‘She’s only bloody done it, Karl!’ She greeted him with a beam that suffused her whole face with happiness. ‘Look!’ She shoved her phone in his face. ‘It’s the couch that the reclining Venus rests on!’ She took the pirate’s crude sketch out, a copy of which she kept with her at all times. ‘There it is. Venus is reclining on a couch supported by two marble pillars. She is leaning on one elbow, sublimely unaware of her nakedness, which is swathed in beautifully carved linen, holding the apple – our apple, the one that is in Takis’s drawer downstairs – that Paris has awarded her in her other hand, the apple that causes the Trojan War. Aren’t you excited?’

‘Not as much as you,’ he smiled fondly.

‘It’s the most exciting thing that’s happened to me for years!’ Dora announced. ‘We have to find the statue now!’

The room phone rang, making them both jump – it was such a rare occurrence in a world of mobile technology.

‘Dora, it’s me, Moira. Did you get the photos?’

‘Absolutely. They’re amazing. Well done you, you’re a heroine!’

‘Great. Rather interestingly, my bag’s just been stolen.’

‘Oh, Moira, no! That is so annoying!’ The thought suddenly struck her. ‘Not with your phone in it, I hope to God.’

‘I rather think that was the point, but actually it was on the cafe table with my ferry ticket. And I’m pretty sure I caught a glimpse of our friend Adonis’s golden curls under the helmet.’

‘Oh my God. You see how right we are to monitor Xan Georgiades. If they’re going to this much trouble to keep the couch, they must also have the statue. And somehow or other, they’ve got to put them together.’

‘And get the hand from Takis’s drawer,’ Moira reminded.

‘Moira! You’re a genius as well as a heroine. We’d better get him to move it somewhere safer. Karl, isn’t this exciting? Don’t you feel a bit Indiana Jones? I mean, you’re an archaeologist, for God’s sake!’

Karl studied her, his eyes suddenly serious. ‘Be careful, Dora. I love your wild enthusiasms, but as Takis very sensibly pointed out, this could be dangerous. And as Indiana Jones famously commented, most of the archaeologist’s work takes place in the library.’

‘Yes,’ Dora grinned. ‘But it’s a good thing he didn’t stick to that, or it would have made for very dull movies!’

Penny was due to meet Nell downstairs for breakfast before they went over to the boathouses to prepare them for the new bookings. The owners often came and watched so that they could pick up the knack of styling the rooms to appeal to hip modern guests.