‘I hope the villa’s nice.’
‘I’m sure it will be.’
‘D’you think it’ll be OK, having Jessica with us? We haven’t made a mistake, have we?’
Ralph shuffled in his seat, making her raise her head.
‘It’s a bit late to be asking that now,’ he said, turning to look at her.
Her brow wrinkled and he gave a reassuring smile.
‘Don’t worry. She’ll be fine. She can take as many photos of dusty ruins as she wants while we laze on the beach and eat nice food and have long siestas. She’s used to being on her own. I doubt she’ll bother us at all.’
5
They went in one big taxi from the airport to the ferry terminal, then caught a boat to Porto Liakáda, a journey of about twenty minutes. The sun was shining brightly and the turquoise sea looked so tempting, Edie could hardly wait to jump in.
Feeling the heat, they all stripped off their top layers. Edie was concerned her pale, winter skin might burn, and she’d buried her sun cream in a sponge bag at the bottom of her suitcase. Luckily Jessica had a small tube to hand.
‘It’s factor thirty,’ she said, passing the tube across. ‘Use as much as you want. I’ve got plenty more.’
After applying some cream to her own face and arms, Jessica turned away from the others and gazed out at the rocky, mountainous coastline, dotted with spiky low ground bushes.
While Hannah and Edie chatted, she remained silent and self-contained, looking neat and business-like in skinny black jeans, clean white trainers and a pale grey T-shirt, with her slender hands resting, one on top of the other, in her lap.
Before long, they rounded a bend and Porto Liakáda came into view. Edie gasped in delight. The small, semi-circular harbour was surrounded by sparkling, whitewashed buildings with bright blue shutters, which seemed to cling to the rocky, reddish-brown mountains behind.
Painted wooden boats bobbed merrily by the shore and the water was so clear, you could see the rocks at the bottom.
‘It’s even prettier than the photos,’ Edie said to Ralph, who was beside her. They’d both risen to their feet to enjoy the view and she tucked a hand under his arm. ‘It looks completely unspoiled.’
‘It’s gorgeous,’ Hannah murmured, standing up, too, and moving away from Mac, who remained sitting on the wooden bench. ‘It’s like a painting. It hardly looks real!’
As the boat pulled into the jetty and the first passengers began to disembark, Edie scanned the faces of folk waiting by the quayside. Some were clearly tourists like them, with backpacks and suitcases, while others, unloading crates of water, wine, vegetables, fruit and kitchen supplies, must have been locals.
Mrs Papadakis had promised to meet them there when they arrived but there were no likely candidates who might have been her. Perhaps she’d forgotten.
‘What does she look like?’ Ralph asked, as Edie led the way down the gangplank onto the cobbled street, wheeling her suitcase behind her.
‘No idea. I don’t even know how old she is,’ she admitted. ‘I probably should have asked for a photo.’
All of a sudden, she heard her name being called – ‘Mrs Lovell?’ – and a tiny woman in a blue and white headscarf pushed her way through the small crowd towards them.
Dressed in a white, short-sleeved blouse tucked into smart navy trousers, the woman was considerably older than Edie had imagined, with a skinny neck and arms and tanned, wrinkled skin. But as she drew near, Edie noticed her straight back, raised chin and intelligent black eyes.
‘I am Mrs Papadakis,’ she said, stopping in front of Edie and looking at her steadily with an extended hand. ‘But you can call me Katerina. Welcome to Porto Liakáda.’
Her voice was clear, strong and heavily accented and her handshake was surprisingly firm. ‘I hope you will be very happy here.’
Edie introduced the others, then, at Katerina’s suggestion, they started on the mile-long, uphill walk to the villa. Edie had been warned about this in an email, and her friends were prepared.
The main street overlooking the harbour was bustling with visitors going in and out of shops selling clothes, jewellery and beach items, or sitting in bars and restaurants at tables right by the water.
With no cars or angry motorists to worry about, Edie felt her stress levels subsiding. The air smelled clean and fresh and you could wander freely in any direction for as long as you liked.
When they’d almost reached the end of the street, Katerina stopped.
‘Here’s the mini-mart where you’ll probably want to buy your groceries. You’ll find basic things like milk, tea, coffee, sugar and white and red wine at the villa.
