‘He would be fine, except for those headaches. Cathy’s coming back later to give him another once-over.’

‘Right.’ Bell nodded briskly. ‘Well, hopefully it’ll all settle down soon enough.’

‘Yes.’

She heard splashes behind her, and turned to see Max wading in. ‘I’ll make some coffees, shall I?’ he asked as he passed, not stopping, his mouth set in a grim line.

‘Sure.’ Hanna watched him go, her gaze cautious, and Bell wondered what had happened when he’d glided up to the jetty to collect her just now. Had Emil been waiting there too? His old friend, his new foe.

Bell felt a knot of tension tighten in the pit of her stomach just at the thought of it all – the chaos Emil had shaken loose from the fibres of this family crossing the lagoon and following them back here, the lies and secrets pinned to them like shadows.

‘Well, it’s been non-stop here all morning,’ she said with forced brightness, refusing to get drawn in again. Their problems weren’t hers. They weren’t her family and this wasn’t her life. She had sympathy with them all – it was an impossible situation to be in – but it was a job, nothing more. She had to remember that. She was just the nanny, here for the kids. ‘These two have become expert snorkellers—’

‘Snorkelleers,’ Elise corrected her, sitting between her mother’s legs now and letting wet sand drizzle through her fingers.

‘Sorry, snorkelleers, in the space of one morning. If I didn’t know better, I’d say they have mermaid genes.’

‘I want to be a mermaid,’ Tilde said sadly.

‘I know, honey, we all do,’ Hanna said, kissing her head and speaking into her hair.

Bell thought their shoulders looked pink. ‘I’d better get more cream on them,’ she said, wading out of the shallows. The sand was hot underfoot and she jogged lightly up onto the deck, rifling through the beach bag for the bottle.

‘Girls, go and rinse off the sand first,’ she heard Hanna saying behind her and moments later, the squeak of the pipes started up as the twins stood under the outdoor shower, just past the steps.

Hanna grabbed a beach towel and came and sat beside her on the chairs, both of them watching the girls shriek and play, droplets of water catching the sun’s rays and sparkling like crystals. It made for an idyllic image. The radiance of summer. The innocence of childhood.

‘Just look at them. So close . . .’ Hanna murmured wistfully.

‘Yeah . . .’ Bell felt herself stiffen at Hanna’s proximity. She didn’t want to be this close to her, the woman who – unwittingly – had what she herself wanted, even though Bell knew she had no rights here. This was Hanna’s family, her life, her mess, her husband . . . She couldn’t imagine how Hanna would react to learning that Bell had fallen for him, been with him too. Not that she ever would; that secret, at least, would be safe. Emil had far more to lose than she if the truth came out. God, what a mess though. She and Hanna had both trodden on each other’s toes without even knowing it and it occurred to her that this was how Max must feel – caught in the web of someone else’s story, an unwitting bystander become collateral.