‘Mamma would have preferred him to be buried,’ Marina said to me as we arrived. ‘But there’s so little room in the Netherlands that you have to lease a cemetery plot, and then only for twenty years. After that, the council dig up your remains and reuse the space.’

Practical, I thought, but not very reassuring for the family.

The funeral service was brief, mostly in Dutch but also with parts of it in English, for Saskia’s and my benefit. At the end, the mourners were invited back to the house for some traditional fare of coffee and cake. And then there were tears from us all as we departed the chapel to the strains of ‘Time to Say Goodbye’ sung by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman.

Saskia went out first, between her grandmother and uncle, while Marina and I followed behind them, walking hand in hand—her right in my left.

Also available by Felix Francis

Also available by Felix Francis

Gamble

Bloodline

Refusal

Damage

Front Runner

Triple Crown

Pulse

Crisis

Guilty Not Guilty

Iced

Books by Dick Francis and Felix Francis

Dead Heat

Silks

Even Money

Crossfire

Books by Dick Francis

The Sport of Queens (Autobiography)

Dead Cert

Nerve

For Kicks

Odds Against

Flying Finish

Blood Sport

Forfeit

Enquiry

Rat Race

Bonecrack

Smokescreen

Slay-Ride

Knock Down

High Stakes

In the Frame

Risk

Trial Run

Whip Hand

Reflex

Twice Shy

Banker

The Danger

Proof

Break In

Lester: The Official Biography

Bolt

Hot Money

The Edge

Straight

Longshot

Comeback

Driving Force

Decider

Wild Horses

Come to Grief

To the Hilt

10-Lb Penalty

Field of 13

Second Wind

Shattered

Under Orders

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

The New York Times, London Sunday Times, and international bestseller and acclaimed author, Felix Francis, was born in Oxford, England, son of the famous mystery author Dick Francis and his wife, Mary Francis. Felix graduated from London University. His initial career led him into physics, where he was a successful teacher of A Level Physics. But he could not deny that his family’s gift of writing had been passed along to him, and he started his second career—as an author—where he found his knowledge of physics was a great advantage. His many other accomplishments include being an expert outdoorsman, marksman, and pilot. Felix Francis resides in England with his wife, Debbie, their family, and two Irish setters and a cavapoo.