I rush after her.
‘You’re going to the marina?’
‘Yes,’ she says, her head buried in an enormous handbag. ‘This is what I do. Stuff like this happens all the time on location. Well, maybe not a volcano erupting,’ she concedes, ‘but a lot of my job is handling unforeseen issues. Ah, thank god.’ She shows me her passport, and I nod – always good to know where your passport is – then shoves it deep inside the handbag.
‘I figure I’ll leave my luggage here. I can always send for it when everything opens back up.’ She looks around as if she’s missing something.
‘Delaney.’
‘Mmm?’
‘Delaney.’
She stops looking. ‘You coming?’ she asks, her eyes wide.
‘To the marina? No.’
‘But what if it’s our only chance to get off Capri? We could be stuck here forweeks.’
Aslightexaggeration, which I don’t mention.
‘You heard what Vittorio said – they’re prioritising people with day-trip tickets,’ I say. ‘I don’t have one and my guess is neither do you.’
‘Ah, yes,’ she says with a confident smirk, ‘but I’m an incredible negotiator. If anyone can get us on a ferry out of here, it’s me. I once convinced the mayor of Medellín to appear in our movie – ashimself. You know how much sweet-talking that took?’
‘I can only imagine.’
What I can’t imagine is the harbour master wanting tickets to the next premiere at Leicester Square – or whatever Delaney plans to use as leverage. But if that glint in Delaney’s eye’s anything to go by, she’s on a mission and I’d better stay out of her way. Besides, if she does get on a ferry, I’ll have the place to myself.
‘You don’t believe I can do it,’ she says, the smirk widening as if she’s accepting a challenge.
‘No, no, it’s not that. It’s just… Vittorio seems like the sort of bloke who would help us if he could. If it was a matter of him calling in a favour, he would’ve done that.’
‘Hmm, maybe.’ She slips the straps of her handbag onto her shoulder. ‘Last chance,’ she says, with a hopeful tilt of her head.
‘You go. And good luck.’
She steps closer, her hand extended. ‘Nice to have met you, other Nicholas James.’
I shake her hand. It’s tiny and my meaty paw swallows it completely. ‘And you, Delaney. I hope things work out with your Nicholas.’
Something flashes behind her eyes, and her smile falters for a fraction of a second before returning full force.
‘Thanks. See ya ’round.’
‘Bye.’
I watch her go, releasing a long, slow breath when the door shuts behind her. She’ll either be back in half an hour or gone for good. Most likely, it’s the former but it really would be nice to have this place to myself, even if I’m forced to stay inside. It’s been ages since I had a proper break. People think being on location is glamorous, but the truth is I’m either on set shooting or poring over plans for the next day’s stunt. There’s never any time to see the sights, and the days of late-night, boozy cast and crew parties were over long before I came onto the scene.
I stoop to unzip my duffel, digging around for the Switch I’ve been carrying with me for months. It was optimistic to take it to Norway – I only played a few times – but I’m glad I have it now, especially under the circumstances.
But I really should phone Pippa first.
A stifling weight descends and I stand perfectly still, my gaze blurring.
I don’twantto phone her.
The admission is like taking a gut punch – and I should know.