Page 21 of The Seven Sisters

‘So, my job is now done.’ Georg drained his glass, then reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out six cards, which he distributed around the table. ‘Please don’t hesitate to contact me, any of you, if you need my help. And rest assured I’ll be available to you day and night. But I’m sure that, knowing your father, he will have anticipated already what it is that you might all need. So, now it is time for me to leave you. Once again, girls, my condolences to you.’

‘Thank you, Georg,’ I said. ‘We all appreciate your help.’

‘Goodbye.’ He stood and nodded to us all. ‘You know where I am if you need me. There’s no need to see me out.’

We watched him leave in silence, then I saw Marina rise from the table too.

‘I think we could all do with something to eat. I’ll tell Claudia to bring supper out here,’ she said and disappeared inside the house.

‘I’m almost frightened to open this,’ said Tiggy, fingering her envelope. ‘I have absolutely no idea what it contains.’

‘Maia, do you think you could go back to the armillary sphere and translate the quotations on it?’ asked Ally.

‘Of course,’ I said, seeing Marina and Claudia walking towards us with plates of food. ‘After supper, I will.’

‘I hope you guys don’t mind, but I’m not hungry,’ said Electra, standing up. ‘I’ll see you later.’

As she left, I knew that every one of us wished we had the courage to do the same. We all wanted time alone.

‘Are you hungry, Star?’ asked CeCe.

‘I think we should eat something,’ Star answered quietly, her hands clasped tightly around her envelope.

‘Okay,’ said CeCe.

All of us valiantly forced down our food, lovingly prepared by Claudia. And then, one by one, my sisters began to stand up and walk silently from the table, until only Ally and I were left.

‘Do you mind, Maia, if I go to bed too? I feel completely exhausted.’

‘Of course not,’ I answered. ‘You were the last one to hear and you’re still getting over the shock.’

‘Yes, I think I am,’ she agreed, standing up. ‘Goodnight, darling Maia.’

‘Goodnight.’

As I watched her leave the terrace, my fingers closed around the envelope that had been sitting by my plate for the past hour. Finally I stood up and walked towards the Pavilion. In my bedroom I put the envelope under my pillow, then went into my study to gather some paper and a pen.

Armed with a torch, I walked back across the gardens to study the armillary sphere. Night was truly descending, and the first stars were emerging. Pa Salt had shown me The Seven Sisters many times from his observatory, when they hung directly over the lake between November and April.

‘I miss you,’ I whispered to the heavens, ‘and I hope that one day I understand.’

Then I turned my attention to the golden bands circumnavigating the globe. Copying down the Greek words as best I could with the torch held in my left hand, and thinking that I must return tomorrow to make sure that I had them all exactly right, I counted the inscriptions I had.

There were six.

But there was still one band I had not yet looked at. As I shone the torch onto the seventh, searching for the inscription, I saw that it was blank apart from a name: ‘Merope’.

7

I spent the small hours translating the quotes on the armillary sphere. Whether each one was relevant to the other girls, I didn’t feel it was my place to investigate. I left mine until last, almost too frightened to know what it said. When I’d finished translating it, I took a deep breath and read it.

Never let your fear decide your destiny

I knew that the seven words Pa Salt had left me could not have described me and who I was any more accurately.

*

The next morning, after making my requisite cup of tea, I returned to the bedroom, tentatively pulled the envelope from under my pillow, and carried it into the sitting room. I studied it for a while as I sipped my tea.