Elle looked at her sternly. ‘Penny, you may think that you’re being smart, but it’s pretty obvious what you’re playing it. And you should also know that it’s a very, very bad idea. Nothing good will come of Rob and me getting together. We’ve been through it once and that was enough. What happened last night was a moment of weakness and will just have to be written off as a mistake. It’s not what I want, in any case and I’m going home soon, after all.’

Penny’s disappointment was palpable. ‘Oh Elle. I just wish you would let yourself relax a little bit and go with the flow. I think you could be so happy if you did.’

‘Maybe you should concentrate on your own happiness, instead of worrying about other people’s. You’re like a meddling old woman. Now, if it’s all right with you, I’m going for a walk.’ Elle hadn’t meant the words to come out so sharply and regretted them the moment she spoke. Penny’s face was a study in shock, then hurt.

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interfere . . .’

‘It’s OK,’ she replied, stiffly. ‘We’ve just got more important things to worry about at the moment and I think it’s best for everyone if we concentrate on the task in hand.’

When Elle returned from a walk on the beach after breakfast to try and clear her mind, she was surprised to see scaffolding set up on the front of the hotel.

She was even more surprised to see Ned and Penny balanced on the long plank between the two scaffolds. They both had electric sanders buzzing away at the exterior. Elle could see the long cords snaking through an open window.

‘What are you doing?’ she yelled, during a break in the noise. ‘This place is as big as the Coliseum. It will take ages.’

‘Even the Coliseum started somewhere,’ Penny called down, then emphatically switched her sander back on.

Elle went back into the house feeling yet again as though she had been left out of something.

‘It’s strange that Rob didn’t stick around today,’ Penny commented at lunchtime. ‘He just helped us set up the scaffold and then left. He didn’t want to stay, even when I told him we were having chicken salad for lunch.’

‘I think it’s roast chicken that he’s especially partial to,’ Elle said. ‘Anyway, it could be that Rob’s getting a little bit tired of running around after us. He does have his own business to look after, you know.’

‘No, I don’t think that’s it,’ Penny said eyeing her. ‘I don’t think that’s it at all. Anyway, he’ll be back tomorrow. He said he wants to get started on the roof.’

‘I suppose I should finish getting rid of the stuff in the attic, then.’