ashley would be present. She hoped not. She was looking forward to a pleasant uneventful evening.
    “The lights will be turned on in a minute,” said Keenan. “You wait and see. Didn’t you know tonight was something special?”
    Lorna had heard that the ball was different every trip but always a spectacular success. Suddenly the sound of soft pipes playing Swan Lake were heard from behind the curtains of the stage. A breathless hush fell over the expectant passengers as the silvery music grew louder. Then, pinpointed by a single spotlight, a dancer in a frothy white ballet dress pirouetted and leaped across the floor. She was young, thought Lorna, she couldn’t be more than sixteen or seventeen, yet she had the perfection and poise of an accomplished dancer. The music swelled as other instruments joined the pipes until the room was a crescendo of sound. As the girl reached the end of her dance the music changed and a further spotlight depicted the crystallised outline of a tree shimmering with hanging jewels. From behind the tree stepped another young girl, this time in a pink tutu. This happened again and again until the whole room was a kaleidoscope of scintillating crystal light and effortless dancing girls. As the music drew to its close the