Page 14 of The Seven Sisters

‘No, sorry, but I think I’ve got a couple of paracetamol.’

‘Don’t worry.’ Electra gave me a weary smile. ‘See you tomorrow.’

As I switched off the lights in the Pavilion and walked towards my bedroom, I reflected that, just as I’d been surprised by Tiggy’s muted reaction, so Electra had given me food for thought. There seemed to be an underlying air of desperation about her tonight that concerned me.

As I settled under the bedclothes – perfectly restructured by Claudia after my restless night – I thought how Pa Salt’s death might well prove a seminal moment for us all.

*

None of my sisters were up the following morning when I went to see Marina to enquire if she’d heard anything from Ally.

‘No,’ she said helplessly.

‘Pa would have known what to do. He always did.’

‘Yes,’ Marina agreed. ‘How was Electra?’

‘Shocked, devastated and very angry about not being able to say goodbye to Pa properly, but she managed to keep her emotions under control. Just.’

‘Good. Georg Hoffman called me again to see if we’d found Ally yet and I had to say no. What can we do?’

‘Nothing, except try to be patient. By the way, Ma,’ I said as I made myself some tea, ‘when I tried to get into Pa’s study last night, I found the door was locked. Do you know why?’

‘Because your father asked me to lock it for him just before he died. And then insisted I give him the key straight afterwards. I’ve no idea where he put it and, to be honest, with everything being so . . . difficult, it slipped my mind.’

‘Well, we’ll obviously have to find it. I’m sure that Georg will need to get in there. It’s almost certainly where Pa kept all his papers.’

‘Of course. Now, seeing that none of your sisters have managed to appear yet and it’s nearly noon, I thought that Claudia should cook a brunch,’ said Marina.

‘Good idea,’ I agreed. ‘I’ll go back to the Pavilion and see if Electra’s awake.’

‘All right,chérie.’ Marina threw me a sympathetic smile. ‘The waiting will be over soon.’

‘I know.’

I walked out of the house and was heading towards the Pavilion when, through the trees, I glimpsed a lone figure sitting on the jetty staring out across the lake. I walked towards her and tapped her gently on the shoulder, trying not to startle her.

‘Star, are you okay?’

‘Yes, I suppose so,’ she said, shrugging.

‘Can I join you?’

She gave an almost imperceptible nod in response, and as I sat down and swung my legs over the edge of the jetty, I glanced at her and saw her face was streaked with tears.

‘Where’s CeCe?’ I asked.

‘Still sleeping. She likes to sleep when she’s upset. Last night I couldn’t sleep at all.’

‘No, I’m struggling to as well,’ I admitted.

‘I simply can’t believe he’s gone, Maia.’

I sat next to her silently, knowing how rare it was for her to talk openly about her feelings to anyone other than CeCe. And I wanted to say nothing that might cause her to clam up.

‘I feel . . .’ she said eventually ‘. . . lost. I always knew somehow that Pa was the only person who really understood me. I meanreallyunderstood.’

She turned to me then, her striking, almost ghostly features distorted into a mask of despair. ‘Do you know what I mean, Maia?’