‘Erizo, this is your mother’s cousin’s granddaughter, Pilar – and here are Vicente and Gael . . . Camila . . . Luis . . .’
With my head spinning, I let myself be guided through the crowd, overwhelmed by the genuine warmth of everyone’s embraces. Vicente – or was it Gael? – handed me a glass of manzanilla wine, and I saw Pepe at the back of the cave, perched on a chair with his guitar in his lap, next to a man sitting on a box.
‘¡Empezamos!’ he called. ‘Let’s begin!’
‘¡Olé!’ cried the audience as two young dancers sashayed onto the floor. They began to dance what Angelina told me was a ‘chufla bulerías – a simple dance’, but as I watched the women tap their heels and balls of their feet in a fast rhythm, their hands guiding their skirts so the cave was awash with bright colours, their chins tipped proudly in absolute unison, I was in awe of their skill.
And I was a part of this; the gitano culture was in my blood and soul. When a young man reached to take my hand, I didn’t resist, but let my body relax and be carried along by the rhythm of Pepe’s guitar, and what everyone here called the duende inside me.
I don’t know how long I danced for, but Lucía’s shoes seemed to guide me, and I didn’t care if I looked stupid as I copied my partner and stamped down on the ancient floor of the cave with the rest of my new family around me. The floor vibrated as every single man, woman and child danced for sheer joy, the beat of the music irresistible.
‘¡Olé!’ Pepe called.
‘¡Olé!’ I shouted with everyone else, then left my partner to go and drink some water.
‘Tiggy!’
I felt a firm hand on my shoulder. And was pretty sure that the alcohol I’d drunk combined with all the twirling had made my brain dizzy, for as I turned round I thought how like Charlie Kinnaird the voice sounded.
‘Hello, Tiggy,’ Charlie said as he grabbed my arm and unceremoniously pulled me through the crowd of stamping, clapping dancers.
‘What on earth are you doing?’ I shouted, trying to make myself heard above the noise. ‘Let me go!’
But he wouldn’t, and no matter how much I wriggled and complained, I was attached to him until he chose to let me go.
No one seemed to bat an eyelid at us – what I’d learnt tonight was that gitanos were a vociferous and emotional breed, and our behaviour was probably normal to them.
‘I’ll have to take you outside, I can’t hear myself think in here,’ Charlie said, taking off his jumper and wrapping it round my bare shoulders.
Once outside, he looked around, spied the wall opposite and led me to it. Only when we reached it did he let go of my arm, then he put his hands around my waist, picked me up and sat me on top of the wall.
‘Charlie, what on earth are you doing here?!’
‘You have to sit down, Tiggy.’ Having let go of my waist, he then grabbed my wrist to feel my pulse.
‘Charlie, enough!’ I raised my other hand to slap his fingers away.
‘Your pulse is racing, Tiggy!’
‘Yes, because I’ve just spent the last hour dancing my feet off,’ I retorted. ‘Why are you here?’
‘Because I and the rest of the world have been trying to get hold of you.’
‘What do you mean, “the rest of the world”?’ I frowned at him.
‘Cal found your mobile in your bedroom and we called everyone in your address book to see if they’d heard from you. They hadn’t. It was only when you left the messages for him and Ma that we knew you were in Spain.’
‘Sorry, Charlie,’ I sighed. ‘Can you just slow down, please. What’s happened? Has someone been hurt?’
‘No, Tiggy, no one else has been hurt,’ he said. ‘It’s you.’
‘What do you mean, “me”?’
‘I collated and analysed all your test results on the morning you decided to run away from the hospital. Look, Tiggy, in a nutshell, I suspect that you have a serious heart condition called myocarditis. You need immediate medical attention.’
‘A serious heart condition?’ I said faintly. ‘Me?’
‘Yes. Or at least, potentially serious, if left untreated.’
‘But I feel fine,’ I insisted. ‘Since I’ve been here, the heart palpitations seem to have stopped.’ I looked him in the eye for the first time. ‘Are you saying that you’ve flown out all this way to tell me?’
‘Yes, of course I have. I couldn’t get in touch with you so I had no choice. Seriously, Tiggy, on top of you nearly dying while working on the estate, I couldn’t have this on my conscience as well.’
