"Cab!" "Cab!" "Cab!" " The nearest comfortable hotel!" " Yes, sir." " Then to the home of Mrs Frazer." " Okay." "Mrs Albert Frazer." "Good morning, James." "I was told Captain Baines would be here." "Four months coming from Argentina and half the cargo rotten." "Watch that rope down there." "Good morning, Captain Baines." "Good morning, Mrs Frazer." "Very glad to see you aboard." "What did you find out in Buenos Aires for me?" "Would you..." "Would you come down to the saloon with me?" "I've been inquiring into poor Albert's affairs." "In spite of my letters, we've heard nothing about his estate." " Did you see that lawyer?" " Yes, ma'am." "Well, what did my husband leave me?" "Well, according to the lawyer, ma'am, this is all he died possessed of." "I'm afraid my daughter-in-law went down to the quay." "She must just have passed you, Mr..." "Legrand." "Pierre Legrand, of the company Maritime Du Midi Marseilles." "I know your company well." "What brings you to Liverpool?" "To see Mrs Albert Frazer." "You see, I knew her husband in Buenos Aires." "You knew Albert?" "My son?" "I was so shocked to hear his untimely death, Mr Frazer." "But he had a company, a refrigeration plant so that meat could be carried to Europe frozen and arrive as fresh as the day it was slaughtered." "No, ma'am." "All he had was a cold storage plant on shore, to take meat from the slaughterers and keep it frozen till it could be salted down for shipment." "It was just a contract with the Argentine Meat Trading Company, but it's all being run down now." "Did you think he left you a fortune, Elizabeth?" "Just because you had little esteem for him." "Oh." "I had considerable esteem for him." "How much did you have?" "Why make a will at all, if this is all he had to leave?" "And what's this?" "Who is this?" "Oh." "She was at his lodgings, ma'am." "Oh." "You see, I don't think Mr Frazer ever told her he was married." "I see." "She was very put out that he left everything to you." "Well, if this is everything, she didn't exactly miss much." "No, ma'am." "But there are some papers over here about refrigerated ships, and some notes and sketches, and..." "Yes, well, have them all sent round, will you, please, Captain Baines?" "Poor Mr Albert." "He had such high hopes when he went to the Argentine, didn't he, sir?" "Refrigerated holds!" "Scientifically, perhaps, but, commercially, they could never justify the cost." "Albert's system was going to be cheaper than anything else being developed, he said." "He spoke about it with such fervour, monsieur, with such confidence." "Was your company interested in acquiring his invention?" "Certainly." "For more than one year, we've been waiting for his plans and specifications." "Then long after the event, we hear of his most tragic death." "This is why I am here." "We assume that if anyone knew what had become of his work, his own family would." "We've heard nothing." "Did he leave no working drawings, no specifications?" "Just a few personal papers, I'm afraid." "His plans must be somewhere." "Not with this family it would appear." "Well, sir, I must ask you to excuse me." "Good day to you." "Elizabeth will look after you." "Just one moment, Mr Legrand." " Father-in-law?" " Yeah?" "There were some papers and notes." "Captain Baines is gonna have them" " sent around to your office." " Is he?" "Well, then a polite good day to Monsieur Legrand, I think." "Alice!" "Your husband said he did think Frazer's would be interested." "That is why he offered his plans to us." "Well, if anything comes to light, we'll let you know, Mr Legrand." "And if I find out anything myself, I'll let you know." "Oh, thank you, Alice." "Do you go directly to Marseilles?" "No, I am on my way to Buenos Aires." "I'll write to you, if anything I'll discover." " When do you sail?" " Tuesday." "On one of your ships, the Princess Alexandra." " Au revoir, Mrs Frazer." " Au revoir, Monsieur." "I should have these things sent right to your sister now, sir." ""Still looking forward to receiving your plans and specifications." ""Signed, Company Maritime Du Midi."" "So that's where he sent them, the French?" "No, I doubt it." "It's dated a month after his death." "This is all there was in Buenos Aires, sir." "Hmm." "You mean that's all you were given?" "Company Maritime Du Midi." "These are just jottings on paper." "But if that French company is the first to get hold of the frozen meat trade, there isn't gonna be much room for anyone else." "It's not a commercial proposition anyway, Elizabeth." "Well, Legrand thinks it is and if he gets hold of Albert's proper plans..." "You