The Missing Sister Read online

  ‘I’m okay, I just didn’t sleep very well last night thinking about Georg’s bombshell.’

  ‘Yes, it certainly was that. Coffee?’ Ma asked her.

  ‘Uh, no thanks. I’ll have some chamomile tea if there is any.’

  ‘There is, of course,’ interjected Claudia. Her grey hair was pulled back tightly into a customary bun, and her usually dour face had a smile for Maia as she placed a basket of her freshly made rolls and pastries on the kitchen table. ‘I take it before bed every night.’

  ‘You must be feeling unwell, Maia. I have never known you to reject coffee first thing in the morning,’ commented Ma as she collected her own.

  ‘Habits are there to break,’ Maia said wearily. ‘I’m jet-lagged too, remember?’

  ‘Of course you are, chérie. Why don’t you eat some breakfast, then go back to bed and try to sleep?’

  ‘No, Georg said he was coming later to discuss what we do about . . . the missing sister. How reliable do you think his sources are?’

  ‘I have no idea,’ Ma sighed.

  ‘Very,’ Claudia interrupted. ‘He would not have arrived at midnight unless he was sure of his facts.’

  ‘Morning, everyone,’ said Ally as she joined the rest of the household in the kitchen. Bear was tucked up in a papoose strapped to her chest, his head lolling to one side as he dozed. One of his tiny fists was clutching a strand of Ally’s red-gold curls.

  ‘Would you like me to take him from you and put him in his cot?’ asked Ma.

  ‘No, because he’s bound to wake up and howl the minute he realises he’s alone. Oh Maia, you look pale,’ said Ally.

  ‘That is what I just said,’ Ma murmured.

  ‘Really, I’m okay,’ Maia repeated. ‘Is Christian around, by the way?’ she asked Claudia.

  ‘Yes, although he is just about to take the boat across the lake to Geneva to get some food supplies for me.’

  ‘Then could you call him and say I’ll hop on the boat with him? I have some things I need to do in the city and if we left soon, I’d be back in time to see Georg at noon.’

  ‘Of course.’ Claudia picked up the handset to dial Christian.

  Ma put a cup of coffee in front of Ally. ‘I have some chores to do, so I will leave you two to enjoy your breakfast.’

  ‘Christian will have the boat ready in fifteen minutes,’ said Claudia, putting down the handset. ‘Now, I must go and help Marina.’ She nodded at them both and left the kitchen.

  ‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ Ally asked her sister when they were alone. ‘You’re as white as a sheet.’

  ‘Please don’t fuss, Ally. Maybe I caught a stomach bug on the plane.’ Maia took a sip of tea. ‘Goodness, it’s strange here, isn’t it? I mean, the way everything carries on just as it did when Pa was alive? Except he isn’t, so there’s a gaping Pa-sized hole in everything.’

  ‘I’ve been here a while already, so I’m sort of used to it, but yes, there is.’

  ‘Talking of me looking unwell, Ally, you’ve lost a lot of weight.’

  ‘Oh, that’s just baby weight—’

  ‘No, it isn’t, not to me anyway. Remember, the last time I saw you was a year ago, when you left here to join Theo for the Fastnet Race. You weren’t even pregnant then.’

  ‘I actually was, but I didn’t know it,’ Ally pointed out.

  ‘You mean, you didn’t have any symptoms? No morning sickness or anything?’

  ‘Not at the beginning. It kicked in at around eight weeks, if I remember rightly. And then I felt truly awful.’

  ‘Well, you’re definitely too thin. Maybe you’re not looking after yourself well enough.’

  ‘When I’m by myself, it never seems worth cooking a proper meal. And besides, even if I do sit down to eat, I’m normally jumping up from the table to go and sort this little one out.’ Ally stroked Bear’s cheek affectionately.

  ‘It must be so hard bringing up a child by yourself.’

  ‘It is. I mean, I do have my brother Thom, but as he’s deputy conductor at the Bergen Philharmonic, I hardly see him, apart from Sundays. And sometimes not even then, if he’s touring abroad with the orchestra. It’s not the getting no sleep and the constant feeding and changing that bothers me; it’s just the lack of someone to talk to, especially if Bear isn’t well and I’m worried about him. So having Ma’s been wonderful; she’s a fount of knowledge on all things baby.’

  ‘She’s the ultimate grandmother,’ Maia smiled. ‘Pa would have been so happy about Bear. He really is adorable. Now, I must go upstairs to get ready.’

