‘I don’t know. Hamish took her some lunch and discovered her lying on the living-room floor. She’s been taken to hospital and he’s asked if we could look after McCartney and Fred until he gets back. He doesn’t know how long he’s going to be there.’

‘Is she okay? Any broken bones?’

‘I don’t know, that’s all he said.’ Callie stood up and took out her purse. ‘Wilbur,’ she called out, ‘can we have the bill, please? We have to go. Oh damn… there’s no boat, it’s literally just left.’

Wilbur looked up from behind the bar. ‘Everything okay?’

‘Unfortunately not,’ shared Callie, explaining that Dolores was in hospital.

‘The boat has only just left, let me see if I can catch Roman,’ replied Wilbur, picking up the phone at the back of the bar. Wilbur waited patiently for Roman to pick up. ‘Roman, how far have you got? Is it possible to turn around?’

As soon as Wilbur placed the phone back on the hook, he confirmed that Roman was turning the boat around and that he’d be back at the jetty in approximately five minutes.

‘Thanks, Wilbur,’ said Callie, unzipping her purse, but Wilbur was having none of it. ‘Don’t worry about that. Get yourself back to Heartcross, and if you hear any news, do let us know.’

Roman arrived quickly, and he reminded Ella of James Bond as he stood up straight at the helm, looking like he was on a mission. As soon as he’d docked the boat and safely unfolded the gangplank he looked across at the girls with worry. ‘Is everything okay?’ he asked as they climbed on board. ‘Wilbur asked me to come straight back.’

‘It’s Dolores, she’s in hospital,’ replied Callie, sitting down on a seat. ‘We’re looking after her animals until we know what’s going on.’

Roman gave a salute. ‘I’ll get you back as quickly as possible.’

As Ella started walking up to the front of the boat, she noticed Roman take a call on his phone and move out of earshot. She sat down next to Callie, who was chatting away to another passenger and was oblivious to the fact that Ella was watching Roman. She’d noticed that his whole aura had changed in a matter of seconds, and as he hung up the call and took his place behind the wheel, Ella felt a slight tension in the air. Roman looked pensive, like he suddenly had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Callie was now scrolling through the photos on her phone, giving Ella a running commentary and showing her pictures from Julia’s fortieth birthday. ‘We took her ghost hunting, but she wasn’t impressed. I believe old Marley up at Heartcross Castle is in hospital. Have you heard anything, Roman?’

‘No sorry, I haven’t,’ he answered, but kept his eyes firmly on the water.