have no reason to suppose there any proper plans." "These sketches tell us nothing." "Oh!" "Albert was living with some woman out there." " How'd you know that?" " Captain Baines met her." "Not a very prepossessing women, I must say." "But if she's got hold of Albert's proper plans, and Legrand were to make her an offer." "If Albert had designed an economic system of refrigerating holds, he would have sent it to us." "Not the French." "You never gave him much encouragement." " Why did he ever go there?" " He thought it a good opportunity." "He was an engineer, not a meat packer." "He should have stayed at home, building ships, Frazer and Son." "Whom am I going to leave the business to now?" "Your grandson, I presume." "William." "They never even let me see the lad." "Well, he's away at naval college." "They don't bring him here, even in the holidays." " Did Albert ever write to him?" " Certainly, he did." "Why did he go to the Argentine, if all he could leave behind was this?" "Albert's designs may not have been any good but he would have drawn them up." "They have to be somewhere." "Going to the Argentine?" "I sail on Tuesday on the Princess Alexandra." "You can't do that, Elizabeth, and who wants refrigerated ships anyway?" "The Argentine is crawling with cattle." "All they can do at the moment is salt it." "Now, if it could be frozen..." "Look, girl, it takes two to three months" " to get to Europe from South America." " Oh." "And then your troubles are only just beginning." "I know, I've been into it." "Who wants meat that's three months old whether it's frozen or not?" "It will arrive as fresh as the day it is slaughtered." "What's wrong with the roast beef of old England after all?" "We don't need to import scrag end of beef from Argentine." "It's not just meat from the Argentine or either." "I mean, look at New Zealand and Australia." "Well, what have they got to do with it?" "Well, look at all the mutton, and mutton there is out there." "The first shipping line to get into this trade will make itself a fortune." " Rubbish!" " And if it's entirely due to something" "Albert invented, something that is rightfully my property..." "You don't know he invented anything, Elizabeth." "Well, I'm not going to wait for Mr Legrand to find out." "Alice, when will dinner be served?" "Elizabeth, how will Mr Frazer manage?" "Well, the shipping yard's is in good hands with the new engineers." "And Mr Dunwoody can run the Frazer Line." "No, I meant Mr Frazer himself." "He's lived on his own before." "And if you or Robert could drop in on occasion..." "Oh, I see." "I must confess, I was wondering why we'd been asked to dinner." "It's a very long time since we've been so honoured." "Elizabeth!" "A woman in your station of life has no right to go..." "To go trundling around the South Atlantic on her own." " Dinner is served, Madam." " Thank you, Alice." "Would you please tell the master?" "I can't imagine what's keeping him." "Dinner is served, Mr Frazer." "Mr Frazer?" "Yes, I'm coming." "Alice!" "Did you call, sir?" "Sir?" "Oh, sir." "My son, with all his talents..." "Oh, you do look bad, sir." "Aye, it's all right." "It's all right." "It's all right." "Not a word to Elizabeth." "Then she won't go next week." "Ah." "Monsieur Legrand, is it?" "Captain Pembury at your service, sir." "I trust you find your cabin to your liking." "You, stow that below." "Oh, it's you, Mr Harvey." "Thank you." "Mrs Frazer's cabin." "Will you come this way, ma'am?" "Will we have a calm voyage, do you think?" "It's a sound enough ship." "It ought to be." "My husband designed it." "We try to make our passengers as comfortable as possible." "I'm sure we'll have the most pleasant voyage." " Am I your only passenger?" " No, indeed." "Oh, this must be the saloon, as I remember." "Mrs Frazer." "Good morning, Mr Legrand." " Morning, Captain." " Mrs Frazer." " When do we sail?" " Directly, Madam." " So, if you'll excuse me." " Of course." "Pilot's alongside, sir." "Thank you, Mr Harvey." "It's an honour to have you on board, ma'am." "An honour." " You're surprised to see me?" " You gave no indication the other day." "Well, my late husband's affairs are clearly in such a state of confusion." "I thought it only proper to deal with them myself." "But I could've saved you the trouble." "Indeed, I hoped that I'd made that clear at your house." "Why should you bother yourself on my account, Mr Legrand?" "Prepare to cast off, Mr Harvey." "Aye, aye, sir." "Are you married, Mr Legrand?" " I have not had that honour." " I'm surprised." "It's not easy to meet the kind of lady I might