“First of all, Evan, Sylvie, and me. Obviously, we’re brother and sisters, but we’re much more than that; Sylvie is also my wife, and Evan is our husband; we’re one unit, one family, all three of us in troika, perfectly balanced, and very much in love. That’s how it’s always been for us, for as long as we can remember, and how we’re going to stay. Long ago, we realised that all the partying, all the meaningless relationships, all the glitz and glamour, none of that meant anything. What we had together was all that mattered, and so we set out to find others like us, who had the same urges and needs.”
She paused to smile secretly at us, before continuing.
“We were lucky, very lucky indeed; our father was an immensely, unbelievably wealthy man, and he left the three of us everything he’d accumulated over a lifetime of accumulating things, and so we had all this money, a ridiculous, absurd amount of money, and a very good idea what we were going to do with it. ‘Sisterfest’ came about because we reasoned that we couldn’t possibly be the only people who felt like we did, who wanted what we wanted, so we started this whole thing to find them, bring them together, and share with us what we have.”
Once again the cheeky smile, along with a companionable wink.
“So far it’s worked really well; it’s been a very successful few years. We have people who come here to us who can be what they truly need to be, with the one person they love and desire above all others; so many of the people who’ve come to us, who come back time and again, have managed to create for themselves what my husband, my wife, and I have made for ourselves. I’m so proud and happy that we were able to find them and help them the way we did. In that respect, ‘Sisterfest’ has been a great success… so far.”
Something about her tone caught my attention more than she already had. Nim caught it too, if her questioning look was anything to go by. Robyn smiled again, only now her smile was wistful, sad, even, as she gazed out of the window at the trees outside, her eyes distant, obviously looking at something else entirely.
“… and…?” prompted Nimmie gently, causing Robyn to return her attention to us.
“And now it’s time for us to move on…” she said in a much softer voice. “You, all of you here this weekend, were invited here for a very special reason; we don’t normally hold these weekends in the summer; high days and holidays only, Valentine’s, Hallowe’en, that kind of thing, but this year’s different; this year we were looking for someone special, that special couple who could pick up the reins and carry on and make Sisterfest even more successful, who could help even more people who need somewhere they can be real, with someone like us on their side.”
Now Nimmie was looking at her incredulously, then at me; surely she didn’t mean…
Robyn’s tinkling laugh broke the sudden silence as she clicked onto Nimmie’s and my wavelength.
“No, no, calm down, it’s not you, stop worrying, that’s all taken care of! There was another couple here who are perfect; they want what we want, and I think they’ll be able to do things with the whole idea that Sylvie, Evan, and I can’t, not anymore. We’re going away, you see, to our home, our real home, where we can be a family, and start a proper family together; I think you’ll agree, this is not the kind of place to bring up children. We want to bring up our children in peace away from all this, and finally get our lives back; we’ve walked on the wild side long enough, and it’s someone else’s turn. Which is where you come in, kids…”
Nimmie was looking sideways at her, not following her, and I was confused as hell, too; if they’d chosen their replacements, what did they want with us? My bewilderment must have shown, because suddenly Robyn was leaning forward to take my hand in hers, and stretching out her free hand to Nim, who smiled doubtfully but took it. Robyn squeezed my hand and smiled reassuringly.
“Rowan, the people who’ve agreed to take this on are like you two in so many ways: they’re pretty much your age, and they’re going to need friends, family, even, people like them, people who will understand them, people with the brains and motivation to help them make a success of this place. I want that to be you, both of you. Finn and Lara are going to need so much help and support here on the ground, and I think that could be you.”
She paused to smile at me once again, patting my hand as she put it back in my lap.
“Rowan, you have to have worked out by now that we don’t let just anyone in here; everyone we invite to our house is vetted rather carefully, given the kind of problems the tabloids would cause if they found out about us and our little… get-togethers here. We checked you and Nimmie out pretty thoroughly, and so I know you finished your last year at university this year, and now you need to work in a practice if you want to be a chartered architectural engineer one day. That will always be your first love; we saw that right away, which is why we didn’t ask you to take up where we’re leaving off; we couldn’t ask you to give that up for this. However, we can arrange for you to enter an architectural practice and achieve your dream, and still be part of us.”
