Dad had been ‘enchanted’ by me she repeated, pleased, remembering the sheet she had worn in a royal fashion that day – designer wedding dress it had not been. Pondering this for a moment, she quickly turned her attention back to the diary, flipped to the next page and continued reading.

No, there is nothing to fear here, she thought with a smile. It’s just Mum.

All of this stuff, the photos and diaries, Penny realised, they weren’t just her mother’s belongings and not just her story – but their history too. And this hotel was as much about the family’s life as her mother’s.

Taking another look at the photo album, Penny opened it again and flipped to the next page, then the one after. In every one the hotel was centre-stage, not just a backdrop to family life, but an active part of it.

Penny checked the time on her watch, realising that it was now almost eleven a.m. Elle would back soon from her meeting with Doug Grant.

Penny hoped against hope that the verdict was a good one. They simply couldn’t lose the hotel, this vital part of the Harte family unit – and quite possibly, she realised sadly, the only thing that would keep the remaining disparate parts of that family together.

Chapter 10

Rob took Elle to his house on the outskirts of town. It was further up the coast a bit, where the shoreline got rocky and rough. He lived on a small half-acre with wild fruit trees and room for his Labrador dogs to roam. He kept chickens too and had taught the dogs to be so gentle that they barely looked at them. The chickens, so to speak, ruled the roost.

His house was small, but neat and tidy. Elle had never been there before, of course, and now she was surprised at how sparse it was. There was a single bookcase, the barest necessities of furniture, no TV and a single painting on the wall. Very simple.

‘I know,’ said Rob, sensing what she was thinking. ‘It’s a bit spartan looking. I don’t spend a lot of time here.’

Elle wondered where he did spend his time, but didn’t ask. It was odd, the situation she found herself in, but at the same time it felt comfortable, like she had been here a thousand times.

Rob showed her to the bathroom. ‘Why don’t you clean up?’ he said. ‘There’s still some blood under your nose.’

Putting her hand to her face, she felt it now, where she hadn’t before, flakes of dried blood on her upper lip and chin. She felt embarrassed, suddenly; she must look a fright.