‘You’re not going anywhere,’ Penny replied, looking determined. ‘I’ve been thinking all night, and there must be a way to do this. I don’t know what it is, but we’ll figure it out somehow.’

‘I don’t think so, Penny. I’ve been thinking too, thinking that Mum would have found a way, but I just don’t see how.’

‘I found something yesterday, amongst Mum’s things. Her diaries.’ This was revealed with no small measure of guilt, and Elle instinctively knew that her sister didn’t simply find Anna’s diaries, but had been reading them too.

‘Oh?’

‘There are dozens of them, some going back to even before our childhood. And there’s lots about the early days of the hotel and how much she loved it, right from the beginning.’

‘Penny, I know Mum loved this place – we all did, but I think now it’s time for us to say goodbye—’

‘Please, Elle,’ her sister begged. ‘Just stay a few more days. Give it a chance. We’ll work something out, I’m sure of it.’

Elle sighed. She didn’t think there was much to work out, other than put the hotel up for sale, and see about finalising the business for good, but she had already extended her work leave until the beginning of next week anyway. ‘One more week, then. But that’s all.’

‘Great.’ Penny grinned and jumped off the bed. ‘We really should start brainstorming straight away, but I’m going to let you get dressed first.’

‘Cheers.’

Her sister turned back in the doorway. ‘Oh, and you didn’t tell me it was Rob you bumped into on the street yesterday. He rang up this morning asking after you and your nose. Very concerned.’

With a cheeky grin and before Elle could answer, Penny shut the door behind her. Elle could hear her chuckling in the hall, her little sister’s optimism once again blinding her to reality. If only you knew the truth, Elle thought. There’s nothing to laugh at in this sad mess.

Nothing at all.

Penny was disappointed by yesterday’s turn of events in more ways than one. Mostly because of the hotel, of course, and what it meant to her: the thought of restoring it to the place it had once been had filled her with hope, as though it was that easy to restore everything to an earlier, better time.

The other reason she was so disappointed was because she had felt that doing this would bring her and Elle closer again, back to something resembling their former intimacy. In all honesty she missed her sister, and had been missing her for years. How to put this into words, though? She was scared that Elle would soon dismiss her outright, citing phone calls, emails and Christmas visits as signs that their relationship was fine.