No one spoke for a few seconds, and then Howard said, ‘I still think you should go.’
‘What? Go to Dominica when it’s just been hit by a hurricane?’ Cass thought she must have misheard.
‘Yes,’ said Howard. He’d obviously been thinking about this. ‘The island will need the prize money more than ever. There’s a tight deadline. Bastian has to win it. We can’t afford to hang around.’
‘Surely they’d extend the deadline if there’s been a hurricane?’ said Cass.
‘Bastian will be the only person submitting from Dominica. Why would they change it just for him?’ said Howard.
Cass was aware she knew nothing about the academic world and decided to move on. ‘Even so, could I even get there at the moment? Flights, everything will be affected.’
‘Neighbouring islands haven’t been as badly hit,’ said Ranulph. ‘There’d be ways of getting there by sea. It could be complicated though.’ He paused. ‘I spent most of last night on the internet.’
Although she was determined not to show it, Cass felt a bit daunted at the prospect of a complicated journey by sea. She hadn’t done a lot of travelling. ‘I can’t think they’d want tourists at a time like this.’
‘We wouldn’t be tourists,’ said Ranulph. ‘We’d bring useful supplies. We’d help.’
‘What do you mean, “we”?’ asked Cass.
‘Yes, Ran,’ said Eleanor, ‘are you saying you want to go too?’
‘Why?’ asked Cass.
He shrugged. ‘I love Dominica too. The archaeological project I was working on all those years ago is still ongoing. I hate the idea of staying here, sitting on my hands, when there’s work to be done.’
Howard smiled broadly at him. ‘I admit, I’d feel far happier about Cass going if you were going too.’
Cass regarded her father. She was outraged and yet not really surprised. To her father, she would always be his little girl. Wanting someone to go with her (a male, strong, fit someone) was probably natural. ‘Dad,’ she said firmly. ‘I don’t need anyone to go with me.’ She turned to Ranulph and smiled. ‘Of course, it’s terribly kind of you to offer, but it’s not necessary. I’ll be fine on my own.’
‘I know you would,’ Ranulph said. ‘I’m not going as your escort. I’ve got my own reasons for going. But if we were both going, we should travel together.’
Cass’s heart did a somersault. ‘You really think that going there, at this time, is a good idea? We shouldn’t just send money and help that way?’
‘I think because we’ve been there before and have a bit of local knowledge we could be useful.’
Cass couldn’t help laughing. ‘I was about twelve when I was in Dominica. I don’t have local knowledge.’
‘Bastian will know what needs to be done,’ said Howard. ‘You could be guided by him. And when things are a bit more sorted out, you can search for the petroglyph.’
‘But how would we get there?’ she asked.
Eleanor cleared her throat. ‘I’m afraid I didn’t sleep much either, last night. I got up and researched possible routes. You can go to Dominica via France, and the French islands route. Fly to Paris, then to either Guadeloupe or Martinique and there’s probably a ferry from there. We’ll have to find out how everyone’sbeen affected but there’s an island off Dominica called Marie-Galante. From there I imagine it would be whatever small boat you could find to take you.’
‘Oh my goodness,’ said Cass softly.
‘Are you all right, darling?’ said Howard. ‘Ranulph will look after you.’
Suddenly Cass was angry. ‘Look, you’re sending me on this mission. If you think I need someone to look after me, it would be far better if I didn’t go. I’ll be fine. I am just wondering if our reasons for going are justifiable.’
‘Of course they are! The history of Dominica is at stake here!’ Howard was getting angry now too. Possibly, Cass guessed, because he was beginning to wonder if this was really a good enough reason for the trip.
‘I take your point, Cass, I really do,’ said Ranulph. ‘But if we bring stuff they’re likely to need on the island – as I said before – first aid, tinned food, bottled water, we won’t be a nuisance, we’ll be useful.’
Somewhere in her heart Cass relished his use of ‘we’. She felt more positive suddenly. ‘Well, I got quite far up in my St John’s Ambulance exams,’ she said. She didn’t mention that she and her friend Rosa had taken up first aid because they heard it was a good way to get into events for nothing. Neither did she mention that she’d done an off-road driving course – a Christmas present from her mother – which might not be useful at all. ‘And I can cook for large numbers of people if I have to.’
‘There!’ said Howard triumphantly. ‘I knew you were just the person to send.’
Cass rolled her eyes. He hadn’t known those things about her at all.
