‘Here.’ She hands Fran a small white business card, which she tucks into the pocket of her fleece. ‘Just in case they work out who I am and I’m kicked out. I need you to stay in touch. I want to know everything that happens.’

‘Of course. So’ – Fran can’t keep the question inside her a moment longer – ‘tell me. Who were the three people who were on the retreat?’

Caroline lowers her voice. ‘Renata, Damian and Phoenix.’

‘Phoenix?’ The name comes out louder than Fran meant it to.

‘Yep, Phoenix who zoomed in on you the minute you arrived and hasn’t left your side since. Do you think he knows who you are?’

‘He doesn’t know the first thing about me. He barely listened to a word I said during the session this morning. He seemed far more concerned about imparting the minutiae of his relationship history.’

‘He didn’t mention Gozo or Jenna.’

‘No.’

‘Or his relationship with Tom?’

‘He’s barely mentioned him. He told me he came here to rebuild his self-esteem after his boyfriend cheated on him.’

‘And you believed him?’

Fran shrugs. ‘I had no reason not to.’

‘And Renata and Damian? Have either of them spoken to you or singled you out?’

‘Not particularly. Although I was sandwiched between Phoenix and Damian at dinner.’

‘I noticed.’

‘Neither of them said anything of interest. Did Tom? You were … very friendly.’

‘Drama GCSE paying off, finally.’

‘You were very convincing, very adoring. I found you highly irritating.’

Caroline laughs. ‘Apologies, by the way, for earlier, when I sniped at you when you interrupted Tom. That was all part of the act. Although I did want to hear what he had to say for himself.’

‘Do you think they know who I am? The Gozo three?’

‘I wouldn’t have thought so. It’s Tom I’d be more concerned about. The only reason I even know what you look like is because I door stepped your parents and you answered. I remembered your face even if you didn’t remember mine. There’s absolutely no trace of you on the internet at all. No Facebook page, no Twitter, even your school staff listing doesn’t have a photo.’

‘I value my privacy.’

‘Wise woman. It’s scary how much you can find out about someone. It’s the kids in their teens and twenties I worry about, spouting all sorts on Twitter, with no thought to the future. Some of them could be potential leaders of the country or industry heads and it only takes one poorly worded tweet to bring it all crashing down.’

‘Quite,’ Fran agrees. ‘I try telling my students that but they never—’

A sharp rap at the door cuts her off.

‘Shit,’ she says under her breath.

Caroline presses a finger to her lips and gets up from the bed. ‘Hello?’