Nikos smiled ruefully. ‘Of course. I would have been mad if I had pined for a dream of a fair-haired English girl all my life. I have been in love and been loved back, but it has not always been by the same person. Perhaps like some medieval troubadour, I have the crazy fault of longing for the unattainable.’

‘How sad.’ She picked up the boat he was working on and studied it. Both in its simplicity and the wealth of loving detail, it was a thing of beauty. ‘And what if you could attain it?’

They stared at each other for a long moment. He took a step towards her just as there was a loud banging on the door.

‘Ignore it.’ He took her in his arms, and she felt the exciting brush of stubble on her face as his lips searched for hers.

The knocking persisted, even louder than before. Eventually Nikos tore himself away and threw open the door.

Marigold stood on the top step, and pushed past Nikos to address Penny. ‘Is your friend Nell here with you?’ she demanded, trying to disguise a smug smile. ‘She doesn’t seem to be answering her phone. You’d better tell her it’s her grandchild. I don’t think she’s at all well.’

‘Right,’ Penny threw a look of despairing apology at Nikos, ‘of course I’ll look for her at once.’

She was on her bike, pedalling as fast as she could towards the hotel, before she started to wonder how the hell Marigold had even known she was there.

Thirteen

Nell was busy talking to Takis and Moira over a delicious lunch by the harbour.

Cassandra, having heard that Moira was going ahead with the lunch for thirty without her, was trying to outdo her in advance. She had persuaded Moira and Nell not to order their usual Greek salad, which was delicious enough, and instead laid before them a veritable feast: various pastries straight from the oven, succulent lamb meatballs, deep-fried courgette fritters, dolmades, plus the usual tzatziki, hummus and taramosalata.

‘Good God,’ Nell whispered, ‘how many of us does she think there are?’

‘I’m sure we’ll manage,’ Moira eyed up the food greedily. ‘We can always go and throw up and start again, like the Romans did.’

‘Thank you, Moira.’ Nell made a face. ‘Just as I thought we’d cured you of the classical references. Come on, Takis!’ she commanded, as he arrived with wine and water. ‘We need some help eating this lot. Sit down and join us. It’s not as if you’re exactly run off your feet.’ She indicated the empty tables around them. ‘Anyway, we want to consult you.’