Page 19 of An Ill Wind in Seabury
‘Freya?’
‘George man, I know you’re having a bit of a moment right now, but try to keep up,’ Matt said, with a grin and a fake tut. ‘Freya is Rory’s fiancée. Sister of the battleaxe who tried to run you over with a tank.’
George swallowed a mouthful of sugary tea and stared hard at his lap. Freya? Hadn’thisClaudia from all those years ago had a little sister called Freya? Itcouldn’tbe the same person… could it?
‘Dude, you look like you’ve seen a ghost!’ said Ewan, looking horrified. ‘Are you sure there’s nothing really wrong with him?’ he demanded, turning to Matt.
‘I’m… fine,’ laughed George. ‘This is just turning into the weirdest day.’
‘Tell me about it!’ said Ewan. ‘It’s not every day some harridan with a hair helmet turns up and demands your family history.’
‘I don’t get it,’ said George, rubbing his face. ‘It’sRorythis girl is marrying, not you lot. Shouldn’t it behimshe’s hunting down and giving the third degree?’
‘Have you ever tried to pin our little brother down?’ said Matt.
George shook his head. He didn’t know Rory well at all, other than to say a quick hello in passing one of the few times he’d been back in town.
‘Let me tell you this—it’s practically impossible. The boy’s all over the world… kinda comes with the territory when you’re a pilot,’ said Matt. ‘That’s why it’s so cool that he’s marrying Freya. She’s his co-pilot, so at least they do most of their gallivanting together.’
George blinked. Okay… that was too weird to be a coincidence. Memories flooded back ofhisClaudia’s aeroplane-obsessed little sister, with her long brown plaits, dungarees and braces.
Freya.
‘Dude, you’ve gone all grey and interesting-looking again,’ said Ewan, cocking his head. ‘He looks like he’s going to puke!’
‘Are you?’ said Matt, taking a surreptitious step backwards.
George shook his head distractedly. Surely,surelythat couldn’t behisClaudia.
‘Earth to George?’ said Matt. ‘You sure you didn’t hit your head on the windscreen?’
George shook his head again. ‘No… definitely not.’
If he didn’t snap out of his weird funk soon, Matt was going to drag him into his office at the hospital for a full checkup, and that reallywouldbe a drama-queen move on his part.
‘Sorry,’ he said, this time on a laugh. ‘It’s just that I knew a Claudia once… and I’m pretty sure she had a little sister called Freya, too.’
‘When you say “knew”?’ said Ewan, wiggling his eyebrows.
‘We were both eighteen… and I was in love.’
‘Aw!’ said Ewan with a grin.
George smiled back, though it still felt a bit wobbly. He wasn’t about to admit to these two that he’d never actually fallenoutof love with her. He’d always wondered if he was one of those strange people who met their soulmate when they were young, and that was that.
‘So… what happened?’ said Matt.
George shrugged. ‘She dumped me. My ambitions were too small for her. She was amazing, a real firebrand. She wanted to travel the world. She had all this adventure in her soul… and I just… didn’t.’
‘Ah, first heartbreak!’ said Matt with a sigh.
‘You don’t get to say anything,’ said Ewan. ‘You ended up back with your childhood sweetheart!’
‘True,’ said Matt. ‘Though that’s a bit different. Rosie somehow managed to become more awesome over the years, but your girl…?’ he paused and cleared his throat. ‘Let’s just say if this reallyisyour Claudia, I have a feeling you might be in for a bit of a rude awakening.’
‘Trust me, nearly being rammed was all the awakening I needed!’ said George, sipping his tea. ‘Back in the day, Claudia had rainbow streaks in her hair. She couldn’t wait to explore Paris at midnight before interrailing as far as her overdraft would take her.’
‘That… doesn’t sound like the same person,’ said Ewan, with a little shake of his head. ‘Besides, even if it is, she nearly did you in!’