‘Well, it wouldn’t have been, Charlie. It was me who “ran away” from the hospital, as you put it.’
‘Yes, but alongside my professional obligations, I felt a duty as your employer. I had no idea how difficult things were for you at Kinnaird. I understand now why you had to leave.’
I kept quiet, wondering if he was referring to my conversation with his wife.
‘Beryl and Cal told me about Zed Eszu’s behaviour,’ he continued. ‘They both agreed that it was him who’d driven you away. I’m so sorry, Tiggy, you should have said something to me. That kind of behaviour is just . . . unacceptable.’
‘It’s not your fault, really, Charlie.’
‘Oh yes it is,’ he said. ‘I should have been up at Kinnaird running it and then I could have stopped it. It was sexual harassment, plain and simple. If I ever see him again, I swear, I’ll wring his neck.’
‘No one mentioned to Zed where I’d gone, did they?’ I asked him, genuinely nervous.
‘Of course not,’ Charlie replied. ‘I drove straight up to Kinnaird when I heard from Cal what had happened, and told Zed to clear out of my house. He packed his things and disappeared in his Range Rover that afternoon. He’s gone, Tiggy, I promise,’ he said, sensing my fear and putting a hand on mine, which sent a massive tingle through my body. ‘I hope you’ll feel that you can come back to Kinnaird now.’
‘Thank you.’ For now, I was quite happy to let Charlie think that Zed was the only reason I’d left.
‘And also, the police have been trying to get in touch with you about the shooting. They’ve found the bullet casing and are running forensics on it.’
‘Have they found the person who did it?’ I asked, thinking of poor Pegasus.
‘I couldn’t say, but they want to talk to you again at some point. As for your medical problem, I’ve booked you into the local hospital here in Granada tomorrow. We’ll run some more tests to make sure you’re fit to fly home.’
I looked up at him in surprise. Even though he was only trying to care for me, he suddenly sounded eerily reminiscent of Zed: i.e. another man trying to control my life.
‘Sorry, Charlie, but I feel absolutely fine and I’m definitely not leaving Granada yet.’
‘I know you may feel fine at the moment, but your test results showed that you’re not. This is serious, Tiggy. It could . . . well, kill you.’
‘Charlie, I had loads of tests on my heart as I was growing up. It was fine then, so why shouldn’t it be fine now?’
‘Okay,’ Charlie sighed and leant against the wall next to me. ‘Hear me out, will you? Without interrupting. I just want to ask you a couple of questions.’
‘Fire away,’ I said reluctantly as I heard the beat of the cajón and the shouts of ‘Olé!’ coming from inside. Tonight of all nights, I really didn’t want to be sitting here on a wall outside and discussing an imaginary heart condition.
‘When did you first notice the palpitations?’
‘Um . . . I’ve had them on and off for a while, but I suppose they do tend to get worse if I have a bad bout of bronchitis. And I had a bad cold and cough recently.’
‘Okay. Now, can you think back a few years to a time you were really sick in bed and had a high fever?’
‘That’s easy. I was seventeen and in my last year at boarding school. I came down with a really high temperature and they put me in the san. The doctor diagnosed strep throat and gave me some antibiotic
s. I got better eventually, but it took its time. That was years ago, Charlie, and I’ve been fine since.’
‘And did you have any kind of heart scan between then and when you were in the hospital in Inverness?’
‘No.’
‘Tiggy,’ Charlie sighed, ‘myocarditis is quite rare and it’s not always clear what causes it, but it’s usually triggered by a viral infection. Which is probably what you had at seventeen, but it was misdiagnosed as strep throat.’
‘Oh, I see,’ I said, now all ears.
‘Anyway,’ Charlie continued, ‘the virus, for reasons we don’t yet fully understand, causes inflammation of the heart muscle. Other illnesses tend to put extra stress on it, which could be why you started having palpitations after you were ill recently. And the shock of the shooting of course.’
I was silent now, sobering up from the atmosphere and the alcohol and beginning to understand why Charlie was here.
‘Could I . . . die?’
‘Without the right treatment, then yes. It’s serious, Tiggy.’
