The Girl on the Cliff (49 page)

There was that look in her eyes again. It said: ‘Play along and get me out of here.’

‘OK … Aurora,’ Matt agreed. ‘Sorry to put you guys to any trouble. As she says, I guess I’m a little forgetful. Where’s your luggage, honey?’ he asked her.

‘Just this.’ She indicated a small rucksack. ‘You know I never bring much, Uncle Matt, I like it when you take me shopping.’ Aurora put her small hand in his and smiled up at him sweetly. ‘Shall we go?’

‘Sure. Bye, guys, and my apologies for being late. Thanks for taking care of her.’

‘Bye, Aurora,’ waved the security guard as Matt led Aurora away. ‘You take good care now.’

‘I will.’

As soon as they were out of sight and earshot, Aurora said, ‘Sorry about this, Matt. I’ll explain everything when we get to your home.’

As they arrived at his car, Matt turned to Aurora. ‘Sorry, honey, we’re going no further until you tell me who you are and what you’re doing here. I’ve gotta be certain this isn’t some elaborate hoax, in which I end up accused of kidnapping a child. You better start talking real fast.’

‘OK, I understand, Matt, but it’s long story.’

‘The bare bones will do.’ Matt folded his arms as he eyed her. ‘Shoot.’

‘Well, you see,’ began Aurora, ‘it’s like this. I met Grania up on the cliffs at my house near Dunworley and then, because Daddy had to go away, he asked Grania to look after me while he did. And then he found out he was dying and asked Grania if she’d marry him, so she’d become my stepmother and be able to adopt me easily. So they did get married, and he did die and so Grania is my new mummy and …’

‘Whoah, Aurora!’ Matt was completely confused by the child’s story. ‘Let me get one thing straight: Grania Ryan has adopted you, right?’

‘Yes. I have proof if you want it.’ Aurora shrugged her rucksack off her back, delved into it and produced a photo of herself and Grania. ‘There.’ She handed it to Matt, who studied it.

‘Thanks. Now, second question: what are you doing here in New York?’

‘Well, Matt, do you remember when you called Granny and Grandpa’s house to speak to Grania? And I answered the phone?’

That was why her name had rung a bell. ‘Yeah, I do,’ agreed Matt.

‘And I said that Grania was away with my daddy on their honeymoon. Of course, I didn’t know at the time that Daddy was so ill. And that Grania had only married him so she could adopt me and I could live with her family.’

Matt nodded, taken aback by Aurora’s adult way of expressing herself. ‘Yup, I’m with you so far.’

‘Well, Grania looked so sad after Daddy died, and she still does. I didn’t like her being lonely. So I asked her if she loved somebody. And she said it was you. And then I realised I’d told you that she’d married my daddy and was on her honeymoon. And that you might have thought she didn’t love you any more. Which, of course, isn’t true,’ Aurora added. ‘So I thought I’d better come and tell you in person that she isn’t married any longer and that she does still love you.’

‘I see,’ Matt sighed. ‘OK, third question: does Grania know you’re here?’

‘Umm … no, she doesn’t. I knew she wouldn’t let me come, so I had to plan it in secret.’

‘Aurora, does
anyone
know where you are right now?’

‘No.’ Aurora shook her head.

‘Christ! They’ll all be out of their minds with worry.’ Matt took his cell phone from his jacket pocket. ‘I’ll call Grania right now. And you can speak to her, so I know you’re telling me the truth.’

‘Grania’s in London at the moment,’ Aurora said, nervous for the first time. ‘Why don’t you call Kathleen? She’s always at home.’

‘OK.’ Matt did so and heard the huge relief in Kathleen’s voice. Then he put Aurora on the line to her.

‘Hello, Granny … yes, I’m fine. What? Oh, getting here was easy-peasy. I have done it before, you know. Daddy was always putting me on planes as an unaccompanied child. Granny, now I’m here, can I at least go to Matt’s loft for a bit before I come home? I’m very tired, you see.’

It was agreed that Matt should take Aurora home with him. And plans for her return to Ireland would be made later, when she’d had some sleep. On the journey back to New York, Aurora looked out of the window at the huge buildings. ‘I’ve never been to New York, but Grania has told me all about it.’

‘Now, honey,’ Matt said as he drove, ‘can we please go back to the beginning when you said you met Grania on the cliffs?’

Aurora told the story again, this time with Matt asking questions if he didn’t understand something.