wish to wed in Argentina." "Did Albert often speak of me?" " You were ever in his thoughts." " As he was in mine." "Well, I think I'll return to my cabin now." "We'll meet again at dinner." "James!" "What are you doing here?" "Same as you, on my way to Buenos Aires." "Monsieur Legrand, is it?" "Ah, third name on the passenger list." " What are you going to Buenos Aires for?" " Oh, business as usual." "Oh, by the way, my name is Onedin." "I'm Mrs Frazer's brother." "Cast off, forehead." "And for pudding, the cook says she can do you a nice apple dumpling." " Whatever she chooses." " The doctor won't mind?" "I mean, you have been ill." "I've fully recovered now, thank you." "So it wouldn't be too heavy?" "I really have no idea as to the weight of Mrs Frobisher's apple dumplings." "Now, give her my compliments and tell her I do not wished to be asked everyday what I want to eat." " Cook must have her instructions." " Not from me." " With Mrs Frazer away..." " Oh, leave me alone, girl." "From now on the domestic arrangements are entirely in Mrs Frobisher's capable hands." "I'll eat whatever she chooses to put in front of me." " Will there be anything else, sir?" " No!" "Yes." "You can send the coachmen with this note to Mr Hickson." " Mr Hickson?" " My lawyer, Hickson, Hickson, Withers." "It will do in the morning, only send it." "Yes, sir." "Is this really the best the galley can do, Mr Harvey?" "Well, I shall certainly have words with the ship's cook tomorrow." "Oh." "Look at poor Mr Legrand, the very sight of it turns him pale." "I think it's not the cuisine that..." "Excuse me." "French sailors." "Excuse me." " Harvey here." " In the wheelhouse, Mr Harvey." "Very well, sir." " The glass is still falling, Mr Harvey." " Yes, I know, sir." "How are our passengers faring?" "Ah." "Well, Mr Legrand he needed a breath of fresh air, sir." "Ah." " Was that all, sir?" " Yes, thank you." "Always consider your passengers, Mr Harvey." "Yes, sir." " No, really, this is so tiresome." " Here." " Do you not want that?" " Quite inedible." "Ah." "Perhaps when you get to South America, you'll find a way of keeping meat fresh." "Give the ships' galleys the same chance as your kitchens at home, eh?" "I can only assume you've been reading those letters and notes" "Captain Baines brought back from the Oberon." "Uh-huh." "Legally, of course, anything Albert invented presumably goes to you," " as his widow." " I will not deter you, James, or you'd hardly be making this voyage." "It won't deter that French company either, will it?" "I have two months at sea to learn how to handle Mr Legrand." "Treacle pudding, sir?" "Sir?" "Charm that Frenchman as much as you like, Elizabeth, but he'll have the better of you once you get to South America." "He works out there." "You don't even speak the language." "Well, the lawyer who wrote to me speaks English and it was he who drew up Albert's will." "Well, he doesn't have the plans, otherwise he'd have given them to Captain Baines, wouldn't he?" " He can prove my right to them." " How will that help?" "If Legrande quietly sends them off to Marseilles." "You'll never prove that the first French ship to sail with refrigerated holds owes it all to Albert Frazer, will you?" "I'll get those plans somehow." "They're my property." "Look, if Albert had intended you to have them, he'd have sent them to you." "As it was, he preferred to do business with the French." " Well, I do not." " Hmm." "Legrand says that his company had an agreement with Albert." "So, morally, I suppose he does have some right to them." "You have no right at all." "But I do know me way around Buenos Aires." "Thank you for the warning, James." "But between us, Pierre Legrand and I can put a stop to you." "Between us, we could put a stop to Legrand." "Looking for friends, James?" "Oh, excuse me, sir." "Mr Hickson's clerk called." "What the devil do these entries mean, Dunwoody?" "Oh, Mrs Frazer wanted the insurance rate added to the freight rate, sir." "You run the shipping line, not Mrs Frazer." "Ah, well, yes." "Mr Hickson's clerk called, sir, to say that Friday at eleven" " will be quite convenient." " Hmm." "Eleven o'clock, Friday, excellent." "Time I remade my will." "Oh, I'm sure there's no need for that, sir." "At the moment, everything is left to Albert." " That won't do now, will it?" " No, sir." " Where was I?" " The freight account, sir." "Oh, yes." "Well, now look." "These entries here, Wales to Brazil." "Now, that's an error to be sure." "No, sir." "Nobody gets a price that high." " Mrs Frazer does." " What?" "She has a way with the merchants, sir." "Interfering