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‘What do you mean?’
Ask Pierre.The words still rung in Olivia’s ears. Pierre said he’d had some concerning news. Did all this have something to do with why Aaron wasn’t on the boat?
Olivia shook her head. ‘I’m sorry. I’m just feeling shaken up.’
‘Understandable. I think we all need to get some sleep. Hopefully now you can rest easy.’
‘Yeah.’
‘And then tomorrow night, we get to camp on the snow! That’s going to be so cool. My parents won’tbelieve me when I tell them. Have you heard any more from Aaron?’
Olivia shook her head. ‘I’m not even sure if my emails are getting through. I haven’t had a reply from anyone.’
‘At least you know Aaron is OK. I’m weirdly enjoying being cut off. I can’t send any drunk texts at least. Kinda feels like we’re the only ones in the world. Just us and the penguins.’
And a potential killer, Olivia thought, remembering the couple in cabin sixteen. But Sergei was locked up. The danger contained.
She had to believe that.
30
For once, cabin twelve slept in. By the time they woke up, they were moored in Neko Harbour, an enormous bay shaped like a whale’s tail and surrounded on all sides by towering glaciers.
Now that Sergei was locked up, Olivia was determined to enjoy the rest of the cruise. She double-checked the engagement ring was locked inside the safe in their wardrobe.
Looking at it now, stunning as it was, she didn’t know what her answer would be if Aaron did go ahead and propose when they got back. There were so many questions she had for him, not only brought up by his absence, but also by the conversations she’d had on board – with Maxwell, with Lucinda, with Stefan. Even the one with Sergei. Pierre was clearly more than just Yennin’s first major buyer. There had to be a reason Sergei had brought him up, a reason why he would say the billionaire was in Ushuaia.
The kayakers were called to meet down in the mudroom. When she and Janine arrived, Liam was busy preparing the life jackets. She hadn’t seen him since the captain’s office, and when she caught his eye, he looked away.
‘Can you help me with my drysuit?’ Janine asked. Dark roots were beginning to show in her dyed-copper hair, and with her eyes wide she looked even younger than her early-twenties age.
She turned around to allow Olivia to do up the zip in the back, then she helped hoist the PFD – personal flotation device – on to her back.
Olivia waited a beat. ‘I’m glad you’re trying this again.’
‘I’ll be better in the kayak this time. Maybe we can go together?’
She was about to say ‘of course!’ when Melissa stepped in. ‘I’m afraid not. You’ll be in my boat. Olivia here will be in one of the solo kayaks. If you’re OK with that?’
‘Really?’
‘From what I saw last time, you’ll have no issues.’
Olivia smiled. Her old skills hadn’t deserted her. Melissa trusted her with her own boat. If that wasn’t a vote of confidence, she didn’t know what was.
‘Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you see all the cool stuff first,’ Melissa said to Janine. ‘And if you have another panic attack, I can get you straight to the Zodiac and you can go ashore with the rest of the passengers.’
Eventually Janine nodded. Decision taken, they made their way to the door, where Liam was pulling up the kayaks one by one. She settled into the seat of her solo kayak, making sure her camera was easily accessible.
Once everyone was in the water, Liam took the lead with a few powerful strokes. Olivia decided to show what she could do too, slicing the blade of the paddle into the water, pulling strongly so the front of her kayak shot forward, leaving Melissa and Janine’s kayak in her wake. She loved the feeling of her bright yellow vessel skimming across the water, like she was more sea creature than human.
Neko Harbour was the picture-postcard view of Antarctica. The weather was perfect – the sun high andbright in the sky, the snow glittering under its rays, the pale glacial cliffs cracking to reveal hints of deep blue from within. A phrase from one of her dad’s books sprang to mind – ‘many glaciers beryl bluemost beautifulcontrasted with snow’ – and she knew exactly what Darwin had been talking about.
The water was mirror-still; it was almost a travesty to be disturbing the surface with their boats and paddles. With the sun beating down on her face, she didn’t even feel cold – and the air filling her lungs with every breath had never felt so pure.
She passed Cutler and Ingrid, their children together in another boat, then Robert who was steering a double kayak with Helena in front this time. She had a fancy mount for her smartphone that kept it steady as they were paddling. Lucinda was in a boat with Maxwell, and she kept glancing over at Melissa and Janine, frowning. Maybe she was anxious Janine would cause a capsize.
Liam guided them close to the granite-grey shore, where the basalt cliffs were bare of ice. They saw Wilson’s storm petrels perched against the rock, their bright yellow feet breaking up the monochrome of the surface, little slivers of silver fish in their beaks – a tasty breakfast.