Murder on the Marmora by Edward Marston

Author:Edward Marston [Marston, Edward]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allison & Busby
Published: 2022-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

The Princess Royal and her family had settled into the rhythm of shipboard life but she still guarded her privacy. While she joined her husband and children in their daily walks on deck, she preferred to take most of her meals away from the public gaze. Over a midmorning cup of tea in her cabin, she studied a photograph of Gibraltar. Fife was looking at a second one, taken much closer to the Rock and from a different angle.

‘This is even better,’ he said, passing it to her.

‘Yes,’ she agreed, holding the two photographs side by side. ‘They’re very good. I’m surprised that he got such excellent results in that rain.’

‘Herr Lenz is a professional, Louise.’

‘He certainly has the right name for a photographer. I should imagine that Herr Lenz spends most of his time staring through a lens.’

‘Except that the words are not the same in his language,’ he pointed out. ‘In German, it would be Linse, not “lens”. Now, if he’d be called Herr Kamera, it would be very different.’ He chuckled. ‘I’ve just remembered that appalling pun that your father made on my name.’

‘You mean, when he called you Alexander the Great?’

‘No, my dear. I got used to that particular gibe at school. It was when he created the Duke of Fife. He told that me that henceforth I’d have my own fifedom. I did my best to force a laugh. Even a king must be humoured sometimes.’ He took the photographs from her. ‘Well, what do you think?’

‘They’re remarkable. So are the others,’ she said, indicating the pile beside her. ‘Whether he’s photographing a person or a landscape, Herr Lenz is clearly an expert.’

‘You agree to the request, then?’

‘I didn’t say that, Alex.’

‘What harm can it do?’

‘You know how shy I am of the camera.’

‘You’ve no need to be,’ he said with an affectionate smile. ‘The camera loves you. And the girls would appreciate a souvenir like that.’

‘I still feel that it’s something of an imposition.’

‘I thought you liked the Wilmshursts.’

‘I did,’ she admitted. ‘They were a charming couple and so very much in love. That’s why I agreed to dine with them, Alex, but I’m not sure that I want a photographer there as well.’

‘Only for a short time. He’d do his work before the meal, then disappear. It’s not much to ask, Louise. After all, the Wilmshursts are on their honeymoon. They want to capture a special memory.’

‘It still feels a little intrusive. And it sets a precedent.’

‘Precedent?’

‘If we agree to be photographed with two passengers, dozens of others will want to follow suit. We’ll be besieged by requests. I couldn’t endure that.’

‘You won’t have to,’ he promised. ‘There’s no reason why anyone else should even know about this arrangement. I’ll make that clear to Lenz. This will be his only chance to point a camera at us.’ He tapped a photograph in front of him. ‘He’s not asking us to stand on the Rock of Gibraltar in the pouring rain. All we have to do is to smile at him for a few seconds in here and that’s it.

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