Twenty-Nine“Surprise!” Sir John Russell, Seb’s oldest half-brother, and his wife of three months, the Maori singing star Pania Hayes, stood arm-in-arm in the hallway of New Gold House and beamed at the circle of bright smiling faces around them. Their return after several months away on an Australia-New Zealand stage tour was fully expected, but none had known exactly what day they were due, and now they were here no one could believe it.
Seb’s face ached from the wide grin that had started at the sound of John’s foot on the front door step. Married life and the time away had transformed him. The gaunt, haunted look he’d developed over a terrible period last year when he faced extreme business and personal dangers had vanished. He stood, over six feet in his socks, his stance casual and e
