Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her ladyβs 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 moneyβand has settled for Gilbert Townsend, a viscount and a wealthy industrialist. He is decades older than Julia, and itβs clear to her sister Phoebeβand to Eva, who has been like a surrogate mother to the girlsβthat this is not a love match. Nevertheless, the wedding takes placeβand in a hurry.
At the reception aboard the groomβs 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 expectedβwith Gilβs pretty secretary, among others, coming along.
That very night, Julia pounds on her sisterβs door, brandishing a bandaged hand and reporting a hot-tempered outburst on her new husbandβs 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, Gilβs body is found in the water belowβand Phoebe and Eva must discover who pushed him over . . . before the Renshawsβ social standing is irreparably stained by Juliaβs arrest for his murder . . .
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