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"Do I? Well, you should know!"

The following afternoon Elizabeth went back to Rose Bay at the request of her employer. Mrs. Abercrombie was sitting out on the balcony busy with a pile of correspondence.

"You could help me with this, my child," she suggested, as if Elizabeth had been her secretary for years. "I leave everything to the last minute, as you can see. Charles considers it deplorable."

"We'll see what we can do," Elizabeth agreed. "Has your grandson left for America?"

"He flew out yesterday, according to schedule. I went to the airport to bid him goodbye, although we'll meet him again In San Francisco. He has business there," Mrs. Abercrombie explained.

"Will you really need me after San Francisco?" Elizabeth asked. "Your grandson could easily take over there."

Adele Abercrombie gazed at her for a moment.

"Certainly I shall need you," she answered. "Yon are to be my companion, are you not? Charles may have to stay in New York, or even come back to Sydney. There are a thousand reasons, quite apart from your secretarial duties, why I might need you," she added abstractedly. "You will see!"

They discussed the journey in greater detail.

"Does your grandson know we're stopping off in Hawaii?" Elizabeth felt compelled to ask.

"Certainly he knows. One has to acquaint Charles with one's every movement in case of an emergency if he is arranging a
rendezvous."
The old lady sighed. "He has his timetable worked out to the last minute. I Hunk it unimportant at my age, but he is a businessman and we have to conform, you and I," She smiled into Elizabeth's doubtful eyes. "Don't take him so seriously, my child," she added. "He's really not so hard as he likes to make out. Once," she added, "he had a bad experience where a woman was concerned, but I think he is over that now."

"Which means he isn't married?" Elizabeth had been conjuring up an impression of Charles's wife, living back there in Scotland in comparative isolation. while he toured the world with business on his mind. "I thought he might be."

"Unfortunately, no," Adele sighed. "I would like to see him happily settled with the right girl. Living in a Scottish baronial house with an eccentric old woman isn't good enough, although he says it suits him very well. Charles should have young company. We have neighbours at Kilchoan, of course," she added carefully, "but I could wish him to have a wider choice."

They dropped the subject of Charles by some kind of mutual agreement to concentrate on their plans for the journey.

"You'll come here the evening before and stay overnight," Adele suggested. "Jason will collect your heavy luggage and take it to the airport, where we will meet."

'Would you mind very much if my flatmate came to see me off?" Elizabeth asked diffidently. "She's been very kind to me these past few weeks."

"Certainly she must come, in that case," Mrs. Abercrombie agreed. "Jason can see her back to her flat." Her eyes gleamed with interest. "I like to meet my grandsons' friends," she offered truthfully. "Jason calls me a shameless old matchmaker, but I am not offended. It is the custom in France, where I was born, to help along the marriages of one's children, to guide them in a suitable direction."

"Even in those emancipated days?" Elizabeth was surprised.

"It can be done with great tact," her employer answered with a twinkle in her eye. "No young person is willing to be directed nowadays, but a little judicious prompting can go a long way on occasion. I would like to see both my grandsons suitably married before I die."

It was a natural enough desire, Elizabeth thought. The old lady was still the head of the family and responsible for its well-being.

The day before they were due to leave she tidied up the flat and took a last long look at the Sydney skyline. This city which had been home to her for so short a time had wound strong tentacles around her heart, but now she was willing enough to leave it because the dream she had cherished for so long was within her grasp.

As she travelled out to Rose Bay for the last time, her heartbeats quickened at the thought of the adventure which lay before her, of the miles of ocean to be covered before she reached Scotland, and the stops on the way. Hawaii had always been a romantic island to her and now, because of Mrs. Abercrombie's bounty, she was actually going there. The adventure she had undertaken took on a new magnitude, but she would not be travelling it alone. Even after a few brief meetings she knew that Adele Abercrombie would be the perfect companion, and it could work both ways. She would do her best to please the old lady, even if she found it impossible to please her autocratic grandson.

