For a moment no one broke the shocked silence, interrupted only by more cracks of thunder. Then Moira turned almost apologetically to Penny and Nell. ‘As a matter of fact, I’m really longing to see the new Archaeological Museum in Athens. Everyone says it’s even better than the BM.’

Nell shrugged, mystified.

‘British Museum,’ elucidated Dora.

‘But what about the money?’ Nell demanded, although she was also thinking of Penny, whose idea it had all been, and how disappointed she was going to be. ‘We paid for the whole stay in advance.’

‘I’ll cover it,’ said Penny, quietly determined. ‘I didn’t tell you the reason I planned all this. I had a legacy from my dad. My parents had saved all their lives so they could travel when they were older, and then they never did. “Don’t postpone your dreams,” Dad told me when he was dying, “because that’s what we did.” So I decided to spend some on coming back to Zanthos – because maybe you’ll think I’m a suburban saddo, but that holiday was one of the happiest times of my life. I felt young and daring, as if everything in life was going to be wonderful.’

She didn’t mention the fact that she hadn’t told her husband about the legacy. This was going to be her money to spend the way she wanted to. Colin had been so rude about her dad’s little investments, just because he saw himself as a big-city whizz; but as it happened, they’d come good in the end.

But now the holiday was collapsing, and he’d find out anyway. He’d say she was a failure, and he’d be right.

‘I know,’ Nell suggested, sensing some of Penny’s anxiety without needing to be told. ‘Why don’t you and I go to another island? There were six on the way here, remember. We could even go to several.’

‘Be island hoppers!’ Penny’s sad spaniel face visibly brightened.

‘Real jet-setters,’ Nell laughed.

Dora tried not to smile. It was hard to imagine two more unlikely members of the international rich. ‘I’ll deal with the landlady,’ she volunteered. ‘I’m sure she won’t charge much if we say we’re leaving because of the noise from the car park that she happened to forget to mention in her ad.’

As good as her word, she went off to find their landlady. Half an hour later she returned, smiling broadly. ‘Result! She says if we don’t make a big noise about it in our review, she’ll let us off the rest of the stay. Lucky for us it’s so early in the season.’

She slipped a small package quietly into Penny’s hand.

‘What on earth’s this?’ Penny asked.

‘Just a little thing. I seem to remember you bought one when we came before.’