‘He’s looking out for his daughter. Now go through that door and help yourself to drinks and snacks. You’ll be called in plenty of time for your flight.’
She found the Ladies’ restroom immediately and fashioned the wrap Becca had given her into a skirt. She still looked incredibly shabby, and knowing her daypack did not look remotely like executive luggage added to her feelings of being in the wrong place. But Cass was determined to enjoy every minute of beingin business class, despite being so hurt by Ranulph not telling her he wasn’t coming with her.
She was able to sleep for much of the journey and made the transfer from Paris to London easily. She knew she was taking ‘travelling light’ to a level she would have preferred not to sink to, but it did make her journey very easy to negotiate.
She emerged into the arrivals hall at Heathrow aware that she was cold and was utterly delighted to see her mother waiting for her. She fell into her arms and tried very hard not to cry.
‘I brought a coat for you,’ said her mother. ‘I knew you’d be cold and it’s a chilly evening.’
Cass slipped on her mother’s old linen jacket.
‘And a scarf,’ her mother added, wrapping a cashmere scarf round her daughter’s shoulders.
When Cass was better dressed she hugged her mother again. ‘It’s so good to be home!’
‘It’s lovely to have you home. I can’t wait to hear all about it. And your dad is equally impatient to see you.’
‘Will a phone call do or will he need a visit?’
‘He’s definitely hoping for a visit.’
Cass sighed. Her father’s house was intrinsically linked to Ranulph in her mind.
‘I have got some very good news for you, though,’ said her mother, leading the way through the car park.
‘What?’
‘Rosa is back! I met her mother in Waitrose. She’s finished her course and is now home. She wanted to come over tonight but I said we’d see how you were feeling.’
‘I’d love to see Rosa! I’ve missed her so much since she’s been away.’ She didn’t add that Rosa was the perfect person to help her through her heartbreak. ‘I’ll call her now and tell her to come over.’ She got out her phone.
‘Could you perhaps wait till we’ve had an evening together first, darling? I want to hear all about your adventures.’
Cass realised she’d been a bit tactless. ‘Of course. I want to spend time with you too.’
‘Jolly good. None of your half-siblings are staying so it’s just us. I’ve got a lasagne in the oven and a bottle of wine. It’s going to be lovely!’
As her mother drove them home Cass realised she was very glad there wouldn’t be anyone there to mock her for her mistakes. Yet she now felt very much better able to hold her own: she had made mistakes, of course she had, but she’d also sewn up a bad cut and the wound had been fine, found the petroglyph which in anthropological terms was very important, as well as ferried supplies to people in need over very bad roads. Now she thought about it, she felt proud of what she’d achieved.
They didn’t talk much on the journey home but when they arrived Cass had a long, hot bath. Feeling like a teenager, or Bridget Jones, she found the big old sloppy T-shirt she always used to sleep in, worn-out bunny slippers, and pull-on cotton trousers she’d had since she was twelve. The softness of the fabric was comforting. She went down to the kitchen to the welcoming smell of lasagne and garlic bread.
‘So!’ said her mother when she’d served up and theyboth had glasses of red wine. ‘Tell me all about Dominica. I don’t suppose you have photos, do you? You wouldn’t have been able to use your phone, would you?’
‘No,’ said Cass, having finished her first delicious forkful of her mother’s cooking. ‘But I do have pictures. I’ll show you after we’ve eaten.’
‘Oh good! Did you buy them?’
Cass shook her head. She’d kept her fondness for drawing secret for so long it was quite hard to bring it into the open. ‘I … I drew them. And just as well I could because …’
Bit by bit the story came out. Cass’s mother’s eyes opened wider and wider as she heard of her daughter’s exploits and achievements.
‘And Bastian was able to find the petroglyph because you redrew the map?’ her mother asked.
‘More or less. I’d also tied a shoelace to a nearby tree.’
‘That was clever thinking.’
Cass shrugged.