‘And Grania’s so good and pretty, and I felt awful that I might have stopped you two ever getting back together again,’ Aurora explained as the two of them called the lift to take them up to the loft. ‘She’s been so kind to me, and I wouldn’t want to see her spending the rest of her life lonely. Or growing into an old maid because of something I had said. Do you understand, Matt?’

‘Yup.’ As he put the key in the lock, Matt gazed in wonder at this extraordinary child. ‘I think I’m getting the picture, sweetheart.’

‘Oh, Matt,’ Aurora gazed around the airy sitting room, ‘this is lovely, and just how I imagined it would be.’

‘Thanks, honey. I like it. Can I get you anything? A glass of milk, maybe?’

‘Yes, please.’ Aurora sat down as Matt poured her some milk and handed it to her. She drank it, then rested her small elbows on her knees, leaned forward and eyed him. ‘Now, I have to ask you something very important, Matt. Do you still love Grania? Because if you don’t, actually,’ she seemed suddenly flustered, ‘I don’t know what I’ll do.’

‘Aurora, I’ve always loved Grania, right from the very first moment I set eyes on her. You have to remember it was her that ran away to Ireland and left me. Not the other way around.’ Matt sighed. ‘Sometimes, adult things can get very complicated.’

‘But if you love each other, then I don’t see what the problem is,’ said Aurora logically.

‘No … ain’t that the truth,’ breathed Matt. He’d already given up trying to treat Aurora like a child, so he spoke to her as an adult. ‘If you could tell that new mom of yours that she needs to explain to me what it was I did wrong all those months ago, and just why she ran off to Ireland, then maybe we could get somewhere.’

‘I will,’ Aurora agreed, then yawned. ‘Oh, Matt, I’m very tired. It’s a long journey from Ireland to New York.’

‘It sure is, honey. Let’s get you a lie-down and some sleep.’

‘OK.’ Aurora stood up.

‘And I still haven’t got a clue how you managed to make the journey from Ireland alone.’

‘When I wake up, I’ll tell you,’ said Aurora as Matt led her into a bedroom and she lay down.

‘OK, sweetheart.’ Matt pulled the curtains to. ‘You have a real good rest now and we’ll talk later.’

‘OK,’ answered Aurora sleepily. ‘Matt?’

‘Yeah?’

‘I know why Mummy loves you. You’re nice.’

‘Apparently, Aurora took your credit card details and managed to book and pay for a flight to Dublin, then to New York, on the computer.’ Hans repeated what Kathleen had just told him over the telephone. ‘She took a bus to Clonakilty and, from there, a taxi to Cork Airport. She presented herself as an unaccompanied child, which she said she had done many times before with Alexander, then changed planes at Dublin. On arrival in New York, she managed to coerce this Matt into collecting her.’

‘I see.’

Grania, persuaded by Hans, had taken a short lie-down to recover from the morning’s tension. She’d lain sleepless, trying to come to terms with where and, more to the point,
who
Aurora was currently with.

‘You have got to hand it to her,’ Hans continued, ‘she is certainly a resourceful child. The question is why she felt she needed to make the journey?’ He eyed Grania, waiting for some answers.

Grania was unforthcoming. ‘Who knows?’ she said.

‘Obviously, Aurora thought she had a very good reason. I am presuming Matt was the man you shared your life with in New York?’

‘Yes, he was.’ At this moment, Grania felt she could strangle Aurora with her own bare hands.

‘Why did it end?’ probed Hans.

‘If you’ll excuse me, I’d prefer not to go through the grand inquisition,’ Grania answered defensively. ‘I just want to think about the best way to get Aurora home. And whether I should fly out to New York immediately to collect her.’

‘Well, I think Aurora herself will have some thoughts on that. She seems to be in a safe pair of hands. Your mother said Matt was a reliable man. And if
she
says that, I will believe her,’ Hans smiled, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

‘Yes, he is,’ Grania agreed grudgingly.

‘And I am sure that Aurora will want to speak to you, so why don’t you call her? Check for yourself she is OK?’

‘I … that would mean speaking to Matt. I’ll wait until she calls me. She might be sleeping.’

‘All right, Grania, I will leave you alone.’ Hans knew when he was beaten. ‘But I am as much in the dark as I ever was. I have some work to do. Put a call through to my room if you want to join me for some supper later.’

‘I will.’

