‘Ally, what is it?’
‘Nothing, why?’
‘You seem very . . . tense.’
‘Ha! So do you,’ I retorted.
‘Do I?’
‘Yes,’ I said as he followed me down the steps into the stern and I sat heavily on a bench in the shade.
‘Sorry, Ally,’ he sighed. ‘I’ve never been very good at this bit.’
‘What exactly is “this bit”?’
‘Oh, you know. All the preamble, knowing how to play it. I mean, I respect you and like you, and I didn’t want to make you feel as though I’d brought you aboard for a roll in the hay. You could well have thought that’s all I wanted, since you’re so sensitive anyway about being a female in a male world and—’
‘For God’s sake, Theo, I’m not!’
‘Really, Ally?’ Theo rolled his eyes in disbelief. ‘To be honest, these days us guys are all scared we’ll get slapped with a sexual harassment charge if we so much as gaze admiringly in the direction of a woman. It happened to me once with another female sailor who was on my crew.’
‘Did it?’ I feigned surprise.
‘Yup. I think I said something like, “Hi Jo, so nice to have you aboard to liven all us boys up.” I was doomed from that moment on.’
I stared at him. ‘You didn’t say that!’
‘Oh, for God’s sake, Ally, what I meant was that she would keep us all on our toes. Professionally, she had a fabulous reputation. And she took it the wrong way, for some reason.’
‘I can’t think why,’ I commented acidly.
‘Nor could I.’
‘Theo, I was being facetious! I can see exactly why she took offence. You can’t imagine the kinds of comments us women sailors get. No wonder she was sensitive about it.’
‘Well, that’s why I was extremely nervous about having you aboard in the first place. Especially as I found you so attractive.’
‘I’m the polar opposite, remember?’ I rounded on him. ‘You criticised me for trying to be a man and not playing to my strengths!’
‘Touché,’ he said with a grin. ‘And now here you are with me, alone, and I work with you and you might think—’
‘Theo! This is getting ridiculous! I think it’s you who’s got the problem, not me!’ I shot back at him, by now completely exasperated. ‘You asked me onto your boat and I came of my own free will!’
‘Yes, you did, but to be honest, Ally, this whole thing . . .’ He paused and looked at me earnestly. ‘You matter so much to me. And forgive me for behaving like an idiot, but it’s been so long since I’ve done this . . . courting thing. And I don’t want to get it wrong.’
My heart softened. ‘Well, how about if you just try to stop analysing everything and relax a little? Then maybe I will too. Remember, I want to be here.’
‘Okay, I’ll try.’
‘Good. Now,’ I said, as I studied my sunburnt upper arms, ‘as I really am starting to resemble an overripe tomato, I’m going to go downstairs to take a rest from the sun. And you’re very welcome to join me if you want to.’ I stood up and made my way to the stairs. ‘And I promise I won’t sue you for sexual harassment. In fact,’ I added boldly, ‘I might positively encourage some.’
I disappeared down the stairs, giggling at the blatancy of my invitation and wondering whether he’d respond to it. As I entered the cabin and lay down on the bed, I felt a sense of empowerment. Theo might be the boss at work, but I was determined to have parity in any personal relationship the two of us might have in the future.
Five minutes later, Theo appeared sheepishly at the door and apologised profusely for being ‘ridiculous’. Eventually, I told him to shut up and come to bed.
Once that had happened, all was well between us. And in the following days, both of us realised it was something far deeper than physical attraction – that rare triumvirate of body, heart and mind. And finally, we immersed ourselves in the mutual joy of having found each other.
Our closeness grew at a faster pace than normal because we were already aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses, although it’s fair to say we didn’t talk much about the latter, simply glorifying in how wonderful we seemed to each other. We spent the hours making love, drinking wine and eating the fresh fish Theo caught from the back of the boat, with me lying lazily in his lap reading a book. Our physical hunger was coupled with an equally insatiable appetite to learn everything we could about each other. Alone together out on the peaceful sea, I felt we lived outside of time, needing nothing but each other.
