Page 246 of The Missing Sister
‘Well, there was a lot of us to begin with, but now they’ve all had families of their own, it’ll take me a good couple of weeks to get round to see all of them,’ I smiled.
‘And then?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know, Peter. I’ve only thought as far as meeting you today, to be honest. I’ll go back to New Zealand eventually, I suppose.’
‘If that’s the case’ – Peter looked down at his watch, then back up at me – ‘could I take you to lunch? I’d love to hear more about your life and this journey you’ve been on in the last few weeks.’
‘Okay,’ I smiled at him. ‘Why not?’
The private jet touched down smoothly at Nice airport, as its occupants looked out of the windows in either anticipation or trepidation.
‘We’ve landed,’ Maia said to Valentina, who was strapped into the seat opposite her, her eyes wide as she continued to grip the armrests. ‘What did you think?’ she asked in Portuguese.
‘I preferred the bigger plane, but this is nice too,’ she said politely.
Ally was sitting opposite Floriano, with Bear strapped into his child safety harness on her knee. She was very proud of him, as he hadn’t cried once.
‘The key is to feed him a bottle as we ascend and descend, because the sucking stops the air pressure hurting his little ears,’ Ma had advised her before they’d boarded, and sure enough, it had worked. As the plane taxied to a halt, Ally’s nerve endings jangled. Only a short ride away sat the majesticTitan, anchored just outside the port and ready for its last guests to be ferried out on the gig to join it.
Waiting on board would be Star, Mouse and his son Rory, Mary-KateandJack.
Ally’s stomach turned over and she grimaced at the mere thought of the look in his eyes when he saw her.Yet another lie...
‘Anyway, why should it matter whathethinks,’ she whispered to Bear as she unstrapped his harness and lifted him into the papoose.
The doors opened and the friendly ground-staff officials welcomed them all to Nice. Ma walked towards the front of the cabin and greeted them both as Floriano and Charlie – who had arrived with Tiggy at Atlantis last night – helped everyone reach for their bags.
Ma was led down the steps by the ground staff, followed by CeCe and Chrissie.
‘Can I help you with anything, Ally?’ Charlie asked her.
‘Could you take that nappy bag?’
‘Of course,’ he nodded as he picked it up.
The fact that this man had delivered Bear into the world a few months ago made Ally feel comforted by his presence.
‘Ally, are you okay?’ Tiggy asked as Charlie descended and they were left alone in the cabin.
‘Yes, why?’
‘Please don’t worry,’ she smiled at her as she indicated Bear. ‘I promise Jack won’t mind at all. Now, you two first.’
Ally descended into the gorgeous light, warmth and smell that was so intrinsic to the Côte d’Azur, with Tiggy bringing up the rear. After a short walk through passport control, their bags were loaded into two limos and they were whisked out of the private terminal and into the Nice traffic.
‘Where’s Electra?’ Ally turned to Maia. ‘I’m sure she said she was meeting us here, not at the boat.’
‘I just got a text to say her plane landed early so she’s – or should I saythey, as Miles is with her – have headed straight for the port.’
‘So she’s brought her man with her – isn’t it wonderful?’ said Ma.
‘It is,’ Maia agreed, as she put a protective arm around Valentina and smiled at Floriano, sitting opposite them.
Forty minutes and a serious amount of traffic congestion later, they arrived at the Port de Nice. Ally felt her blood pound in her veins, awash with conflicting emotions. As a child and then a young woman, the annual summer voyage on theTitanwith her sisters and her father had been the moment she’d looked forward to more than any other. Now, the person that she’d loved most in the world was gone, as was Theo, who hadn’t lived to see this day. Yet now, someone who seemed to matter to her far more than he should was waiting for her to arrive.
Shaking herself, she turned to Ma. ‘Will Georg be there?’
‘I hope so,’ Ma said. ‘His secretary said he would meet us on board.’
