‘That’s very kind,’ Connie said, noticing for the first time his unusual eyes, almost turquoise as they caught the light from the sun reflecting off the lake.

‘No doctor,’ Walter said agitatedly. ‘I don’t need a doctor. Just give me a minute.’ He clutched Connie’s hand.

‘We can get someone to check you out at the hotel,’ she told Walter, then turned to Luca. ‘You’ll be OK with the others?’ She knew the last ferry didn’t go for a couple of hours, but she didn’t want the whole group hanging around until Walter had recovered sufficiently to be able to walk to the boat.

Luca nodded his agreement. They were a good team. She knew he was completely reliable and would shepherd the passengers onto the ferry, then the minibuses at Menaggio.

‘I can stay and help you with Walter,’ Terry said quietly. ‘You might need two.’

Connie was grateful, but she saw the frown on Sandra’s face. She obviously didn’t approve of her husband’s uncharacteristic bid for freedom.

‘Thanks, Terry. But I think I can manage,’ she said, although Walter was tall and heavily built. If he was still wobbly …

‘I’ll do it. You take Sandra and Dinah back,’ Jared told Terry, his voice firm, as if he were taking charge.

Dinah nodded her approval. ‘Yes. Jared can help you, Connie.’

Connie saw Terry’s fleeting look of disappointment and smiled at him. She would rather have waited with Terry than Jared – with whom she felt slightly awkward. But the decision had been made and she was not going to argue, with Walter still pale and silent beside her.

Connie watched the retreating figures of the group as they hurried back down the cobbled street and turned the corner towards the waiting ferry. Walter still appeared a bit vacant, clearly bemused by what had happened. But the colour was returning slowly to his cheeks, helped, presumably, by the pill he’d swallowed and the cup of tea – a pallid Lipton’s teabag, of course – that Jared had acquired from the concerned waiter behind the bar.

‘So what’s the company protocol in a situation like this?’ Jared sipped the double espresso he’d ordered for himself. Connie had asked for a latte.

She eyed him, trying to gauge if there was any criticism behind his words. But she couldn’t detect an edge to his question. ‘Well … company rules state that I should stay with the group at all times,’ she replied, with a smile. ‘I’m not even allowed to pick up a passenger who’s fallen or put a plaster on a cut. Dear old Elf and Safety. But, finally, I’m supposed to use my common sense.’

Jared laughed. ‘A commodity in short supply, these days.’