On our second night, I lay under the stars in Theo’s arms on the sun deck and told him about Pa Salt and my sisters. As everyone always did, Theo listened in fascination to the tale of my strange and magical childhood.
‘So, let me get this straight: your father, nicknamed “Pa Salt” by your eldest sister, brought you and five other baby girls home from his travels around the world. Rather like other people would collect fridge magnets?’
‘In a nutshell, yes. Although I like to believe I’m slightly more precious than a fridge magnet.’
‘We’ll see,’ he said, nibbling my ear gently. ‘Did he take care of all of you by himself?’
‘No. We had Marina, who we’ve always called “Ma”. Pa employed her as a nanny when he first adopted Maia, my oldest sister. She’s practically our mother and we all adore her. She’s from France originally, so that’s one of the reasons we all grew up fluent in French, apart from it being one of the Swiss national languages. Pa was obsessed with us being bilingual, so he spoke to us in English.’
‘He did a good job. I’d never have known it wasn’t your first language, apart from your gorgeous French accent,’ he said as he hugged me to him and pressed a kiss onto my hair. ‘Did your father ever tell you why he adopted you all?’
‘I asked Ma once, and she said that he was simply lonely at Atlantis and had plenty of money to share. Us girls never really questioned why, we just accepted where we were, as all children do. We were a family; there never had to be a reason. We just . . . are.’
‘It’s like a fairy tale. The rich benefactor who adopts six orphans. Why all girls?’
‘We’ve joked that maybe once he’d started naming us all after the Seven Sisters star cluster, adopting a boy would have spoilt the sequence,’ I said with a chuckle. ‘But to be honest, none of us have a clue.’
‘So your proper name is “Alcyone”, the second sister? That’s a bit more of a mouthful than “Al”,’ he teased me.
‘Yes, but nobody ever calls me that, except for Ma when she’s cross with me,’ I grimaced. ‘And don’t you dare start!’
‘I love it, my little halcyon bird. I think it suits you. So why are there only six of you, when there should have been seven to fit with the mythology?’
‘I’ve absolutely no idea. The last sister, who would have been called Merope if Pa had brought her home, never arrived,’ I explained.
‘That’s rather sad.’
‘Yes it is, although considering how much of a nightmare my sixth sister, Electra, was when she first came to Atlantis, I don’t think any of us were looking forward to adding another screaming baby to our family.’
‘“Electra”?’ Theo recognised the name immediately. ‘Not the famous supermodel?’
‘They’re one and the same, yes,’ I replied warily.
Theo turned to me in amazement. I rarely, if ever, mentioned that Electra and I were related, as it engendered endless probing to find out who really lay behind one of the most photographed faces in the world.
‘Well, well. And your other sisters?’ he asked, pleasing me by asking nothing further about Electra.
‘Maia is my big sister and the eldest. She’s a translator – she took after Pa in her talent for languages. I’ve lost count of how many she speaks. And if you think Electra is beautiful, then you should see Maia. Whereas I’m all red hair and freckles, she has gorgeous tawny skin and dark hair and looks like an exotic Latin diva. Though in personality
, she’s very different. She’s a virtual recluse, still living at home at Atlantis, saying she wants to be there to look after Pa Salt. All the rest of us think she’s hiding . . . from what’ – a sigh escaped me – ‘I couldn’t tell you. I’m sure something happened to her when she went away to university. She changed completely. Anyway, I absolutely adored her when I was a child and I still do now, even though I feel that she’s cut me out over the past few years. To be fair, she’s done that with everyone, but we used to be very close.’
‘When you go within, you tend to go without, if you know what I mean,’ Theo murmured.
‘Very profound.’ I nudged him with a smile. ‘But yes, that’s about the size of it.’
‘And your next sister?’
‘Is called Star and she’s three years younger than me. My two middle sisters really come as a pair. CeCe, my fourth sister, was brought home by Pa only three months after Star, and they’ve been stuck together like glue ever since. They both had a somewhat nomadic existence after leaving university, working their way through Europe and the Far East, although apparently they’re now intending to settle in London so CeCe can do an art foundation course. If you’re going to ask me who Star actually is as a person, or what her talents and ambitions are, I really couldn’t tell you, I’m afraid, because CeCe completely dominates her. She doesn’t speak much and lets CeCe do the talking for both of them. CeCe’s a very strong character, like Electra. As you can imagine, there’s some tension between those two. Electra’s as high-voltage as her name suggests, but very vulnerable underneath, I’ve always thought.’
