‘A beautiful ring!’ she said with delight. She plucked the ring from its cushion and held it up. It was a gold ladies band with engraved flowers.
She glanced around, open-mouthed. Mum and Dad were smiling enthusiastically.
‘Oh god,’ groaned Zak.
‘It’s more than that,’ said Gran. ‘This ring has a past. It was given to me by my grandmother when I was sixteen. I have worn it ever since.’
‘So how old is it?’ asked Skye.
‘It is at least one hundred and forty years old, but possibly much older,’ said Gran. ‘It was in the possession of my grandmother from the end of the Second World War.’
Skye appeared to be enthralled, but Gran looked uncertainly at her.
‘Have you heard of that war?’ she asked.
‘Of course,’ said Skye. ‘We learnt about it in History. It’s now called the Last Great War, by the way.’
‘Is it now,’ said Gran, suspiciously. ‘Well, at the end of the war, my grandmother was allowed to travel to France to help in a military hospital. There, she met and fell in love with an American soldier. They had a wonderful few months together, and he gave her this ring.’
Gran smiled and sighed.
‘Did they get married?’ asked Skye excitedly.
‘Sadly no. Shortly afterwards, he had to return home to the USA.’
‘Oh,’ said Skye.
‘My grandmother kept the ring, and wore it all her life. Only when she was dying did she decide to hand it on. She gave it to me.’
Skye smiled.
‘She told me that it saved her life,’ said Gran dreamily.
‘How?’ asked Skye.
‘Ah, er..,’ muttered Gran, nervously. ‘Now that’s a story for another day. I’ll leave that in my crate of belongings.’
Skye was about to respond, but Gran interrupted her.
‘Will you promise me something?’ she said quickly.