female." "Now, you must get something inside you, Pierre." "Why, if it doesn't stay there?" "You'll soon get your sea legs, I'm sure." "I'm always sick first few days." "You'll laugh about it when we get to Buenos Aires." "And then I shall be the helpless one." "I can't imagine you being helpless anywhere, Elizabeth." "I don't even speak the language." "I have no hope at all of finding Albert's plans all on my own." "I shall be utterly dependent on you." "You will help me when we're there, won't you?" "Anything at all." "Of course." "I don't want to have to rely on my brother, you see." "Hmm." "Is he interested in your husband's work?" "He's interested in anything that makes money." "Whereas I..." "Well, alll am concerned about is that my poor, late husband gets the recognition he deserved." "James Onedin sailed on the Alexandra?" "Well, I assumed that you knew." "It is, after all, one of your ships." "I don't study the passenger lists." "Did Elizabeth know?" "Well, if she didn't, I'd like to have seen her face when she found out." "Just think of it." "James and Elizabeth, cooped up on the same ship all the way to South America." " Onedin!" " I think you'll find that satisfactory." "Could it be that Albert's invention did succeed after all?" "Your brother's not one to go off on a wild goose chase." "I have hoped for years and years that Albert might..." "And now, by God!" "Is James Onedin going to get his hands on it?" " Dunwoody!" "Dunwoody!" " Yes, Mr Frazer." "Why didn't you tell me that James Onedin had taken a berth on the Alexandra?" "I should have been told!" "I should have been told!" "Mr Frazer." "Bless my soul." "Mr Robert, is he..." "No." "No, but you'd better get a doctor quick." "I think you should know, James, that Pierre and I have come to an understanding." "Oh, Pierre, is it?" "I'm going to let him have Albert's invention for £200." "On the condition that it is known as the Albert Frazer Refrigeration System." "Albert would have liked that, wouldn't he?" "Sure he'd have like a lot more than £200." "Albert is dead, James." "And as long his work is properly commemorated, money is completely immaterial to me." " Another cup, Pierre." " If you please." "At least I've taught them in the galley to make a decent pot of tea." " For you, James?" " Ah, no, thanks." "We should arrive at Tenerife tomorrow." "If you wish to cut short your journey, James, and return home from there," "I'm sure the Frazer Line would reimburse your passage money." "You see how little she cares about money?" "There's little point you going on to Buenos Aires now, I fancy." "There's no point of you going there either." "We still have to find Albert's plans." "Surely we can leave that to Monsieur Legrand." "Don't have to go all the way to South America just to sign away your rights." "That's true." "Elizabeth, we could get contract drawn up in Tenerife." "We don't know that Albert's invention exists." "Oh, I'm sure you can leave that." "Mr Legrand's willing to take the chance." "Indeed I am." "No, Pierre." "When we get to Buenos Aires, we shall get the lawyer to draw up a contract." "We shan't sign it, though, until you've found Albert's plans for me." "Now, I don't want to discuss it any further." "I've quite made up my mind." "Morning, Mr Onedin." "Good morning." "Very nice!" "Oh." "Oh, thank you." "I must say your sister is behaving most generously about her husband's work, isn't she?" "What, letting you have them for £200?" "I shall, of course, insist on paying more than that." "Oh, why?" "You're to go to all the trouble of finding them, these plans, if they exist?" "I'm afraid your sister wouldn't even know where to look." "That's why she's relying on you." " Exactly." " Hmm." "Of course, you could post them off to Marseilles." "Tell her that you couldn't find them." " I am a man of honour, monsieur." " Oh, yes, of course." "That way ensures you get them legally for £200." " Exactly." " Mmm." " Of course, uh..." " Yes?" "It does ensure you put them into her hands." "Are you saying she'll go back on her words?" "Oh, of course not!" "Only a man goes back on his word, eh?" "Women just change their minds." "We're doing 10 knots now, Mrs Frazer." "10 knots?" "James says you can do 13 knots." " So she can." " Then why aren't we?" "Because if you drive her at full speed, she uses too much coal." "Might it not be an idea to carry more coal?" " There isn't room!" " Make room." "And cut down on cargo?" "If my husband designed this ship to do 13 knots and she's never allowed to do more than 10, it's preposterous!" "Your husband designed this ship