And it was fine, if that was all you required. But she wanted to know Elle again, truly know her, and missed the feeling of having someone to tell everything to.

The truth was, she was a little bit afraid of her, too. Afraid that Elle’s years in a big city had hardened her depths, and that she would have no interest in Penny’s confidences, or find them petty and provincial. If Elle went back to London now, Penny knew for sure that she would see less and less of her. Her sister would be sucked back into the addictive and all-consuming rhythms of the city, and without Anna here to lure her back, would soon forget all about life in Mulberry Bay.

So something had to be done. Penny knew that a miracle of epic proportions was needed to get what she wanted: winning the lottery, a large donation from a kindly benefactor. She sighed. Those things were as likely to happen as the new bank manager magically changing his mind and granting them the loan.

She would never tell Elle this, but she had rung the bank herself that morning and asked to speak to Doug Grant just in case there was something to be done. Grant wouldn’t take Penny’s call, which was hardly surprising, and one of his underlings had made it emphatically clear that there was no chance of a loan. The man, Tom Collins who lived locally, wasn’t entirely without sympathy, though. ‘It’s a shame, you’ve got a great place up there,’ he said. ‘We celebrated my father’s 90th birthday there in the tea rooms. But Mr Grant can be fearfully unaccommodating when it comes to these things.’

Unaccommodating isn’t the word, Penny thought now as she mixed pancakes for breakfast. Ned was nowhere to be found once more, and there were no guests today, but Penny felt that if she and Elle were to come up with a miracle idea to save the place, they definitely couldn’t do it on empty stomachs.

Just as the first spoonful of batter sizzled in the pan, Elle appeared. There was a faint bruise appearing across her nose and under both eyes that Penny hadn’t noticed in the shadows of the bedroom earlier.

‘Oh Elle,’ she gasped. ‘You look like you’ve been in a bar fight.’

‘I feel that way too,’ Elle said, putting a hand to her face. ‘But I’m starving, too. Unnaturally hungry actually.’

‘Well that’s a good sign, at least,’ Penny smiled. ‘I just hope you’re not too concussed to think of some wonderful solutions this morning.’

Elle smiled back. ‘Something tells me you wouldn’t allow that to happen.’

Rob was having a hard time staying away from the Bay Hotel.