"About a year," he told her after a brief moment of thought. "But I've b'n working on boats for a few years," he volunteered, studying the woman for a moment as he spoke. Skylark. The name of the casino and the opening party he had attended suddenly leapt to mind, and the scene on the rooftop was where he'd seen her before. His face betrayed nothing of his realisation, as he finished listing the types of vessels he had skippered.

"I usually skipper the university's trips," he continued, "but this is th' first one I've seen where there's no open bar," he added, wondering still what was going on with that.