‘Has Georg Hoffman arrived?’ I asked them as we both sat down.

‘Yes, but we’ve been told to wait here. He and Ma have disappeared off somewhere. Typical Pa Salt, mysterious to the last,’ Electra commented acerbically.

The six of us sat waiting tensely until Georg eventually appeared on the terrace with Marina.

‘Sorry to keep you so long, girls; there was something I had to organise. My condolences to you all,’ he said stiffly, reaching out his hand around the table and shaking each of ours in the usual formal Swiss manner. ‘May I sit down?’

‘Of course,’ I said, indicating the chair next to me. I studied him, dressed immaculately in a dark suit, the creases on his tanned face and his receding silver-grey hair telling me he was probably in his early sixties.

‘I’ll be inside if anyone needs me,’ said Marina with a nod, before walking off in the direction of the house.

‘Well, girls,’ Georg said. ‘I am so very sorry that the first time I meet you in person is under such tragic circumstances. But of course, I feel as though I know each of you very well through your father. The first thing I must tell you is that he loved you all very much. Not only that, but he was passionately proud of who you have all become. I spoke to him just before he . . . left us, and he wanted me to tell all of you this.’

I was surprised to see a glint of tears in Georg’s eyes – I knew how unusual it was for a man such as he to show any emotion, and I warmed to him somewhat.

‘The first thing to do is to get the finances out of the way and reassure all of you that you will be provided for, at some level, for the rest of your lives. However, your father was adamant that you should not live like lazy princesses, so you will all receive an income which will be enough to keep the wolf from the door, but never allow you to live your lives in luxury. That part, as he stressed to me, is what you must all earn yourselves, just as he did. However, your father’s estate is held in trust for all of you and he has given me the honour of managing it for him. It will be down to my discretion to give you further financial help if you come to me with a proposition or a problem.’

All of us remained silent, listening intently to what Georg was telling us.

‘This house is also part of the trust, and Claudia and Marina have both agreed that they are happy to stay on and take care of it. On the day of the last sister’s death, the trust will be dissolved and Atlantis can be sold and the proceeds divided between any children you may have among you. If there are none, then the money will go to a charity of your father’s choice. Personally,’ Georg commented, ‘I think what your father has done is most clever: making sure the house is here for the rest of your lives, so you know you have a safe place to return to. But of course, your father’s ultimate wish is for all of you to fly away and forge your own destinies.’