They retired early, Elizabeth tucked up in a little room at the end of the balcony which had once been a child's nursery. There were photographs of children all over the walls: children on the beach with buckets and spades; children water-skiing; little boys on swings, and girls with their dolls smiling self-consciously into the eye of the camera. Adele Abercrombie's friend had reared a large family on a farm on the outskirts of the city, but they had all flown the nest now and were scattered over the length and breadth of Australia. At the moment, Adele said, she was visiting her youngest son in Perth.

They woke early the following morning to a day of blue sky and brilliant sunshine.

"A splendid omen for our journey," Mrs. Abercrombie declared. "One travels so happily when the weather is kind."

They took a taxi to the airport, where Jason was waiting with Elizabeth's luggage. Biba was standing by his side.

"All set?" he asked breezily. "Passports, tickets—everything?"

Elizabeth nodded, indicating the capacious grip she would take into the cabin as hand luggage.

"It's all in order," she assured him. "You know we're spending a few days in Hawaii."

"Lucky you!" Biba breathed.

"Grand'mere does everything in style," Jason smiled. "You'll love the Islands, Elizabeth, especially the lesser-known ones, which are comparatively unspoiled. Oahu has been hopelessly commercialised, but I lived far two months on Maui and it was as if the world was beginning all over again for me." He glanced at his grandmother, who had been listening to him intently. "Grand'mere has good friends there. They'll probably fly over to Oahu to meet you," he concluded.

"I'm hoping so," his grandmother said. "I haven't seen Henri since his wife died. He is my oldest friend."

The bustle of departure was all about them, and Elizabeth clasped Biba's hand as their flight was called.

"I'll miss you," she said. 'Take good care of yourself."

"You, too," returned Biba gruffly. "Send me a postcard whenever you have time."

"I'll write," Elizabeth promised. "Long letters full of news."

"I'm not going to take another flatmate," Biba declared. "I'd never find anyone like you, Liz."

"Come on, you two!" said Jason. "You'll burst into tears in a moment!"

He stood behind Biba as they waved goodbye.

"She's a charming young woman," Mrs. Abercrombie remarked. "I'm glad we've met."

Elizabeth frowned at the thought of Jason, who might unwittingly hurt her friend. In her modern way Biba had always said that she could take care of herself, but once or twice she had looked in Jason's direction as if she was not quite sure what was happening to her down-to-earth, ordinary view of life, and back there in the emptying departure lounge she had seemed to glow. Jason would have a lot to answer for if he led Biba on merely for his own amusement.

Were all the Abercrombie men so obtuse? she wondered, thinking again of Charles.

A cabin steward came to greet them as they boarded the big jet, ushering Mrs. Abercrombie to her favourite seat just ahead of the starboard wing. She seemed to be well known to them, and she fussed a little, as became an old lady anxious about her creature comforts on a long flight.

"Where to this time, ma'am?" the steward enquired, giving Elizabeth an appraising look. "AH the way to Scotland, I expect"

"No, I'm stopping off at Honolulu this trip, Joe, visiting an old friend."

"That will be nice for him," said Joe, settling her in her seat with a rug for her knees and a pillow.

"Qantas takes care of you!" Mrs. Abercrombie murmured as Elizabeth took the seat by her side. "It's their motto and they certainly live up to it"

Another steward passed tissues soaked in eau-de-cologne to cool their face and hands. Although the cabin was air-conditioned it had been warm and sticky outside and they were glad of the fragrant tissues to freshen up.

"Your first flight, miss?" the steward asked Elizabeth. "I hope you'll enjoy it"

"Thank you." Elizabeth turned to her employer as another steward appeared with glasses of pineapple juice. "This is sheer luxury," she declared.

"Everything is meticulously planned for the travellers' comfort," Adele agreed. "You'll find that out by the time we've reached our destination."

Each reference to San Francisco encouraged thoughts of Charles Abercrombie and their first encounter, and Elizabeth could not help wondering if their next meeting would be equally disastrous. To prove that it need not be, she checked and re-checked their itinerary as the jet taxied along the runway ready for take-off.

"Everything in order?" Adele queried, watching out of the corner of her eye. "You surely couldn't have forgotten anything."

"I don't think so. I'd never forgive myself if I had," Elizabeth confessed.