‘Your sisters would certainly make a fascinating psychological study, that’s for sure,’ Theo agreed. ‘So, who comes next?’
‘Tiggy, who is easy to describe as she’s simply a sweetie. She graduated in biological sciences and worked in research at Servion Zoo for a while, before taking off to the highlands of Scotland to work in a deer sanctuary. She’s very . . .’ – I searched for the word – ‘ethereal, with all her strange spiritual beliefs. She literally seems to float somewhere between heaven and earth. I’m afraid all of us have teased her mercilessly over the years when she’s announced she’s heard voices or seen an angel in the tree in the garden.’
‘You don’t believe in anything like that then?’
‘I’d say my feet were firmly planted on the earth. Or at least, on water,’ I corrected myself with a grin. ‘I’m very practical by nature, and I suppose that’s partly why my sisters have always looked to me as the “leader” of our little band. But that doesn’t mean to say I don’t have respect for what I don’t know or understand. You?’
‘Well, even though I’ve never seen an angel like your sister, I’ve always felt as though I was protected. Especially when I’ve been sailing. I’ve had a number of hairy moments aboard, and so far, touch wood, I’ve managed to come out of them unscathed. Perhaps Poseidon is rooting for me, to use a mythological analogy.’
‘And long may that continue,’ I muttered fervently.
‘So, last but not least, tell me about this incredible father of yours.’ Theo began to stroke my hair gently. ‘What does he do for a living?’
‘To be honest, again, none of us is exactly sure. Whatever it is, he’s certainly been successful. His yacht, the Titan, is a Benetti,’ I said, trying to put Pa’s wealth into a language Theo could understand.
‘Wow! That makes this look like a child’s dinghy. Well, well, with your palaces on land and sea,’ Theo teased me, ‘I reckon you’re a secret princess.’
‘We’ve certainly lived well, yes, but Pa was determined to make sure we all earned our own money. There have never been carte blanche handouts to any of us as adults, unless it was, or is, for educational purposes.’
‘Sensible man. So, are you close to him?’
‘Oh, extremely. He’s been . . . everything to me, and to all of us girls. I’m sure we all like to think we have a special relationship with him, but because the two of us shared a love of sailing, I spent a lot of time alone with him when I was growing up. And it’s not just sailing he taught me. He’s the kindest, wisest human being I’ve ever met.’
‘So, you’re a real Daddy’s girl. Seems like I have a lot to live up to,’ Theo remarked, his hand moving from my hair to caress my neck.
‘Enough of me now, I want to know about you,’ I said, distracted by his touch.
‘Later, Ally, later . . . You should know the effect that gorgeous French accent of yours has on me. I could listen to it all night.’ Theo propped himself up on his elbow, leant over to kiss me full on the mouth and after that, we spoke no more.
3
The next morning, we’d just decided to sail to Mykonos for supplies when Theo called me down from the upper sun deck to join him on the bridge.
‘Guess what?’ he said, looking smug.
‘What?’
‘I was just chatting on the radio to Andy, a sailing friend of mine who’s in the area on his catamaran, and he suggested we rendezvous in a bay off Delos for a drink later. He joked that there was a bloody great superyacht called the Titan currently moored right by him, so I wouldn’t be able to miss him.’
‘The Titan?!’ I exclaimed. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Andy said it was a Benetti, and I doubt your father’s boat has a doppelgänger. He also said there was another floating palace approaching him, and he was starting to feel claustrophobic, so he’s moved off a couple of miles to the bay around the corner. So, shall we drop aboard for a cup of tea with your dad on the way to see Andy?’ he asked me.
‘I’m stunned,’ I replied truthfully. ‘Pa didn’t tell me he was planning a trip down here, although I know that the Aegean is his favourite place to sail.’
