Page 218 of The Missing Sister

‘And I found mine and lost him.’

‘I know... but at least you have Bear.’

‘I do, and you know what’s odd? I feel ashamed to tell you this, but... for some reason, even though I told Jack about losing Theo, I didn’t say that I’d had his baby.’

‘Right. Do you think maybe that’s because – subconsciously, of course – you were worried that he might be put off by it?’

‘Yup, and how awful is that?’ Ally sighed.

‘Not awful at all. It just meant that youdidlike him, that there was a connection.’

‘Maybe there was. I’ve definitely thought about him a lot since, which makes me feel even more guilty, like I’m betraying Theo as well.’

‘From everything you’ve said about him, Ally, I’m sure that Theo would want you to be happy. What happened was so terrible, but for both you and Bear, at some point you must take the decision to live again. Please, don’t do what I did and make the mistake of shutting yourself and your heart off from love. I wasted years because of Zed, although I’m glad that I was here for Pa, at least.’

‘Yes. It meant we could all go off and live our lives, knowing you were at Atlantis with him.’

‘Ally?’

‘Yes?’

‘You would like it if the McDougals came on the cruise, wouldn’t you?’

‘Yes, though Jack will probably never speak to me again after he’s found out I didn’t come clean about who I was.’

‘He’s probably guessed already, after speaking to Tiggy,’ Maia pointed out.

‘Maybe,’ Ally sighed. ‘Anyway, I don’t want to talk about it, to be honest.’

‘Okay, I understand. I just wish that Georg were here to tell us which of the two Marys she is. It’s just bad luck he isn’t available to ask.’

‘Well, he isn’t, and you also have to remember that we’re not in control of this situation – Mary-Kate and her mum are. Now, I’m going upstairs to try to get some sleep before my usual early morning call,’ said Ally. ‘Coming?’

‘I’ll be up in a minute.’

‘Okay, night, Maia.’

Maia sat there a little longer, thinking of Floriano arriving tomorrow and how exactly she would tell him he was going to be a father again.

And where...

The thought carried her along the softly lit path to Pa’s garden. She went and sat on the bench in front of the armillary sphere, and took a deep breath of the still warm summer air, scented with the roses that grew on the arbour all around her.

‘Maybe here,’ she whispered to herself. Standing up, she walked towards the sphere. Uplighters had been placed around its edges since she’d last been here, which meant it glowed against the darkness of the garden. She ran her fingers over the bands, then she stopped and leant down to see her own inscription.

‘Never let fear decide your destiny...Oh Pa, you were so right,’ she whispered. She was just about to walk away when something odd caught her eye. Leaning down again, she checked the name on the band and what was below it and gasped.

‘Mon Dieu!’

Without pausing, Maia turned tail, ran as fast as she could into the house, then raced up the stairs to the attic floor.

‘Ally! Are you asleep?’ she panted as she knocked on her sister’s bedroom door, then opened it.

‘Nearly...’

‘Sorry, Ally, but this is important.’

‘Shhh... don’t wake Bear. Let’s go outside,’ Ally whispered, collecting her hoody from the back of the door. ‘What is it?’