‘Naomi’ll be fine,’ Marigold answered for Willow. ‘I used to take Ollie to nightclubs in a basket and he just slept under the table. He was the youngest member at Tramp and Annabel’s. If anyone objected, I just checked him with my coat and gave the attendant a big tip. It made him the easiest baby.’

‘I bet that’s why he hates going out so much,’ Willow giggled. ‘I’ve never met anyone like Ollie for a night in with the telly!’

Marigold ignored this jibe and decided that Nell was a thoroughly bad influence.

‘I’ll talk to everyone and let you know.’ Nell replied politely. She didn’t know if she could bear a whole evening of Marigold.

‘Penny, what on earth are you doing?’

Penny was sitting staring out at the sea, her usually cheerful face a blank, cutting cotton wool buds in two.

‘Oh, this,’ she replied absent-mindedly. ‘I’m doing it for the environment. Haven’t you seen the photo of the seahorse with its tail wrapped round a cotton wool bud?’

‘No, Penny,’ Nell said gently. ‘Why are you really doing it?’

Penny’s face became a picture of anxiety, ‘I don’t know what to do. Do you think I should tell Colin?’

Nell sat down next to her. ‘Tell Colin what exactly? That you’ve fallen in love? Have you talked to Nikos about the two of you? What his intentions are, so to speak. Is this a holiday romance or would you want to leave Colin and live with him here?’

‘Oh God, Nell,’ Penny almost wailed. ‘I don’t know . . .’

‘OK,’ Nell continued, ‘let’s look at it another way. If you hadn’t met Nikos again, would you be perfectly happy with your life at home?’

‘No. But I would have gone on putting up with it, because that’s what I do. That’s my problem – I put up with things. But now I’ve seen an alternative, a man I don’t need to put up with, someone who cares about me, amazing though it is.’

‘You may hate me for saying this, but I think you need to have a conversation with Nikos before you take it further. I had an affair with someone who saw it as just fun, and it completely wrecked my life. I think you’re different, and so is he. But you need to know what you’re dealing with.’

Penny stopped chopping up the cotton buds and smiled. ‘You’re right. There’s no point telling Colin until I know what my choice really is. Thank you.’