Page 29 of Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt

Almost comically, the entire table turned to look at the man sat at the head.

‘Rory! Come along, old boy. I think you promised to take me up to have a look at the bridge, didn’t you?’ Mouse interjected tactfully. ‘Would you like to come too, Valentina? I’m sure that if we’re very nice, Captain Hans might let us have a go at steering.’ The two children were blissfully unaware of the uneasy atmosphere that had rapidly developed, and bounced off behind Mouse, who I assumed must have been very happy to get away from the table himself.

‘Please continue, CeCe. What do you mean, “hiding something”?’ Georg eventually replied.

‘What do you think I mean, Georg? You have coordinates carved into Pa’s armillary sphere without our knowledge. They’ve been there for ages, apparently. Next, you go missing in action for the last few weeks, just as soon as you’ve got us all running around the globe trying to locate the missing sister. We’ve heard from Maia and Ally about your mysterious phone calls, too. Then, yesterday, you practically sprint off theTitanfor Dublin to go and drag poor Merry on board a boat which she’s already made clear she doesn’t wish to be on!’ A stunned silence followed.

Mary-Kate put a reassuring hand on my knee as we waited for Georg’s response.

‘My goodness. Thank you for your honesty, CeCe. Is this how you all feel? That I am in some way withholding information from you?’

‘Oh, please, Georg. You’re always withholding information from us,’ Electra joined in. ‘Pa’s death, for one thing. You made sure not to tell us until after he’d had his private funeral. Then there’s the armillary sphere, the coordinates, the letters from Pa. You’ve always known more than we do, even though we’re supposed to be his daughters. We’ve just accepted it.’

Marina – Ma – spoke next. ‘Chérie, please. Do not be angry at Georg. I have never known an individual so dedicated totheir profession, and so loyal to one person. Believe me, he has grown to love each of you as much as I myself do.’

‘Thank you, Marina. But it’s all right. I quite understand the frustration,’ Georg sighed.

‘Georg, please don’t feel that you have to justify yourself in any way,’ Ally said calmly. ‘This is such an emotional time for us all, and we really must do our best to honour Pa by behaving as he would want us to. Particularly given the fact that we are joined by our missing sister.’ She gestured to me, and I tried to give her my best sympathetic smile. The truth was, though, that the butterflies in my stomach had begun to flap.

‘I’m sorry, Ally. I don’t mean to sound frustrated. It’s just that, sometimes, I feel like we’re three steps behind everyone else. And he wasourdad, you know?’ CeCe said.

‘I understand, Cee. Maybe we can discuss this later?’ Ally replied.

‘Yes, of course. I apologise, everyone. All I meant was that it’s wonderful to have you here, Merry. In a way we’ve grown up with you our entire lives. You were a story. A fairy tale. And yet here you are.’

‘Yes. And this entire time, I didn’t know I was even missing!’ I desperately tried to lighten the heavy atmosphere.

‘I suppose I just wanted to know how you wentmissingin the first place,’ CeCe continued. Clearly she was a dog with a bone. ‘That’s what I was referring to when I said Georg was keeping something from us. I think he knows exactly how you went missing. And maybe, Merry, he told you last night. Which is why you’ve decided to come. I’m just upset that he wouldn’t tell us, too.’ CeCe looked genuinely deflated.

‘CeCe! What are you doing? Please,’ Star said to her sister. ‘I’m so sorry, Merry.’

‘Gosh,’ I said calmly. ‘Well, I can quite understand whyyou might be upset, CeCe. But I can promise you that Georg most certainly didn’t tell me how I came to be “the missing sister”. I also, most assuredly, do not know the answer to that myself.’ I looked to Georg for help.

‘Girls,’ he began, ‘your father was my client. Please know that I have never, and would never,personallykeep information from you.’ He sighed again, deeply. ‘It is true, however, that I have, at times, been responsible for following strict instructions outlined by your pa before his death. For example, it was very important to him that you should all have the choice about whether or not you wished to discover the truth about your birth families. So, whilst it is correct that I knew of your heritage, for example, the information was not for me to divulge. As Ma says, I love each of you very much.’

I glanced over at poor Charlie Kinnaird. He looked as if he wanted the ground to swallow him up. I felt for him. He wasn’t amongst the British now, who would rather throw themselves overboard than suffer any confrontation as a result of stating their true feelings about anything. The awkwardness didn’t seem to be shared by Floriano or Miles, who were both absorbed by the exchange, as if they were watching a play.

Georg continued. ‘You must believe me when I tell you this: whatever secrets your father kept in his life were kept in service of protecting you.’

‘Protection? What do we need protecting from?’ Star asked.

‘It’s all right, Star,’ soothed Maia. ‘I think what Georg is trying to say is that Pa wanted to make sure we were all looked after once he had gone.’

‘Yes,’ continued Georg. ‘But also during his time on earth. There are reasons why you knew him so well as a father, but little about his life outside of Atlantis.’ I noticed Ma shooting Georg a look, her eyes wide with angst.

‘What are you saying, Georg?’ asked Maia.

Georg shook his head, accepting that whatever freight train was currently running down the tracks, it was too late to slam the brakes. ‘I am saying that nobody was closer to Pa Salt than you, his six daughters. You saw his kindness, his warmth, his passion for humanity... and his love of life. You yourselves are products of it.’

‘Carry on,’ CeCe urged.

‘Nonetheless, your childhoods were unusual. I know that most of you have noted that it is, quite frankly, odd that your pa sought to adopt six girls from different corners of the globe. Similarly, perhaps you wonder why he took no wife, despite being a superb prospect – kind, handsome and financially secure. The reasons for these things, they have never been fully explained to you. For your safety.’

‘Georg, we don’t understand. Please stop speaking in riddles,’ Ally stated firmly.

‘There is cause behind everything in life, girls. I am merely trying to explain that if you feel your upbringing, or any of my behaviour following your father’s death has been unusual, there is logic behind it.’

The feeling around the table had shifted from tense to uneasy. I didn’t know what path Georg was heading down, but I suspected that soon enough I’d have a part to play.