‘How was Electra when you told her?’ Tiggy asked me. ‘Actually, you don’t need to answer that, I can imagine.’

‘Well, it was Ma who spoke to her. I gather she was bawling her eyes out.’

‘True to form, then,’ said Tiggy, taking a sip of her tea.

Then she sighed suddenly, the light disappearing from her eyes. ‘It feels so odd. I keep expecting Pa to walk in at any second. And of course, he never will again.’

‘No, he won’t,’ I agreed sadly.

‘Is there anything we should do?’ Tiggy asked, rising suddenly from the sofa and walking to the window to stare out. ‘I feel we should be doing . . . something.’

‘Apparently, Pa’s lawyer will come and see us when we’ve all arrived and explain things, but for now’ – I shrugged despairingly – ‘all we can do is wait for the others.’

‘I suppose you’re right.’

I watched as Tiggy pressed her forehead against the windowpane.

‘None of us really knew him, did we?’ she said quietly.

‘No, we didn’t,’ I conceded.

‘Maia, can I ask you another question?’

‘Of course.’

‘Do you ever wonder where you came from? I mean, who your real mother and father were?’

‘Of course it’s crossed my mind, Tiggy, but Pa’s been everything to me. He has been my father. So I suppose I’ve never needed – or wanted – to think beyond that.’

‘Do you think you’d feel guilty if you did try to find out?’

‘Maybe,’ I replied. ‘But Pa has always been enough, and I couldn’t imagine a more loving or caring parent.’

‘I can understand that. You two always did have a special bond. Perhaps the first child always does.’

‘But each one of us had a special relationship with him. He loved us all.’

‘Yes, I know he loved me,’ said Tiggy calmly. ‘But that hasn’t stopped me from wondering where I originally came from. I thought of asking him, but I didn’t want to upset him. So I never did. Anyway, it’s too late now.’ She stifled a yawn and said, ‘Would you mind if I went up to my room and had a rest? Perhaps it’s delayed shock or the fact I haven’t had a day off for weeks, but I feel totally exhausted.’

‘Of course not. You go and lie down, Tiggy.’

I watched as she floated across the room to the door. ‘I’ll see you later.’

‘Sleep well,’ I called as I found myself alone once again. And oddly irritated. Maybe it was me, but Tiggy’s other-worldliness, her air of being slightly removed from all that went on around her, seemed suddenly more pronounced. I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted from her; after all, I’d been dreading my sisters’ reactions to the news. I should be glad that Tiggy looked to be handling it so well.

Or was the real reason I felt unsettled the fact that each of my sisters had lives that went on above and beyond Pa Salt and their childhood home, whereas both he and Atlantis had comprised my entire world?