Grace had read more of Connie’s diaries and notes over the last week and had discovered that she had met an American soldier a year or so after she returned to London to do her bit for the war effort. Connie had volunteered at the American Red Cross, which held dances to boost soldiers’ morale; it was at one of these dances – where she served doughnuts and coffee and offered to sew loose buttons back onto the soldiers’ uniforms – that she had met him. Grace’s heart had soared on finding out Connie had found some happiness in the months after her mother had forced her to part from baby Lara.

And where was baby Lara now?

If she had died, then where was she buried? Was it here in England? Or was Connie allowed to be with her, later, after the war ended? Did Connie’s controlling mother relent and let her take Lara to Italy? It was a possibility … somewhere suitably far away so as not to embarrass her parents in front of their influential friends in London (Grace had read all about Connie’s mother maligning her over this), and it would certainly have been perfectly respectable to pass Lara off as her young sister … so maybe that’s what happened and Lara was buried in Italy. Or, Grace pondered on another scenario; it was one that she had considered already, and it could just be wishful thinking, but what if Lara was still alive? What if she was still living in Italy and simply estranged from her mother, Connie? And just didn’t know that she had died? It was entirely possible.

Grace cast a glance around unit 28. Taking it all in again. The way it was set out. Like a glamorous bedroom presenting the contents in the best possible light. It was as if it had been prepared especially … like a stage, a showcase of a lifetime for someone to discover and, ultimately, inherit. What if Connie had made it look all lovely like this for her daughter, Lara? Grace allowed herself some time to ponder on the possible scenario, her heart lifting at the prospect of finding Lara and chatting to her about Connie. But then her heart sank on remembering that Connie hadn’t left a will. Why wouldn’t she? If all this was for Lara, then it just didn’t make any sense for Connie not to have done so; surely she would have made sure Lara knew all these beautiful things were waiting here for her. Not to mention the valuable artwork, and Connie’s home in Blackheath, for it all added up to an extremely valuable inheritance.