Almost Forever: An emotional debut perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes. Laura Danks

hold them tightly as they are the only glimpse of hope I can see right now. If only Harry were here with me, he would know exactly what to do.

      Harry is Paul’s younger brother. He often spends the weekend with his father in Cambridge, in their family mansion, and that was where he was driving back to London from.

      I used to live in Cambridge too, in a three-bed mid-terrace on a busy road, but the FitzRoys’ mansion was the home I really grew up in. I feel a painful twinge in my heart when all the beautiful memories I have of that house come flowing back like a swollen river flooding its bank. I can’t stop them, and I’m suddenly swallowed by the past. While the reality of what just happened to Paul blurs away, I’m back in a hot summer morning, a few weeks before my eighth birthday. That was the day I met Harry and Paul, and Josephine, and my life entwined with the FitzRoys’ forever.

      ***

      The FitzRoys’ estate was just off the main road, less than a mile from my house. Century-old trees and tall Buxus hedges hid the house from view, so – even if I walked by it countless times – I had no idea how their mansion really looked, at least until the day I walked right in.

      Everyone knew of them. Still, never in a million years had I thought I would ever get to meet them. We didn’t have any friends in common, we went to different schools and, indisputably, they would never come to play in the small park on the wrong side of the road.

      The FitzRoys were appropriately active in the community, and even if their kids went to one of the renowned private schools in the centre of town, they supported the PTA of the local school, they sponsored the local under-elevens football team, and generously donated to the church fête. Once they even helped a talented local artist with a scholarship for the Accademia di Belle Arti, in Milan. Still, it was a series of coincidences that led me straight to the FitzRoys, a twist of fate that would change my life.

      My sister Becca was leaving in September for Leicester University, and with only a couple of hundred pounds to her name, she had been trying – desperately and without success – to get a summer job and some extra cash. No one seemed to have anything to offer, until, out of the blue, the perfect opportunity landed right in her lap.

      The FitzRoys’ nanny, Sara, broke her foot while skipping rope and had to keep her leg in a cast for a few weeks, so Becca was asked if she wanted to help Sara with the kids, until she was – literally – back on her feet.

      ‘They are going to pay me to play, watch movies, and sit in the garden. It sounds like the best job ever!’ Becca told me as soon as she put down the phone, after accepting the offer, without even questioning how they knew she was looking to temp.

      She had to start immediately, and I was allowed to accompany her given that she hadn’t had time to organise for someone to step in and look after me.

      Some may call it destiny, others coincidence, either way, all the stars aligned in that one magical, fortunate moment, which defined the rest of my childhood and then, the rest of my life.

      I was incredibly nervous at the idea of meeting such a prominent family. I felt a little queasy as we walked down the road, so I looked up at Becca to check if she was nervous too. She smiled at me, relaxed and confident, and I envied her assertiveness.

      She looked great with her short hair and her new big round sunglasses. They were a knock-off copy of a fancy Armani pair but she wore them like they were the real thing; so they looked like the real thing. She was a little bossy but she also had charisma and exuded conviction in all her actions. I admired her for her fortitude.

      She was eighteen – ten years older than me – and since our parents divorced she had been everything to me, and I loved her even more because of that. It scared me that she’d be leaving for university in a few months and I would be left alone with a father who only had time for his students and his studies.

      I was biting my nails, an unconscious habit, as we approached the FitzRoys’ house. When we turned onto the white gravel driveway, Becca squeezed my hand that she had been holding all the way and whispered with a smile, ‘You’ll be all right, Fran.’

      ‘I’ll be all right,’ I repeated to myself as I lifted my gaze. That’s when I stumbled at the surprise of the impressive house that appeared in front of me, in all its majestic beauty. I had never seen a private home this impressive and magnificent before. Three storeys high, with at least a dozen windows, probably more, it was framed by tall trees at the back and flowered bushes at the front. It belonged in a fairy tale.

      ‘Wow,’ I mumbled.

      ‘How incredible that modern life hasn’t touched it. It’s like stepping back in time,’ said Becca, clearly trying to sound sophisticated but with amazement in her eyes. I grinned at her, all nerves gone, as I itched to go inside and explore.

      I don’t know how to explain it properly but I was drawn to objects: clothing, books, songs that belonged to a different era. Architecture was a big part of it too. My wildest dreams always involved a visit to the Pyramids and the Colosseum and the Parthenon. My mind always filled with the images from Dad’s textbooks and the documents he would leave lying around. They captured my imagination. This building was the closest I had ever been to stepping into one of those pictures.

      ‘Ready?’ asked Becca, lifting her sunglasses over her head.

      When I gave her an assertive nod, she knocked twice on the imposing black door.

      A young woman, dressed in a flowing summer dress, answered it.

      ‘Hello,’ she said with a melodious voice. ‘You must be Becca.’

      My sister smiled. ‘And you must be Sara?’ she asked in return, looking down at the cast sticking out from under the hem of the young woman’s dress.

      ‘That’s me – skipper extraordinaire!’ she said with a small curtsy and a laugh. ‘Thanks for agreeing to help out until I get rid of this contraption. I know it was very short notice.’

      ‘Really, I should thank you for this opportunity,’ Becca answered sounding sincerely grateful.

      ‘What goes around, comes around,’ Sara said. We looked at her puzzled so she explained. ‘My auntie said you were looking for a summer job and that you weren’t having much luck finding anything. She also recommended you wholeheartedly, so two birds, one stone.’

      I liked the way Sara seemed to be communicating through idioms. It made me smile.

      ‘Your aunt?’ Becca asked, raising both eyebrows as if she found it incredible that someone would actually think so highly of her. It surprised me to discover that maybe my big sister wasn’t quite as confident as she always led me to believe.

      ‘Mrs Schumann, your next-door neighbour,’ Sara said.

      ‘Oh! Of course, I’ve known Mrs Schumann all my life,’ said Becca with affection.

      ‘Auntie Myriam is my father’s sister and she said that when it rains, you always walk her dog, which is very kind of you. She suffers quite badly when her arthritis plays up in the winter and walking in the rain would only make it worse.’

      ‘It’s my pleasure really – I like the rain and I love Harold,’ said Becca with a smile. ‘He is such a sweetheart. Really, it’s no trouble to take him out for a walk, especially because Mrs Schumann always repays me with a slice of cake, so definitely worth the effort!’

      I thought about Mrs Schumann’s lemon drizzle. It was to die for, and the memory of it made my mouth water.

      ‘Well, thank you for your kindness – I’m glad I was able to somehow repay you for the favour,’ Sara said, clumsily turning around. ‘Come on in, I’ll show you around.’

      We followed her as she limped ahead of us.

      The inside of the house was as breathtaking as the outside. The corridor, crafted with sleek ornate tiles, made me feel as if I’d stepped back in time. The beautiful decorated ceilings and the shiny timber furniture seemed to be as antique