‘Who is?’ Gabriel asked coming out of the hallway at the side of the reception area.
‘Not you,’ Daisy joked. ‘Well, you are of course, but we weren’t talking about you.’
‘Oh, thanks.’
‘Daisy, where’s that thing?’ Fi asked. She looked at Gabriel. ‘You’ve just missed my brother. He was looking for you.’
‘He was?’ Gabriel asked, looking disappointed. ‘That’s a shame.’
Daisy held up the business card. ‘He wanted me to give this to you and asked if you could call him. There’s something he wants to discuss with you.’
Gabriel looked intrigued. ‘OK, I’ll call him now.’
The girls waited impatiently for him to speak to Sebastian.
‘I saw your dad checked out earlier than expected,’ Fi said. ‘Did he say goodbye to you before he left?’
Daisy shook her head. ‘No, but that’s pretty typical of him. I don’t think he was very pleased with my lack of interest in playing the dutiful daughter. I’ve never really spent much time with him and I don’t really need to find a new parent at my age. Mum was the only parent I was ever close to and I’m happy with that.’
‘You’re lucky… I never knew my mum.’
Daisy opened her mouth to speak, but it took a fewseconds for her to think what to say. ‘Oh, Fi, I never knew that. Can I ask why?’
‘She died just after I was born. My dad and then my uncle pretty much brought me up. With Seb’s help, of course.’
Daisy was stunned. She’d assumed that Fi’s life had always been fun and carefree. ‘That’s so sad.’
Fi gave her a vague smile. ‘I suppose it’s not as if I knew her to miss her, but I did envy my friends for their closeness with their mothers. You, for example – I know you said your mum was unwell but it must have been incredible to be everything to someone.’
Daisy thought back to the intensity of her relationship with her mother and smiled. ‘I miss my mum, but living with her could feel suffocating a lot of the time,’ she admitted.
‘I suppose so,’ Fi said. She thought for a moment. ‘I didn’t ever miss out on attention because I was always spoilt and loved by those around me. Even Harwood, Seb’s butler, has always looked out for me. It would have been nice to have experienced having a mother, though.’
‘Yes, I can imagine it would have been,’ Daisy agreed.
Gabriel came off the phone from speaking to Sebastian. ‘You’ll never guess what Sebastian’s offering to do,’ he said, his eyes lighting up with excitement.
Daisy couldn’t help laughing, relieved for the change in subject. ‘Going by the look on your face, I think I can take a pretty good guess.’
‘He’s going to sponsor the rest of the project,’ he said, shaking his head in amazement. ‘He said he’s always been interested in conservation, but up until now hasn’t made the time to actually get involved.’
‘I’m so thrilled for you,’ Daisy said, delighted to see him so happy.
‘Me too,’ Fi said. ‘I told you I had a wonderfulbrother.’
‘Thanks, girls,’ he said, giving Fi a kiss on the forehead and Daisy a kiss on the mouth. ‘Things can get underway again.’
Daisy was thrilled for him, but a little saddened that she would have to say goodbye to him once again.
He must have noticed her expression change because he added, ‘You’re coming with me, I hope.’
‘I can’t,’ she said. ‘I have to finish the season here at the Encore.’
He leant over the reception desk and cupped her chin in his hand. ‘I know, but the project won’t get underway again until the end of September, so you’ll be able to fly out with me. If you want to, that is.’
She squealed, forgetting where she was. ‘Of course I want to come with you.’
‘Good, then that’s settled.’
