Page 88 of The Missing Sister

‘Yes. We’ve just lied our way into meeting her and it’s... morally wrong to use that information to go behind her back and contact her daughter. Oh dear, Orlando, we’ve got ourselves into a real mess here,’ Star sighed.

Silence reigned as they both thought about it.

‘Perhaps there’s another way of gleaning information on Mary-Kate’s adoption,’ Orlando said eventually. ‘For some reason only known to herself, Merry does not wish her daughter to explore her true heritage. However, we must not forget that Merry has a son called Jack. May I suggest something?’

‘Go on.’

‘I would call Atlantis and see if Maia can go to France to meet him. Geneva isn’t far from Provence and I have the address of thecavehe is staying at on the tape. She told us that Jack is thirty-two, and he was ten when Mary-Kate arrived in the family. He will definitely have a memory of that moment, and perhaps know more of his mother’s heritage too.’

‘He might, but Mary-Kate knows nothing of her adoptive parents, so why should Jack? Orlando, we can’t just let Merry walk out of here without us seeing her again. I just want to come clean, tell her who we truly are. I feel terrible about all this deception. This isn’t a game, Orlando, it really isn’t.’

‘No. Well, I promise that even if I have to sit cross-legged in front of Mrs McDougal’s door all night, we will not let that happen,’ Orlando said firmly. ‘Now, I’m retiring to my room to think and we will speak by telephone later when I have cleared my brain. In the meantime, you call Atlantis and tell your sisters that one of them needs to get down to Provence. I will telephone you later with the exact address.’

He walked purposefully across the room, then paused at the door and turned to look at Star.

‘Perchance one other question we should be asking is this: where did Merry get that ring from in the first place? Adieu for now.’

With that, Orlando left the suite.

Star heaved herself up and wearily walked into the bedroom so she could be comfortable while speaking to Maia and Ally. She tried to clarify in her mind the facts she needed to tell them.

Finding the Atlantis number on her mobile, she waited for it to connect and opened the bedside drawer to pull out the envelope with the drawing of the star-shaped ring.

‘Hello, Ma, it’s Star here. How are you?’

‘I am well,chérie, and enjoying the beautiful summer weather here. And of course, your sisters’ company. And you? Is all well?’

‘Yes, it is, thank you. I...’ Star stopped herself as she wasn’t sure how much her sisters were telling Ma of the search for the missing sister. ‘Can I possibly speak to one or both of them?’

‘Of course; they are out on the terrace and I know they are eager to speak to you. I am very much looking forward to seeing you soon.’

As Star waited for Ma to fetch her sisters, she reminded herself to call Mouse straight afterwards and make sure he had fed Rory something and managed to get him to bed.

‘Star! Ally here, and Maia is listening too.’

‘Hi, Star,’ Maia said. ‘Have you any news for us?’

‘I do. Orlando’s master plan worked, and I’ve just spent an hour with Merry McDougal.’

There was silence at the other end. Then both her sisters talked at once.

‘Oh wow!’

‘What did she say?’

‘Is Mary-Kate the missing sister...?’

‘Hold on, both of you, and I’ll tell you as much as I can, though I’m still trying to process everything. Firstly, and probably most importantly, when she walked in, I noticed immediately that she was wearing the ring. While Orlando interviewed her about her vineyard, I went into the bedroom and checked it against the drawing you faxed me. Seriously, it’s identical.’

‘That’s wonderful news! Did you ask her where she got it from?’ Maia queried.

‘She said it was a twenty-first birthday present from her godfather, who was apparently a professor of Classics at Trinity College in Dublin, where she herself did the same degree.’

‘So, did you then say that the ring meant her daughter was the missing sister?’ Ally cut in.

‘No, because the minute I mentioned the design and how unusual it was, and Orlando said he had a particular interest in the missing sister of the Pleiades, she got up and left. She was totally spooked. Orlando and I have invited her to dinner tomorrow night – I just really want to tell her who we are – but we both think she might run again. It’s obvious that, for whatever reason, shewasavoiding CeCe and Chrissie when they went to that island, as well as Electra when she flew to Canada. And now she may well try to avoid us. Honestly, I feel truly awful for getting her here under false pretences.’

There was a pause as Star heard both her sisters whispering in the background.