The Patagonia

It's setting is an American steamer bound for London and the story is centered on a small group of acquaintances on board, primarily on a 30 year old American woman intending to marry a man she doesn't want. Her flirtatious fling with a young man on the ship, perhaps a last chance to escape her situation, brings on gossip and ridicule and has a disastrous ending. (Goodreads)