I led them both inside and we walked over to where the dress was displayed inside its glass case. It looked magnificent under the strategically placed downlights, the interplay of brightness and shade suggesting it was still underwater. My very own time-traveller, or Anna’s, if my theories were right. I’d chosen to wear a golden, silk dress, hoping to pay homage to Anna’s tragic journey. Marieke was handing out programs. Printed on glossy paper, the information inside was an amalgam of fact and supposition although the most arresting page was the front cover which was a full-colour photograph of Anna’s silk dress. A banner across the top of the program read ‘De Jurk’. The Dress.

‘It reads well,’ she said, passing one to Nico. ‘Your daughter did a fantastic job.’

Anneke flushed with pleasure.

As the night wore on, it was clear that the opening of the exhibition was a grand success. Bram had written a speech, thanking the community for their warm response to the artefact’s discovery and praising the historical society for the generous use of their exhibition space. When he singled Rob Disijk out for his valuable contribution to the artefact’s return, the councillor raised his arm to wave away the praise.

‘Ah, it was nothing,’ he called out, but it was obvious from the way he beamed at the colleagues who’d accompanied him to Texel that he appreciated Bram’s gesture. The tension between the mainland government and the local community had been mended by the successful return of the dress and Bram, Nico, Sem and Cristof were already planning to meet up with Emerens and his team of Defence divers to explore some of the other wrecks which had sunk so many years ago, taking their secrets with them.

A smattering of applause from the audience seemed to indicate that Bram’s speech was over. I turned away to get another drink but when Bram resumed speaking, his amplified voice ringing out across the room, I looked back.

‘Of course, we can’t forget Jo,’ Bram said, squinting at me through the crowd. Spying me beside the drinks table, he beckoned me forward. ‘Jo, come on up here.’ The crowd parted and I moved forward, feeling self-conscious. When I reached the small platform, I took the arm Bram offered me and allowed him to pull me up.

It was warm under the downlights and I felt sweat prickle on my back. ‘Doctor Jo Baaker was the first person we called when we made the discovery,’ Bram was saying. ‘She’s a Texeller, through and through. It doesn’t matter that she’s spent half her life in other places. We knew she’d come back one day. What the sea gives, the finder keeps. And we don’t plan on letting her go any time soon!’