Page 57 of Summer in Greece

Moving her thoughts along to Gran Gertie, she must have been devastated when Sissy’s fob watch went spiralling down not two miles from where Shelly had just dived. But Gran Gertie was saved by the dolphin, a miracle in itself. If the dolphin hadn’t saved Gran Gertie, Shelly would not have been born. Shelly had gone on to save the lives of many animals, and as a stand-in paramedic, a few people too. As a nurse, she guessed her great-grandmother had also saved soldier’s lives.

Rather odd, the way everything worked out, she thought. Feeling calmer, she relaxed in her hotel bed and allowed her thoughts to drift.

*

‘Could you come here for a moment?’ Shelly whispered when Harry came to her room, the next morning. ‘I’ve had such a wonderful time, the best.’ She slipped her arms around his waist and kissed him. ‘Thank you, Harry. Now I’m going to take you for a wonderful breakfast.’

At their usual café, they ate eggs and fresh bread at the water’s edge, and dropped crumbs into the sea for jostling fish. He touched the tips of her fingers. She peered into his eyes and sighed.

‘You will come back?’ he said.

She nodded. ‘Definitely. You will let me know if an opportunity for a dive to the Britannic arises in the future, won’t you?’

‘Actually, there’s a dive scheduled for the end of August, organised for the Directorate-General for the European Environment.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘It’s the European Commission’s department responsible for EU policy on the environment,’ he explained, making it no clearer. ‘There are a couple of TV companies bidding for the film rights too. We’ve been involved in the organisation over the past two years and now we’re almost ready to go.’

‘Oh, wow. I’ll be here then, to see my turtles hatch.’ She raised her brows and stared at him hopefully.

He shook his head. ‘Sorry, two years in the planning – it’s all booked up, Shelly, even the reserve divers. Still, with your pedigree, if you’re here and there’s a last-minute drop-out, who knows, there might be room on the boat if you’d like to second-assist? But don’t get your hopes up. It’s highly unlikely.’

‘Thank you.’ She realised Harry wouldn’t have time for her that week with such a huge responsibility on his shoulders. Still, it would be great to help kit-up the divers and hear their first impressions when they emerged after.

‘Possibly dive marshal, second assistant at an outside chance. A very outside chance. Logging diver returns, checking equipment, assisting with emergency cylinders on the drop and shot lines. Though you’re dreaming. It’s highly unlikely to happen.’

‘How many actual divers?’ she asked.

‘Four.’

‘How many on the team?’

‘Twenty in total, plus the boat crew and the antiquities dive marshal. Thirty-two including me,’ he said.

‘Antiquities dive marshal?’

‘As if our expenses aren’t high enough, we have to pay for a Greek dive inspector and a remotely operated vehicle. The ROV operator’s job is to record that we don’t steal priceless antiquities. Jack Cousteau has a lot to answer for,’ he said flippantly.

‘He dived here, didn’t he?’

Harry nodded. ‘Found the wreck in ’75 and dived it in ’76, long before there were any restrictions. He and his team made sixty-eight dives to the Britannic and rumour is he brought up some artefacts.’ He shrugged. ‘There’s been much speculation about those treasures, not least the ship’s bell. The main bell’s so special, it’s the heart of the ship. It would have rung out the alarm in the first place. Unfortunately, that makes it the highest prize for fortune divers, a real crown jewel to be hunted for.’

‘So you don’t think it’s still down there?’

He shrugged again. ‘After almost a hundred dives, and everyone looking out for it, I doubt it.’

‘For a moment, I was thinking of that film . . . what was it? Ah, Raiders of the Lost Ark. You know?’

Harry laughed. ‘I understand what you’re saying, but Cousteau was an amazing guy. A pioneer of scuba, or aqua-lung as it was called then; also sea-scooters, the diving bell, shark cages, and many things connected with deep-sea diving. Yes, an adventurer, but he was a brave and clever man who brought the underwater world into the home. The general public lost themselves in his TV documentaries about sea life. Cousteau said something like this: Once the sea casts its spell of wonder over a man, it holds him in those nets forever.’

Shelly gasped, emotion exploding in her chest.

‘Are you all right?’ He lifted her chin. ‘You look upset.’

She nodded. ‘I’m fine. It just took me back, you know, the fishing net? I’ll tell you more next time, promise.’

He nodded and smiled. ‘Whenever you’re comfortable. No worries. Just come back soon, will you? By the way, what time’s your flight from Athens?’