She paused to smile at me, her eyes twinkling, before patting me on the hand.
“I’ve seen your transcripts, your coursework, and the projects you’ve completed. You’re talented, Rowan, and I think I know just the place for you; it’s a small architectural practice that’s about to become part of our… family, a brother and sister team, Mike Kershaw and Carys Elliot, so you should feel right at home. They’re like you, like us; you’ll like them, I promise.”
Robyn paused, possibly gauging my response, before continuing, her voice soft and persuasive.
“We have countless development projects in hand at the moment: this place for one; with the others we have planned, we’d keep you fully occupied for the rest of your life, and not just here; many of the planned works are all around the world, but the one I’m thinking of right now is right here; that forest habitat you liked so much? How would you like to build those in a couple of other places we have our eye on? Or maybe look at building further playgrounds here, like a tropical rainforest? I know Sylvie would like that. Does that sound like something you’d want to do?”
It was, and my head was spinning. How many times in your life does your fairy godmother grant you your every wish and whim? Nimmie wasn’t looking too happy, and I think Robyn realised that, as she turned the charm offensive square on her.
“Nimmie, anything we can do includes you, too; you and Rowan are a couple; any decisions or conditions have to include you. I know you still have another two years before you graduate, and we know how much you want to be a nurse, and how much you and Rowan want to be together. I don’t know how your family is going to react to the two of you being what you are, but they’re going to need to know. I can’t help you there, but I do have a solution that might work if all else fails.”
Nimmie’s ears pricked-up at that; I could see her interest piquing at Robyn’s words. Robyn saw it too, and smiled reassuringly.
“Nimmie, the position we’d like to offer Rowan is based in Oswestry, in the Welsh borders, a long way from anyone who might know who or what you two are; if it all goes tits-up at home, we can arrange for you to transfer your modules to Chester University, or Stafford, not too far from Oswestry, and graduate you there. We have a medical centre here and in a few other places, and I’ll let you in on a little secret; we’re not that far from either of those places, or even Oswestry; you and Rowan could live in Telford, or Wolverhampton, and be in easy reach of everywhere I mentioned, including this place. We could always use more medical professionals, and we’d pay you well, very well indeed. How would you like to be part of the team here when you graduate? Think about it. I’ll give you a number to call, tell us what happens, and we’ll take it from there.”
I could see Nim chewing it over, then her eyes narrowed.
“OK, so you want to do this for us, thank you that’s very kind, and gives us what we want, and I only have one question: Why? We’re nothing to you. Three days ago you’d never met us. Why do you want to do so much for us, and what’s in it for you?”
Robyn nodded her head with a pleased look on her face, like she was glad Nim had asked that question.
“Good question, well done! We’re prepared to do this because you and Rowan are exactly the kind of people we’ve been looking for to keep this whole thing going. We saw right away what you had. There was only one other couple who did that for us, and we’ve asked them to step up and take our place. They’ve agreed, but they’re going to need help and support from people around them who feel what they feel, know what they know, and are fully committed to each other. Finn and Lara are going to need people who know and understand, who can grow with them, and be what they’ll need; family who’ll support and understand them.”
Once again that wistful, almost sad smile flitted across her face.
“No-one else here has what you and Rowan, and Finn and Lara have. In all the years we’ve been doing this, you are the first group of people who stood-out like that; no one else ever has; they just come here to have a little ‘off-the-books’ fun, then go back to their lives. There’s nothing wrong with that, it was the original reason this whole thing came about, but now we need more; I think that’s what you have. Will you do it? We have very effective ways of shielding our people from those who would seek to do them harm or destroy what they have, and loyal and competent people who’ll make sure no-one can get to you; with us you’ll be safe, and you’ll be together, and I have a feeling that’s what you want more than anything. “