Page 149 of The Pearl Sister
‘Yeah, I do. Your eyes are the same shape too. She was your mother?’
‘Yes, that was Alkina, or “Cat” as everyone called her. As you’ve heard, I never got to meet her.’
‘And who is that?’ I pointed to the handsome blond man who towered over the two women. He had an arm round both of them.
‘That’s Charlie Mercer. Your great-grandfather and my father.’
‘And the other woman?’
‘Camira, my grandmother. Apart from my Sarah, she was the most wonderful, kind and brave human being I have ever known . . .’
His eyes moved to the horizon and I saw they were filled with sadness.
‘So she came to look after you at Hermannsburg?’
‘Oh yes, she came. I grew up thinking she was my mother, and she could have been. She was only in her early forties when I was born, you see.’
‘Did Charlie Mercer ever know about you? Like, did you meet him?’
‘Celaeno,’ he sighed, ‘let’s leave the past for now. I want to hear about you. How has your life been?’
‘That’s a big question.’
‘Then let me help you. When I began to search for my daughter and eventually found you, I was told that you had been adopted by a rich man from Switzerland. You lived there in your childhood?’
‘Yes, in Geneva.’
‘You have brothers and sisters?’
‘Only sisters. And all six of us are adopted.’
‘What are your sisters’ names? How old are they?’
‘You’re probably gonna find this weird, but we’reallnamed after the Seven Sisters.’
His eyes widened with interest and I thought that at least I could cut out explaining who we were and what the myth was. This man would have been taught about them from birth. They werehisAncestors too.
‘You say there are six of you?’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘Like in the legend,’ we both said together, then laughed.
‘Merope is there, even though she hides sometimes. Perhaps one day she will be found.’
‘Well, it’s too late now, for Pa at least. He died last June.’
‘I am sorry, Celaeno. He was a good man?’
‘Yes, very, although sometimes I felt he loved my other sisters more than me. They’re all so talented and beautiful.’
‘As are you. And remember, nothing happens by chance. It is all planned out for us before we even take our first breath.’
‘Do you really believe that?’
‘I think I must, given the way I was found as a baby by my blood relative, who then brought my grandmother to care for me as I grew. I don’t know of your religious beliefs, but surely no man or woman can deny that there must be something bigger than us? I put my trust in the universe, even though sometimes I feel as though it has let me down, as I did when I lost my own daughter. But that was her path to follow, and I must accept the pain.’
I thought how wise and dignified this man was, and, with a pang, how much he reminded me of Pa Salt.