‘And with medication, can it be cured?’
‘Perhaps, but there’s no straightforward prognosis. Sometimes the heart can heal itself with rest, sometimes it heals with the help of beta-blockers or ACE-inhibitors, and occasionally . . . well, it’s not a positive outcome.’
I shivered, partly through fear, but also because now I’d calmed down, the night was chilly.
‘Come on, we need to get you in the warm.’ He reached out his hands to help me off the wall, but I hopped off by myself.
‘You and all those people look very authentic, by the way,’ Charlie commented on my outfit. ‘Fancy dress party, was it?’
‘No.’ This at least brought a smile to my lips. ‘Those people inside, they’re real gypsies, and more than that – every single one of them is related to me! Now,’ – I looked at his startled face – ‘even if I do drop dead in the process, I’m afraid I have to go and say goodnight to my new family.’
‘Of course. I’ll wait here.’
I went inside and watched the entire crowd still stamping, singing and dancing as if tomorrow might never come.
Which it might not for you, Tiggy.
I found Angelina sitting beside Pepe, who had set down his guitar and was mopping his face with a large handkerchief.
‘I’m going home to bed now. I hope you don’t mind, but I’m feeling very tired. Muchas gracias for all this.’
They both gave me sweaty hugs and kisses on my cheeks.
‘You are now truly one of us, Erizo. Now, go off to your boyfriend,’ Angelina said with a grin.
‘He’s not my boyfriend, he’s my boss,’ I said firmly.
Angelina raised an eyebrow and shrugged. ‘Buenas noches, Erizo.’
‘What is this place?’ Charlie asked me as we made our way along the winding path. ‘It seemed deserted on the walk from the taxi to check in. Do people still live here?’
‘Some, yes, but not many. They used to all live in the caves here until they started moving into modern apartments in the city.’
‘It’s extraordinary,’ he breathed as we took the steps back up the hill. ‘It must be virtually unchanged in hundreds of years.’ He glanced at me trudging up the steps next to him. ‘Take it slowly, please, Tiggy, just until we have you sorted out.’
‘Seriously, I feel fine,’ I said. ‘The air here must have done me good. My heart hardly jumped at all tonight whilst I was dancing,’ I added as we reached the top and started to walk along the twisting path that snaked back and forth across the mountain between the rows of caves. ‘So how did you eventually find me here?’
‘As I said, from your call to Ma, we knew you’d come to Spain, then Cal had a rifle through your drawers looking for clues as to where exactly in Spain you might have gone. He found some Wikipedia pages you’d printed off about a Spanish dancer. They mentioned Granada and Sacromonte, so we reckoned there was a good chance that’s where you’d have headed. Wow, Tiggy!’ Charlie halted in his tracks as we rounded the bend and there was the Alhambra floating above us in the night sky. ‘Isn’t that an incredible view?’
‘It is.’
‘Have you been yet?’
‘No, I’ve been far too busy. Where are you staying?’
‘At the only hotel here, according to the information lady at the airport: the Cuevas El Albanico. So we took it.’
‘“We”?’
‘Yes,’ he said as we approached the hotel, ‘I didn’t feel it was . . . right for me to come alone, so I brought a chaperone along. Come and see,’ he said as he ushered me through the gates. ‘She may be in bed by now but—’
I’d barely stepped inside as a figure wearing a pair of checked pyjamas ran towards me and threw her arms around me.
‘Tiggy! It’s so wonderful to see you.’
‘And you, Ally,’ I said in wonder, as I pulled out of her embrace and studied her. ‘Wow, you look amazing.’ I took in Ally’s sparkling blue eyes, her thick red-gold hair and the big bump in her belly that was straining the buttons of her pyjamas. ‘Goodness, you’re big! You look as though you’re about to burst. Are you sure you should be flying?’
‘I’m fine. I’ve still got about another month to go, but I was going mad sitting at home in Bergen, so Thom, my twin brother, took pity on me and invited me to tag along with him to a concert he was playing in London. I persuaded my doctor it was a good idea for me to get a change of scenery. Then, when Charlie called me and I heard what had happened to you and that he thought you were here, I changed my ticket and came straight to Granada with him.’
