Page 25 of Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt

‘I dare say they are, aren’t they, old man?’ Mouse’s voice boomed from the salon, and he emerged, holding Star’s hand.

‘Morning, Star! Morning, Daddy!’

‘Hello, Rory. Morning, everyone.’ Star gave a little wave to the table. ‘I ran into Mary-Kate on the way up. She said that she and Jack are going to go in and see their mum – and to go ahead and start breakfast without them,’ she informed the table.

‘Of course. Are you nervous, Star?’ asked Maia.

‘Yes. To tell you the truth, my tummy’s been doing somersaults all morning. Obviously, the last time we spoke I was “in character” executing Orlando’s stupid scheme. I feel awful about the whole thing.’

‘Seriously, Star, don’t worry. When I met Merry in Dublin, she gave the impression all was forgiven,’ Tiggy reassured her.

‘I’m sure it is,’ added Maia, taking Star’s hand. ‘This is a big moment.’ She looked around the table. ‘The six sisters are about to become seven.’

Even though I’d only slept for six hours, it was deep and restorative. In the Gibbston Valley, where our house sat in the middle of vast vineyards, the nights were entirely silent. The only downside to the peace was that it often meant I slept terribly when I wasn’t in my own bed. In hotels, I’d found that even the slightest footstep in the corridor outside was enough to bring me round. But aboard theTitan, I’d easily sunk into a heavy slumber. In fact, it only dawned on me once I had rolled out of bed and approached the cabin window that we were in transit. Not even the engines had disturbed me. I unlatched the glass circlet from the porthole and stretched it out as far as it would allow – at least ten centimetres. I breathed in the warm, salty air coming off the Mediterranean Sea, and it served to further invigorate me. After Jock had died, I had promised myself an adventure and, well, I was certainly having one. No, it wasn’t quite the world tour I had imagined, but here I was on a superyacht on a quest to discover my true heritage. Yes, today was going to be... unpredictable, but my chat with Miles, combined with a good few hours’ rest, meant that I was feeling altogether more positive.

I picked up my phone from the bedside table and found two texts, one from Jack and one from Mary-Kate. Both had asked me to let them know when I was awake. I replied, telling them that they’d be welcome in half an hour after I’d hopped in the shower.

After a wash and a shampoo, I salvaged a clean linen dress from my suitcase and dug out a hairdryer. Staring at myself in the mirror, I thought of the charcoal drawing that Georg had shown me last night. There was no denying it, the woman in the portrait could have been me. I wondered what my birth mother’s story was, and what had motivated her to leave me on Father O’Brien’s doorstep all those years ago. I simply couldn’t imagine what possible situation could ever have driven me to do that to Jack or MK. A shiver ran down my spine at the thought.

A few minutes after I’d shut off the hairdryer, there was a familiar knock at the door – the same knock that had rapped on my bedroom door more than a quarter of a century ago when my son had had a nightmare, and wanted to join Jock and me in the bed.

‘Come in, Jack,’ I called. The door opened, and his wavy blond hair, piercing blue eyes and effortlessly cheerful face appeared.

‘Hello, Mum! Welcome aboard the good shipTitan!’ he beamed.

‘Mum! You made it! It’s so good to see you!’ Mary-Kate followed in behind, adorned in a bikini and kaftan.

I embraced them simultaneously, and held them both for a long time. Even though we were floating in the middle of a vast sea in another hemisphere, in that moment, I was home again.

‘I’m happy to see you too, Mary-Kate. You have no idea. Here, come and sit down.’ I gestured to the two armchairsthat were positioned on either side of the coffee table, and perched myself on the end of the bed.

‘So, Mum... what changed your mind? Ally told us that Georg rushed off the boat last night to go and kidnap you. Assuming he didn’t actually bundle you into a burlap sack, what did he say to you to get you here?’

‘It was my old friend Ambrose, really. You know how much I trust him. He’s known me for longer than anyone else alive. He told me I should come. And I listened.’

‘Well, you’re like a celebrity on board. Even more so than theactualcelebrity. Do you even know about Electra, Mum? She’s only one of the biggest stars on the planet right now. She did this speech at the Concert for Africa right after Obama, and—’

‘Yes, yes, I might’ve read something about that back in NZ.’ I turned to my son. ‘And how’s young Ally, Jack?’

‘Oh, yeah. She’s good.’

I held his gaze.

‘Well, yeah, she, uh, has a baby.’

‘I heard a little whisper about that from Georg earlier on,’ I said. ‘And how do you feel about it? It’s a little odd she wouldn’t say anything.’

‘The baby’s not a problem. He’s a lovely little fella, his name’s Bear.’

Mary-Kate nudged Jack in the arm. ‘She’s definitely single, though, Mum. You should see the two of them together. It’s adorable!’

‘Ah, come on, MK. She only lost Bear’s dad a year ago. If I had to guess, she didn’t tell me about her baby because she didn’t want to hurt my feelings, that’s all. I’ll survive. Anyway, I’m hardly the main event here, Mum! Are you ready to come andmeet the family?’

I inhaled deeply. ‘You know, there’s actually a couple ofthings I’ve recently come to learn that I’d like to talk to you about. Particularly before all these grand introductions.’

Sensing my trepidation, Mary-Kate rose and sat next to me on the bed, putting her hand on mine. ‘Of course, Mum.’

I walked over to my handbag, and produced Atlas’s letter, alongside the charcoal drawing.