Arven grinned roguishly, and would've given Herbert an affectionate thump on the shoulder if such a thing were possible. But he was momentarily distracted by the arrival of Somersby. He'd already seen him since arriving back in Sussex, but the boy’s height and burgeoning good-looks still took him by surprise.

Boy no more.

”Yes, your old man did a quick job of persuading me”, he added with a smile. And sure enough, Arven had not woken up this morning expecting to leap onboard a ship any time soon.

”Shall I bring you anything back?” he asked his nephew, leaning against the writing desk. ”A mask, a Baobab seed, a thirty-foot rock python…”