‘Oh,’ I said, my spirits sinking. Poor Anna. She’d probably assumed she was safe with the Horsts. Instead, her decision to leave Catharina had led to her death.

Perhaps Olivia was thinking the same thing because she was quiet for a long time. Eventually, she swivelled around in her chair.

‘I seem to recall a mention of Maarten Horst that may or may not be relevant to your interests. It’s upstairs. There are some exquisite old quilts up there. Why don’t you take a look while I check some more records?’

‘I might go back to the store,’ Nico said, touching my arm. ‘I don’t like leaving it unattended for too long. You’ll be fine with Olivia.’

The quilts in the display case upstairs were indeed beautiful, the intricate floral patterns suggestive of chintz palampore designs, crafted in 18th-century India and brought to the island by visiting merchants. My hand itched to reach through the glass and stroke the delicate fabric, but of course, I made no such transgressions.

‘This is a reproduction of the painting I was telling you about.’ Olivia beckoned me over to a large oil painting of a storm-tossed ship. Towering waves crested over the ship’s bowsprit and its torn sails fluttered in the wind like shredded silk. The vessel had clearly foundered and the storm front had swept it onto a cluster of jagged rocks. The crew, imperilled, could do nothing but pray.

‘It was painted in the 17th century by a local artist Aelbert Van Loo who went on to train under Pieter de Molijn,’ Olivia said. ‘He painted this extraordinary seascape when he was only seventeen. We’re quite proud of the association. We’d much prefer to have the original, of course, but the Rijksmuseum acquired it years ago through a private sale so we have no legal claim.’

She grasped my arm suddenly.

‘Forgive me for being so forward, Ms Baaker, but I must ask you for a favour on behalf of my mother and the other society members. We understand the political delicacy surrounding the dress and the unusual circumstances of its retrieval. We don’t have the resources to preserve something so valuable for any extended length of time. It makes sense that the collection should be taken to the mainland for observation and restoration. But we were hoping you might be able to convince the Noord-Holland government to allow us to exhibit them here on Texel for a few weeks. We’ve already discussed it this morning over video phone. Eva van der Berg, the matriarch of one of Texel’s oldest families, passed away last year and bequeathed a significant amount of money to the historical society for the preservation of local Texel culture. Her directives were a little vague so there’s been some heated debate over the dispersal of the funds but everyone on the committee agreed that this is exactly what Eva would have wanted. She was a passionate woman and she would have loved everyone to see the dress for themselves. If everything goes to plan, we’d want you to do the conservation side of it, of course. We could host the exhibition here, in this room; it would only take us a month or so to move everything and install the proper equipment. Please consider it. It would mean so much to the community. We’re proud of our heritage, and the presence of something so precious and unusual would strengthen our connection to the past and to each other. You understand, being an old Texeller yourself.’