63 Ola and the Sea Wolf by Barbara Cartland

to get the shipbuilders to design a yacht on the exact lines that he desired. But he had seen when he was a boy the performance of the Naval frigates in the war and had sworn that, if he was ever in the position of building a yacht of his own, he would build one on those lines.
    When he was older, he had made it his job to examine and sail in the fast schooners to which the name ‘clipper’ was first attached.
    Their hull design was to become a model for the famous square-rigged clippers that were being built in the American shipyards and were only slowly being adopted by the English.
    What the Marquis finally evolved for himself was a schooner with the swiftness of a frigate, but which fortunately did not require such a large crew.
    When The Sea Wolf was finally launched, it caused a sensation amongst seafaring enthusiasts and the Marquis was congratulated not only by his friends but a great many Naval authorities.
    This was the first time, however, that he had taken The Sea Wolf out in such a tempestuous sea.
    Watching her this morning riding the waves in a manner he could not fault, he had known that all his ideas, which had been called revolutionary, had been proved right.
    Walking carefully but with the sureness of a man who is used to the sea, the Marquis went into the Saloon saying, as he did so,
    “Tell the Stewards I am ready for a good meal. I am hungry!”
    Then, as he finished speaking, he saw that he was not alone.
    In the comfortable Saloon where he had designed all the furnishings himself, there was the woman whose very existence he had forgotten for the last two hours.
    “Good morning, my Lord,” Ola said. “Forgive me for not rising to greet you, but I feel it would be rather difficult to curtsey when the ship is rolling at this angle.”
    “Good morning – Ola!” the Marquis replied.
    There was a pause before he said her name because it took him a moment to remember it.
    He sat down in a chair not far from her, before he asked,
    “You are feeling all right? You are not seasick?”
    “Not in the least,” Ola replied. “If you will allow me to do so, I would like to come up on deck after luncheon. I have never been in a ship that can travel as fast as this one.”
    “You are telling me you enjoy the sea?”
    “I love it!” Ola replied simply.
    “I am glad to hear that,” the Marquis said, “because I have some bad news for you.”
    Ola looked at him enquiringly and he carried on,
    “Last night I ordered my Captain to make for Calais, but so strong a gale has blown up from the North-East that we cannot make the coast of France. All we can do is run before it out into the English Channel.”
    As the Marquis spoke, he had not really thought of what Ola’s reaction would be.
    Now, as he saw her green eyes light up and a smile appear on her lips, he told himself he might have anticipated that she would prove an unwanted guest who had no wish to relieve herself of his hospitality.
    As if she knew what he was thinking, Ola said,
    “You were so kind, my Lord, in saying you would take me to France that you must not be – annoyed when I say I am – delighted to know that I don’t have to – leave this lovely yacht as – quickly as I had – anticipated.”
    The Marquis was not quite certain how it happened, but, as the Steward brought them a meal, he found himself telling Ola about his yacht and the difficulties he had had in having it built in accordance with his ideas.
    “I had to fight every inch of the way or rather every inch of the ship!” he said. “Only when it was finally finished did the shipbuilders stop croaking that my design was impracticable, unworkable and she would sink or turn turtle at the first rough sea we encountered.”
    “I am glad she is doing neither at the moment,” Ola laughed.
    “You are quite safe. She is the most sea-worthy ship afloat and I am prepared to stake my fortune and my reputation on it!”
    They talked of ships and The Sea Wolf in particular the