Dearest Lara, the truth is that I am your mother. Your devoted mother who has loved you from the moment you were born, and such a beautiful baby you were, with curls as black as treacle and eyes like emeralds and just the same as your father’s, my first truelove, Jimmy Blake, who was from Franklin Street, Deptford in London. He was a hero taken from us in the war before you were even born, my love. But he would have loved you so much, of that I am most certain.

I have let you down so terribly and am full of regret for not standing up to my mother and insisting that you be with me, as any young girl should be with her mummy. I did try, sweetheart, but on visiting you to celebrate your bat mitzvah I saw for myself how very happy you were in America with your school chums and Lady, the sweet little cocker-spaniel puppy that you had wanted for such a long time. Mother said it would have been cruel to uproot you from all that you knew, to have to leave Lady behind, and it broke my heart to agree with her. However, I hope for your sake that she was right and that you have been happy and enjoyed a settled, respectable life that I could never have given you. For I am ashamed to this day to tell you that I was unmarried when you were born and it would have been so truly unfair of me to place that burden on your young shoulders too, which would have been an inevitable consequence if I had put my own desire first and insisted on you coming back to Italy with me.

So it brings me to tell you that everything I have of sentimental meaning and monetary value is waiting for you, my darling, for it is all that I can give you, in addition to my love which you have always had. The jewellery and the paintings may be of considerable value and I hope my diaries and letters give you some comfort in knowing that you were loved so very much, for it is time now for you to know the truth of your heritage and inherit what is rightfully yours. I leave it all to you, my darling daughter Lara.

Your devoted mother,

Connie xx

And there beneath Connie’s name was a PS giving the address of Cohen’s Convenient Storage Company. Connie had even thought to write her unit number, 28, and an additional PPS urging Lara to ask for Larry Cohen as he has taken good care of everything for all these years …

Grace caught a sob of emotion in her throat. And with trembling hands she dipped her nose to the paper another time before carefully placing it back inside the envelope.

Silence followed and they all sat motionless momentarily.