on the assumption there were coal bunkering stations conveniently scattered over the Atlantic Ocean." "My husband would never be so foolish." " I didn't know him, Mrs Frazer." " Elizabeth." " Mrs Frazer?" " I'm down here, Pierre." "Your brother has just been making such a remark, such an intimation." " What?" " That..." "There's no one in the world I trust more than I trust you, Elizabeth." "Well, what has he been saying?" "You do believe him, I can see that you do." "I don't believe him, not for one moment." "To even think that I would go back on my word once you found those plans?" " You do trust me then?" " Of course I trust you, Elizabeth." "Is there no limit to your malice?" "I'm trying to shave." "What did you hope to gain by telling Legrand I'd go back on my word?" "I told him of what you intend." "Look, shouldn't you go and dress for dinner or something?" "Luckily, I've convinced him that I meant what I said." " Have you?" " Yes, he still trusts me." "Then the question is, do you trust him?" "He's not going to go behind my back if he can get Albert's plan lawfully for £200." "Oh, isn't he?" "You listen to me, James." "You've no claim on Albert's work at all." "Listen to me, I've a better claim than either of you!" "If it wasn't for my encouragement, Albert wouldn't have been an engineer." "Those plans wouldn't even exist!" "Those plans are mine!" "Albert was my husband!" "Oh, yes, the man that you married, so that you could have a legal father for a child that you were having by Daniel Fogarty!" "That boy..." "William..." "I thought you were asleep." "My grandson..." "Albert's boy..." "Now you rest." "Complete rest, the doctor said." "Elizabeth never lets me see him." "Well, she hardly ever sees anything of him herself." "Too busy meddling in my affairs." "No, he's away at naval college most of the time." "Bring him here." "I want to see what he's made of." "My grandson." "Fetch him." "James was right!" "You don't trust me." "Of course I trust you, Elizabeth." "But if we could have signed the contract here in Tenerife, it would have saved you going all the way to Buenos Aires." " When do we sail?" " This evening." "Not till then?" "Well, we'll have to get up steam first, Mrs Frazer." "Oh!" "Did you have a good time on shore, Monsieur Legrand?" "Very well, Elizabeth, I won't raise the matter again." "We'll go together to Buenos Aires and look for the plans." "Thank you." "I just hope you won't have to wait too long." "William!" "What does he want to see..." "What does he want to see William for?" "I think it's to do with his will." " He's making a new one." " So?" "Well, he'll leave everything to William." "Who else will he leave it to, now that Albert's dead?" "Well, it's something to think on, isn't it?" "It's so unfair." "Some people get everything handed to them on a silver platter and you and I have to struggle along by the sweat of our brows." "Struggle?" "A successful chandlery business that owes nothing to no man?" "Lord, woman, you talk as if I were a navvy, not a Member of Parliament." "If only Jack Frazer knew." "Knew what?" "You know." "Now take care, Sarah." "I've never forgiven myself for letting it out to Albert and if Jack Frazer were to find out, too." "He's told me to fetch the boy." "Well, you've not to!" "Elizabeth has done everything she can to see that he doesn't see him." "That's what he complains about!" "Well, it's understandable." "I know." "I've seen the lad and..." "Just before he went back to college this time." "And alll could see was Daniel Fogarty." "Pierre will find those plans within 24 hours, and you'll be none the wiser however long you stay." "How do you know that?" "'Cause I know where he's going to look." "Look, if Albert is so confident that his plans were the cheapest in the world, he would have consulted with a team of engineers." "Now there aren't too many of those in South America, but I do happen to have the name and address of one of them." " That doesn't mean much." " No." "But I saw it in his diary, with the name Frazer underneath and a question mark." "You've been through Pierre's diary?" "Well, I don't have your talents for wheedling confidences from him, you know." "What's the name of this firm?" "Well, we'll go and visit them together, Elizabeth, eh?" "With Pierre Legrand on our heels?" "We'll leave him behind in the Cape Verde Islands." "Come on!" "It's the Anne Onedin." "These are the Cape Verde Islands, Mrs Frazer, it's the only place you can coal." "Mr. Harvey." "She's bound for Rio De Janeiro." "James says she sails tomorrow." "And you would like Mr Legrand to sail on