“I reiterate my offer,” Marie said, moving quickly down the stairs. “You should be off getting pampered or something.”
Ava rolled her eyes. “Sure. That sounds like my kind of thing.”
Olivia nudged her sister playfully. “A bit of time in a beauty spa is fun; you should try it some time.”
“You can be pampered for me, Princess,” she teased back. “Where’s Soph?”
“Playing with Milly, of course. Want to place bets on how quickly they’ll try for a baby.”
Ava wrinkled her nose. “I’d be surprised if that’s not already on their agenda.”
“I hope it happens for them. They’ll be great parents.” Olivia murmured distractedly, her eyes scanning Ava’s face. “But if you’re not going to go to a salon, we should at least do some facials here. What do you say? Some face masks and gossip to pass the afternoon?”
Ava couldn’t think of much worse. “Ummm,” she prevaricated, and let out a sigh of relief when the door pressed open.
“Miss Sanderson,” Ava cast Olivia an expression that perfectly expressed her pleasure at the interruption and moved towards the front desk. “How lovely to have you back again.” The woman was just as Ava remembered, though now she clutched a young baby to her chest. “And congratulations, too!” She said, smiling down at the infant.
“Thank you,” Elizabeth nodded, her manner reserved, but in a way that Ava found refreshingly honest.
“How old is she?”
“Only four months.”
“Four months? So young to have made such a long flight,” Ava cooed. “And you must be exhausted.”
“Oh,” she waved her hand in the air. “I’m fine. I had the family to help.” That, and the incomparable luxury of t
he elegant private jet had made the long-haul flight relatively simple.
“Yes,” Ava scanned the book in front of her. “I have a note here that you’ve reserved all of the cabins?”
“Yes, though there are only three families, I thought privacy would suit us best given our reason for coming to the area.”
“Of course,” Ava said, far too professional to pry despite her curiosity. “Well, don’t worry about filling in any paperwork now. It’s far more important that you get settled with a cup of tea and let this little one have a sleep.”
“Oh,” Elizabeth’s eyes were enormous at the unexpected kindness. “That’s lovely of you, but actually …” She cast a furtive glance at the two women nearby, and lowered her voice. “You’re Ava Henderson, aren’t you?”
Ava furrowed her brow. “Yes. We’ve been emailing.”
“Yes, yes.” She swallowed, and the baby let out a little gurgling noise. Elizabeth instinctively lifted her higher onto her shoulder and patted the little back gently. “It’s just … the rest of the family are only an hour or two behind me, and there’s something particular I wanted to discuss with you first.”
“With me?” Ava said, her surprise drawing Olivia’s attention.
Elizabeth nodded. “Do you … I don’t mean to seem untoward, of course, however, do you have time now? Could we speak privately?”
Ava couldn’t have imagined what this woman wanted with her, and Elizabeth, anxious after months of planning and fretting, mistook Ava’s silence for refusal. “It’s about your mother,” she said, shifting the baby to her other shoulder.
“My mother?” Ava’s shock was genuine. She turned to Olivia instinctively, but Olivia was already striding towards the counter.
“You knew our mother?” Olivia took over, and despite the fact she had only been Princess of Dashan for a matter of months, she had a natural air of authority.
“No, not personally.” Her nerves were apparent. “Your mother was Meredith Henderson? An American?”
Ava and Olivia exchanged a look.
“Marie,” Ava spoke without looking at her friend and helper. “Any chance you’d make a pot of tea?”
“Of course. You’ll be in the lounge?”