"He'll go once the sailing season ends," Zelda said. It had been a few years, so she was not unused to Alfred being gone — and this time, hopefully, she would not be alone with a newborn or very pregnant. (It was far too late for the former to happen, but the latter was, technically, not impossible.)

"It'll be alright — if a little tough with the routine change on the children," Zelda admitted, with a sheepish smile. "At his age, Orion won't really remember the last time he was underway."