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the
day before and I made to get up and retrieve it.
    ‘Where are you going?’ Theo’s hand held me fast.
    ‘To get my phone. I really should listen to my messages.’
    ‘Come straight back, won’t you?’
    I did and then he reached for me and ordered me to put the phone down for a little while longer. Suffice to say, it was another hour before I switched it on.
    I knew there would probably be some messages from friends and family. But as I manoeuvred Theo’s hand gently from my belly so as not to wake him, I noticed that I had an unusually large
number of texts. And a number of voicemail alerts.
    All the text messages were from my sisters.
    Ally, please call as soon as you can. Love Maia.
    Ally, CeCe here. We’re all trying to get hold of you. Can you call Ma or one of us immediately?
    Darling Ally, it’s Tiggy. We don’t know where you are, but we must speak to you.
    And Electra’s text sent shudders of terror through me: Ally, oh my God! Isn ’t it awful? Can you believe it? Flying home from LA now.
    I stood up and walked to the prow of the yacht. It was obvious that something dreadful had happened. My hands trembled as I dialled my voicemail and waited to hear what it was that had prompted
my sisters to contact me with such universal urgency.
    And as I listened to the most recent message first, I knew.
    ‘
Hi, this is CeCe again. Everyone else seems to be too scared to tell you, but we need you home urgently. Ally, I
’m sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, but Pa Salt
has died. Sorry . . . sorry . . . Please call as soon as you can.
’
    CeCe had probably thought she’d ended the call before she had, as there was a sudden loud sob before the beep of the next message sounded.
    I stared unseeingly into the distance, thinking of how I’d seen the
Titan
through the binoculars only yesterday.
There must be some mistake
, I comforted myself, but then
I listened to the next voicemail from Marina, my mother in all but blood, asking me to contact her urgently too, and the same again from Maia, Tiggy and Electra . . .
    ‘Oh my God, oh my God . . .’
    I held on to the railing for support, my mobile slipping out of my hand and landing with a thump on the deck. I bent my head forwards as all the blood seemed to drain from me and I thought I
might faint. Breathing heavily, I collapsed onto the deck and buried my head in my hands.
    ‘It can’t be true, it can’t be true . . .’ I moaned.
    ‘Sweetheart, what on earth is it?’ Theo, still naked, appeared beside me, crouching down and tipping my chin up to him. ‘What’s happened?’
    I could only point at my dropped mobile.
    ‘Bad news?’ he asked as he picked it up, concern written across his face.
    I nodded.
    ‘Ally, you look like you’ve seen a ghost. Let’s get you into the shade and find you a glass of water.’
    With my mobile still in his hand, he half-lifted me from the deck and helped me down and onto a leather bench inside. I remember wondering randomly if I was always destined to be seen by him as
helpless.
    He hastily donned a pair of shorts and fetched me one of his T-shirts, gently helping my unresponsive body into it, then he armed me with a large brandy and a glass of water. My hands were
shaking so much that I had to ask him to dial my voicemail so I could listen to the rest of my messages. I choked and spluttered as I swallowed the brandy, but it warmed my stomach and helped calm
me.
    ‘Here you go.’ He handed me my mobile and I numbly re-listened to CeCe’s message and all the rest, including three from Maia and one from Marina, then the unfamiliar voice of
Georg Hoffman, who I vaguely remembered was Pa’s lawyer. And a further five blank voicemails where the caller had obviously not known what to say and had rung off.
    Theo’s eyes never left my face as I placed my mobile on the seat next to me.
    ‘Pa Salt is dead,’ I whispered quietly, and stared into space for a long time after that.
    ‘Oh God! How?’
    ‘I