This elderly woman looked about her nervously, pushing her glasses up her nose. She was no threat to me.

I stepped out of the shadows and stood at the gate. I called: ‘Ciao.’

The woman raised a small hand. ‘Good afternoon! Hello! Edie, isn’t it? How lovely to meet you!’ She spoke Queen’s English the old-fashioned way, pronouncing every letter. ‘I’ve brought you a gift,’ she said, ‘to welcome you to the island.’

She reached into the car and produced a box from the passenger seat. I unlocked the padlock and pushed the gate open. We met at the threshold between the parking area and the garden.

‘Here you are,’ she said, handing the box to me. ‘It’s a traditional Sicilian keepsake. My father can’t do much these days, he’s stuck in the house but he made it for you.’

‘Thank you, that’s so kind.’

‘You’re most welcome. I hope you won’t mind me dropping in like this, but we need to talk. My name is Matilde Romano and since childhood I was your mother-in-law, Anna DeLuca’s one true friend.’

I recognised her then. She was the small girl from the photograph on the poster on the memorial wall in Porta Sarina, no doubt the ‘Matilde’ Anna mentioned in her diary.

‘I expect Anna told you about me,’ she said. ‘We had so many happy times together!’ The smile on her lips faded. ‘She was such a lovely person! Such a dear friend and yet she suffered so many unnecessary tragedies. If only she’d been stronger! If only she hadn’t let people take advantage of her! If only she’d listened to me!’

She plucked a handkerchief from the sleeve of her cardigan and held it to her eyes. I stood beside her, while she dabbed at her tears, waited while she blew her nose violently and then struggled to compose herself. When next she looked at me, her eyes had a bright, blurry look to them.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said, ‘it’s just that it’s so sad about Anna. It’s so very sad. I haven’t come to terms with it yet.’ She managed a small, quivering smile. ‘Anyway, at least you’re here, you and Joe. I’m glad to have the opportunity to meet you.’

‘Thank you,’ I said.

The woman hovered beside me and I realised she was expecting to be invited in. I didn’t want to take her into the villa while Joe wasn’t there. Legally, I might own half of it but it didn’t feel as if it belonged to me at all.

‘I won’t ask you in because nothing is working,’ I said, by way of an apology.