There was so much here to take in…She was fighting to understand it.

Meanwhile staff were waiting, lined up as if in some period play. The women were wearing uniforms that were grim-as-death black. The men wore black too, alleviated only by high starched collars in pristine white. In this Mediterranean paradise they looked…ridiculous.

‘You need to meet your staff,’ Nikos said, and she thought about backing into the limo and slamming the door. This was scarier than scary.

‘You’re kidding me, right? I can’t employ these people.’

‘Maybe you can’t,’ he said neutrally. ‘Giorgos kept the castle fully staffed. Demos intended to sack them and modernise the place, but now it’s your call.’

‘They can’t like working here.’ She looked again at the uniforms, at the stoical faces, at their ramrod straight posture. ‘Looking like this…’

‘Looks don’t matter,’ he said briefly. ‘Apart from a struggling fishing industry, there’s very little employment.’

Her head was starting to spin. Nikos knew this place. She didn’t. It should be Nikos in charge. But he was giving her information only, and waiting for her to act as she willed.

Waiting for her to fail? Certainly he was judging her.

Anger stirred. She could do this. She would. She was not going to fail in front of Nikos.

The staff were in two formal lines. Not a muscle was moving. They looked almost like waxworks. ‘Can I afford to pay them?’ she demanded.

‘The royal coffers are at your disposal,’ Nikos said neutrally. ‘They’re overflowing.’

‘How can they be overflowing? I though we were broke.’

‘Giorgos taxed everything. Once a year he cleaned out the Argyros accounts and moved the money to Sappheiros. It’s been nine months since they’ve been cleared, and Alexandros is shifting what funds he knows are ours back. You’ll need to start road repairs, harbour deepening, the infrastructure. You can provide employment and make this a better place to live in the process.’