They were saved from venturing any further down that route by Marta’s arrival, followed shortly by Archie. ‘On your own this morning?’ she asked mischievously as Archie bent to kiss her, but her hopes for any whiff of scandal were instantly dashed by a disappointing response.

‘Yes,’ he said, without any hint of coyness. ‘Marlene’s decided to have a late breakfast in her room, so I can enjoy a brief suspension of duties.’

‘What an arduous task you’ve set yourself,’ Marta said teasingly. ‘I really don’t know how you’re putting up with it.’

Archie grinned. ‘It’s a sacrifice, I know, but all in the course of a day’s work.’

‘What a shame that Miss Dietrich won’t be joining us,’ 158Hilaria said, a little crestfallen from his news. ‘As you can imagine, the carols and prayers aren’t the only things that have brought people out this morning – and talking of prayers, I must just go and check where Richard’s got to.’

She was saved the trouble by Angela Hartley, who came out of the vestibule to the drawing room with a length of black silk cloth in her hand. ‘Richard’s forgotten this,’ she said, looking at Hilaria with a wry smile. ‘It’s not often I get to remind him of something these days. Can I take it in to him?’

‘He’s not here yet. I rather hoped he’d be with you.’

‘No, I haven’t seen him for a while. He went off to talk to someone.’

They were the same words she had used the night before, Josephine recalled; either the vicar had a lot of people to catch up with or his wife was getting confused, but Hilaria seemed reassured by the explanation. ‘Then I dare say he’ll be here any minute. Are you still happy to play for us?’

‘Of course, if you’d like me to.’

‘More than that. We’re relying on you. Why don’t you come and make yourself comfortable, and we can start getting everyone in out of the cold.’ She turned back to Josephine and Marta. ‘Come in whenever you’re ready, and sit in the family pews on either side of the altar.’

They finished their coffee and made their way over to the entrance, just as the organ music began inside the church, something rousing by Pachelbel or Bach. ‘I’m not sure “Von Himmel Hoch” is the most sensitive piece she could have chosen in the current climate,’ Archie said dryly, ‘but she plays it beautifully. Personally, I’d have avoided the Germans altogether and stuck to Elgar.’ 159

‘Perhaps she planned it in Marlene’s honour.’

‘All the more reason to be careful. Still, at least it’s not Wagner.’

The church of St Michael and All Angels was stunning inside, its impact all the greater because of its modest, unshowy exterior. It was filled with light and beauty, a place worthy of the pilgrimage for which the island was so famed, and Josephine paused on the threshold to look round, taking in the glorious rose window and delicate stained-glass panels, the gilt chandelier and its many candles, whose soft, flickering light enhanced the golden stone. She would have found it hard to say what moved her so deeply – the man-made splendour or a rare, less tangible spirituality which she felt as soon as she stepped through the door – but there was no doubt that it was seductive, a gentle nudge of encouragement for optimistic doubters like herself.