‘Don’t put so much pressure on things, Elle,’ said Penny. ‘You’ll stress yourself out. It will be fine.’

‘Oy!’ shouted one of the construction workers from the entrance. ‘There’s someone here.’

They went to the dining-room window and peered out, mystified as to who could be arriving now. Not a guest at this early stage?

A woman was getting out of a smart green Toyota rental. ‘Good God,’ said Colin. ‘It’s my sister.’

Rob could barely lie still. All day it seemed that energy ran through him like a current, but he wasn’t allowed to expend any of it. If he wanted to go for a walk, his mother or sister accompanied him, a steadying hand at his back. He wasn’t allowed to read for long periods of time because it gave him headaches. His mother had a habit of ushering visitors away as soon as they had settled into a chair, lest they ‘tire’ him out. He was hardly able to bring a spoon to his mouth without his mother or sister rushing to help him. All in all, it was putting him in a foul mood.

He had appealed to the hospital staff to let him go home, but his doctor was having none of it. ‘Another week, at least,’ he said. ‘We want those ribs completely mended. Plus, I imagine you will still be getting spells of dizziness, as well as migraines for a fair while yet. You won’t be able to drive.’

So he was stuck here, with nothing to do but sit by the window and watch the car park below. That was allowed.

Ned Harte visited him, and so did Penny, with the ever-cheerful Colin, but they avoided talking too much about Elle. All Penny would say is that she was still very busy with the hotel. So he was stuck here, with his thoughts.

Obviously she didn’t want to see him. She was so wrapped up in the hotel she could think of nothing else.

Maybe the sight of him lying in a hospital bed had scared her off, made her think of what it would be like to have to look after him. Oh, why did he keep torturing himself? Rob had no idea what she was thinking, none at all.

Colin’s sister, Tricia, was a photographer. It was an artistic family. She was as garrulous as Colin, but with a sharper edge. Penny found her intimidating, not least because she had admitted that she had ‘come to look into Colin’s situation’ and see if he couldn’t be persuaded back to England.

Everything about her was long and sharp: long thin arms with pointy elbows, a long nose, and long tapered fingers with sharply filed nails. ‘I just can’t believe she’s Colin’s sister,’ said Penny to Elle. ‘She’s so different to him.’