by Lyn Gardner
“It was as if she was enchanted. I knew at that moment that she was lost to me and Michael, although I did everything I could to stop it. It was like trying to break a spell or to stop a giant boulder rolling down a hill. I tried to make her come back to the Swan with me that night, I even told her my arthritis was playing up, but she wouldn’t and in the end we had a terrible row and I stormed off. She didn’t come home. Perhaps if I’d stayed, things would have turned out differently.”
“I don’t think so, Alicia,” said Michael. “What was going to happen was going to happen.”
“What did happen?” asked Olivia.
“Toni came to find me after the show. As soon as I saw her, I knew. I knew she knew it, too. The French have a phrase for it. It’s called a coup de foudre. Being hit by a thunderbolt. Love at first sight.”
“Like in Romeo and Juliet,” breathed Olivia.
“Yes. I felt as if I had suffered an electric shock. My entire body tingled and hurt. All I could think of was that line when Romeo first sees Juliet and he says: ‘O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!’ Of course we fought it. We were very young, still both teenagers, but we weren’t complete kids, we knew what we were doing was going to cause pain for a lot of people. For us, too. Neither of us wanted to hurt Michael, we both loved him very much, and I know this sounds like an excuse but it’s true: it was stronger than both of us.
“We knew everyone would try to stop us being together, you in particular, Alicia, because you’d think that Toni was throwing away everything, a life of security with Michael and her own glittering career, and that’s why we acted like cowards and ran away together, leaving a note in Michael’s flat.”
“If only you’d told me yourselves, maybe I’d have understood,” said Michael quietly.
“I got on a train to Edinburgh to tell you, Michael, but I got off at Berwick-upon-Tweed. I sat on the platform for hours trying to find the courage to get on another train. But I couldn’t. I didn’t even have the courage to face my own brother and tell him to his face,” said Jack bitterly.
“That’s what hurt the most,” said Michael. “That’s why I told you I never wanted to see either of you ever again. And I meant it at the time, although there have been many times I’ve regretted it since. I wanted to come to Toni’s funeral, but Alicia didn’t want me to and she was so consumed by grief that I had to respect her wishes.”
“I don’t blame you for not wanting to see me,” said Jack. “It’s the one thing in my life that I feel really ashamed about, so ashamed that I couldn’t bear to contact you all these years. Not even when I heard that you’d got married, that Alfie had been born and Ginny had died. Can you ever forgive me?”
“Oh, Jack, I already have. I forgave you a long time ago, but I let things simmer. I’m as much to blame as you are. We’ve both been fools, we should just be grateful that luck and the kids have brought us back together.” Michael hugged his brother and then hugged his son.
“It’s so strange,” breathed Olivia, “to think about your parents when they were young and how they might have loved other people before they loved each other. Might even have married other people.”
“Yes,” said Alfie, “and just think – if what happened hadn’t happened, none of us would ever have been born.”
“What a horrible thought!” said Eel. “That would have been a terrible tragedy for the entire world.” Everyone laughed.
“Eel Marvell, you have the biggest ego the world has ever known,” said Olivia, “and I love you for it. I’m so glad you’re my sister. I’m never going to fall out with you, ever.”
Suddenly, they heard a dog bark and someone knocked on the door.
“That must be Evie and Tati,” said Eel. “They’re back.”
“Yes,” said Olivia, peering out of the curtains, “but the big question is, where have they been?”
Chapter Twenty-One
Alicia went to the front door and Olivia stood up to get a glass of water. Alfie showed her the way to the kitchen and disappeared. She was filling a glass from the tap when Jack came into the room.
“Are you all right, Liv?” he asked. Olivia turned to face her father and nodded. She rested her head against his chest and told him all the things that had happened to make her think that Alfie was his son, and how furious she was with him for keeping secrets from her and Eel.
“I’m so sorry for what I’ve put you through, chick,” her father said, stroking her hair. “I understand why you were so angry with me all this time. Now Michael’s forgiven me, I just hope you can, too.”
“It was my fault too,” Olivia said. “I put two and two together and made five. Actually about a hundred and five.” Jack smiled, then Olivia added passionately: “I didn’t know what to believe! I was so confused. I thought that if you weren’t the person I thought you were, then I couldn’t be the person I’d always thought I was.”
Jack hugged her closer. “That’s the problem with secrets,” he said. “They muddle things and set up false trails, then send you off on wild goose chases.” He smiled wryly. “A bit like the one Pablo and I went on tonight.”
“Where did you go?”
“We thought we had a lead about the house swindle. But it turned out to be a red herring. I’m sorry we weren’t there when you and the Swans needed us. I’m such a rubbish dad.” Jack pushed his hand through his hair and Olivia saw how defeated he looked. She opened her mouth to protest, but he silenced her. “I’m sorry to say it, chick, but I’m afraid that the Swan Circus is over, the storm has blown away more than just our tents. We probably need to cut our losses and go back to London.”
A bark came from the hallway, and they heard Alicia’s raised voice demanding to know where Evie and Tati had been.
