‘Thank you,’ she said, a little bemused. She was starting to think that perhaps Adrienne was psychic.

When the final loaves came out of the ovens at half past three and they were lined up on the counter on cooling trays, Adrienne went through the merits and failures of each one. Alan and Meredith’s loaves had risen well, Izzy and Fliss’s were a little lumpen but had risen. Jason’s was an absolute triumph – golden, well-risen, and a perfect shape. In contrast, Hannah’s attempts had the density of house bricks and weren’t dissimilar in shape.

Adrienne gave her a kind smile. ‘It comes with practice. A lot of it is in the kneading. Jason’s got good strong muscles.’

In response he flexed his arms in a Popeye pose. ‘Ef— great guns, me.’ He shot the swear jar a look of loathing. He’d contributed seven euros already today.

‘Well, that’s a wrap for today. Well done, everyone. Dinner is at seven, if you want to come up. It’ll just be the six of you. See you all tomorrow, bright and early.’

She exited the room, leaving the three kitchen assistants tidying up and setting out utensils for the following day as the six of them peeled off their aprons and hung them on their designated hooks.

‘Phew, that was intense,’ said Izzy as she and Hannah walked out into the fresh air.

‘Yes. My head’s spinning.’

‘Mine too. I think I’m going to have a lie-down before dinner. My feet are killing me.’

Hannah looked down at her white memory-foam-lined tennis shoes and smiled to herself.

‘See you at dinner.’

It was such a lovely fresh afternoon and, as there were a couple of hours before dinner, Hannah decided that her feet could stand a little more exercise. She dropped her bag off at the cottage, grabbed a sweater and a bottle of water from the fridge as well as an apple from the fruit bowl and set off down the hill to see if she could find a path down over the headland to the road and the beach.