Hans patted Grania on the shoulder and left the suite. Once the door was closed, Grania stood up and started to pace. Now the shock had worn off, Grania felt cross … yes, furious that Aurora had seen fit to interfere in her life. This was not a fairy tale, not a childhood game where everybody found their prince and lived happily ever after. It was
reality
. And some things that were wrong could never be put right, however much Aurora wished them to be. She simply wanted Aurora home and out of Matt’s clutches as soon as possible. The thought of the two of them together, discussing her, was more than she could bear. And now, just
when she was trying so hard – and it
was
hard – to move on, as Hans had suggested she must, she was being dragged back into the past. One way or another, there would have to be contact with Matt. Matt, who was almost certainly still shacked up at the loft with
her …

Grania let out a groan of despair. She knew she should speak to Aurora as soon as possible, check she was all right for her own peace of mind. She picked up the receiver and dialled the number, then ended the call before it had a chance to ring. No. She couldn’t face it. So she dialled her mother’s number instead.

‘To be sure, we are all mighty relieved here!’ Kathleen’s voice was euphoric. ‘Fancy our little pet making it all the way to New York!’

‘Yes, isn’t she clever?’ Grania said flatly. ‘Mam, I’d like you to call Matt and make arrangements for Aurora to be put on a plane home as soon as possible. Would you do that for me?’

‘If that’s what you want, Grania. When I spoke to Aurora earlier, she was talking about spending a couple more days with Matt. As she’s got herself there, bless her, she might as well be seeing the sights of New York. Matt sounds very taken with her, so he does.’

‘Well, from my point of view, I’d like her home as soon as possible. She’s missing school, Mam.’

‘And what harm?’ asked Kathleen. ‘I’d say she’ll be having an experience worth any lesson she can learn in class. And a native to show her around, too.’

‘Well, I’ll leave it to you to arrange,’ Grania replied tersely. ‘I’ll send you an email with my credit card details, to pay for Aurora’s ticket home.’

‘All right,’ agreed Kathleen. ‘I’ll be getting Shane to book it, mind. Computers are not my thing. Grania?’

‘Yes?’

‘Are you all right?’

‘Yes, of course I am, Mam,’ she said brusquely. ‘Speak soon.’

Grania slammed the receiver into its cradle and went into the bedroom. Flinging herself down on the bed, she put a pillow over her head to try and block out her frustration and pain.

Aurora and Matt spent the following forty-eight hours seeing all there was to see in New York City. Matt found himself bewitched by her. She was a mixture of naivety and intelligence, innocence and maturity … he could understand why Grania had fallen in love with her.

On Aurora’s last night, Matt took her to a diner for a hamburger as she’d requested. He was due to put her back on a plane the following morning. Up until now, the subject of Grania had been carefully avoided by both of them.

‘Matt, have you come up with a plan yet to win back Grania’s love?’ Aurora asked as she bit into her burger.

‘No,’ he shrugged. ‘I think she’s made it clear that she doesn’t want to speak to me. It’s her mother that’s been contacting me about the arrangements for you.’

‘Grania’s very stubborn,’ said Aurora. ‘That’s what Granny says, anyway.’

‘I know she is, honey.’ Matt smiled at the idea of being counselled by a nine-year-old girl.

‘
And
proud,’ she added.

‘Yup, you’re sure right there.’

‘But we know she still loves you.’

‘Do we?’ Matt raised an eyebrow. ‘You know what, Aurora? I just don’t know that any more.’

‘Well,
I
do.’ Aurora reached across the table towards him conspiratorially. ‘And I have a plan …’

Grania had spent the past two days skulking in her hotel suite at Claridge’s. Now that she knew Aurora was safe, she’d decided not to fly back home, unable to face the pressure she’d be under from her mother to make direct contact with Aurora. And hear what a wonderful time she was having with Matt. And perhaps Charley …

When Aurora was safely on the plane tomorrow, she could return home.

She and Hans shared a quiet dinner that night. He was also leaving London for Switzerland the following day.

‘I hope next time you’re in London, I can show you Aurora’s house,’ said Hans. ‘It is very beautiful.’

‘Next time, yes,’ said Grania distractedly.

‘Grania,’ Hans looked at her, ‘why are you so angry?’

‘Angry? I’m not angry. Well, perhaps a little with Aurora, for giving us all such a fright.
And
for interfering in my life,’ she added honestly.

‘I can see why you might feel that,’ comforted Hans, ‘but we’ve talked before about your problem with receiving gifts from others. Don’t you see that, in her way, Aurora was trying to give you a gift? Trying to help you?’

‘Yes, but she doesn’t understand –’

‘Grania, it is not my place to interfere,’ Hans cut in, ‘and certainly not in the affairs of your heart. But your
anger betrays the strong sense of emotion this man stirs in you. In simple terms, you must either love him or hate him. But only you can decide which.’