  As Maia stood up, Ally caught her older sister’s hand. ‘It is so good to see you. I’ve missed you so much.’

  ‘And I you.’ Maia kissed the top of Ally’s head. ‘I’ll see you later.’

  ‘Ally! Maia! Georg is here,’ Ma shouted up the main staircase at noon.

  A muffled ‘Coming!’ emanated from the top floor.

  ‘Do you remember when Pa Salt bought you an old brass megaphone for Christmas?’

  Georg smiled as he followed Ma into the kitchen and out onto the sun-filled terrace. He looked much more collected than he had the previous night, his steel-grey hair neatly brushed back and his pinstriped suit impeccable, accessorised tastefully with a small pocket square.

  ‘I do,’ Ma said, indicating for Georg to sit down under the parasol. ‘Of course, it made no difference, because the girls all had their music on full blast, or were playing instruments, or arguing with each other. It was like the Tower of Babel on the attic floor. And I adored every moment of it. Now, I have Claudia’s elderflower cordial, or a chilled bottle of your favourite Provençal rosé. Which is it to be?’

  ‘As it is such a beautiful day, and I am yet to have my first glass of summer rosé, I will choose that. Thank you, Marina. May I do the honours for both of us?’

  ‘Oh no, I shouldn’t. I have work to do this afternoon and—’

  ‘Come now, you’re French! Surely a glass of rosé will not affect you adversely. In fact, I insist,’ said Georg, as Maia and Ally walked out onto the terrace to join them. ‘Hello, girls.’ Georg stood up. ‘May I offer you both a glass of rosé?’

  ‘I’ll have a small glass, thank you, Georg,’ said Ally, sitting down. ‘Maybe it will help Bear sleep tonight,’ she chuckled.

  ‘None for me, thanks,’ said Maia. ‘You know, I’d almost forgotten how beautiful it is at Atlantis. In Brazil, everything is so . . . big: the noisy people, the vibrant colours of nature and the strong heat. Everything here feels comparatively soft and gentle.’

  ‘It’s certainly very peaceful,’ said Ma. ‘We are blessed to live in all the beauty that nature can provide.’

  ‘How I’ve missed the winter snow,’ murmured Maia.

  ‘You should come to Norway for a winter; that will cure you,’ smiled Ally. ‘Or even worse, you’ll get constant rain. Bergen gets far more of that than it does snow. Now, Georg, have you had any thoughts on what you told us last night?’

  ‘Other than discussing where we go from here, no. One of us must visit the address I have, to verify if this woman is the missing sister.’

  ‘If we do, how will we know whether she is or isn’t?’ asked Maia. ‘Is there anything that we can identify her by?’

  ‘I was handed a drawing of a . . . certain piece of jewellery, a ring that was apparently given to her. It is very unusual. If she has it, we will know without a doubt it is her. I have brought the drawing with me.’ Georg reached into his slim leather briefcase to pull out a sheet of paper. He placed it on the table for them all to see.

  Ally inspected it closely, with Maia looking over her shoulder.

  ‘It is drawn from memory,’ Georg explained. ‘The gems in the setting are emeralds. The central stone is a diamond.’

  ‘It’s beautiful,’ said Ally. ‘Look, Maia, it’s arranged in a star shape, with’ – she paused to count – ‘seven points.’

  ‘Georg, do you know who originally made it?’ Maia chimed in. ‘It’s
a very unusual design.’

  ‘I am afraid I do not,’ Georg replied.

  ‘Did Pa draw this?’ Maia asked.

  ‘He did, yes.’

  ‘Seven points of a star for seven sisters . . .’ Ally murmured.

  ‘Georg, you said last night that her name was Mary,’ said Maia.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Did Pa Salt find her, want to adopt her and then something happened and he lost her?’

  ‘All I can say is that just before he . . . passed away, he was given some new information, which he asked me to follow up. Having discovered where she was born, it has taken me and others almost a year to trace where I believe she is now. Over the years I have taken many a false turn, and it has led to nothing. However, this time, your father was adamant his source was reliable.’

  ‘Who was his source?’ Maia asked.

  ‘He did not say,’ Georg replied.

  ‘If it is the missing sister, it’s a terrible shame that, after all these years of searching for her, she’s found only a year after Pa’s death,’ Maia sighed.

  ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful if it was her,’ said Ally, ‘and we could bring her back to Atlantis in time to board the Titan and go and lay the wreath?’

  ‘It would,’ Maia smiled. ‘Although there is one big problem. According to your information, Georg, “Mary” hardly lives next door. And we leave for our cruise down to Greece in less than three weeks.’

  ‘Yes, and sadly, I have a very busy schedule at present,’ said Georg. ‘Otherwise, I would go to find Mary myself.’

  As if to underline the point, Georg’s mobile rang. He excused himself and left the table.

  ‘May I suggest something?’ Ma spoke into the silence.

  ‘Of course, Ma, go ahead,’ said Maia.

  ‘Given that Georg told us last night that Mary currently lives in New Zealand, I made some enquiries this morning to see how far it was to travel between Sydney and Auckland. Because—’

  ‘CeCe is in Australia,’ Maia finished for her. ‘I thought about that last night too.’

  ‘It is a three-hour flight from Sydney to Auckland,’ Ma continued. ‘If CeCe and her friend Chrissie left a day earlier than they are planning to, maybe they could take a detour to New Zealand to see if this Mary is who Georg thinks she is.’

  ‘That’s a great idea, Ma,’ Ally said. ‘I wonder if CeCe would do it. I know she hates flying.’

  ‘If we explain, I’m sure she would,’ said Ma. ‘It would be so special to unite the missing sister with the family for your father’s memorial.’

  ‘The question is, does this Mary even know about Pa Salt and our family?’ Ally asked. ‘It’s not often these days that all us sisters are gathered together,’ she mused. ‘It seems to me like the perfect moment – that is, if she is who Georg believes her to be. And if she’s willing to meet us, of course. Now, I think the first thing to do is to contact CeCe, sooner rather than later, as it’s already the evening in Australia.’

  ‘What do we do about the rest of the sisters?’ asked Maia. ‘I mean, do we tell them?’

  ‘Good point,’ said Ally. ‘We should email Star, Tiggy and Electra to let them know what’s happening. Do you want to call CeCe, Maia, or shall I?’

  ‘Why don’t you do it, Ally? I think that, if it’s okay with everyone, I’ll go and have a lie-down before lunch. I’m still feeling a bit queasy.’

  ‘You poor darling,’ said Ma, standing up. ‘You definitely look a little green.’

  ‘I’ll come inside with you and make the call to CeCe,’ said Ally. ‘Let’s just hope she isn’t on one of her painting trips in the Outback with her grandfather. There’s apparently no signal at all at his cabin.’

  Claudia appeared on the terrace from the kitchen. ‘I will start preparing lunch.’ She turned to Georg who had walked back to the table. ‘Would you like to stay?’

  ‘No, thank you. I have some pressing matters to attend to and must leave immediately. What has been decided?’ he asked Ma.

  As Ally and Maia left the terrace, Ally saw that beads of sweat had appeared on Georg’s forehead and he seemed distracted.

  ‘We’re contacting CeCe to see if she will go. Georg, you are convinced that this is her?’ Ma asked.

  ‘I have been convinced by others that would know, yes,’ he replied. ‘Now, I would have liked to chat further, but I must leave you.’

  ‘I’m sure the girls can deal with this, Georg. They are grown women now, and very capable.’ She put a reassuring hand on his arm. ‘Try to relax. You seem very tense.’

  ‘I will try, Marina, I will try,’ he agreed with a sigh.

  Ally found CeCe’s Australian mobile number in her address book and picked up the receiver in the hallway to dial it.

  ‘Come on, come on . . .’ she whispered under her breath as the line rang five or six times. She knew it was pointless leaving CeCe a message as she rarely listened to them.

  ‘Damn,’ she muttered as CeCe’s voicemail kicked in. Putting the receiver down, she was about to go upstairs to feed Bear when the telephone rang.

  ‘Allô?’

  ‘Hello, is that Ma?’

  ‘CeCe! It’s me, Ally. Thanks so much for calling back.’

  ‘No problem, I saw it was the Atlantis number. Is everything okay?’

  ‘Yes, everything’s good here. Maia flew in yesterday and it’s so great to see her. When exactly is your flight to London, CeCe?’

  ‘We leave the Alice the day after tomorrow to head for Sydney. I think I told you we’re stopping over in London first for a few days, to sort out selling my apartment and to see Star. I’m dreading the flight, as usual.’

