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‘Katerina says Ithos has called you and you have come.’

Katerina nodded, smiling at Grace, then she began to speak again.

‘Do not be afraid to seek the truth. The light is nothing to be afraid of,’ Demetrios translated.

The woman said something else. ‘Katerina says that tomorrow, under a full moon, you will find your heart’s desire.’

Grace laughed a little nervously, but Katerina looked at her with eyes full of wisdom and said, in broken English, ‘You are looking for your own truth, but you must look for it in the right place.’ She gave Grace a beatific smile, patted her hand, and went back to tapping her feet to the music.

Grace blinked, a shiver creeping up her spine. Katerina’s words seem to hang in the air.

‘Katerina is a wise old bird,’ Demetrios said. ‘We are all looking for something, no?’ He took her hand. ‘Come, too much introspection is not good for the soul, but dancing is.’

With that her swung her onto the dance floor and Grace was soon swept up by the music, his kindness and the thought that tomorrow would bring something new.

Chapter 26

It was well after midnight when the yacht moored in Ithos harbour. The captain had radioed ahead, and a car was waiting to greet the visitors as they stepped off the gangplank.

Shauna held a fast-asleep Alex in her arms. He had been so excited about arriving at Ithos, but hadn’t been able to stay awake long enough to enjoy the moment the ship docked. The last couple of weeks had been exhilarating for him; the Acropolis and the Parthenon in Greece, the tourist sites of Crete and Rhodes. Being with Roxy again had felt like old times; they had loved feeling like tourists again and this time, Roxy pointed out, they weren’t reduced to picking up old fruit from the gutters but had dined in the best restaurants and stayed in the best hotels. Shauna was travelling incognito, under the name O’Brien, and she had asked her stylist to get rid of the highlights, so she was a redhead once more. So far, they had managed to dodge the paparazzi. They had chartered a yacht in Athens and their island adventure had given her a sense of freedom and lifted her spirits. She didn’t miss the film world at all, and she’d been able to forget about being Shauna Jackson movie star, and focus on being there for Alex.

She looked around her at the harbour. There were still revellers in the square spilling out of the taverna, laughter and music drifted on the air and she picked up the smell of the pink bougainvillea that she remembered so well. Could she really be here again after all this time?

With their luggage following separately, they bundled into the car, Alex only briefly rousing as she settled him on her lap. As the car climbed up the narrow road to the brow of the hill, Shauna caught a glimpse of the Theodosis villa. Their own villa was a little further on, and soon they were being greeted by Delphine, the chatty and capable housekeeper, who bustled them into the cool interior. She guided Shauna up to the bedrooms, taking Alex out of her arms and tucking him up in bed. He briefly awoke, rubbing his eyes and asking where they were.

‘We’re on Ithos now, darling,’ she told him.

He yawned. ‘Sing me “Luna Lunera”, Auntie Shauna.’

Shauna had learned that Alex could only fall asleep with this lullaby in his ears, but she spoke no Spanish so had leaned the words in English, which seemed to keep him happy. She quietly sang the lines, ‘Moon bright moon, you have seen me crying …’ He was asleep in moments. Shauna kissed him and turned out the light.

Roxy was eager to explore the villa now rather than wait until morning, so they went around peering into the beautiful minimalist rooms, oohing and aahing with delight when they came to the large lounge area that opened on to a wide terrace, beyond which there was a gate to a swimming pool which made them both gasp. It balanced on the edge of the overhanging rock, overlooking Fengari Bay to the east and Ithos harbour to the west.

‘Alex is going to love it here. He’ll never want to leave,’ Roxy said.

‘He might not be alone in that. It’s magical,’ Shauna said.

‘How are you feeling?’

Shauna smiled. ‘It’s funny, but being here feels good – it feels right somehow. I forgot how much I loved this place.’

It was late and they were both tired. Shauna climbed the stairs to her room, which had a large balcony that looked out over the pool. The moon was high in the sky; not quite full, but almost so, and there was a pinkish tinge to it which seemed to bathe the bay in a warm glow.

Before they left, Isaac had made a few phone calls and found out that Demetrios Theodosis always holidayed at his home in Greece for the summer months. As the breeze rippled through her light silk shirt and her red hair billowed out behind her, Shauna found it strange to think that Demetrios was here, somewhere close, perhaps looking up at the moon at this same moment.

You’re being fanciful again, Shauna, she told herself, but as she climbed into bed and drifted off to sleep, her dreams were filled with the moon whispering to her of lost love.

‘Auntie Shauna, I think I can see China!’

‘Hmmm, is that so?’ Shauna peered over the edge of the pool across the bay, screwing up her eyes in concentration. ‘You must have wonderful eyesight, Alex. Or maybe I should get new glasses?’

He giggled, bobbed on the surface like a duck for a moment, then swam underwater to the end of the pool, where he immediately climbed out, ran back to where he had started and dived in again, popping up next to Shauna. She squealed in mock surprise, and then the two of them shrieked as they splashed each other with water. Shauna broke first and begged him to stop.

The first thing Alex had done upon waking that morning was to throw his swimming trunks on and shake Shauna awake, demanding that they go for a swim. He’d been having intense lessons since he had come to live with her and was now swimming like a fish. Shauna had barely been able to drag him away from the pool, but it was mid-morning and Ithos beckoned. She was about to insist that they get some clothes on and go exploring, when Roxy appeared, coming through a vine-covered gate that she hadn’t noticed until now. Shauna had assumed that Roxy was enjoying a lie-in.

‘Good morning!’ she hailed them both. She looked tanned and relaxed in a wide-brimmed sun hat and a full-length wraparound sarong in a tropical palm print.

‘Have you been exploring?’ Shauna asked.