Theyhademergedonanotherroadwhichranallaroundtheloopingsandyshoresofthelagoonside，crescent-shapedandhollow。Faroutwasmorewhitespraywheretheoceanbrokeindazzlinglaceontheedgesofthelagoonreef，butwithinthecoral’sembracethewaterwasstillandcalm，apolishedsilvermirrortingedwithbronze。
\"Island’sfourmileswideandeightlong，\"herguideexplained。Theydrovepastastragglingwhitebuildingwithadeepverandaandshoplikewindows。\"Thegeneralstore，\"hesaidwithaproprietaryflourish。\"IlivetherewiththeMissus，andshe’snottoohappyaboutalonewomancominghere，Icantellyou。ThinksI’llbeseducedwashowsheputit。Justaswellthebureausaidyouwantedcompletepeaceandquiet，becauseitsoothedtheMissusabitwhenIputyouinthefarthestoutplacewehave。There’snotasoulinyourdirection；theonlyothercouplehereareontheotherside。Youcanlarkaroundwithoutastitchon-noonewillseeyou。TheMissusisn’tgoingtoletmeoutofhersightwhileyou’rehere。Whenyouneedsomething，justpickupyourphoneandI’llbringitout。Nosensewalkingallthewayin。AndMissusorno，I’llcallinonyouonceadayatsunset，justtomakesureyou’reallright。Bestthatyou’reinthehousethen-andwearaproperdress，incasetheMissuscomesalongfortheride。\"Aone-storystructurewiththreerooms，thecottagehaditsownprivatecurveofwhitebeachbetweentwoprongsofthehilldivingintothesea，andheretheroadended。Insideitwasveryplain，butcomfortable。Theislandgenerateditsownpower，sotherewasalittlerefrigerator，electriclight，thepromisedphone，andevenawirelessset。Thetoiletflushed，thebathhadfreshwater；moremodernamenitiesthaneitherDroghedaorHimmelhoch，Meggiethoughtinamusement。EasytoseemostofthepatronswerefromSydneyorMelbourne，andsoinuredtocivilizationtheycouldn’tdowithoutit。LeftalonewhileRobspedbacktohissuspiciousMissus，Meggieunpackedandsurveyedherdomain。Thebigdoublebedwasagreatdealmorecomfortablethanherownnuptialcouchhadbeen。Butthen，thiswasagenuinehoneymoonparadiseandtheonethingitsclientswoulddemandwasadecentbed；theclientsoftheDunnypubwereusuallytoodrunktoobjecttoherniatingsprings。Boththerefrigeratorandtheoverheadcupboardswerewellstockedwithfood，andonthecounterstoodagreatbasketofbananas，passionfruit，pineapplesandmangoes。Noreasonwhysheshouldn’tsleepwell，andeatwell。
ForthefirstweekMeggieseemedtodonothingbuteatandsleep；shehadn’trealizedhowtiredshewas，northatDungloe’sclimatewaswhathadkilledherappetite。Inthebeautifulbedshesleptthemomentshelaydown，tenandtwelvehoursatastretch，andfoodhadanappealithadn’tpossessedsinceDrogheda。Sheseemedtoeateveryminuteshewasawake，evencarryingmangoesintothewaterwithher。Truthtotell，thatwasthemostlogicalplacetoeatmangoesotherthanabathtub；theyjustranjuice。Sincehertinybeachlaywithinthelagoon，theseawasmirrorcalmandquitefreeofcurrents，veryshallow。Allofwhichsheloved，becauseshecouldn’tswimastroke。Butinwatersosaltyitseemedalmosttoholdherup，shebegantoexperiment；whenshecouldfloatfortensecondsatatimeshewasdelighted。Thesensationofbeingfreedfromthepulloftheearthmadeherlongtobeabletomoveaseasilyasafish。
Soifshemournedherlackofcompany，itwasonlybecauseshewouldhavelikedtohavesomeonetoteachhertoswim。Otherthanthat，beingonherownwaswonderful。HowrightAnnehadbeen！Allherlifetherehadbeenpeopleinthehouse。Tohavenoonewassucharelief，soutterlypeaceful。Shewasn’tlonelyatall；shedidn’tmissAnneorLuddieorJustineorLuke，andforthefirsttimeinthreeyearsshedidn’tyearnforDrogheda。OldRobneverdisturbedhersolitude，justchuggedfarenoughdowntheroadeachsunsettomakesureherfriendlywavefromtheverandawasn’tasignalofdistress，turnedthecarandputteredoffagain，hissurprisinglyprettyMissusgrimlyridingshotgun。Oncehephonedhertosayhewastakingtheothercoupleinresidenceoutinhisglass-bottomedboat，andwouldsheliketocomealong？Itwaslikehavingaticketofadmissiontoawholenewplanet，peeringthroughtheglassdownintothatteeming，exquisitelyfragileworld，wheredelicateformswerebuoyedandbolsteredbythelovingintimacyofwater。Livecoral，shediscovered，wasn’tgarishlyhuedfromdyesthewayitwasinthesouvenircounterofthestore。Itwassoftpinkorbeigeorblue-grey，andaroundeveryknobandbranchwaveredamarvelousrainbowofcolor，likeavisibleaura。Greatanemonestwelveincheswideflutteredfringesofblueorredororangeorpurpletentacles；whiteflutedclamsasbigasrocksbeckonedunwaryexplorerstotakealookinsidewithtantalizingglimpsesofcolorful，restlessthingsthroughfeatherylips；redlacefansswayedinwaterwinds；bright-greenribbonsofweeddancedlooseanddrifting。Notoneofthefourintheboatwouldhavebeenintheleastsurprisedtoseeamermaid:agleamofpolishedbreast，atwistingglitteroftail，lazilyspinningcloudsofhair，analluringsmiletauntingthesiren’sspelltosailors。Butthefish！Likelivingjewelstheydartedinthousandsuponthousands，roundlikeChineselanterns，slenderlikebullets，raimentedincolorswhichglowedwithlifeandthelight-splittingqualitywaterimparts，someonfirewithscalesofgoldandscarlet，somecoolandsilveryblue，someswimmingragbagsgaudierthanparrots。Therewereneedle-nosedgarfish，pug-nosedtoadfish，fangedbarracuda，acavernous-mawedgrouperlurkinghalfseeninagrotto，andonceasleekgreynursesharkwhichseemedtotakeforevertopasssilentlybeneaththem。
\"Butdon’tworry，\"saidRob。\"We’retoofarsouthhereforseawasps，soifanythingontheReefisgoingtokillyou，it’smostlikelytobeastonefish。Nevergowalkingonthecoralwithoutyourshoes。\"