gaze cautious, and Bell wondered what had happened when he’d glided up to the jetty to collect her just now. Had Emil been waiting there too? His old friend, his new foe.
Bell felt a knot of tension tighten in the pit of her stomach just at the thought of it all – the chaos Emil had shaken loose from the fibres of this family crossing the lagoon and following them back here, the lies and secrets pinned to them like shadows.
‘Well, it’s been non-stop here all morning,’ she said with forced brightness, refusing to get drawn in again. Their problems weren’t hers. They weren’t her family and this wasn’t her life. She had sympathy with them all – it was an impossible situation to be in – but it was a job, nothing more. She had to remember that. She was just the nanny, here for the kids. ‘These two have become expert snorkellers—’
‘Snorkelleers,’ Elise corrected her, sitting between her mother’s legs now and letting wet sand drizzle through her fingers.
‘Sorry, snorkelleers, in the space of one morning. If I didn’t know better, I’d say they have mermaid genes.’
‘I want to be a mermaid,’ Tilde said sadly.
‘I know, honey, we all do,’ Hanna said, kissing her head and speaking into her hair.
Bell thought their shoulders looked pink. ‘I’d better get more cream on them,’ she said, wading out of the shallows. The sand was hot underfoot and she jogged lightly up onto the deck, rifling through the beach bag for the bottle.
‘Girls, go and rinse off the sand first,’ she heard Hanna saying behind her and moments later, the squeak of the pipes started up as the twins stood under the outdoor shower, just past the steps.
Hanna grabbed a beach towel and came and sat beside her on the chairs, both of them watching the girls shriek and play, droplets of water catching the sun’s rays and sparkling like crystals. It made for an idyllic image. The radiance of summer. The innocence of childhood.
‘Just look at them. So close . . .’ Hanna murmured wistfully.
‘Yeah . . .’ Bell felt herself stiffen at Hanna’s proximity. She didn’t want to be this close to her, the woman who – unwittingly – had what she herself wanted, even though Bell knew she had no rights here. This was Hanna’s family, her life, her mess, her husband . . . She couldn’t imagine how Hanna would react to learning that Bell had fallen for him, been with him too. Not that she ever would; that secret, at least, would be safe. Emil had far more to lose than she if the truth came out. God, what a mess though. She and Hanna had both trodden on each other’s toes without even knowing it and it occurred to her that this was how Max must feel – caught in the web of someone else’s story, an unwitting bystander become collateral.
‘How was Linus when you left?’ she asked, stepping onto safe ground.
Hanna’s mouth turned downwards and she lifted her gaze off her daughters, staring out to sea, a flock of scolder ducks coming in to land on the water in a riotous chain of splashes. ‘So-so. I think he would have liked to come back here with me. But then Emil offered to take him on a helicopter ride around the archipelago later, so . . .’ She shrugged.
‘Wow.’
‘Mmm . . . He’s spoiling him, of course.’
‘Yes.’
‘I knew he would.’ She clicked her tongue against the top of her mouth, still watching the girls. ‘I don’t suppose I can blame him, though. I would do the same. I would do whatever it took to make my child love me again.’
Bell didn’t comment. She would not be drawn. She was the nanny. This was a job.
Hanna sighed, clasping her hands together between her knees and dropping her head. ‘Listen, Bell, Max told me what you’d said, about not going back there. You don’t want to deal with Emil.’ She pinned Bell with her customary cool stare. ‘And I think I know why.’
Bell felt her blood freeze, her cheeks burn. Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. Emil had told her the truth about them?
Hanna glanced around, checking they were still alone. ‘You know, don’t you?’ she whispered. ‘About the other night.’
What? Bell blinked back, heart thudding as the confusion cleared. Her secret was still just that? He hadn’t said anything about them? ‘. . . Yes.’
‘That’s why you didn’t want to go back – your loyalty is