Sabrina flirts with the steward

Satisfied that Edmund was doing his duty by Clarissa, Lucy returned to the dining salon where Annie and Sabrina were talking. The steward had just brought them a new pot of tea. Annie had given him a vague thanks and turned back to Sabrina, while Sabrina was openly flirting with him. The steward was painstakingly gracious and correct, all "But of course, Mademoiselle," "Bien sûr, Mademoiselle."

"Oh, leave off, Sabrina," Annie protested. "Let the man do his job."

Sabrina concluded with a lilting "Merci beaucoup!" and a flip of her hand.

The steward bowed and fled. As he turned to leave the table, Lucy saw the man's trousers visibly demonstrated that he was rather flattered by the attention from the pretty auburn-haired maiden.

"Oh Annie, he was loving it," Sabrina said.

"He'll lose his job if he loves it any more," Annie said. "Don't tease him so. My mum's little sister is an air hostess. She has to be ever so correct with the passengers, and they give her a beastly time. The men want to flirt with her and the women think she's after their men."

"That's right, I saw a card from your Aunt Tessie. Wasn't she in Shanghai? All right then, for you," Sabrina said, putting on her Stiff Upper Lip. "What shall we do?"

"Let's finish our tea and then go watch the sunset," Annie said.

"Oooo, all right then," Sabrina said.

Lucy approached their table, "I see I shouldn't have left you two alone," she said.

"Oh Lucy!" Sabrina protested. "I was just having a little fun."

Lucy shook her head. "It's not fun when it's the man's present and future employment in your little kitten paws," she said.

Sabrina bowed her head.

"Should I call you Miss Lucy now?" Sabrina asked. "Lady Downs?" Sabrina blinked, then added. "Aunt Lucy?" Her tone and expression were full of mischief.

Annie made a face at Sabrina.

"Call me what you will," Lucy said. "After finishing school, I'm sure you'll know." Perhaps. Lucy allowed to herself that they'd probably never dealt with a girl with a housemaid suddenly revealed as her aunt taking charge of her household.

Lucy asked a prompting question and Sabrina happily held forth on European geography and the history of their finishing school, which had once been a nunnery, and had gradually been converted to a girls' school, and finally to a finishing school for the finer young ladies of the continent, even the world. "All colours of girls, really. Every continent but Antarctica. India and Australia. Africa even."

Sabrina's monologue lasted through the fresh pot of tea, with Annie adding a word here and there. At length Lucy made them fold their napkins and led them back to the observation gallery to watch the sunset.

The girls stood at the rail before the windows, holding hands, watching the sun sink west into a deck of clouds as Lucy watched them together. How would they introduce themselves to the other girls? Who would they become in school? Would they still be as inseparable as sisters? Half-sisters through Edmund and half-cousins through Jeremy and herself, they were.

Perhaps Edmund would come to her tonight. Perhaps she would have supper with Edmund, Clarissa, and the girls all together. Perhaps not. If not, she would enjoy an evening of being her own woman. Until she found out what it was to be mistress of the house. At least no one would tell her to shut up.