Even so, as their eyes met, she felt that strange invisible pull towards him pick up the slack again, and she looked quickly away. He seemed to snag on something deep inside her, catching on a tiny hook buried away that she hadn’t even known was there.

He looked away too, his attention back on his son. ‘Did Måns tell you I was here?’

‘No, sir. He didn’t know where you were.’

‘Oh. Was he kind to you?’

‘Yes.’

‘Måns is very kind. He has worked for our family for a very long time now. Since before I was born.’

Bell saw again how Linus flinched at the words ‘our family’, and how Emil seemed oblivious to the impact it had upon his son.

‘Do you know what we call this place?’

‘The hidden beach.’

Emil arched an eyebrow. ‘Your mamma told you?’

‘Yes.’

He shoved his hands into his pockets. ‘Mmm. She’s one of the very few people to have been here. It is a rare privilege, you understand?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘People around here, they talk about the Hidden Beach – is it real, isn’t it?’ A hint of a smile climbed into his eyes. ‘We never tell, and you, now you’ve found it, you mustn’t either. Can you imagine how many people would sneak onto the island to come and see it otherwise?’

Linus shook his head, awed. ‘No, sir.’

‘It would be a lot. And obviously for our family, that could be a security risk and we wouldn’t want to have to get to a situation where we had to have guards and dogs, or electric fences, or anything like that.’

‘No, sir.’

‘That’s why we try to dispel the rumours about this place. No one can see it from the water, and we don’t even take our guests here.’ He looked up and around at the open-topped vaulted cavern. ‘It’s for family only.’ He blinked. ‘And you are family, Linus.’

Bell stepped forward slightly, resting a hand on Linus’ shoulder. Emil looked back at her, sensing a warning in the gesture even though she had slapped a bland smile on her face. He bristled, not getting it at all, not understanding his words were threatening to his son – each comment attacking and dismantling the notion of the only family unit Linus had ever known. How could he not see this was too much, too soon?

‘Are there any pebbles in the water?’ she asked, throwing him further off guard.

Emil frowned. ‘. . . Why?’

‘We could do some stone skimming. Linus loves that. He’s insanely good.’ She looked down at Linus. ‘Do you want to see if there are any good ones?’

‘Okay,’ he nodded, eager for something to do, and for an excuse to get away.

Emil watched his son run down to the water’s edge, out of earshot, before looking back at her. His eyes were cold. ‘Is this some kind of joke?’

‘What?’ She looked back at him, confused.

‘You’re my child’s nanny?’ he hissed. ‘Don’t tell me you didn’t know!’