‘To be fair, Ally, he probably wasn’t expecting you to be in such close proximity. You can double-check it’s your father’s boat through the binoculars when we get a little closer and then radio the skipper to let them know we’re coming. It would be pretty embarrassing if it wasn’t your father’s yacht and we interrupted some Russian oligarch with a boat full of vodka and partying prostitutes. Actually, good point.’ Theo turned towards me. ‘Your father never rents out the Titan, does he?’
‘Never,’ I replied firmly.
‘Right then, m’lady, take the binoculars and go back to relaxing up top, while your faithful captain takes the wheel. Give me a thumbs up through the window when you see the Titan and I’ll put out a message on the radio saying we’re approaching.’
As I climbed back up to the deck and sat tensely waiting for the Titan to appear on the horizon, I wondered how I would feel about the man I loved most in the world meeting the man I was growing to love more as each day passed. I thought back to whether Pa had ever met any of my previous boyfriends. Perhaps I’d introduced him once to someone I’d been having a fling with during my time at music school in Geneva, but that was as far as it had gone. To be blunt, so far there’d never been a ‘significant other’ who I’d felt I wanted to introduce to Pa or my family.
Until now . . .
Twenty minutes later, a familiar-shaped vessel came into view, and I trained my binoculars on it. And yes, it was definitely Pa’s boat. I turned over and knocked on the glass window of the bridge behind me and gave Theo a thumbs up. He nodded and picked up the radio receiver.
Going below to the cabin, I tamed my wind-strewn hair into a neat ponytail and donned a T-shirt and some shorts, suddenly excited to be able to turn the tables on my father and surprise him for a change. Back up on the bridge, I asked Theo if Hans, my father’s skipper, had radioed back yet.
‘No. I just put out another message, but if we don’t get a response, it looks like we’ll just have to chance it and turn up unannounced. Interesting.’ Theo picked up his binoculars and trained them on another boat close to the Titan. ‘I know the owner of the other superyacht Andy mentioned. The boat’s called the Olympus, and it belongs to the tycoon Kreeg Eszu. He owns Lightning Communications, a company that’s sponsor
ed a couple of the boats I’ve captained on, so I’ve met him a few times.’
‘Really?’ I was fascinated. Kreeg Eszu, in his own way, was as famous as Electra. ‘What’s he like?’
‘Well, put it this way: I couldn’t say I warmed to him. I sat next to him at dinner once and he talked about himself and his success all night. And his son, Zed, is even worse – a spoilt rich kid who thinks his father’s money means he can get away with anything.’ Theo’s eyes fill with unusual anger.
My ears had pricked up. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard Zed Eszu’s name mentioned by someone close to me. ‘He’s that bad?’
‘Yes, that bad,’ he reiterated. ‘A female friend of mine got involved with him and he treated her like dirt. Anyway . . .’ Theo lifted the binoculars to his eyes again. ‘I think we’d better have another go at radioing the Titan. It looks like she’s on the move. Why don’t you put out the message, Ally? If your father or his skipper is listening, they might recognise your voice.’
I did so, but there was no reply and I saw the boat continue to pick up speed and sail away from us.
‘Shall we give chase?’ Theo said as the Titan continued to head into the distance.
‘I’ll go and get my mobile and call Pa directly,’ I said.
‘And while you do, I’ll ramp up the knots on this. They’re almost certainly too far ahead, but I’ve never tried to catch a superyacht before and it might be fun,’ he quipped.
Leaving Theo to play cat and mouse with Pa’s boat, I went below to the cabin, hanging on to the door frame as he upped the speed. Searching through my rucksack for my mobile and trying to switch it on, I stared impatiently at the lifeless screen. It stared back at me like a neglected pet whom I’d forgotten to feed, and I knew that the battery had run out of charge. Rooting back through my rucksack to find the charger, and then again to find an American adapter suitable for the socket by the bed, I plugged it in and begged it to come back to life swiftly.
By the time I’d gone back up to the bridge, Theo had slowed our speed to a relatively normal pace.
The Storm Sister Page 3