‘Nothing, except try to be patient. By the way, Ma,’ I said as I made myself some tea, ‘when I tried to get into Pa’s study last night, I found the door was locked. Do you know why?’

‘Because your father asked me to lock it for him just before he died. And then insisted I give him the key straight afterwards. I’ve no idea where he put it and, to be honest, with everything being so . . . difficult, it slipped my mind.’

‘Well, we’ll obviously have to find it. I’m sure that Georg will need to get in there. It’s almost certainly where Pa kept all his papers.’

‘Of course. Now, seeing that none of your sisters have managed to appear yet and it’s nearly noon, I thought that Claudia should cook a brunch,’ said Marina.

‘Good idea,’ I agreed. ‘I’ll go back to the Pavilion and see if Electra’s awake.’

‘All right, chérie!’ Marina threw me a sympathetic smile. ‘The waiting will be over soon.’

‘I know.’

I walked out of the house and was heading towards the Pavilion when, through the trees, I glimpsed a lone figure sitting on the jetty staring out across the lake. I walked towards her and tapped her gently on the shoulder, trying not to startle her.

‘Star, are you okay?’

‘Yes, I suppose so,’ she said, shrugging.

‘Can I join you?’

She gave an almost imperceptible nod in response, and as I sat down and swung my legs over the edge of the jetty, I glanced at her and saw her face was streaked with tears.

‘Where’s CeCe?’ I asked.

‘Still sleeping. She likes to sleep when she’s upset. Last night I couldn’t sleep at all.’

‘No, I’m struggling to as well,’ I admitted.

‘I simply can’t believe he’s gone, Maia.’

I sat next to her silently, knowing how rare it was for her to talk openly about her feelings to anyone other than CeCe. And I wanted to say nothing that might cause her to clam up.

‘I feel . . .’ she said eventually ‘. . . lost. I always knew somehow that Pa was the only person who really understood me. I mean really understood.’

She turned to me then, her striking, almost ghostly features distorted into a mask of despair. ‘Do you know what I mean, Maia?’

‘Yes,’ I said slowly. ‘I think I do. And please, Star, if you ever need someone else to talk to, I’m always here. Remember that, won’t you?’

‘I will.’

‘There you are!’

Both of us jumped instinctively and turned round to see CeCe striding along the jetty towards us. Perhaps I imagined it, but I’m sure that I saw the tiniest hint of irritation pass fleetingly across Star’s opalescent blue eyes.

‘I came to get some fresh air because you were asleep,’ Star said as she stood up.

‘Well, I’m awake now. And so is Tiggy. Did Electra arrive last night? I just looked into her bedroom and there were no signs of anyone having slept in there.’