‘Are you unwell?’ was all he could say.
She had scoffed at this and stepped aside for him to enter. In the kitchen, he could see that she had been preparing breakfast and the old wooden tray was set with cutlery and a napkin. Nikolas could feel the colour rising in his face as he realised that he had interrupted an intimate moment between his parents and cursed himself for his stupidity. This, after all, had been what he was hoping for by suggesting they take the morning off. He was even more reluctant now to mention anything about his sister.
‘Is something wrong, Nik?’
‘No, nothing at all, well, not really.’ He had paused, making sure he had his story right. ‘Lek and Eugénie need to go to Paris for a wedding.’
He saw his mother’s c****d eyebrow at the mention of his sister. ‘Really?’
