‘Thanks, Moira,’ Nell took the shell, and examined it carefully. ‘Marvellous colour. Just like the sea here each morning. Pity it doesn’t come from Kyri.’ She turned it over, revealing a large sticker bearing the legend ‘Made in Indonesia’. Still, the thought was there. ‘Let me take my bag back, and we can go and see what they’ve got in the market.’

Half an hour later they were filling a basket with glossy black aubergines, huge fleshy red tomatoes, courgettes and red onions.

‘You do have a charcoal grill down at Treasure Island, don’t you?’

Moira nodded.

‘I think the answer is a lot of barbecued meats, and then we can load their plates with chargrilled vegetables, my special salad with watermelon, olives and feta, and enough pitta to feed a regiment. Why don’t you go to the baker now and order it?’

Moira nodded. ‘I love you, Nell!’

Nell grinned. ‘And I’ve got the shell to prove it.’

Later on, they all gathered to eat together at the cafe on the beach. It was later than usual and the sea was suffused in pearly pink light, the afterglow of the sunset.

‘Is everything all right with Naomi now?’ Dora enquired as they sat down at a rather rickety-looking table right on the sand. Never having had children, or even a pet, she couldn’t imagine what it would be like for a baby to suddenly get ill.

‘So much better they’ve taken her home,’ Nell smiled.

‘I hope the awful Marigold has gone too?’ Moira added.

‘Do you know, I have no idea. I assume she must have gone with them. She’s well pissed off with me,’ Nell smiled with satisfaction. ‘She resents me for getting the credit for noticing Naomi had stopped breathing. It should have been her who was the heroine of the hour.’

‘They must have been so grateful,’ Penny slipped an arm round her.

‘I’m the one who’s grateful.’ Nell felt the tears threatening again. ‘I’ve finally been forgiven.’

‘Surely your daughter couldn’t have held a grudge all that time?’ Dora asked, startled.

‘My affair meant the end of our marriage and as Willow sees it, her sense of security. She spent a lot of time with her father, and apparently he never failed to say it was my fault. So maybe she had a point. I can’t tell you how wonderful it feels to finally be forgiven.’

Penny looked away and stared out to sea. How would Wendy and Tom take it if she told them she was in love with Nikos?