‘Go to the hotel and wait for my instructions,’ she replied. ‘There’s a chance she’ll decide she wants to perform after all, so you need to carry on as normal. I haven’t told the organisers she isn’t coming yet, so don’t say anything to anyone. If she doesn’t change her mind, I’ll arrange to get you out, but you’re likely stuck there until tomorrow.’

‘Tomorrow?’ I looked at the sad stack of San Pellegrino cans by my feet and strongly considered booting them into the sea.

‘Tomorrow,’ she repeated, almost sounding as though she might feel a little bit sorry for me. ‘Trust me, Francesca, there are worse places to be stranded overnight. I’m not placing all the blame on you, I know what she’s like, but I’m in a difficult position right now and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t make things even more trying.’

All at once, the adrenaline wore away, leaving me an empty, hollow shell. I sank down to the ground, squatting on the wooden jetty and trying not to cry. ‘How do I get to the hotel?’ I asked.

‘If you look up the hill, you should see a big white building, flying the Italian flag.’

‘I see it,’ I said, standing back up as what I hoped was seawater seeped through my jeans and soaked my backside. ‘It’s got sort of a dome on top.’

‘That’s the one. That’s where you’re going, they’ll take care of you.’

It was a lovely thought.

‘The hill is quite high,’ I said, popping the tab on one of Juliette’s precious cans and drinking deeply.

‘That’s why the hotel has such great views.’

‘Sort of looks more like a small mountain than a hill.’

‘And such a suntrap if you wanted to get a bit of winter sun.’

‘I’m going to have to walk there, aren’t I?’

‘Always good to get some exercise after a couple of days at sea,’ she replied. ‘I’ll be in touch when I have an update.’

The phone beeped twice in my ear to let me know the call was over.

I looked up at the hill and tried to imagine it was just like the hills at home – Sheffield was full of them.

‘Just imagine you’re on your way to Suzette’s for a coffee and a morning muffin,’ I told myself. ‘And try not to dwell on the fact you’ve failed at your job and been stranded on an island without so much as a spare pair of knickers.’

With a choked sob, I turned back around and limped along the jetty, one more time.