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Bennie about the mysterious Ahran Elessar
and so I took a deep breath. “Oh he’s fine. For an eight year old
he’s so mature and sensible, sometimes I feel like he’s looking
after me.”
    “I think you
underestimate how much he has learnt from you Sophe.”
    “He’s doing
really well, bless him.” I hesitated. “Although, I had some rather
disturbing news yesterday.”
    Bennie took a
sip of wine. “Go on.”
    “This guy
turned up at the shop asking for me,” I began.
    She raised her
eyebrows. “What did he want?”
    “I wasn’t
there, Audrey spoke to him. He said he would come back at lunchtime
but didn’t show. When I got home he was waiting for me.”
    “Was he
hot?”
    I pictured
Ahran in my mind and my heart picked up tempo. I couldn’t decide
whether it was because I was attracted to him or because of the
worrying news he had told me. To my dismay I realised it was
probably both. “Yeah, he was absolutely gorgeous,” I sighed.
    Bennie leant
forward. “And?”
    “Well, it
wasn’t like that.”
    She looked
disappointed. “So what did he want then?”
    I picked my
words carefully, knowing I was at risk of sounding like a complete
loon.
    “He told me
that Toby’s father was some kind of foreign prince and heir to a
massive fortune, that he was dead and that Toby was the next
rightful heir.” I looked at my friend willing her not to think that
I had gone crazy.
    “Wow Sophe!
What are we talking? Millions?”
    I gave her an
exasperated look. Trust her to think about the money. “The fortune
is only half the story because he also said that some mad, power
hungry woman has a vendetta against Toby’s father for killing her
son.”
    “Shit!” Bennie
exclaimed.
    “That’s not the
end of it,” I continued. “This guy seems to think she wants to get
hold of Toby to wreak her revenge and use him as a bargaining tool
to get her hands on Toby’s father’s wealth.” It still sounded
completely insane to me and I expected her to laugh in my face.
    She didn’t. In
fact she didn’t say anything for a while.
    “It’s crazy
isn’t it?” I said, willing her to agree with me and to tell me to
get a grip. But much to my disappointment she didn’t do either of
those things.
    “Well, maybe
there is something in it. Why else would he make up a story like
that?”
    “So you think
he could be telling the truth?”
    “I don’t know,
what did he say his name was?”
    “Ahran
Elessar.”
    “And who is he
in relation to Toby’s father?
    “He’s his
cousin. He wants me and Toby to stay with his family until they’ve
got rid of this woman.”
    “What?! Are
they gangsters or something?” Bennie asked.
    “That’s what I
thought, but apparently not.”
    “What did he
say Toby’s father’s name was?”
    “Tagan
Halsan.”
    “Have you
googled it?” she asked.
    “No,” I
confessed.
    “Sophie! That
would have been the first thing I’d have done. Get your laptop,”
she instructed. “If he is who this Ahran says he is, there should
be some record somewhere, like on some international royal rich
list.” So simple, why hadn’t I thought of that?
    I jumped up to
get my computer. I could feel the adrenaline starting to pump. It
seemed to take an age for it to boot up. Finally, the distinctive
search engine loaded and the cursor flashed impatiently. I stared
at it motionless, unable to type anything as I thought more
seriously about the danger Toby could be in.
    “Give it to
me,” Bennie said, taking the computer and putting it on her own
lap.
    She quickly
typed in Taygan Halson and after a few seconds it reported that
nothing had been found but suggested a different spelling. Bennie
looked at me.
    “Try the other
spelling,” I said, looking over her shoulder.
    Only a few
random threads came up with either Tagan or Halsan but nothing with
both names. I felt deflated but relieved at the same time. “Well, I
suppose that proves it was a piss take.”
    “Not
necessarily, it might not show up