‘True. But back then it would have been considered a very long way to sail for just a family visit. My guess is that the journey would have had to have been for a very important reason. And why the rush to have the necklace ready to take with them? If the necklace was indeed for Lara, and the timings work for it to be her bat mitzvah, traditionally held for Jewish girls when they reach the age of twelve; but surely Lara would have been living here with them in Italy? And if she wasn’t, then what was she doing in America without Connie, her mother? How did she get there? And why? And …’ Ellis paused, holding eye contact with Grace, who couldn’t wait to hear if he was thinking the same as her, and so blurted out,

‘What if she’s still there?’ in unison with him.

Chapter 20

After leaving the jeweller’s and wandering around picturesque Portofino, exploring the narrow cobbled streets crammed with stylish boutiques, Grace had bought gifts for Larry, Betty and Jamie, before they had climbed the steep path up to Castello Brown on the hill. From there they had meandered along the botanical footpath, sheltered from the sun by trellises covered in delicately scented pink roses, while Grace wondered if Connie had ever walked this path too. Then, remembering the dried pink rose petals inside the envelope in the hatbox with Glorious day, Portofino – 1955 written on the outside, Grace was certain Connie had. So she carefully picked up some petals from the ground to have as a keepsake of a wonderful experience too. Inhaling the scent and hoping to remember it always before it faded just like Connie’s petals had.

Walking on, they were surrounded by olive trees, giving glimpses of the gorgeous gardens belonging to the villas nestled high in the hills. They had sat in stunned silence on reaching the lighthouse, and savoured the view stretching along the breadth of the Italian Riviera – from Punta Manara near Sestri Levante to Capo Noli beyond Genoa – as a man on the next table had pointed out to them while they enjoyed tall glasses of San Pellegrino on the terrace café under the shade of the olive trees.

Now, heading back to the main square, Ellis’s mobile rang.

‘Hi Tom,’ he answered, and then after a quick ‘yes, that’s great, thanks, we’ll see you there in ten’ conversation, he ended the call and turned to Grace. ‘Tom and Georgie are bringing Nonna Maria to the gelato café in the piazzetta. Apparently, the peach ice cream is her favourite and she remembers Connie and Giovanni very well. Connie was her friend and that’s the reason she bought the pink villa. Even though her memory is fading, she was able to tell him all about Connie in very vivid detail right back to when she first arrived in Santa Margherita.’