‘Oh no. That’s so sad.’
Skye hoped Sandra wouldn’t cry, because if she did Skye wasn’t sure she would be able to retain her own self-control. ‘It is. Very sad.’
She felt Joe’s hand rest lightly on her thigh, distracting her from becoming too emotional by the warmth of his touch. Skye cleared her throat. Wanting to know as much as possible about her mother and hopefully her father while she had the chance, Skye said, ‘I’m sorry to give you such sad news.’
Sandra dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. ‘It’s not your fault. I suppose I mostly feel guilty.’
‘About what?’ Skye asked, confused.
‘Annie and I were almost the same age. We were very close, once. I feel guilty not having kept in contact with her.’ She stared at Skye, her eyes watery with unshed tears. ‘I should have kept in touch with her, found out about you. Spent time with her.’ Her voice trailed off but before Skye could think how to respond, Sandra continued. ‘I suppose we never imagine people’s lives will be cut short.’ She sighed heavily and dabbed at her eyes again. ‘Always assume we have all the time in the world to contact people.’
Hating to see the poor woman so upset on account of her visit, Skye moved forward to the edge of her seat and reached out to take Sandra’s hand. ‘Please don’t upset yourself. I understand what you’re saying and have felt that way, many times, but have come to the conclusion that regret is a waste of emotion. Anyway—’ she forced a smile ‘—Mum would have hated to think of anyone she was close to feeling badly.’
Sandra nodded and, believing the woman was feeling slightly better, Skye sat back in her seat again.
‘Well,’ Sandra said, seeming much more in control. ‘You’re here to find out about Carlos Ferreira.’
Who?‘Do you mean that’s the name of my father?’
Sandra shrugged. ‘I presume so. As far as I’m aware.’ She raised a finger. ‘And I was the closest person to Annie while she was in Jersey. He was the only man she ever spent time with.’ She thought for a moment. ‘Or showed any interest in, come to think of it.’ She narrowed her eyes and studied Skye’s face before smiling. ‘And looking at you now, with your dark hair, dark eyes and that beautiful bone structure of yours, I’m 99 per cent certain he must be your father. He was a very handsome man, was Carlos,’ she said, her voice taking on a slightly dreamy tone that made Skye wonder if Sandra could have had an interest in the man too.
Did something happen between the women involving him to cause a rift? Now wasn’t the time to ask for too much information, Skye reminded herself. She was here to focus on her father and discovering all she could about him.
Her stomach fluttered with excitement and nerves. She looked at Joe and saw excitement in his eyes. So she had been right to think C. Ferreira could be her father. And now they had a first name, too. ‘Carlos Ferreira,’ Skye whispered, saying the name for the first time. ‘It’s a nice name.’
‘He was a nice man,’ Sandra said. She leant forward and, moving a few of the photos around, found one she was looking for and tapped on it several times. ‘There he is with Annie.’
Skye gasped, aware she was about to look at the most important photo she would probably ever see. She glanced at Joe, unsure why she was hesitating. This was too immense a moment to grasp.
‘Go on,’ he encouraged.
She picked up the photo with shaky fingers and took a calming breath before looking at it. Skye studied the young couple sitting on a beach, leaning against the sea wall, and struggled to keep her emotions in check. Carlos had his arms around Annie’s shoulders. Both were laughing at something someone, probably the photographer, had said.
‘I took that photo,’ Sandra said, her voice shaky. ‘That wasn’t long before Annie left, probably only a few weeks. They were very happy and seemed deeply in love.’
‘Seemed?’ Skye was confused by the use of the word. Looking at the happy faces she would assume they didn’t have a care in the world.
‘Yes. But if they really had been then why would Annie have upped and left like she did? It doesn’t make sense. Unless…’ She narrowed her eyes and gazed at Skye. ‘When were you born?’
‘January 1999.’
Sandra gave her answer some thought then nodded. ‘That makes sense. She must have been three to four months pregnant in this photo.’ Sadness washed over her face. ‘I never knew.’ Then looking into Skye’s eyes, she asked, ‘Why do you think she never told me?’
‘I’ve no idea,’ Skye said, honestly wishing she had answers for the poor woman. ‘Have you any idea what happened to Carlos?’
Sandra shook her head slowly. ‘We didn’t keep in touch.’
‘Do you know if he still lives on the island?’ Skye asked, her mind racing with unanswered questions. ‘Was he even from here?’
‘I don’t know whether he’s still here or not, I’m afraid.’
Deciding to bring the conversation back to her mother and Sandra’s friendship, Skye asked, ‘Mum never gave any reason for leaving then?’
Sandra thought for a moment. ‘She asked for permission to return home for a couple of days, I seem to recall. Something about her mother being unwell and needing to see her.’ She shook her head. ‘But she never came back. I did write a couple of times, then when she didn’t reply became angry and…’
Her voice petered off and Skye wondered what it might be that Sandra wasn’t comfortable sharing with her. ‘And, what?’ she asked, desperate to find out more.
Sandra looked down at her hands clasped together in her lap. Then, without speaking, rested one hand on Paul’s and glanced up at him. As if a secret code had passed between them, Paul moved to the side of Sandra’s chair.
