Page 167 of The Missing Sister

‘Please say hi to her from me and Chrissie,’ said CeCe.

‘You’re the one with the instincts, Tiggy. Do you think we’ve found the missing sister?’ came Ally’s voice.

‘Definitely, but...’

‘What?’ said all three sisters at the other end of the line.

‘I need to think about something. I’ll tell you once I have. Her son Jack is also lovely.’

‘Hey, he’s not adopted too, is he?’ CeCe chuckled. ‘Wouldn’t it be weird if the missing sister was a guy?’

‘Merry certainly didn’t say he was. He talked a lot about you, Ally.’

‘Did he?’

‘Yes.’

‘I bet he was cursing me, because now he knows I lied to get information out of him,’ Ally sighed.

‘He didn’t do that at all, I promise you. When we went to see theBook of Kellstogether this afternoon, he said he wished that you could have seen it too.’

‘Oh, come on, Tiggy, he must hate me,’ Ally persisted.

‘He may feel many things about you, Ally, but hate is definitely not one of them.’

‘Anyway, well done, Tiggy. I’m so glad you’ve been able to reassure her,’ said Maia. ‘Do you think it’s possible that Mary-Kate might be able to fly over from Dublin to join us on our cruise?’

‘Let’s wait and see, shall we? If it’s meant to be, then—’

‘It’s meant to be,’ chorused her sisters.

‘Even though my instincts tell me that we’re completely on the right track, do you think you could contact Georg to say I’ve found Merry and the ring? I’d really like to speak to him about something.’

‘I’m afraid Georg is away,’ said Ally. ‘I’ve already tried to reach him, but his secretary told me he won’t be back until the boat trip.’

‘Oh dear, that makes things more difficult,’ said Tiggy. ‘I mean, it’s all very well us trusting him and his information, but others might not. All we have is the ring.’

‘When I discovered my ancestors, apart from the likeness to my great-grandmother Bel in a painting, it was a piece of jewellery – my moonstone – that convinced me that I genuinely was her great-granddaughter,’ Maia interjected. ‘Maybe it’s the same with the ring.’

‘I know, but we don’t have a painting and there’s no one on earth that can actually confirm that Mary-Kate is who we think she is, is there?’

‘Unless she finds out who her birth parents were,’ put in Ally.

‘True,’ Tiggy agreed, ‘which is why I could do with some help from Georg to find out if he knows any other details. Please, try contacting him again for me, if you want me to convince Mary-Kate and her family to come with us on the cruise.’

‘You’re saying that Merry and Jack should come too?’

‘I think they should all be there,’ Tiggy said firmly. ‘Right, I’ll keep in touch if there’s any news. I’ll have to go with my intuition on this one.’

‘Do you ever live any other way?’ Ally smiled. ‘It would be so amazing if we could have her with us.’

‘I’ll do my best, promise. Bye, everyone.’

Tiggy ended the call and then dialled Charlie on his mobile. These days, he was spending much less time at the hospital in Inverness, as the Kinnaird estate needed every hand to the pump. Even though he’d moved to a three-day week, if there was an emergency, he’d still get in his beaten-up Defender (Ulrika had the new Range Roverandthe family house in Inverness, negotiated in a separation agreement) to drive the two hours to the hospital. His voicemail kicked in as it usually did, and Tiggy left a message.

‘Hi, darling, I arrived safely in Ireland, and I’ve managed to meet with Merry. She’s lovely, as is her son, Jack. Anyway, her daughter’s arriving tonight, so I’ll try and get back home at some point late tomorrow. Love you, miss you, bye.’

Tiggy laid her head back on the soft hotel pillow, sighed in pleasure and wondered if there was any money in the coffers to buy some new ones for her and Charlie. They’d rented out the luxurious lodge to wealthy families for the summer and were reduced to living in the poky gatehouse where Fraser had once lived. Not that she minded – but every penny that came in from the guests was going towards planting saplings, fencing and the re-stocking of indigenous wildlife, such as the European elk she and Charlie’s daughter Zara had their hearts set on.