She felt a little apprehensive about knocking on Mac and Hannah’s door, in case they were asleep or having a row. It was Mac who opened up and when Edie peeped inside, she saw Hannah looking perfectly relaxed, sitting on the bed and combing her damp hair.
She must have showered and was fresh-faced and make-up-free. She’d changed, too, into a white cotton dress with short sleeves.
‘Is it chilly outside? Will I need a jumper?’ she asked, when Edie told her about supper.
‘Not really. I’m cold now because I’ve had a swim. Maybe bring an extra layer just in case.’
It was impossible not to feel content, sitting round the wooden patio table, surrounded by lemon and olive trees, with plates of delicious-looking food in front of them.
Jessica had found three white pillar candles in giant glass hurricane jars and had placed one in the centre of the table and the others on a nearby wall.
As soon as she lit them, the garden was transformed into a sort of fairy land and everyone’s face glowed mysteriously in the flickering flames.
Katerina had prepared a big bowl of Greek salad, with tangy feta cheese; crunchy cucumber; sweet, vine-ripe tomatoes; earthy green bell peppers; strong, salty kalamata olives; fresh oregano and red onion.
In addition, there was a dish of cold pulled pork flavoured with honey and fresh herbs, including sage, rosemary, thyme and coriander. They ate this with rice flavoured with onion, garlic, lemon juice, parsley and fresh dill, washed down with a chilled local white wine, also kindly left in the fridge for them by Katerina.
‘My! This is so good! I didn’t realise I was quite so ravenous.’
After popping a forkful of the cold meat into her mouth, Edie reached out while she was still chewing and spooned some more onto her plate. Only then did she push the dish towards Mac, who’d been eyeing it greedily.
They talked a bit about plans for tomorrow and Edie said she’d like to stroll into town in the morning to have a browse.
‘Typical!’ Ralph said with a laugh. ‘You just can’t keep away from shops, can you? I swear they’ve got some sort of magnetic power over you. I think I’ll stay here and chill, if you don’t mind. I’m looking forward to doing absolutely nothing.’
‘I’m not going clothes shopping, if that’s what you’re thinking,’ Edie replied tetchily. ‘We’ll need some supplies from that mini-market, unless we decide to eat out tomorrow. Also, I want to get the lie of the land. I noticed there are ferries to quite a few different places, including the Samaria Gorge and Gavdos. That’s the southernmost island in Greece. It might be worth a visit. I’ll try and get a timetable.’
‘I’ll come too,’ Jessica said, before lowering her eyes. ‘That’s if you don’t mind.’
‘Of course not.’ Edie glanced at Hannah. ‘Fancy making it a threesome?’
Ralph put down his knife and fork and stretched his arms above his head. ‘Ah!’ he said, finishing his stretch and bringing his arms down with a theatrical sigh. ‘Music to my ears. The women go food shopping while the men relax. Just how things ought to be.’
Edie and Hannah knew he was kidding and merely raised their eyebrows. Jessica, though, rose to the bait.
‘I hope that was a joke,’ she said sharply.
Ralph quickly backtracked, raising his hands, palms forward. ‘It was, I promise. A bad one. Sorry.’
‘Well, it wasn’t very funny.’
Her sour face seemed to amuse Mac, who gave a loud laugh.
‘God, you women are so easy to wind up.’
There was a pause while Jessica weighed up her response. Sensing danger, Edie cast round desperately for some form of distraction.
‘Who do we think will win in the local election?’ she said fake-chirpily, breaking her own rule about not mentioning politics at the dinner table. It was the first thing that had come into her head.
‘The Tories again, unfortunately,’ Ralph said quickly. ‘Labour’s making a bit of a mess of things nationally. I reckon it’ll be a landslide.’
‘Agreed.’ It was Mac, who’d already forgotten about Jessica. Edie’s plan had worked. ‘God help us. They’re a bunch of hypocrites.’
Jessica raised her glass of wine and stared at the contents thoughtfully. ‘The Tories are supposed to be the party of low tax, but taxes skyrocketed the last time they were in power. Then Labour whacked them up even more. No wonder the country’s in chaos.’
‘We need more investment, not less,’ Mac replied, quick as a flash. ‘The NHS, schools, social care, they’re all fucked.’
Jessica shook her head. ‘That’s because we can’t cope with the numbers. We’re desperately overcrowded and getting more so by the day, but no one seems to be able to do anything about it. As a single person with no children, I resent having to pay more and more for services I barely use.’
