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things.’ She shut her eyes and cuddled in against him.
    Brief hopes of having to flee from Thomas and New Plymouth died. Silly seemed to apply to anything that annoyed my sister. The question then was: just what sort of silly were the people who wanted to take her away?
    Back at home, Mother seemed energised by the prospect of having a friend. ‘I liked Gilda. I’m surprised, but I do.’ Then she got the dreamy look on her face that I remembered so well from our Taris life. ‘And Ivor seems like a nice boy.’
    ‘He’s hardly a boy, Sheen. He’s a young man.’ Danyat looked at me, warnings and concern hovering in the air around him. I busied myself in helping Mother prepare a vegetable curry for our evening meal.
    Hera dragged a chair over beside me. ‘We have to make enough for Oban.’
    Mother put a chopping board, knife and beans in front of her. ‘Cut those up, honey girl. Like this. Good. So you think Oban will be coming to see us?’
    Hera nodded. ‘He’s happy we’re here.’
    That was probably right. He’d come to New Plymouth to help with machinery maintenance at the hospital during the pandemic and had decided to stay on.
    Sure enough, Oban came straight after he finished work for the day. It was so good to see him, but Hera barely gave us time to greet him before she grabbed his hand to lead him away on a tour of the garden, Danyat’s caravan and the house. ‘This is my bedroom,’ I heard her say. ‘I don’t want Juno in my room.’
    ‘But if Juno is in your room, then there’s a spare room for visitors. It’s nice to have friends to stay.’
    ‘You can stay, Oban. You’re nice.’
    Oban was laughing as he came out to the living room. ‘Sheen, would it ease your mind if I did stay? Until Zanin arrives?’
    Tears came into Mother’s eyes and she hugged him. ‘Thank you, Oban. That will be a true gift.’
    ‘Shall I come and help you bring your gear over?’ I asked.
    He shook his head. ‘I haven’t got much. It won’t take long. Be back soon.’
    Mother was still smiling as she closed the door behind him. ‘What a lovely boy he is. What a pity Vima wouldn’t marry him.’
    I wondered if he still grieved that she didn’t love him the way he had always loved her.
    But Danyat was philosophical. ‘It’s good that they’ve gone their different ways. They can both forge new lives now.’
    And now, of course, Oban was free to stay with us. It took some of the heaviness out of the worry about my sister’s safety.
     
    We did all we could think of to keep Hera safe. Danyat walked to school with us, even though Ivor always came too, and we continued the pattern of Danyat and Hera walking in front, with me and Ivor behind.
    For the rest of the week, he made no attempt to touch me, or make me the focus of that special smile, and as a result I enjoyed his company. He made me laugh and we fell into a habit of swapping stories of our lives. I relaxed. I had found a friend. But I sensed that Ivor was impatient with the way I always kept my eyes on Hera.
    ‘You think we’re over-reacting, don’t you?’
    He did a rueful look really well. ‘Guilty as charged, your honour.’ He thought for a moment. ‘Guess I find it hard to credit that what she said about going away meant something bad.’
    ‘Believe me,’ I said, ‘we wouldn’t have rushed up here if we thought it was nothing.’
    ‘In that case,’ he said, giving my arm a lightning nudge, ‘personally I can’t find it in my heart to be sorry.’ He zapped the multi-watt smile at me, then added, ‘And of course I hope you’re wrong.’
    We weren’t wrong. We needed to watch, to guard and keep my sister safe. I had to admit that Willem had been wise to tell us to come to Fairlands, where at least we could relax while Hera was at school surrounded by the bodyguard of little kids. The freedom from worry meant I could concentrate on my lessons.
    Ginevra was right about her class being welcoming. They were open and friendly, with