Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her ladyโs maid, Eva Huntford, are preparing for a wedding, but it may not be the happy occasion everyone hopes for . . .
Since the Great War, some family fortunes have suffered, including those of the Renshaws. Despite being the granddaughter of an earl, Julia Renshaw is under pressure to marry for moneyโand has settled for Gilbert Townsend, a viscount and a wealthy industrialist. He is decades older than Julia, and itโs clear to her sister Phoebeโand to Eva, who has been like a surrogate mother to the girlsโthat this is not a love match. Nevertheless, the wedding takes placeโand in a hurry.
At the reception aboard the groomโs yacht, there appears to be tension between Gil and several guests: his best man, a fellow veteran of the Boer War; his grouchy spinster sister; and his current heir, a nervous young cousin named Ernest. The bride is also less than pleased when she discovers that her honeymoon will be more crowded than expectedโwith Gilโs pretty secretary, among others, coming along.
That very night, Julia pounds on her sisterโs door, brandishing a bandaged hand and reporting a hot-tempered outburst on her new husbandโs part. Julia is feeling doubt and regret about her hasty decision, but returns to the boat. Then the next morning, before the yacht can depart the harbor, Gilโs body is found in the water belowโand Phoebe and Eva must discover who pushed him over . . . before the Renshawsโ social standing is irreparably stained by Juliaโs arrest for his murder . . .
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