Marina smiled. ‘I think it’s trying to tell us something. Listen!’
The bird made a sharp, ‘zick’ call, followed by a series of cheerful, silvery chirpings, with pauses in between. The notes seemed to rise and fall unpredictably in an ever-changing pattern of merry chirps and warbles.
As it sang, the robin puffed out its chest and flapped its wings ostentatiously. The three women couldn’t help but grin.
‘He’s so pleased with himself!’ Marina commented. ‘Quite right too. Such a handsome little chap!’
Katerina nodded, but her grin slowly started to fade. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes for a few moments, allowing herself to soak up the sounds and scents of her surroundings.
When she opened them again, the little robin wagged its tail and swooped off, landing on a branch some way away. Marina looked at the old woman curiously.
‘What are you thinking?’ she asked, cocking her head on one side just as the robin had done.
A sudden gust of wind blew through the trees and bushes, making the leaves rustle. Katerina looked squarely at Marina and sighed.
‘I’m thinking we should show Henrietta round the house now,’ she replied. ‘I suggest you do upstairs and we’ll both do the ground floor. Don’t forget to point out the bathrooms and cupboards. There’s plenty of storage. I trust everything will be to her satisfaction.’
Henrietta sat up straight and gave a small cry.
‘Oh! So you mean you might be willing to rent us the villa after all?’
Katerina gave a slight incline of the head.
‘But that’s fabulous! You won’t regret it!’ the Englishwoman went on, in a rush of excitement and surprise. ‘I thought you were going to say no. What’s made you change your mind?’
This time, Katerina cleared her throat before fixing her eyes on Henrietta with a deep, impenetrable gaze.
‘You need to understand something,’ she said solemnly, ‘before we finalise anything.Idon’t decide who stays here. In fact, I have no real say at all. Villa Ariadne selects its own guests very carefully. And on this occasion, for whatever reason, it has chosenyou.’
1
SIX MONTHS LATER
Cleo stood on the top deck of the passenger ferry, clutching the metal rail while she gazed out at the rugged coastline and sparkling turquoise sea. The salty wind whipped her cheeks and sent her longish, chestnut brown hair flying.
It would be full of knots by the time they landed but she didn’t care; she felt exhilarated, joyful, even, for the first time in ages. There was a slight tickle of girlish excitement in her stomach.
As the ferry rounded the corner of the headland, she inhaled sharply.
‘Oh my God, it’s stunning!’ she yelled, to no one in particular. She had to shout to hear her own voice above the noise of the crashing waves and the roaring gale.
In the distance, a small village had come into view, with whitewashed buildings and blue shutters, huddled round a crescent-shaped harbour. A range of majestic-looking mountains, with stunning, white peaks, rose up behind.
‘Yes, it’s so beautiful!’
Surprised to hear someone else holler, Cleo turned to find a tallish, attractive woman with short, fair, spiky hair standing just a few feet away; she hadn’t been there before. She had a friendly smile and Cleo smiled back.
‘I’ve seen lots of photographs,’ Cleo said, ‘but I never imagined it would bethisfab.’
‘Me neither.’ The other woman paused. ‘Are you going on the retreat, by any chance?’
Surprised again, Cleo nodded. ‘How did you guess?’
The stranger shrugged. ‘I thought you looked the type – curious, interesting, searching for something, maybe.’ She grinned. ‘I’m Tash by the way. Tash Meadows.’
‘Cleo Frobisher,’ Cleo yelled back.
She couldn’t remember ever having been described as interesting before and felt rather flattered. Moreover, Tash was spot-on about something; Cleowassearching for something, she just didn’t know what.