her?" "You've a sharp mind, Mr Harvey." "He could be there before us." "The captain of the Anne Onedin will be given strict instructions to take her time." "A long time." "And who is to persuade Mr Legrand to sail on the Anne Onedin?" "I was hoping you could help with that little problem." "It's Mr Dunwoody, sir." "Good morning, sir." "I trust I find you better." "Morning, have you brought the monthly returns?" "Oh, yes, I have, sir, if you want to go over them." "And Mr. Hickson has just delivered this." "Ah, put it down over there." "I've just been reading a letter I once had from Albert." "One of the few he ever sent from Buenos Aires." "He wanted to know if Fredericks had any experience of refrigeration techniques." "Oh, Fredericks the engineers?" "Mmm." "He says that the marine engineers out on the Argentine are no use at all, which is hardly surprising." "There's none better than Fredericks anywhere." "I told him his best course of action would be to send his work to me, then I could take up his problems with Joe Fredericks myself." "And did he?" "I never heard from him again, which I took to mean that whatever it was he'd invented wasn't going to bear the scrutiny my experience would give it." "Could he have written direct to Fredericks?" "Go round there and see." "Oh, but we would have heard, surely?" "Not if he said he didn't want us to." "Mr Dunwoody, I'm surprised at you!" "Mr Frazer has been ordered complete rest." "Oh, I was just leaving, madam." "When's my grandson coming?" "We'll talk about that some other time." "I want him here by tomorrow." "I've made a new will." "Mr Hickson's coming tomorrow evening, so that I can sign it." "I also want you here as a witness, Dunwoody." " Now, go round to Fredericks." " Yes, sir." "You can be a witness, too, Sarah." "Me?" "You're not mentioned in the will, so it's quite in order." "But I'll not let Elizabeth have the run of this place until" "I'm quite satisfied as to what's at the end of it." "Elizabeth?" "Everything goes to Elizabeth until William comes of age." "The men won't like a damn petticoat over them but she knows how to handle men." "26 shillings a ton for rails." " What?" " She knows what it's about." "But if the boy hasn't got the true Frazer stamp on him, I..." "Oh, well." "If he's not what I take him for," "I'll just have to look elsewhere for an heir." "I'll send a telegram to the school, he can come up by train tomorrow." "Gone?" "Mr Onedin left the ship?" "What is he up to?" "All he said, sir, was he was sailing on the Anne Onedin to Rio." "But why?" "You haven't heard, sir?" "We have a cracked propeller shaft." "That won't take long to repair." "In the Cape Verde Islands, it's at least a fortnight, sir." "When does the Anne Onedin sail?" "On the tide, sir." "Thank you, Mr Harvey." "Mr Harvey!" "Tell Captain Pembury to get up steam, I want to leave immediately." "Is Mr Onedin in his cabin?" " He's ashore, ma'am." " Ashore?" " Would you rather we sail without him?" " What is he doing ashore?" " He's at the telegraph office." "Well, once we get up steam, I expect he'll be back." "Thank you, Mr. Harvey, that will be all." "Have you any idea where Mr Onedin has got to?" "No, ma'am." "Are his things still in his cabin?" "Yes, I've looked." "Nothing he'd miss though." "Well, we're ready to sail whenever you order, Mrs Frazer." "Mr Onedin deserted us as well?" "Bosun says he saw him boarding the Anne Onedin." "That was just to tell her master to go at half speed." "Didn't leave the harbour at half speed." "Since he's had that ship overhauled, she's certainly got some power in her, hasn't she?" "And if Mr Onedin's on board he'll use it." "We can still reach Buenos Aires before him, Mrs Frazer, if we allow the Alexandra to use her power." "Can't risk more than 10 knots." "My husband designed this ship to do 13 knots." "But you've only got to hit a spot of bad weather, and if you've used up too much coal..." "Then we'll risk bad weather, Captain Pembury." "Now let's sail!" "Yes, ma'am." "Sir." "Are you sure you feel well enough to see him?" "Would I have sent for him if not?" "If he's here, bring him up." "Leave me alone with the boy." "William, your grandfather is ready to receive you." "Come on." "I'll see you later, William." "Leave us alone together." "Come over here, lad." "Sit by the window where I can take a good look at you." "Aye, aye, sir." "Captain wants more steam." "Can't they really go any faster than this?" "Oh, there you are, Master William." "I'll tell Mrs Onedin." "He certainly kept you long enough, didn't he?" "Whatever were you talking about?" "Tell them to