Here were the two people left in the world who knew Elle to her core, and yet somehow they had become strangers. What did she really know about Penny’s life these days? She had never asked her sister about how she really felt about having lived her whole life in Mulberry Bay. She had been afraid that it might bring up any old resentment and disappointment that Elle herself had left and never come back.

Now she stared randomly at a large painting of a bull on the wall, while Penny and Rob chatted easily. It was an ugly, violent picture. Nothing was actually happening in the scene, it was just the bull lowering its head against an unseen threat, the coming bloodshed foreshadowed by the dark sky in the background. Obviously chosen by Anthony.

‘What do you think, Elle?’ Rob asked suddenly.

She started, unsure of what they had been talking about. ‘Well, I’m not so certain actually,’ she said, hoping that this was some kind of appropriate answer.

‘Oh, Elle would just like to see the whole thing gutted,’ Penny laughed, not altogether indulgently. ‘She’d love to see the hotel as a gleaming homage to contemporary architecture.’

‘Seriously?’ Rob looked impassively at Elle, waiting for her to speak.

‘That’s not true,’ she retorted. ‘I think that there are some unique features that should be preserved. But I don’t think there’s any reason not to rid it of some of the heavier, more Victorian aspects. It feels slightly oppressive at times doesn’t it?’

Rob took a sip of his wine.

‘Well, I’m not sure that oppressive is the exact word I’d use,’ he said, looking at the light passing through his wine glass, rather than at her. ‘I wonder if it’s just that the place is a little bit worn down now, and doesn’t get the same number of guests that it used to. You didn’t feel that way about it in the old days. It’s supposed to be full of people. That’s when any hotel is at its best.’

‘True, but what can we do?’ Penny sighed. ‘There wouldn’t be enough money for a complete renovation, to say nothing of the bare essentials. A lick of paint, new carpets, repairs . . . we definitely couldn’t do any more than that.’ She looked pointedly at Elle.

‘Well, let’s just wait and see what happens when we talk to the bank. I’d really like to do something with the entrance if we could,’ Elle offered, musing a little.

It was the hotel’s biggest design flaw, in her opinion, a dark area at the side of the property which had once been a hat and cloak room. ‘People’s first impression straight away should be: “I’ve arrived at the perfect place to relax and unwind.” It should give people some idea of what to expect from the rest of the hotel.’