Florence saw her aunt’s sharp intake of breath.
‘She asked me to find you.’
‘Why now?’
‘I don’t know. She first asked in 1944, when I arrived in England from France, but we couldn’t travel here till now. I suppose she knew she was ill, though she didn’t admitit and I had no idea.’ Florence stopped, remembering their argument, the harsh words, but then later the way her mother had told her everything.
Rosalie nodded, clearly moved.
‘Of course, that’s why she didn’t tell me. If she had, I could hardly have left her.’
‘And you have a message for me?’
Florence nodded. ‘She wants me to tell you how desperately sorry she is for not helping you when you needed her. She said it’s the biggest regret of her life.’
A tear slid down Rosalie’s cheek and then another. She reached into a pocket for a handkerchief and wiped her face.
A lump formed in Florence’s throat.
Rosalie looked at the ground and then up at the ceiling, blinking more tears away. Then she rose to her feet and so did everyone else. ‘Where are you staying?’
‘In an apartment in Valletta,’ Florence said.
‘You must stay here next time you come to Malta. We have so much to talk about. I want to know everything, although I hardly know where to begin. I never thought I would see any of my family again.’ She paused, clearly finding it hard to speak. ‘And I can’t thank you enough for finding me.’
‘But you could have come back any time.’
Rosalie sighed. ‘I didn’t feel I could. The circumstances of my leaving were so awful. Anyway, you’re here now and I’m delighted.’ She held out her arms to Florence and the two women hugged.
‘We must go to Claudette. Together. Gerry, can we gettickets for Florence and Jack on the same sailing we’re booked on?’
‘We’ve already booked tickets on a passenger ship sailing in six days’ time,’ Florence said.
‘It would be nicer if we could go together,’ Rosalie said.
‘I’ll see what I can do,’ Gerry said. ‘It’s a cargo ship so there aren’t many passenger berths. They sometimes hold back one or two. Failing that we’ll have to go separately.’
‘I didn’t think of asking about cargo ships,’ Jack said. ‘When does it sail?’
‘In three days,’ Gerry said. ‘It’ll take about ten days or so to get to Portsmouth.’
Rosalie kept her eyes fixed on Florence as if not wanting to let her go. ‘Of course, you could stay here for the next couple of days if you like.’
‘Jack?’ Florence said.
‘If we can get tickets on the same sailing, I’ll need to organise a deputy to oversee the work on the apartment, so it might be better to stay in Valletta.’
‘But thank you anyway,’ Florence added as she looked back at Rosalie.
Rosalie took her hand. ‘Not at all, and all being well, we’ll be able to talk all the way to Portsmouth. Don’t worry about wasting the money on your other tickets. They’ll probably resell them for you. And in any case, I’ll be paying for these.’
Florence smiled, feeling light, her heart overflowing with relief and joy at finally having found Claudette’s missing sister.
CHAPTER 52
When the ship finally docked in Portsmouth on a grey wintery day, it was so drab after the brilliance of Malta that Florence felt deflated and apprehensive. They’d eaten a hurried breakfast and now she and Jack were standing on the deck watching the dockside scene unfold while waiting for Rosalie and Gerry.
‘Do you think they are, you know … close?’ she whispered.
