She turned her back and fell in with a group standing around on the dock smoking, glancing continuously at their watches. She recognised some of them from the Ruby Spirit’s restaurant, and she shoved her hands in her pockets and attempted to look as bored and impatient as they did.

Every so often she would sneak a glance at the walkway. She couldn’t go to Tommy while Patrick was with him. The officer was suspicious enough of her already, though she hoped the text message she’d shown him earlier had done enough to abate his distrust.

Discreetly, she examined herself for any signs of the misadventure that had taken place in Ellidavatn. Apart from wet patches on her knees and a body soaked in sweat, it wasn’t apparent that she’d been doing anything but taking a leisurely stroll.

She looked again to the boat and saw Patrick speaking into a walkie-talkie. He cast a glance at Tommy and bent his head to the device in his hand. There was frustration on his face as the wind picked up, and with a gesture at Tommy, he moved inside the ship.

Taking her chance, Anna hurried onto the walkway and towards Tommy.

‘What’s the delay?’ she asked as she reached him. ‘The ship was supposed to leave an hour ago, wasn’t it?’

He looked over at her, and even now, with his wife missing in a foreign land, she saw the desire in his eyes. Despicable, but flattering too, she supposed.

‘I can’t find Paula,’ he muttered. His tone said it all. It wasn’t worry that he felt, it was annoyance.

‘I’m sure she’s just lost track of time,’ she said. ‘Didn’t she spend the day with you?’

He gave her a look, but said nothing. She reached out and put a hand on his arm. A comforting gesture. He looked down at it, then at her.

Above them, the Northern Lights appeared again, shimmering and flashing in bursts across a sky that had cleared after the storm passed.

It was freezing out on the front deck now, but Tommy showed no signs of leaving. Anna wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to stop shivering and glanced up at his face.

‘Can I get you a coffee?’ she asked.

‘No,’ said Tommy. He looked at her properly, saw how utterly frozen she must look, and his face collapsed in a frown. ‘You should go inside, though.’

Ah, but she couldn’t. It was imperative that she remain by his side for the whole journey now. He needed to see her as a supporter, as someone who intended to take care of him, so that when they finally got back to Southampton, they would be so firmly entwined he wouldn’t – couldn’t – entertain the idea of her leaving him.

‘I’m fine,’ she said bravely.