  ‘I know, but listen, CeCe, Georg has brought some news. Don’t worry, it isn’t bad, but it’s big news – or at least, it might be.’

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘He’s had some information about . . . our missing sister. He thinks that she might be living in New Zealand.’

  ‘You mean, the famous seventh sister? Wow!’ CeCe breathed. ‘That is news. How did Georg find her?’

  ‘I’m not sure. You know how cagey he is. So—’

  ‘You’re going to ask me if I can just pop over to New Zealand to meet her, aren’t you?’ said CeCe.

  ‘Full marks, Sherlock.’ Ally smiled into the receiver. ‘I know it would make your journey a little longer, but you’re by far the closest to her. It would be so wonderful to have her with all of us when we lay Pa’s wreath.’

  ‘It would, yeah, but we don’t know anything about this person. Does she know anything about us?’

  ‘We’re not sure. Georg says he only has a name and address. Oh! And a picture of a ring that proves it’s her.’

  ‘So what’s the address? I mean, New Zealand’s a big country.’

  ‘I haven’t got it on me, but I can get Georg to speak to you. Georg?’ Ally beckoned him over as he emerged from the kitchen on his way to the front door. ‘It’s CeCe on the phone. She wants to know whereabouts in New Zealand Mary lives.’

  ‘Mary? Is that her name?’ said CeCe.

  ‘Apparently. I’ll pass you over to Georg.’ Ally listened in as Georg read out the address.

  ‘Thank you, CeCe,’ said Georg. ‘All costs will be covered by the trust. Giselle, my secretary, will book the flights. Now, I’m going to pass you back to your sister, as I must leave.’ As Georg handed the receiver to Ally, he added, ‘You have my office number, contact Giselle if you need anything. For now, adieu.’

  ‘Okay. Hi, CeCe,’ Ally said, giving Georg a small wave as he walked out of the front door. ‘Do you know where in New Zealand that is?’

  ‘Hold on. I’ll ask Chrissie.’

  There was a muffled discussion before CeCe came back to the phone.

  ‘Chrissie says it’s way down on the South Island. She thinks we should be able to fly to Queenstown from Sydney, which would make everything a lot easier than going to Auckland. We’ll look into it.’

  ‘Great. So, are you up for
it?’ Ally asked.

  ‘You know me, I love a bit of travel and adventure, even when it involves planes. I’ve never been to New Zealand, so it’ll be fun to get a glimpse of it.’

  ‘Brilliant! Thanks, CeCe. If it’s easier, email me the details and I’ll call Georg’s secretary about booking the flights. I’ll fax a picture of the ring to you too.’

  ‘Okay. Does Star know about this?’

  ‘No, and nor do Electra or Tiggy. I’m going to email them all now.’

  ‘Actually, Star’s calling me in a bit to talk about meeting up in London, so I can fill her in. This is really exciting, isn’t it?’

  ‘It will be if it’s actually her. Bye for now, CeCe. Keep in touch.’

  ‘Bye, Ally, speak soon!’

  ‘Cee, you’re holding the map upside down!’ Chrissie said as she glanced over to the passenger seat.

  ‘I am not . . . oh, maybe I am.’ CeCe frowned. ‘The words look the same to me either way, and as for the road squiggles . . . Jesus, when did we last see a signpost?’

  ‘A while back. Wow, isn’t this scenery spectacular?’ Chrissie breathed as she pulled the hire car onto a verge and peered out at the majestic dark green mountains that unfolded under a ponderous cloudy sky. She reached to turn up the heating as raindrops began to splash onto the windscreen.

  ‘Yup, I’m completely lost.’ CeCe handed the map to Chrissie and looked in front and behind her at the empty road. ‘It’s ages since we left Queenstown. We should have stocked up on supplies when we were there, but I thought there would be other places along the way.’

  ‘Right, according to the directions we printed off, we should come to a sign for The Vinery very soon. I guess we just have to keep going and hopefully find someone who can point us to it.’ Chrissie tucked a lock of black curly hair back from her face and gave CeCe a weary smile. Their journey had involved stopovers in Melbourne and Christchurch, and they were both hungry and tired.

  ‘There’s hardly been a car for miles,’ CeCe shrugged.

  ‘Come on, Cee. Where’s your spirit of adventure gone?’

  ‘I dunno. Maybe I’ve gone soft in my old age and prefer home to sitting in a car completely lost, whilst it pisses down with rain. I’m actually cold!’