“I’m so disappointed with you both,” she was saying. “Running around Edinburgh in the middle of the night without telling anybody where you were going! Anything might have happened to you. I know you’re not Swans, but while you stay with us you will behave like Swans, or you’ll have to go back to your uncle. I’m sure he wouldn’t put up with this kind of irresponsible behaviour. Maybe I should have a word with him.”
“Oh dear, I better go out there before Alicia eats them alive,” said Jack. “And that’s another thing, Liv, you really shouldn’t feel jealous of Evie.”
“But you’re always saying how great she is!” cried Olivia, tears springing into her eyes. “You said she was the best high-wire walker of her age that you had ever seen, and we’re the same age! That really hurt.”
“Oh, Liv,” said Jack. “I’m so, so sorry. I may have said that but it wasn’t really what I meant at all. If I’m honest, she does have the technical edge over you just at this moment in time, but that’s something you’ll crack with more practice. But high-wire walking isn’t just about technique. It’s about heart and soul, and that’s what you have and that’s what makes you so special. Watching Evie on the wire is like watching a dancer who can execute all the moves perfectly, but who never puts anything of herself into the dance, who does it with cool brilliance but entirely without passion. Watching you on the wire is like watching somebody who is risking everything. You give us a glimpse of your heart and soul.”
Olivia blushed. “But you always seem to favour her over me,” she said softly.
“Maybe I do,” said Jack, with a sigh. “But it’s because I feel sorry for her and Tati. I haven’t wanted to pry, but I’m pretty certain those kids have had a terrible time. They’re like a couple of stray dogs. Anything we can do to make their lives better, if just for one summer, is worth doing.”
Olivia blushed again, but this time she felt ashamed. Then she remembered the contents of the box. She was worried that Jack was way too trusting of everyone, that’s how he had got into trouble in the first place. She reached in her pocket and drew out the computer print-outs of the housing advert and the e-mail exchanges. She handed them to Jack. He puzzled over them for a minute and then it dawned on him what they w
ere. “Where did you get these, Liv?”
She explained about finding the box by Evie and Tati’s tent at the campsite and then showed him the initials engraved on it. Then she explained how she was certain there was a connection with 13 Jekyll Street because of what she’d seen of the makeshift hideaway in one of the garages on the day the Swans arrived in Edinburgh, and how she had overheard them talking about a man called Mitch and seen the text from him.
“So,” she concluded, “I think Evie and Tati must be connected with the scam in some way.”
If Olivia had thought that Jack was going to be excited to have a new lead, she was disappointed. He just looked sad and said: “Poor, poor kids. I reckon it’s even worse for them than I thought.”
“There’s something else—” said Olivia, who wanted to show him the newspaper cuttings about the robberies, but Alicia was calling Jack urgently and the moment was lost.
Olivia and her father walked back towards the drawing room, and as they passed through the hall, Olivia saw the morning paper lying on the mat. Under the big headline about the freak storm was a smaller headline: Jewel Thieves Target Imperial Hotel. An attempt to steal some diamonds from the city’s grandest hotel had been thwarted when an anonymous caller had tipped off the police, but despite the stake-out, the thief or thieves had escaped over the roof.
Putting two and two together, Olivia was now certain that she knew exactly where Evie and Tati had been tonight: trying and failing to stage another robbery!
She must tell Jack immediately. She ran into the living room but stopped at the doorway, because Alicia was in full flow.
Evie and Tati were subdued and hollow-eyed. Alicia was still reading them the riot act.
“I know that Tati is eighteen and can do what she likes, and I know that you’re both not really our responsibility. But we feel responsible for you. When we discovered you were missing we were really worried. We would have called the police if it wasn’t for the fact that Livy had seen you disappear off in a taxi, and we had other things to worry about at just that moment.”
At the mention of the police, Evie and Tati looked really uncomfortable.
“We’re sorry,” said Evie. “But we had something very urgent that we had to do.”
“What was it that couldn’t possibly wait until morning?” asked Alicia. “I want to know where you have been.”
Evie looked pained and Harry went over to Alicia and offered his paw. “You’re not going to win me over that easily,” she said tartly, adding: “If you don’t trust me enough to tell me, why should I trust you?”
Tati looked as if she was going to burst into tears and Evie stuck her lip out defiantly. Jack intervened. “Look, Alicia, the girls are clearly exhausted. I think they’ve got the message. Why don’t I have a chat with them in the morning?”
Evie and Tati looked at him gratefully while Alicia pursed her lips. “Well, see that you do, Jack,” she said. “Come, Livy, we need to get you into bed, you look fit to drop. Jack, can you ask Michael to show you where Evie and Tati are going to sleep.”
With that, she bundled her granddaughter away upstairs. When Olivia had the chance to creep out of her bedroom half an hour later, she found Jack and Michael deep in conversation together in the drawing room. She’d have to tell her dad about the newspaper another time.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Olivia and Jack were up on the high-wire. Olivia walked towards her father. She felt as if she was floating rather than walking across the wire. He lifted her in one seamless movement on to his shoulders. She stood there triumphant and she didn’t wobble at all. She felt safe as houses. She felt as if she had come home after a long time away. She jumped down on to the wire. Jack grinned at her. “Welcome back, partner,” he said. Olivia loved this. She didn’t want anything to spoil it. Not ever.
