The Morgan Sisters Complete Series Boxed Set

ISBN 9789899734869-9

Emma was tempted to close his mouth for him but thought better of it while Declan was so close. Plus, her fingers would probably go right through him anyway.

Declan chuckled to himself.

Turning to see what was so funny, Emma thought she noticed him look away from her suddenly. Was he pretending to read the newspaper?

'This is it, girls. This is where we get off,' said Declan as he folded his newspaper and stood up. 'Are you ready for your first adventure in London?'.

The girls grinned and nodded as they followed him off the ferry. Lana kept tripping up because she kept focussing on the views surrounding her.

'Watch where you're going, Lana,' tutted Emma as Declan took their largest hold-alls off them.

'We have a little bit of a walk so I'll carry these for you. Just follow me,' he said, and then he was off, walking so quickly that they had difficulty keeping up.

Emma had to keep grabbing Lana's arm to stop her from being too distracted as they rushed on behind him, occasionally bumping into passers-by.

With London bridge now far in the distance and the London Eye on the other side of the Thames pulling her in, Lana's stomach fluttered with butterflies. Breathing deeply, she took in the sweet scent of candy floss and smiled. She was on cloud nine. For years she'd dreamed of this moment, and now she was here. She was really here. She happily sighed as Emma dragged her out of her daydreams.

'We're going to lose him if you don't snap out of it. Come on,' she said sharply.

'Oh, for goodness sake, let me enjoy the moment. We're not going to lose him. He's right there, erm....'

'Oh, great. See? Now look what you've done,' snapped Emma as she scoured the crowds trying to spot the familiar well-built man with his cropped brown hair and slightly broken nose.

'We've lost him,' wailed Emma just as a firm hand squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. She turned to see Declan grinning at her.

'Sorry girls, I just thought you might like some of this,' he said smiling as he presented them both with candy floss on a stick, bought from a vendor who was now pushing his candy floss cart across the road.

'Aww thanks, Declan,' said Lana with a massive grin.

Emma blushed and took it reluctantly.

'Oh, it's okay if you don't like it, Emma. Not got a sweet tooth like your sister, then?'

Still blushing, Emma shook her head as Declan took the candy floss back. Turning, he scanned the crowd and spotted a young boy.

'Harry!' he yelled at a nearby youngster who was wandering across the road. Although the boy's clothes looked a bit old and dirty, he seemed happy enough, even more so when he noticed who was calling him. In fact, his face lit up as he ran towards them.

'Afternoon, Dec.'

'Afternoon, sonny boy. Do you like candy floss?'

Harry drooled and nodded, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as Declan handed him the stick with the large fluffy pink stuff.

'Here you go then, enjoy it! And stay out of trouble, all right?'

The boy nodded, grinning before he ran away.

'Sorry about that,' said Emma, 'I don't really like sugar.'

'That's quite all right. You made Harry's day anyway,' he said with a warm smile. 'Here, come on, we're nearly there,' he said, directing them to follow him.

After they'd walked for another five minutes, Lana and Emma exchanged an odd look as they both realised they'd gone round in a circle. But before they had the chance to say anything, Declan turned to them and started laughing. His laughter was infectious, and soon, the girls were giggling alongside him as he walked back towards Westminster Pier.

'What are we doing?' giggled Lana.

'I just figured you'd need a bit of exercise after being on the ferry for so long. Plus, I knew you'd want to get a little look at London before you get settled in. Here we are, home sweet home.'

Lana looked around before standing, arms down, totally confused.

'Erm, where exactly is home sweet home?' she said as Emma just watched, waiting.

'Right here,' said a beautiful Asian woman who stepped off a large houseboat directly in front of them.

'Hey, Sweetheart. You miss me?' Declan said as he leaned forward, put their bags down, and gave the woman a long kiss and a gentle hug.

'Always,' she smiled before she turned to them with the kindest smile they'd ever seen.

'Girls, this is Saleena.'

Saleena was like no-one Lana or Emma had ever seen. Her beauty was breathtaking, with her long luscious dark chocolate coloured hair with caramel strands that seemed to bounce in the light breeze. Her eyes were the colour of jade, so crystal clear that you could almost see right into her soul. Perfectly formed pink full lips and high cheekbones finished off her look to utter perfection. Saleena looked just like an angel.

Smiling softly, she hugged each girl tenderly.

'It is such a pleasure to meet you both finally. I have heard a lot about you. I do hope you have surpassed your fear of the water, my dear Emma Jane?' she enquired.

'Just Emma,' she replied, almost shyly, 'and yes, I honestly think that I have.'

'I am delighted to hear of it,' she said as she turned to Declan who winked surreptitiously at her.

'Do come aboard. This is to be your home for the next couple of weeks. We had to keep it a secret, of course. Otherwise you might not have come had you known,' she said to Emma who giggled as they stepped onto the boat and followed Saleena indoors.

Lana was uncharacteristically quiet.

'Are you all right, my dear?' Saleena asked, 'I understand you are normally the chatty one?' she smiled.

Glancing around at her surroundings, Lana finally closed her mouth. 'Erm, yeah, yes I am,' she chuckled, 'I'm just so, so... you know, blown away by it all,' she said as she pointed to the boat's interior which wasn't what she had been expecting at all.