"Because you might have to answer to Charles?" the old lady suggested shrewdly. "My dear child, you mustn't be afraid of him. He is no ogre. On the contrary, he can be extremely agreeable when he wishes to please."

"When everything is going like clockwork," Elizabeth said without thinking. "Oh, I'm sorry.'" she apologised immediately. "I shouldn't have said that. He has every right to expect efficiency. It's just that—we seemed to get off to a rather bad start."

"That can easily be remedied," her employer decided, looking out of the tiny window at her side. "Now we are ready for take-off. If you have any regrets, Miss Drummond, it is much too late."

Elizabeth met her smiling gaze.

"How could I have regrets where you're concerned ?" she said quietly.

The great airliner rose slowly and powerfully into the air, like a giant bird leaving its temporary habitat on earth, and Sydney dropped away beneath them. They went straight out over the ocean, leaving the land behind.

"You know, of course, that we gain a day on this flight," Adele said. "We'll have two Sundays, one after the other."

"Yes, the dateline," Elizabeth agreed. "It's all so new to me, although I've read about it often enough. You must pull me up if I seem to be daydreaming," she added apologetically.

"I sleep most of the way," her companion told her. "The privilege of age!"

She was fast asleep by the time Elizabeth had read the first page of the book she had brought with her to while away the hours, and the book fell to Elizabeth's lap in a few minutes as her eyes and mind were claimed by the miracle of flight.

There was a scarf-like layer of cloud beneath them, like white chiffon floating in the still air, and when it finally disintegrated there was nothing left but the blue ocean far below and the blue dome of the sky above.

Inside the cabin it was warm and bright, with all the flora of Australia depicted on the white panelling by some native artist with the touch of genius on his pen. They absorbed her thoughts for a considerable time, conjuring up memories of a happy childhood when flowers had been her chief delight.

Their little isolated world high in the sky was a busy place, with stewards moving constantly to and fro bringing drinks and food and cigarettes in what seemed like an endless conveyor-belt of activity.

After the second meal-trays had been collected, Elizabeth, too felt inclined to doze. She had read no more than a dozen pages of her book.

They came into Fiji, wandering about the transit lounge for an hour, waiting to re-embark.

"There's lots to see here, I believe," Mrs. Abercrombie remarked speculatively, "but I've not found time to stop off so far. That will be for another day. I'm going to call you Elizabeth, by the way," she added. "Miss Drummond is far too cumbersome."

"I'm glad," Elizabeth responded, wrapping the airline blanket round her knees as they settled into their seats again. "It's more relaxed."

They woke and dozed off again for the remainder of the journey, but when the Islands were almost in view Adele Abercrombie stirred herself to make sure that her companion had a first view of them.

"There are eight islands in all," she explained, "running in a long chain from south to north, more or less. Most of them are volcanic, especially Hawaii in the south, which gives the group its name. We go straight in to the airport on Oahu, which is about midway, but you can see the whole chain as we fly past if we are lucky with the clouds."

Elizabeth pressed eagerly towards the window.

"Change places with me," her employer commanded. "I've seen it all before, many times."

When the cloud lifted and the first island came into view Elizabeth caught her breath.

"They're so tiny!" she exclaimed. "Lying down there in the sun."

She could see the surf breaking around a rocky coastline far beneath them and the dark green of lush vegetation inland.

"That's where Kona coffee is grown," the old lady announced. "And down there is Mauna Loa, the world's largest volcano." Her enchanting laughter rang out "I sound like a Trand Winds Tour guide, I expect, but I love those islands and I want them to be appreciated."

"Please don't stop!" Elizabeth begged. "I'm enjoying every word."

"I do believe you are," Adele smiled. "You are a very honest person, Elizabeth."

Sometimes too honest, Elizabeth mused regretfully, telling people what I think!

They approached Oahu, where the great sprawl of Honolulu lay close to the water's edge and Pearl Harbor snaked its way inland towards a long, serrated chain of mountains which split the island in two. Another range rippled like a jagged backbone on the eastern side, closing in a deep, wide valley which they circled to land.