The Girl on the Cliff

by Lucinda Riley

  “Yes, I do. Obviously, I’d like to take a trip over to Cork and see the series for myself, but based on what I’ve seen so far, I’d be very happy to take you on.”

  “And it probably helps that Grania is young and relatively photogenic too.” Hans winked at Grania.

  “Of course,” agreed Robert, “as long as you’re not averse to doing some publicity.”

  “If it helps, of course not,” agreed Grania.

  “Excellent.” Robert rose and kissed Grania on both cheeks. “It’s been a pleasure to meet you, Grania. Have a think over what I’ve said and, if you’re interested, e-mail me and I’ll fly to Cork so we can discuss things further.”

  “Thank you, Robert.”

  When Robert had left, Hans said, “So, a successful evening?”

  “Yes, thank you for introducing me to him,” said Grania, wondering why she wasn’t feeling quite as thrilled as she should. Robert Sampson was a serious mover and shaker in the art world. Gaining his approval for her new work was an enormous compliment.

  Hans noticed immediately. “Is there a problem?”

  “No, I . . . well, I suppose that, mentally, I hadn’t quite closed the door on New York and my career there.”

  “Well”—Hans patted her hand as they headed for the elevator—“perhaps it is time to move on.”

  “Yes.”

  “Now, tomorrow, I suggest a little light shopping for you in the morning. Bond Street, which is awash with boutiques, is a stone’s throw away. Then we can meet for lunch, over which I need to run through some boring paperwork with you. And tomorrow afternoon I will take you to see Aurora’s London house. Good night, Grania.” Hans kissed her affectionately on the cheek.

  “Good night, Hans, and thank you again.”

  • • •

  Grania was mindlessly looking through the racks of exquisite clothes in Chanel the following morning, pondering the fact that anything she wished to buy could be hers, when her cell phone rang.

  “Hello, Mam,” she said distractedly, “everything all right?”

  “No, Grania, it isn’t.”

  Grania could hear the panic in her mother’s voice. “What’s happened?”

  “It’s Aurora. She’s disappeared again.”

  “Oh no, Mam!” Grania’s heart sank. She checked her watch. It was half past eleven. “How long has she been gone?”

  “We’re not sure. You know she said she was staying over at Emily’s house last night?”

  “Of course I do! I dropped her off yesterday morning at school with her overnight bag, remember?”

  “Well now, she wasn’t staying over. The school rang me about twenty minutes ago to ask if she was ill, as she hadn’t arrived this morning. I called Emily’s mammy straight away, and she said there’d been no plan for Aurora to sleep over last night.”

  “Oh God, Mam! So when was the last time anyone saw her?”

  “Emily said Aurora left the school yesterday at home time, saying she was walking back up to the farm by herself, because you were in London.”

  “And no one’s seen her since?”

  “No. She’s been missing all night. Oh, Grania”—there was a catch in Kathleen’s voice—“Where is she after going this time?”

  “Listen, Mam,” Grania left Chanel and began walking swiftly along the street, “I can’t hear for the traffic. I’m going back to the hotel and I’ll call you in ten minutes when I’ve had a think. It’s me that’s at fault; I shouldn’t have left her. Look what happened last time. I’ll speak to you in a bit.”

  Two hours later, Grania was pacing around her suite, Hans trying and failing to keep her calm. John, Shane and Kathleen had scoured the surrounding areas and all the places Grania had suggested Aurora might be, but had come up with a blank.

  “Dad’s calling the guards,” Grania said, her heart beating like an unsteady tom-tom. “Oh God, Hans, why has she gone? I thought she was so happy at the farm with Mam and Dad. I shouldn’t have left her . . . I shouldn’t have left her . . .”

  Grania collapsed onto the sofa and Hans put his arms around her. “Please, my dear, you must not blame yourself.”

  “I do, because I’ve obviously underestimated the effect Alexander’s death has had on Aurora.”

  “Well, I for one do not understand it,” sighed Hans. “She seemed so settled.”

  “The problem is, Hans, that Aurora is very difficult to read. She’s so self-contained, seems so grown up in many ways . . . but maybe a lot of her pain has been hidden. What if . . . what if she thought I’d left her, and she took it in her head to join her parents? I said I’d never leave her, Hans, I promised her . . . I . . .” Grania cried on his shoulder.

