But she refused to be distracted. ‘Is Mum taking Maria back? I don’t want her to.’ She threw herself at him and clung, sobbing. Maria screwed up her face and joined in, seeking comfort. ‘Mydad! Mydad!’ It was impossible to do anything but gather them up and say soothing things – not that he had a huge stock of those.

Loren was entitled to take Maria back. The child’s welfare was paramount – Gloria Russell, the case worker, had told him that – but what was best for Maria was not clear-cut. Loren could probably do an OK job if she remained with her parents but if she took Maria back to Islington alone Nico would never have a quiet minute, unless he took Josie back to Islington too, ready to step in, even though he assumed social services were watching the situation too.

He could see exactly why Loren had come up with her plan. Forming the four of them into a family unit would give her someone to lean on, Maria a reliable parent and Josie both her parents in one place. It would change all their lives.

After a beautiful frosty day yesterday, rain now beat at the windows. Hoping it would ease, he put up their Christmas tree, tested the lights then let the girls loose on the decorations, all of which were unbreakable. Usually he would have been entranced by their joy, watching Maria pull faces at her own fish-like reflection in the curve of a bauble and be charmed by Josie combing the hair of the tree-top angel. The magic of Christmas touched him via the children but it didn’t make him forget that Hannah still didn’t come.

Mid-morning, regardless of the downpour, he got the girls into coats and boots and set out for Nan Heather’s, his heart trotting uncomfortably as they neared the red-brick cottage with its cute dormers. His heart fell when he noticed the lights were out on the small Christmas tree at the window. The car Hannah had been using wasn’t outside and, when he knocked on the door, nobody answered.

‘Urgh, this weather’s yuck,’ moaned Josie, while Maria looked doleful under her dripping hood.

‘Yeah. Let’s go home.’ Nico felt as miserable as the weather. Then inspiration struck. ‘No! Let’s jump in the car and go out for lunch.’ There was a tea room at Carlysle Courtyard and maybe Hannah was working there again today.

‘Yay!’ shouted the girls.

They cheered again to see the balloons and lights and he had to put Maria on his shoulders to keep track of her. At Santa’s grotto he asked an elf if she’d seen Hannah. Santa looked up from his sack of presents to observe, ‘She put together a cracking opening for us yesterday but I haven’t seen her today.’