‘Yes, but what’s he like? Have you talked to him since he arrived here?’

‘Just once, on 17th of May when he bought some food from me,’ Ninni said.

‘It said online that if he had stayed at the restaurant he would have been one of the youngest chefs to get a Michelin star. It makes me wonder why he would leave a restaurant when he must have worked so hard to achieve that.’

Ninni noticed several of the others listening in on the conversation. ‘I don’t know. He didn’t tell me he was a chef. Perhaps that’s something you can ask him.’

Britt nodded. ‘I certainly will. I don’t like Haldorsen any more than the next person, but it would be nice to have a few more business opportunities on the island.’

Alma clapped her hands and they all fell silent. ‘Okay, people. We have a plan. We’ll meet here again over the weekend.’

Ninni secured herself an extra slice of cake, happy she didn’t have to talk to Jack again. She was pretty sure she could avoid him altogether if she put her mind to it.

Chapter 6

The estate agent arrived a few days later, dressed in a T-shirt, jeans and sandals. He also had a backpack.

He greeted Jack as if they had been at school together. ‘I’m Mats. Can I call you Jack? It’s been a long time since anyone used the equivalent of mister in this country, I’m afraid. We’re not that formal.’

Jack nodded. ‘Right, I see. I’ll get to it then. Can you tell me what this property will be worth on the market? Is there even a market for farms like this? Not speaking Norwegian, I couldn’t find anything useful online.’

Mats pulled out a folder and handed it to him. ‘I can tell you right away that these properties might take a while to sell, I’m afraid, so if you’re looking for a quick sale you might be disappointed.’

Jack sighed. ‘That’s not what I was hoping for. I’d like to return to London as soon as I possibly can.’

Mats smiled. ‘Of course. I fully understand that, and I can promise you that we will do our best. Do you have the paperwork for the property?’

‘In the kitchen. Follow me.’

He noticed that Mats paid attention to everything he saw when they went inside.

‘If you want to take a tour of the house, please do. Tea or coffee?’

‘Coffee, thank you. I’ll be right back.’

Leaving his backpack on a chair, Mats disappeared upstairs and Jack filled the kettle. I need a toaster, he thought. Better put that on the list too, as soon as he found something to write a list on.

The tour of the house didn’t take long. Mats was soon back in the kitchen. ‘The paperwork?’

Jack pointed at the table. ‘It’s all yours.’

Mats skimmed through everything while he hummed. ‘Right,’ he said. ‘This looks fine. There’s a lot of valuables here. You can sell things like the livestock, the boat and the boathouse, which is good, people are always interested in those. Unfortunately, it looks like the fields can only be sold together with the house and the barn. There’s also the produce that can be sold as it matures. If you need money more quickly, I mean.’