Jo’s heart cracked and she had to steady herself before she spoke again. ‘Of course she loves you very, very much and she will always love you very, very much. She just couldn’t look after you the same way as Mammy and Daddy and she wanted you to be happy and safe too. Sometimes, no matter how much people love someone, and how hard they try, they can’t manage to look after them the very best.’

Clara blinked, her big eyes extra vibrant for her tears. Her bottom lip wobbled. How on earth was a child supposed to try and understand the reality of what had happened while also being protected from the truth? Clara’s mum wasn’t a bad person, but she was an addict who had more than her fair share of woes. It was too much for Clara to wrap her head around.

Jo took Clara’s hand and continued. ‘And sometimes the best way to show someone how much you love them is to make sure they’re okay by living with someone else who makes them very happy, even if it makes you a little sad. And your other mammy loved you very, very much.’

Underneath it all, Jo was sure that Clara’s birth mother did love her daughter in her own way. The little girl was much too young to learn all the details of how she came to live with the Campbells, but Jo was determined she’d never doubt that she was loved.

‘What if Mammy and Daddy can’t look after me the very best? Will I have to get another new mammy and daddy?’ Clara’s eyes were wide.

‘Oh goodness no. Sure you have me, and Noah, and Libby, and Auntie Mags. And Erin too. And even Paddy. We’re all just here to look after you for ever and ever and ever.’

That seemed to be enough to quiet Clara’s sobs and she sat in Jo’s arms, hiccupping as she tried to regulate her breathing to normal. She rested her head against Jo’s chest and Jo just sat there, and rocked her, and told her she was loved until finally – one school shoe on and one school shoe off – Clara drifted into a nap.

That was how her mum found them when she came downstairs fifteen minutes later.

Her eyes widened at the sight of her two girls on the floor. ‘What on earth happened?’ she asked.

‘A lot of questions and a lot of worry about us and having a mammy and being loved. She got very upset. I figure just let her have a quick nap to sleep off the storm, and I’ll take her in to school later,’ Jo said.