‘Having fun yet?’ Dan asked, as he lowered himself down next to where I sat on the beach with Charlie, eating a piece of delicious hedgehog slice from Jedda’s cafe. Unable to help with the busy bee due to her fear of water, she’d generously supplied morning and afternoon tea for the troops, which Gail and her husband had transported in their boat.

‘If by “fun” you mean muscles I didn’t even know I had aching, and calluses forming on my hands, then I’m having the time of my life.’

He chuckled. ‘You have been working pretty hard. Thanks for helping out.’

‘The pleasure is all mine. It’s been a great opportunity to get to know everyone better.’

Sitting in small groups around us now were all the other volunteers, and there were plenty of them. This might have been the brainchild of Dan and me, but it felt like the whole town had got on board in some capacity. I’d discovered that many locals, like Dan, had also had a personal connection to Bill and were there as much for him as for the potential attention his castle could bring to Ragged Point.

Almost everyone had a story to tell, either because they’d worked with Bill on the boats, because they’d helped him find supplies for the castle or because they’d been frequent visitors to the island when he was alive. For some it was all three. I learned he had a great sense of humour, was a wonderful cook and grew much of his produce right here on the island, and that he loved animals. Apparently, Lion wasn’t his only pet; he’d also had some chickens and a goat who’d provided him with milk until not long before he died, when the goat passed away.

Not everyone appeared to be as fond of the cat as Dan was, however. One guy kept making underhanded comments about the wildlife—every time a lizard scuttled past or a bird landed nearby, he’d say something about being glad the feral feline had been banished.

Although I was one of the few who hadn’t known Bill when he was alive, not once had I been made to feel like an outsider.

‘Are you pleased with how it’s all going?’ I asked Dan now.

‘Couldn’t be happier. We’re clearing things a lot faster than I thought we could.’

‘What’s the next stage of your project, then?’

‘I’ve been talking to a construction company that are going to assess the damage and see how much we need to spend on strengthening the walls before we allow the public out here. But whether we can do that, or indeed when, will depend on how much it costs and if we can cobble together the funding.’