The Sun Sister (The Seven Sisters #6) - Lucinda Riley Page 0,257

a snowman. Watching from the French doors, Cecily had never seen her so confident and happy – in fact, she had never seen Stella play together with so many children. Out of necessity, Stella’s world had been small and contained, the only playmate her age being Michael. Here, she could be a normal child amongst kids just like her. Instinctively, she knew this was absolutely the right place for Stella. And that she would sacrifice just about anything to continue seeing her little girl so happy.

‘I would love to have you both join our school,’ said Rosalind as they stood on the stoop later that afternoon. ‘But I also know that you’ve got a big decision to make, right?’

‘I do, yes.’

‘Well, let me know when you’ve decided, okay?’

‘I will.’

As she led Stella down the steps to the waiting car, Cecily felt almost tearful as she watched her wave to her new friends.

‘Bye bye, see you soon,’ Stella called.

As they drove off, Cecily knew that she’d do all she could to make sure her beloved daughter would.

The next morning, Cecily woke up, her head and heart aching from a dream of Bill. She dressed quickly and crept downstairs, not wishing to wake the sleeping house. It was still dark outside, with only the first glimmers of dawn touching the sky, and she wrapped herself tightly in her coat and fur muffler and walked towards Central Park. Her ankle still feeling delicate, she cleared some snow off a bench and sat down facing the famous Alice in Wonderland statue, dressed in a white gown of frost. The park was quiet, with only a few haggard pigeons pecking fruitlessly at the slush on the ground.

Cecily hugged herself, feeling a little like she too had fallen down a rabbit hole since she had arrived in Manhattan. She watched her breath visible in the frigid air, now a novelty to her after being so long in the heat of Africa. Here, the Manhattan-Cecily could barely remember the feeling of being too hot, and the other Kenya-Cecily felt almost like a dream self, an imposter. She wondered what Bill was doing right now, whether he was still on safari. When she called, he never answered the home telephone, and at Muthaiga Club, Ali said he hadn’t seen the sahib since Christmas Day.

Stella’s destiny lay here; she felt it deep in her bones. Yet if she stayed with her in New York, she would be leaving Bill behind in Kenya. Her home and all it entailed . . . Paradise Farm, Wolfie, Katherine . . . Would Lankenua choose to stay on with her here? She could not ask a mother to leave her son behind.

Perhaps, as she’d said to Rosalind, all she could do was to tell Bill she was delaying her return for a while – he could hardly complain after the years she’d spent trapped in Kenya, and neither was he making any effort to keep in contact with her. At least an extended stay here would give them a chance to try their new life out for size without making any firm decisions.

Back at the house, Cecily ducked into her father’s study. She could hear footsteps in the kitchen and the corridors as Evelyn took the morning coffee tray upstairs to her parents and lit the fires. Cecily took a fountain pen and some paper out of her father’s desk and began to write.

Dearest Bill,

Happy New Year! I hope you celebrated it wherever you are. I was sorry not to be there with you. How were the Christmas festivities at Muthaiga Club? When I called to speak to you on Christmas Day, Ali mentioned that you had gone out on safari. In fact, I have tried to call you on numerous occasions at the farm and Muthaiga since, so I’m resorting to writing. I am taking your absence as a good sign that you are keeping busy and not consumed in hermit-hood whilst I’m gone.

How are Bobby and Katherine? Is her pregnancy progressing well? Stella misses Michael a great deal.

Christmas here in New York was sombre, given Kiki’s death. I can hardly bear to think of Mundui House standing empty without Kiki in it.

I have been taking solace in getting to know my nieces and nephews, and growing close to my sisters again. I have also had a wonderful time exploring Manhattan with Stella and, in truth, the time has gone so fast that I’d like to stay on a little longer. After