Page 164 of The Seven Sisters
‘Nothing, nothing . . . Look, Christian is waiting for you. You’d better go.’
He opened his mouth to say something, but I abruptly left his side and walked in front of him along the pier towards the launch, giving Floriano no choice but to follow me. Christian handed him into the boat and started the motor.
‘Adeus, Maia,’ Floriano said, his eyes full of sadness. The launch began to move away from the pier, and the engines churned noisily.
‘I’ll write to you!’ he shouted to me above the roar. Then he said something else which I didn’t catch as the launch sped away from Atlantis. And from me.
I walked miserably back towards the house, berating myself for my childish behaviour. I was a grown woman, for God’s sake, and should be able to cope with what I had known from the start was this inevitable parting. Rationally, I knew it was a knee-jerk reaction to my past, the pain of the parting with Zed still – after all these years – burning laser-like into my psyche.
Marina was waiting for me in front of the Pavilion, arms crossed and a frown on her face.
‘What was all that about, Maia? Had you two had an argument? Floriano seemed like such a nice young man. You hardly said goodbye. Neither of us knew where you were.’
‘I had . . . something to do. Sorry.’ I shrugged, feeling like a petulant teenager being told off for bad manners. ‘By the way, I’m going into Geneva to see Georg Hoffman. Is there anything you need?’ I asked her pointedly, changing the subject.
Marina looked at me, and I saw something that resembled despair in her eyes. ‘No thank you, dear. Nothing.’
She walked away from me, and I felt as ridiculous as I knew my behaviour had been.
*
Georg Hoffman’s offices were situated in the business district of Geneva, just off the Rue Jean-Petitot. Georg’s office was sleek and modern, with huge floor-length windows giving an aerial view of the harbour in the distance.
‘Maia,’ he said as he stood up from his desk to greet me. ‘This is an unexpected pleasure.’ He smiled as he ushered me to a black leather sofa and we both sat down. ‘I hear you’ve been away.’
‘Yes. Who told you?’
‘Marina, of course. Now, what can I do for you?’ he asked.
‘Well . . .’ I cleared my throat. ‘I suppose it’s two things really.’
‘Right.’ Georg steepled his fingers. ‘Fire away then.’
‘Do you have any idea how Pa Salt came to choose me as his first adopted girl?’
‘Goodness, Maia.’ I saw his face register surprise. ‘I’m afraid I was your father’s lawyer, not his emotional confidant.’
‘But I thought the two of you were friends?’
‘Yes, we were, I suppose, from my point of view at least. But as you know, your father was a very private individual. And even though I’d like to think he regarded me as trustworthy, at the end of the day, I was an employee first and foremost and it was never my place to question him. The first I knew about you was when he contacted me to register your adoption with the Swiss authorities, and fill in the necessary forms for your first passport.’
‘So you have no idea what his connection with Brazil might have been?’ I persisted.
‘On a personal level, none at all. Although he did have a number of business interests there, of course. But then he had similar interests in many places across the world,’ Georg clarified. ‘So I’m afraid I really am unable to help you on that matter.’
Disappointed, but not entirely surprised by his response, I pressed on with my line of enquiry.
‘When I was in Brazil, thanks to the clues Pa left me, I met my grandmother, who sadly passed away only a few days ago. She told me that when my father arrived to adopt me, he was accompanied by a woman. The orphanage assumed the woman was his wife. Was he married?’
‘Never, as far as I know.’
‘Then could this woman have been a girlfriend of his at the time?’
‘Maia, forgive me, but I really have no idea about your father’s private life. I’m sorry not to be able to help you further, but there we are. Now, what was the other matter you mentioned that you wanted to discuss with me?’
As it was obvious I wasn’t going to get any further, I surrendered to the inevitable realisation that I would never know the full circumstances of my adoption. Then I took a deep breath to say what else I needed to. ‘I told you a few moments ago that my maternal grandmother died recently. She left me two properties in Brazil and a small amount of income in her will.’
‘I see. And you’d like me to act on your behalf during probate?’
