“The Page of Wands. This represents someone young, energetic, and fun.”
“Cami,” Bella says. Her face is solemn as she studies the card.
“Yes, maybe Cami. It also represents embracing your passions, new directions, and doing what you love.”
“Soccer starts soon,” Bella says.
Suze nods. “Maybe it’s that.” She turns over the second card. “The Queen of Cups. This card represents love and caring. It can stand for family—your mum, maybe. Or it can stand for sisters.”
“That’s me and Cami,” Bella says confidently.
Suze smiles gently at her. “The first two cards show you’re very caring of your sister and you truly want to make her happy. You treat her with kindness—and she does you. I think the third card will give us an idea of what present to buy for Cami.”
Kim doesn’t move. This is Bella’s reading—if indeed Suze isn’t humouring the child—but so far, what Suze has said could apply equally to her and Danika.
Suze turns the third card. “The Sun.” She touches the card reverently with one finger. “You are lucky, Bella. This card embodies fun, innocence, warmth. The child riding the horse doesn’t need harsh bits or spurs to control the horse; indeed,the horse and child are riding happily along together, a true partnership. I think you have your answer too, quite literally.”
“What’s that?” Bella looks up from her study of the card.
“You and Cami ride hobby horses a lot, don’t you?” At Bella’s nod, she continues, “There’s a stall down the far end that sells beaded items. I happen to know that at the back of the stall there are beaded browbands for hobby horse bridles, as well as pretty things to tie in their manes.”
“Cami would love that!” Bella looks at Kim with shining eyes. “Can we go there please, Mummy?”
Kim nods. It seems Suze has come up trumps. She reaches for her wallet to pay for Bella’s reading, but Suze waves it away. “My pleasure.”
“Can Jorie come with us?” Bella asks.
“Of course,” Suze says. “Tell her I said it’s okay.”
As Bella dances off toward the playground, Kim says, “That was perfect. Did you tailor that reading knowing what Cami would like?”
“The cards never lie.” Suze rests a hand on Kim’s arm. “Come back later. I’ll read yours.”
Kim laughs. “What, more tall, dark, handsome strangers?”
Suze smiles in response. “You never know.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Danika
Danika knows exactly what her mother was hinting at, and it brings things into uncomfortable focus.
It hadn’t taken long to get the Letters of Administration for Chris. She was his wife, Cami his only child, so the judge ruled accordingly. As his wife, she’d received all of it, and she’d put fifty thousand in trust for Cami.
Except Cami wasn’t his only child.
Danika wasn’t his only wife.
Danika turns over in bed. If only Chris had left a will. She’d thought he had—he’d mentioned it. But after his death, when she went to the solicitor they used, he said there was nothing. Only her will in safe custody. Maybe Chris had forgotten, the solicitor said. Maybe he had to cancel the appointment when he was working away and forgot to rebook.
But Chris had told her he’d done his, and suggested she use the same solicitor, which was why she’d made an appointment. After his death, she’d wondered what the hell had happened that Chris’s will wasn’t there.
Hindsight is everything.
But that’s not her problem now. It’s that the court ruled on erroneous information.
Danika gives up trying to sleep, props up on the pillow and stares out the open window to where the gum tree in the neighbour’s garden waves gently in the night breeze. She did the right thing: placed the advert calling for anyone with an interest in the estate of Christopher Brandon Henshall to contact Farnham Solicitors.
