Page 215 of The Moon Sister
‘Yeah, it would, if I’d been invited,’ Zara snarled. ‘Mum said I couldn’t go up there with her, that I had to stay at home and catch up on all the work I missed when I wasn’t at school.’
‘I can understand that, Zara. You would be distracted up at Kinnaird.’
‘I s’pose so.’ Zara looked out of the window at Lake Geneva. ‘Wow, Tiggy, this place is like a fairy-tale castle. It’s so beautiful, and your ma is really sweet. Christian said he’d teach me to drive the speedboat if I wanted. He’s really fit, isn’t he, Tiggy, even if he’s old.’
‘I suppose he is, yes.’ I smiled at her comment. ‘He’s been here all my life as far as I can remember, so I haven’t really noticed.’
‘Mind you, your sister Electra called him as we were driving here. He’s not gonna look at me while he’s got a world-famous supermodel on speed dial, is he?’ said Zara with a nonchalant shrug.
‘Electra called Christian?’ I was amazed – I hadn’t heard from my sister in months.
‘Yeah, what’s she like?’
‘Electra’s a force of nature,’ I said and left it at that. We all made it a rule never to discuss our famous sibling with ‘outsiders’. ‘Now, why don’t I show you the room you’re staying in and you can freshen up from your journey?’
‘Okay.’
I led Zara down the sisters’ corridor to Ally’s door.
‘It must have been really cool to be one of six girls up here,’ commented Zara as we entered the room. ‘Like being at a fun boarding school all the time. I bet you always had someone to play with,’ she said wistfully. ‘You couldn’t ever have been lonely.’
‘I was ill quite a bit as a child, so I spent a lot of time by myself, but you’re right, it was nice to have my sisters around. Now, you need to phone your dad.’
‘Okay,’ Zara said, and I could see her eyes were filled with trepidation.
We walked downstairs together and I led Zara into the kitchen.
‘Chérie, what are you doing? You know you are not meant to—’
‘Really, Ma,’ I said, ‘I’m feeling perfectly well, I promise. And I’m eating lunch down here with you both after Zara’s phoned her dad.’ I picked up the handset and gave it to her.
‘Thanks,’ Zara said and wandered out of the kitchen as she tapped in the number.
‘I hope I can trust her to call him,’ I said to Ma, who was crouched beside the oven, peering anxiously at whatever was inside.
‘How long does a nut roast take to heat up, Tiggy?’
‘Don’t worry, I’ll see to it, Ma.’
‘Merci,’ Ma said in relief as Zara arrived back in the kitchen.
‘I got Dad’s voicemail, so I left him a message saying I was here with you and I was fine.’
‘Are you happy for the nut roast too, Zara?’ Ma asked as she set the table.
‘Very, thank you. Since I met Tiggy, I’ve tried not to eat any meat, though I just can’t help craving a bacon sandwich every now and then.’
‘Don’t worry, I think we all do that.’ I smiled at her. ‘I’ve no idea why in my case, because I really didn’t like pork when I did eat meat. Right, Ma, can I peel some vegetables to go with it?’
Eventually, we sat down for lunch and Zara bombarded Ma with questions about Atlantis and all my sisters. I watched Ma begin to relax as she indulged in favourite memories of us when we were younger.
‘I wish I could have been in your nursery,’ Zara sighed as I went to collect the lemon tart Claudia had left for dessert and poured Ma’s usual post-lunch espresso.
‘Some pudding, Zara?’ I asked her.
‘No, thanks,’ she replied. ‘Just popping to the loo.’
‘Tiggy,’ Ma said when Zara had left the room, ‘even though she is a sweet girl, this is not what you need at the moment. You are always collecting waifs and strays—’
