‘Valentina, it’s very rude to invite yourself to someone else’s house. Now, I think it’s time we cleared away the plates.’ Floriano indicated the half-finished bowls of food.

‘Yes, Papai. Don’t worry, I will do it. You stay here and talk to your girlfriend.’

She winked cheekily at both of us as she collected the three bowls onto the tray and made off with it perilously rattling down the stairs.

‘My apologies,’ said Floriano, as he moved away from the table and leant against the terrace wall to light a cigarette. ‘She can be a little precocious, I’m afraid. Perhaps it comes from being an only child.’

‘There’s no need to apologise for her at all. She asks questions because she’s bright and interested in the world around her. And besides,’ I added, ‘I know from experience that it’s not just “only” children who can be precocious. I’m one of six sisters and the youngest certainly fits the bill. I think your daughter’s delightful.’

‘I always worry that I spoil her, give her too much attention to make up for the fact she doesn’t have a mother,’ Floriano sighed. ‘And whatever the modern ethos is on these things, men are simply not born with the same maternal instinct as women. Although I’ve done my best to learn,’ he added.

‘Personally, I don’t think it matters who brings you up, be it male or female, natural parent or adoptive, as long as the child is loved. But then I would say that, wouldn’t I?’ I shrugged.

‘Yes, I suppose so. You’ve certainly had a very unusual upbringing, Maia, from the sound of what you were telling Valentina just now. It must have had its complications as well as its privileges.’

‘You can say that again,’ I smiled ruefully.

‘At some point, I’d like to know more. Especially about your father. He sounds like a very interesting man.’

‘He was.’

‘So, tell me, are you feeling a little calmer than you seemed this morning?’ he asked me gently.

‘I am. And you’re right, of course, that the shock of losing the person I loved most in the world is only just beginning to dawn on me. It’s easier here because I can still imagine Pa at home. But to be honest, the thought of returning to the reality of him not being there when I leave Rio turns my stomach.’

‘Then stay a while longer,’ he encouraged me.

‘Well, I’ll see what happens tomorrow when I meet with Yara,’ I answered, batting away his comment. ‘But if that leads nowhere, I’ve decided that I’m not going to battle to find out the truth any more. After all, Senhora Carvalho has made it perfectly obvious that she doesn’t wish to know me, whether I’m her granddaughter or not.’

‘I can understand how you would see it like that. But Maia, you don’t yet know what happened in the past to provoke her reaction to you,’ Floriano urged me. ‘Or what her own childhood was like.’