Olivia stepped off the wire, gave Jack an ecstatic grin and ran down to the ring below, where the rest of the Swans were gathered with Pablo and Michael. They were all watching Alfie go through his magic routine. Everyone clapped wildly each time Alfie pulled off a really difficult trick.
The Swans were all tired but happy. When they had woken on the morning after the storm, they had been certain that they would all be heading back to London. Last night, quite a number of them had wanted to. Kylie said that she was going to ring her mum first thing in the morning and tell her to come and collect her. She’d had quite enough of Edinburgh, playing to half-empty houses, eating sandwiches and freezing to death in the tents. She didn’t relent even when Georgia pointed out that before the storm hit they had been having lots of fun, too.
“I want out. To think I gave up two weeks in the South of France for this,” Kylie had said miserably, as she’d crawled into bed. “I want to go home.”
But in the morning, she and the other Swans had felt quite differently. The sun was shining and the day promised to be a scorcher. From downstairs came the smell of bacon sizzling and when the Swans had trooped into the kitchen they had found freshly squeezed orange juice, toast and honey, thick creamy porridge with fresh raspberries from the garden, warm Danish pastries and chocolate muffins.
They were soon feeling much more cheerful, and when they heard that Michael had asked them to stay for the rest of the Festival, they realised that they had landed on their feet.
Alfie began a new trick, pushing up his hat again as it slipped over his eyes.
“He’s good, isn’t he?” said Olivia to Eel, who was standing next to her.
“He is,” she replied, “and I’m glad he’s our cousin, not our half-brother.”
“So am I,” said Olivia.
“Alfie’s promised to saw me in half,” said Eel happily, slipping her hand into her sister’s. Since Eel had discovered that Alfie was her cousin, she’d been following him around like a small dog.
“I’m not sure that’s something most people would look forward to,” laughed Olivia.
“I can’t wait. I’ve always wanted to be in two places at the same time,” said Eel solemnly.
“Well, unlike some people, just make sure you let Gran know exactly where you are,” said Olivia. Eel’s eyes grew round.
“Gran’s furious with Evie and Tati, isn’t she? Where were they? Everyone wants to know what they were doing out in the middle of the night.”
“So do I,” said Olivia quietly.
Everyone cheered again as Alfie drew a rabbit out of a hat and then another and then another. The rabbits were a bit frisky and escaped off the table and started to run about the ring. The children gasped as they saw Harry bounding towards them, his tongue lolling with excitement.
“He’s going to eat them,” cried Georgia, but Evie just smiled and whistled and Harry started to round the rabbits up as if they were just very small sheep.
“I swear that dog has a brain the size of a computer,” said Aeysha, “and you’ve trained him really well, Evie.”
Evie smiled again. “It’s what I really want to do, be an animal trainer like my aunt, Zsa Zsa. The high-wire, it’s fun, but it was my dad’s thing, not my thing. He wanted me to do it, so I did it to please him. But I don’t have a passion for it like Livy does,” she said. Olivia looked at her stonily.
Evie shrugged and whistled again.
Harry herded the rabbits towards Alfie, who picked them up. “We should put them out in their run so they can have some grass,” he said, stroking them affectionately, and Eel and Emmy ran to take them.
“Right,” said Michael to his son, “let’s see if you can master the disappearing act!”
“That would be mega,” said Alfie happily.
“I’m not sure it’ll be ready for your Swan Circus debut tonight, but maybe you can premiere it at the end of the week if you really practise hard.”
Magic show over, the Swans all drifted away to rehearse. Olivia watched while Jack drew Evie aside and led her up the steep rake of the big top to the highest seats, where they could have a little privacy. She saw Evie’s shocked face whe
n he pulled out the print-outs. The two of them talked intently for several minutes, and then she saw them shake hands as if concluding a business deal. A few minutes later they came back and joined the rest of the Swans.
“What happened?” hissed Olivia to Jack. “Did you ask them where they were last night?”
“I didn’t get an answer on that, but I did get something more valuable,” he said with a grin. “I’m going to get my money back.”
Olivia bit her lip. She wanted to tell Jack about her suspicions that Evie was involved in something far more serious than the house swindle, but what if she was wrong? Maybe there was an innocent explanation for everything she had discovered about Evie and Tati? She remembered how in her first term at the Swan she had been accused of stealing when she was entirely innocent, and how terrible it had felt. She had to be certain before she made any accusations. After all, she had already got it badly wrong about Alfie. She was going to keep a very close eye on Evie and she wouldn’t say anything until she was quite, quite certain.
“Be careful, Dad,” she whispered. “Don’t put all your faith in Evie. If she is involved in the scam, maybe she isn’t to be trusted at all. Maybe, maybe…”
“Spit it out, Liv,” said Jack.
“You know those robberies that have been taking place all over Edinburgh…” said Olivia, turning red. She broke off when she saw the incredulous look on Jack’s face.