  “Grania, please, you must try and keep calm. I have never seen a less suicidal child than Aurora. Besides, she was the one who encouraged you to come to London, was she not?” added Hans.

  “Yes,” agreed Grania, blowing her nose, “she did.”

  “And I have a strong feeling that this is nothing to do with Aurora’s unstable state of mind,” he added.

  “Well, if it’s not that, what could have happened to her?” Grania put a hand suddenly to her mouth. “Oh my God, Hans! What if she’s been kidnapped?”

  “I am afraid to say that the thought has crossed my mind. As you know, Aurora is an exceptionally wealthy young lady. If there has been no sign of her in the next hour, I will speak to my contact at Interpol and have them investigate, just in case.”

  “And I think I should be getting myself on the flight back home immediately.”

  “Of course.”

  “If anything has happened to that child, Hans, I will never be able to forgive myself.” Grania wrung her hands. “Her cell phone rang and she answered it immediately. “Any news, Mam?”

  “Yes. Thank the heavens! Aurora’s safe.”

  “Oh, Mam, thank God . . . thank God! Where was she found?”

  “Ah, well now, that’s the interesting part. She’s in New York.”

  “New York?! But how . . . why . . . where?”

  “She’s with Matt.”

  It took a few seconds for her mother’s words to sink in. “She’s with Matt? My Matt?” Grania repeated.

  “Yes, Grania, your Matt. He rang here about ten minutes ago. He said he’d had a call from the airline to ask him why he wasn’t at the airport to collect a child by the name of Aurora Devonshire, as arranged.”

  “What?” Grania exclaimed. “How on earth did she—?”

  “Grania, don’t be asking me any more questions. I don’t know the answers. Matt’s calling me back in a bit, but I wanted to tell you immediately that Aurora was safe. Whatever the child has taken into her head to do, we’ll find out in good time.”

  “Yes, Mam, you’re right.” Grania let out a long sigh of relief and confusion. “At least she’s safe.”

  42

  Matt had indeed had a call from Aer Lingus at ten o’clock that morning. He’d listened to the representative asking him why he hadn’t been at JFK as arranged, to meet a girl called Aurora Devonshire, traveling as an unaccompanied child from Dublin, Ireland.

  At first, Matt had been at a loss, wondering if someone was playing a practical joke on him. The airline seemed to have his name, his telephone number and address, but who the child was, he had no idea. As he refuted any knowledge of the arrangement, he could hear the representative becoming nervous.

  “Are you saying you don’t know this child, sir?” she’d asked.

  “I . . .” Matt knew the name rang a bell but he could not put it in context.

  “Excuse me, sir.” He’d heard a muffled voice at the other end of the line, before the representative came back and said, “Miss Devonshire says that a Miss Grania Ryan made all the arrangements with you.”

  “Did she?” Matt was flummoxed.

  “That’s what the little girl says, sir. If you are unable to collect Miss Devonshire, then we have a problem.”

  “No . . . it’s OK. I’ll be down in f
orty.”

  As Matt made the journey to the airport, he still had no concept of what the hell was going on. However, the name Grania at least was familiar, so Matt had to presume that there was a connection, however vague. And at the very least he needed to investigate.

  Arriving at JFK, Matt duly went to the appointed meeting place, where he found a small, beautiful child with flame-red ringlets, eating Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. She was flanked by an airline representative and an airport security guard.

  “Hi, I’m Matt Connelly,” he announced uncertainly.

  The little girl immediately put down her tub of ice cream and threw herself into his arms. “Uncle Matt! How could you have forgotten I was coming? Grania promised me you’d be here. Really”—She turned to the airline representative and the security guard and sighed—“Uncle Matt is so absentminded. He’s a professor of psychology, you know.”

  The guard and the representative smiled indulgently, won over by the child’s charm. She turned back to him, and he saw the glint of warning in her eyes. “Can we go home now to your loft, Uncle Matt? I can’t wait to see Grania’s sculptures. But”—Aurora yawned—“I’m very tired.”

  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 backpack. “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.” The security guard waved 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 . . .”

  “Whoa, 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 backpack 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 realized 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 anymore. 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 wanted to believe her but needed more facts. “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 that plans for her return to Ireland would be made later, when she’d had some sleep. On the journey back to the city, 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 elevator 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 she 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 his study/spare 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 says 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.”