They were halfway through the drive home when Arthur dropped the bombshell.

"Mum? Why does Skip think it's funny saying that he got the job?"

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"First he told me they offered him the job, then he said he might have been joking. I don't get it."

She paused, her hands clutching at the steering wheel. What was her idiotic pilot up to? Surely Martin wasn't seriously thinking to turn down such a good offer, was he?

"Nor do I," she murmured at last, determined to let the matter drop – as far as Arthur was concerned, at the very least.

A quick phone call with Herc was enough to confirm her suspicions. Captain Crieff was supposed to start working for Swiss Airways in June, unless he decided otherwise.

She chose to confront him during their next stopover. Arthur had been instructed to keep the first officer suitably distracted, and it wasn't difficult for Carolyn to corner the helpless captain in the hotel lounge.

"Martin, listen. I assure you that your loyalty to MJN Air is really touching, but you can't possibly miss an opportunity like that. Swiss Airways is a proper company, prepared to give you a proper salary. You have to accept it."

"Who says I'm going to get the job?"

"Martin, I'm not stupid. I know you got it."

The ginger pilot started fiddling with his ridiculous hat. "You don't understand, Carolyn."

"Explain, then."

"I – I don't want to leave. How am I supposed to fly with strangers I don't give a toss about?"

"You always say you hate flying with Douglas."

"Well, yes, I do. It's fun though. I don't want to lose that."

Realization hit her at last, rendering her speechless for a moment. "Oh, Martin. You silly boy. Why haven't you told him yet?"

"W-what?"

"You're clearly smitten by your first officer. That's why you don't want to leave."

"Carolyn!"

"Don't 'Carolyn' me. I mean it, Martin. You have to tell him."

He laughed then – a humourless, painful laughter. "Should I tell my overbearing subordinate, and possibly only friend, that I have an unrequited crush on him? That sounds like the perfect thing, especially since the aforementioned man is unmistakably straight and has recently divorced his third wife."

"Things aren't always as they seem. I gather he's never told you about the 'incident' in Singapore?"

"What incident?"

"Apparently he had a fling with a handsome steward, and Herc had to grudgingly cover up for him. Hence the animosity between the two of them."

Martin widened his eyes in a way that would have been comical if he hadn't looked so miserable. Carolyn sighed, raising her hand to prevent any remonstrance on his part.

"Look, it's quite simple. You tell him, and if he rejects you then you may as well go for a career at Swiss Airways. If he doesn't – well, I'm sure he'll be happy to find a solution for your dilemma."

The young captain didn't utter a word for the rest of the evening, barely took part to the traditional word games during the return flight. She made sure to give him a particularly fierce glare upon their parting, then focused entirely on Arthur's babbling on their way home.

When he showed up the next morning Douglas looked very much like the cat that swallowed the canary, while Martin's goofy grin was the soppiest thing Carolyn had ever had to endure.

Good for them, she decided with a shrug. Now she had a shrinking suspicion it was her turn to have a serious talk with Hercules Shipwright.