‘Tiggy, I’m so, so sorry, but . . . I have to tell you that he died earlier today. Or should I say, yesterday now,’ I corrected myself.

‘Oh Maia, no! I can’t believe it. What happened? Was it a sailing accident? I told him only last time I saw him that he shouldn’t be skippering the Laser alone any longer.’

‘No, he died here at the house. It was a heart attack.’

‘Were you with him? Did he suffer? I . . .’ There was a catch in Tiggy’s voice. ‘I couldn’t bear to think of him suffering.’

‘No, Tiggy, I wasn’t here. I’d gone to visit my friend Jenny in London for a few days. In fact’ – I drew in my breath as I remembered – ‘it was Pa who persuaded me to go. He said it would do me good to get away from Atlantis and have a break.’

‘Oh Maia, how awful for you. I mean, you leave so rarely, and the one time you do . . .’

‘I know.’

‘You don’t think he knew, do you? And wanted to spare you?’

Tiggy voiced the same thought that had flitted across my mind in the past few hours.

‘No, I don’t. I think it’s called Sod’s Law. Anyway, don’t worry about me. I’m far more concerned about you and the dreadful news I’ve just had to tell you. Are you okay? I wish I was there with you to give you a hug.’

‘To be honest, I can’t tell you how I feel just now, because it’s simply not real. And perhaps it won’t be until I’m home. I’ll try to get on a flight tomorrow. Have you told the others yet?’

‘I’ve left them endless messages asking them to call me urgently.’

‘I’ll be back as soon as I can to help you, darling Maia. I’m sure there’ll be a lot to do with a funeral to arrange.’

I couldn’t bring myself to share the news that our father was already buried. ‘It’ll be good to have you here. Now try to sleep, Tiggy, if you possibly can, and if you need to talk at any time, I’m here.’

‘Thank you.’ The wobble in Tiggy’s voice told me she was on the verge of tears as the news began to sink in. ‘Maia, you know he hasn’t gone. No spirit dies, they just move on to another plane.’

‘I hope that’s true. Goodnight, darling Tiggy.’

‘Keep strong, Maia, and I’ll see you tomorrow.’

As I pressed the button to end the call, I lay back exhausted on the bed, wishing that I shared Tiggy’s fervent spiritual beliefs about the afterlife. But just now, I could not think of a single karmic reason why Pa Salt had left the earth.

Perhaps once upon a time, I had believed that there was a God, or at least some power beyond human understanding. But somewhere along the line, that comfort had been wiped away.

And if I was honest with myself, I knew exactly when that had happened.