Page 113 of The Missing Sister

‘If you’d said that to the ancient Greeks, Mary, they’d have you left on the top of Mount Olympus as a sacrifice to their gods.’

‘Ambrose, please, this isn’t a laughing matter.’

‘Forgive me, Mary. Do continue. I am sure there must be a method behind the madness of these events.’

‘Well, when I heard that they were going to fly over to Norfolk Island, I spoke with Bridget about it, given she knew all about my past, and she agreed that I should leave earlier so I didn’t have to meet them. I flew to Canada, which was to be the next stop on my tour, but on my first day in Toronto, I got calls and messages from the concierge saying that two women were coming to see me. When they arrived in reception, I asked the concierge what they looked like and he told me that they were in Muslim dress.’

‘So they are not the same two women who followed you to Norfolk Island, then?’

‘No. From what I briefly saw of them, they were dark-skinned, and even though I told the concierge to tell them I was out, they simply sat there and waited in the lobby. In the end, I couldn’t bear it any longer, so I came down to take a look at them for myself. One of them must have recognised me, because she called my name after she’d spotted me, as I was running for the lift. Thank God it closed before she could get to me. She also left me a letter that told the same story as the girls who had visited Mary-Kate. I was so frightened that I decided to fly straight to London.’

‘Curiouser and curiouser,’ said Ambrose as I took a breath and a sip of my tea.

‘By chance, I bumped into what seemed like a very nice man in reception on my arrival at the hotel. He asked me whether I’d be interested in giving him an interview about the vineyard that myself and my husband built up and ran, as he was a wine journalist. He invited me to the suite of his friend, who introduced herself as Lady Sabrina. They really couldn’t have seemed more above board. But then’ – I took a sip of my tea – ‘as this man Orlando was interviewing me, I noticed the woman was staring at my ring. Once the interview was over, she asked me about it. She said the seven points looked very unusual and then the man mentioned the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades, and the missing sister...’ I shook my head despairingly. ‘At that point, I stood up and left. And then the next day, I noticed that Orlando was tailing me when I went to Clerkenwell to look up the records of marriages and deaths. They’d invited me to dinner that evening, but I cancelled, and lay in my room that night, completely sleepless, watching the hours pass by. The next morning, thinking I’d slip out early, I saw the man was already reading a newspaper in the lobby by the front entrance. In the end, I had my baggage taken downstairs and stored by a porter. I had to wait for this Orlando to leave for the lavatory before I could slip out. And here I am! I...’

I put a hand to my brow, embarrassed that I felt like sobbing at his knee, as I’d sometimes done as a child when things had seemed too much. ‘I’m so exhausted, Ambrose, really I am. They’re after me again, I know they are.’

‘Who are “they”?’

‘Some very ugly, violent people – or rather a person who knew ugly, violent people and who threatened me a long time ago. He also threatened my family and anyone I loved, including you. Which is why I...’

‘Ran away,’ finished Ambrose.

‘Yes. Do you have a tissue by any chance?’

‘Here, Mary, dry your eyes.’ He handed me his handkerchief, and it smelt so very much of my childhood with him that it brought more tears to my eyes.

‘I’m just so worried for Mary-Kate. She’s alone at the vineyard in New Zealand and knows nothing about my past. Nor does Jack, my son. He’d send them after my children, I know he would, and...’

‘Hush now,’ Ambrose said gently. ‘Obviously I know little of the past scenario you are talking about, but—’

‘The missing sister was what he always called me! Back then, when... oh,’ I said, feeling totally out of words to describe the complexity of what had happened.

‘So now, I presume you are talking about someone I knew of when you were living here with me?’

‘Yes. I am, but please don’t say his name. I can’t bear to hear it. He’s found me, Ambrose, I know he has.’

I watched as Ambrose steepled his fingers under his chin and stared at me for what felt like a very long time. A gamut of emotions that I couldn’t easily read crossed his features. Eventually, he gave a long sigh.

‘I understand, Mary dear, and I just might be able to allay your fears somewhat. But I’m afraid you will need to excuse me. My one nod to my age is to take a short nap in the afternoons. And rather than doze – or even worse – snore loudly within your hearing, would you mind if I retired to my bedroom for an hour or two? Your sudden appearance seems to have rather taken it out of me.’

‘Oh Ambrose, of course not. I’ll leave and come back later. I’m so sorry, really I am. After all these years, I hadn’t expected our first meeting to be like this.’

‘Please do not apologise, Mary dear. Just accept that I am not as young as I used to be.’ Ambrose offered me a weak smile as he stood up and we walked along the narrow corridor towards the back of his maisonette. ‘Please feel free to stay here. As you well know, there’s a plethora of books at your disposal. If you wish to go out, the key is where it always was: in the Copenhagen Blue china pot on the table in the corridor.’

‘Do you need any help?’ I asked as he began to descend the steps to the basement, which housed two bedrooms and a bathroom.

‘I seem to have managed quite well in the years since you left, and I hope to manage a few more in the same vein. I will see you at half past four, Mary, but... please be assured, I believe you are quite safe.’

As he disappeared from view, I decided that perhaps I too would go back to the hotel for a nap.

Taking the key, I left the maisonette and walked the few hundred yards round the corner, breathing in the familiarity of the atmosphere and the voices I could hear around me. This city had provided the backdrop to some of the happiest moments of my life, before it had gone so badly wrong.

Stepping inside the hotel, I went to the desk to retrieve my key.

‘There you are, Mrs McDougal,’ said the receptionist as he handed it to me. ‘Oh, and there’s someone waiting for you in the lobby.’

My heart started to thud so fast that I thought I might faint where I stood. I hung on to the desk for support and bowed my head, trying to get my breath back.