They were quite unprepared for the second enormous blow – a tragedy which occurred only three weeks after the Brexit vote.

The nearby city of Nice was hit by a devastating terrorist attack.

On 14th July 2016, right after the annual firework display, held to celebrate the Fête Nationale, a machine-gun-wielding terrorist had ploughed through the crowd in a heavy lorry, killing eighty-six people and hospitalising almost five hundred more.

That night the restaurant had been closed for the holiday.

Theresa and Sally had gone into Nice together to have some fun. When the lorry struck they were caught up in that terrified crowd. As they ran for their lives, Theresa injured herself trying to leap over a set of overturned bins in a side street. She was left for six months with a bad limp, and had been unable to stand for long periods, which made cooking difficult.

Although Sally stood in, she herself was in no state to work, and as a result the restaurant had no choice but to take on a temporary chef.

Though not physically injured, Sally was badly shaken. For two months she was unable to drive, as whenever a lorry came towards her she went into the shakes and had to pull in to get herself back together again.

Carol took on her duties as van driver.

Even now, almost three years later, whenever either Theresa or Sally heard a police or ambulance siren, they still broke into a sweat and their hearts battered in their chests. Post-traumatic shock took some getting over.

Carol and William were particularly assiduous in their care of Sally and Theresa, but no one quite foresaw the next direct result of the dreadful attack.

Many foreign tourists, mainly the English and the Americans, cancelled their holidays on the Côte d’Azur, while local people simply stopped going out after dark. Even during the day the streets were markedly quieter. For the first week the city was eerily silent and still, and for months afterwards it was a ghost of its former self.

As if the attack itself were not bad enough, the city of Nice and all its satellite towns and villages suffered an enormous financial downturn. By the end of the year 30 per cent of bars and restaurants in the area had closed, including establishments which had been successful and well known for decades. Some of the busiest streets, like the famed Marché aux Fleurs in Nice, were suddenly lined with boarded-up buildings which, before the attack, hosted thriving brasseries, cafés, burger bars and restaurants.

It was a miracle that, principally thanks to Zoe’s continued financial support, La Mosaïque had survived at all.

But for the owners of the restaurant, their joint faith in the future had been secured by the knowledge that they owned this Picasso mosaic, and that it was proceeding through the stages towards a sale at the auction house. Hopefully the mosaic would achieve a great price, with which they would pay off their debts and then divide the profit.