get their backs into it down there!" "The stokehole's red hot as it is." "If we burst a boiler..." "Look, if you slacken up against this sail, we could capsize." "Now we're barely making headway as it is." "Just burning up coal." "And no bunkering station within 400 miles." "Please answer me, Mr Frazer." "He's been like that ever since that boy was here." "Well, I warned you." "Now don't say that I didn't." " You should never have let him see him." " And how could I stop him?" "By not fetching him, that's how." "Mr Frazer, you've had a bit of a shock." "But you'll get over it in time." "Albert did." "He knew?" "Albert knew?" "Yes." "Yes, he did." "He let that...adventuress bring up another man's son as his own." "Was he as weak as all that?" "Now please don't try to get up." "Is Mr Hickson here yet?" "No, I sent him away again." "I thought, under the circumstances..." "Never mind, never mind." "At least it makes one thing clear." "I outlive my son and find that even the grandson's a fraud." "And no trace of myself left at all." "Except money, ships, yards." "Well, if that's all there is to survive me," "I'd better make proper provision for it, hadn't I?" "Sheaf the topsail." "We'll never make Buenos Aires now." "Once we're out of this gale, sir." "Steer sou'-sou'-east." "Look, we'll only use more coal by trying to go around, sir." "I know what I'm doing, Mr Harvey." "I was at sea before you were born." "Now..." "Now you two witness it." "At least young William Fogarty has the sea in his veins." "You should've heard the lad talk." "A Fogarty and Onedin, and not a Frazer at all." " And yet in spite of that, you still..." " Because of that!" "Because it means that artful, ambitious, deceiving woman, your sister, is going to run the company until the lad comes of age." "That's the sort of ruthlessness it needs to make a company prosper these days." "So at least something I made will go on." "Even if it's only a business." "Batten down the hatches." "Hold her steady, man!" "You can't turn her any more or the wind'll catch us broadside." "We'll never get to Buenos Aires at this rate, Captain Pembury." " We're not going to Buenos Aires, ma'am." " What?" "Without coal, we'll ride out to this gale and put back to Cape Verde." "Put back?" "I forbid you to go back!" "Well, as you will, ma'am." "We are putting back." "Now you listen to me, Captain Pembury." "I am the owner of this vessel..." "And I am her master!" "At sea, she's mine!" "Mr. Harvey, we'll ride out this gale and then put back to the Cape Verde Islands at half speed." "Everything to Elizabeth, in trust for young William Fogarty." "Not even of his own blood, it's a disgrace!" "I still..." " It's Mr Dunwoody, madam." " Well, show him in, girl." "There's still time for him to change his mind." "The doctor said he'll pull through." "I'm sorry to disturb you, madam." "I just wondered if Mr Frazer had had a chance to go through those papers I brought round from Fredericks earlier." "Well, there's a big packet unopened by his bed." " Why, is it urgent?" " No." "But it contains Mr Albert's plans for the refrigerated ships." "What are you talking about?" "It seems they were in Liverpool all the time." "And James and Elizabeth on the way to South America to find them." "Mr Albert asked Fredericks to give him an estimate for building the ships." "And what happened?" "Well, I understand from Mr Frederick they weren't very practical after all." "The plant was altogether too cumbersome." "Did Fredericks write to Albert to tell him that?" "Well, yes, sir." "Shortly before he caught that fever." "Perhaps it was that that finally killed him." "How could it?" "Knowing how much it meant to him." "Meant to him?" "Thought to leave me behind, did you?" "I thought you'd sailed on the Anne Onedin." "I sent Legrand on the Anne Onedin, as we arranged, while I stayed behind at the telegraph office waiting for a reply to my telegram that I sent." " Telegram?" " Aye, Fredericks, Liverpool." "I thought Albert might have sent them his plans." "And he had to." "And they were no good." "Are you telling me that after all this..." "Since then I've had another one from brother Robert." "Here's one for you, too." "Frazer?" "Dead?" "And everything left to you, in trust for Young William." "I'd grown quite fond of the old bear." "How will you manage?" "Somehow, I thought he'd go on forever." "It's a big undertaking for a woman." "Well, perhaps we'd better join our interests." "That is the last thing he'd have wanted." "You can't manage on your own." "Looks as though I'll have to." "You realise this makes us competitors."