‘They’re issuing you another ticket,’ Hope explained.

‘Oh, that’s so kind of you. I’ll pay you back, I promise.’

‘Let’s not worry about that now. First we have to find you a berth.’

‘That’s easy,’ Dante said. ‘My sleeping-car is a double, and I’m only using one berth, so-’

‘So Toni can come in with you and Ferne can come in with me,’ Hope said, beaming. ‘What a splendid idea!’

‘Actually, Aunt, I was thinking-’

‘I know what you were thinking and you should be ashamed.’

‘Yes, Aunt, anything you say, Aunt.’

But he winked at Ferne, and she couldn’t help being charmed. The mere idea of this handsome, confident man doing what he was told was so idiotic, and his air of meekness so clearly an act, that she had to smile and join in the joke.

The inspector exchanged some more words with Toni before nodding and hurrying away.

‘He’s going to call the station now and tell them to look out for your things,’ Toni explained to Ferne. ‘Luckily you discovered the loss quickly, so they may pick them up before anyone else finds them. But, just in case, you must cancel your credit cards.’

‘How can I do that from here?’ Ferne asked, baffled.

‘The British consulate will help you,’ Dante declared, taking out his own mobile phone.

In a few moments he had obtained the emergency number of the Milan consulate, dialled it and handed the phone to Ferne.

The young man on duty was efficient. Quickly he looked up the numbers of the credit-card companies, assigned her a reference number and bid her goodnight. Calls to the finance companies achieved the cancellation of her cards and the promise of new ones. This was as much as she could hope for for now.

‘I don’t know what I’d have done without you,’ she told her new friends fervently. ‘When I think what could have happened to me.’

‘Don’t think about it,’ Hope advised. ‘All will be well. Ah, here is the waiter with a snack. Hmm, cakes and wine are all very well, but I should like a large pot of tea.’