‘Oh God, Ally, really, I’m fine,’ I groaned. ‘You should be tucked up safe in Bergen, not running across Europe after me.’
‘Tiggy, we were all worried about you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, ladies, I’ll leave you to chat,’ Charlie said, reaching for my pulse again, then nodding. ‘It’s calmed down now.’
‘Has Charlie explained to you how serious your condition is?’ Ally asked.
‘I have,’ said Charlie, ‘and even if I have to drag you to that hospital tomorrow, you’re going, okay, Tiggy?’
‘She’ll go,’ Ally answered for me.
‘Any problems during the night, you know where I am.’
‘Yes. Night, Charlie, and thanks,’ Ally called after him as he made his way to his room at the back of the hotel. Neither of us said anything until we heard the door close behind him.
‘Would you prefer to go straight to bed, Tiggy?’
‘No, I’m far too hyped up to sleep and I want to hear all your news. Let’s go and sit in there,’ I said, indicating the small sitting room with its leather sofas.
‘Not for long, or Doctor Charlie won’t be happy,’ Ally whispered as I led the way and she eased herself onto one of them.
‘So, you were explaining how you found me?’
‘Charlie was beside himself when he called me on your mobile. What a lovely guy he is,’ Ally smiled. ‘And obviously very fond of you.’
‘I’m just sorry to put you both to so much trouble.’
‘Honestly, Tiggy, as I said, I was grateful for an excuse not to go back to Bergen. You know me – all action,’ she smiled. ‘Besides, I was really worried about you, we all were. I have to say, you look a lot better than I expected.’
‘I’m feeling better too, really. When I arrived here, my heart was bouncy, but it’s calmed down a lot since.’
‘Good. Charlie also mentioned that your Cal had found some printouts in your drawer about a female flamenco dancer.’ Ally indicated my dress. ‘I’m guessing that’s why you came here? To find your birth family?’
‘Yes.’
‘Okay, but what was it that made you get out of your hospital bed and leave without telling anyone where you were going?’
‘I . . . it’s complicated, Ally, but I just needed to get away.’
‘I know that feeling,’ she said. ‘Charlie seemed to think that, quite apart from you getting shot, it was som
ething to do with a white stag and also Zed Eszu.’
‘Yes, those things definitely played a part.’
‘I hear you spoke to Maia,’ said Ally.
‘Yup. She confirmed everything I was feeling. I said no to the job, of course.’
‘Theo says he’s an absolute prick,’ she said with a sad smile.
The way Ally talked about the father of her child in the present tense brought a lump to my throat. I gazed at her, feeling the same admiration for my big sister as I had when I was a child. As I had so often been confined on the attic floor due to my regular bouts of illness, I’d spent many hours on the window seat watching Ally speed across Lake Geneva on her Laser. I’d seen her capsize, then haul herself up and out of the water, only to start all over again. I, more than anyone, knew the courage and sheer determination Ally had shown to get where she’d wanted to be. Without a doubt, my strong, capable sister was who I’d aspired to be when I was younger. And her presence here tonight – especially given the fact she shouldn’t be here at all with so little time to go until her baby made an appearance – touched me enormously.
‘Zed was so weirdly mesmerising, Ally. It’s like . . .’I searched for the right words. ‘Well, you’re the only person in the room. He focuses all his attention on you and it’s the same feeling as being a rabbit caught in the headlights. He . . . hypnotises you and won’t take no for an answer.’
‘I think what you’re trying to say is that if he wants something, he’s unstoppable in his pursuit of it. And for some reason none of us can understand, he seems to want the D’Aplièse sisters. Maybe it’s coincidence, but it’s pretty strange that I should see Kreeg Eszu’s boat next to Pa’s during his private funeral. You’re the one with the instincts, Tiggy. What do you think?’
‘I don’t know, Ally, really.’
‘I know that in the past I’ve teased you about your weird beliefs, but . . .’ Ally bit her lip. ‘Sometimes I swear I can hear Theo talking to me. Telling me off about something or other, or saying something funny to make me giggle when I’m missing him.’
I watched as my sister’s eyes glistened with unshed tears.
The Moon Sister Page 41