From the outside, the boat had been well hidden, and even when they'd stepped aboard, it didn't look too special, but the moment the door opened, and they saw inside, it was like stepping through the looking glass.

Brightly coloured fabrics of satins, silks and velvets adorned the space which was far bigger than the eye could have imagined. Golden Asian inspired paintings hung from the walls, while several large sofas covered in pretty intricately patterned scatter cushions sat around the room. It even smelled divine, both sweet and spicy notes caressed their noses and tempted their taste buds.

Saleena walked through the living area towards the kitchen space, where she removed the lid from a pan and very lovingly stirred it, causing more aromas to fill the air. Emma's stomach grumbled loudly, and she looked at Declan before her face began to colour.

Smiling, he picked up their bags and gestured for them to follow him. 'Come on, you can put all your stuff away, and then we can have something to eat. I'm starving too.'

Saleena smiled as they walked past, 'Give me fifteen minutes and the food will be ready.'

Pushing open the door to the back of the boat, Emma gasped at the size of the room that greeted them. 'How is it possible? This boat looks so small from the outside and then, this! It's like the Tardis,' she exclaimed at the room which contained two large single beds, a large wardrobe and a dressing table. One bed was covered in a brightly coloured funky bedspread while the other in a more sombre black and purple cover that had little skulls and crossbones on its edges.

Emma smiled, 'How did you know?' she asked as Declan laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

'Just make yourselves at home. We'll give you a shout when the food is ready,' he said as he slowly stepped back and closed the door behind him.

As soon as he'd gone, the girls looked at each other silently before leaping up and screeching loudly, jumping up and down happily.

Josiah sat quietly on the floor in the corner, watching and smiling.

CHAPTER 15

After they'd eaten a meal of delicious Indian food, Declan gave the girls a map of London and let them go off and explore by themselves.

'I know you're probably dying to get out and have a good look around. Just be careful. Here's my number in case you get lost or if you need anything,' he said, handing them a card that Emma had tucked into her pocket without even glancing at it.

Saleena stepped off the boat with them and pointed out the general direction they should head.

'Please try not to go too far. Just stay safe,' she said as she hugged them both before disappearing back indoors.

'Right, where shall we go first?' asked Emma as she turned the map around and began inspecting it closely.

'Big Ben, I wanna see Big Ben,' giggled Lana as she hooked her arm into her sister's and pulled her away from the water's edge.

'But it's right there,' said Emma with a sigh. 'We're practically there already.'

'I know that,' she tutted, 'but I just wanna get right up close, c'mon.'

The girls exited the pier and headed across the road where the world-renowned clock stood magnificently in all its glory.

'I wanna hear it,' yelled Lana above the traffic noise.

'But, I don't think that's going to happen for another thirty-five minutes,' moaned Emma, 'I want to go for a walk. We'll still hear it wherever we are.'

'Okay. Let's just walk slowly and not go too far then. How about we cross the bridge to the Eye?'

'No, let's save that for another day and just wander around here, the Houses of Parliament are just there, look... and Westminster Abbey over there. There's plenty to keep us busy.'

Lana stopped abruptly and crossed her arms, almost dropping the map in her hand, looking at her sister as if she was mad, 'We come all the way to London, and you want to look at the boring Houses of Parliament? After Big Ben, I wanna see Trafalgar Square and then head down to the greatest shopping streets in the world,' she huffed.

Emma tried not to laugh. 'We come all the way to London, and all you want to do is go shopping?'

'Well... yeah. It's not like we ever had much choice back home, is it? Thank God for the Internet is all I can say.'

Shaking her head, Emma leaned back against the wall overlooking the Thames and chuckled, 'I guess so. But we've got a couple of weeks. I know we're doing work experience most days, but we'll have the evenings and weekends free. Can't we just take in some of the sights first? Please?'

Big Ben surprised them by chiming even earlier than they thought it would while they were wandering around the outskirts of the Palace of Westminster, the home of the Houses of Parliament and even Lana was stunned by its impressive architecture.

So deep in concentration were they, that when the bells did begin to chime (after just fifteen minutes), they both jumped and nervously giggled while they stood and looked across at it in admiration.

'Boo!' came a voice behind them, making them both jump again.

Turning, Lana and Emma were face-to-face with the ghost of Joe, who had disappeared during lunch.

'God... don't do that, Josiah Grimshaw' scolded Lana. 'Where have you been anyway?'

'Oh just wandering around the streets of London. I've seen almost all of it.'

'Already? But that's impossible.'

'Not when you're dead,' he added, smiling sadly. 'I did find something intriguing though.'

'What?' asked Emma.

'Erm, not sure how to explain. Why don't you just follow me and you'll see what I mean...' he said as he drifted off into the distance.

'Joe... wait for us,' they yelled as they ran after him, not noticing the strange glances they'd been receiving from a group of Japanese tourists who had witnessed them talking to nothing but space.

After fifteen minutes of running, Lana and Emma came to a standstill at a set of traffic lights. Joe stopped, waiting patiently in the middle of the road.