‘Do you think I care about his upbringing? I hated Amy Brown and everything she stood for – she was wild and uncaring, while my mother always groomed me to behave like a lady, to find a good man and settle down. But just as I had done so, Amy came along and stole you from me, albeit just for a brief time. She deserved all she got. At least your firstborn is alive, while mine are dead in the grave and I will never see them again.’

‘Oh, Harriet, we can’t do anything about the past. I loved our sons, too, but we must look to the future. We have both gained a son tonight – if you let Daniel into your heart. He’s not come to make any bother. His grandfather’s left him Ragged Hall. He’ll not ask anything of us, except recognition of him as my son.’

Harriet looked up at the husband she loved. It was true that she could not alter the past, and she had always known about Danny’s affair with Amy, so a child from the dalliance should not come as a shock. ‘It was the way I found out – I made such a fool of myself. I was more worried about Rosie and Ethan dancing together, and then Isabelle looked at me like I was mad, not realizing I knew nothing of Daniel Bland’s presence.’

‘Surprisingly, Isabelle handled it well, and so did James. However, I wish Daniel’s arrival into the family could have been a little less public.’ Danny smiled. ‘On the way back home, he and Rosie talked as if they had known one another all their lives.’ He ran his fingers through Harriet’s long hair and kissed her brow. ‘Forgive me, and make our black sheep welcome into our fold.’

Harriet nodded her head, before turning over in bed and keeping her thoughts to herself. Daniel was Danny’s son, and she would grow to love him. In the morning another two places would be laid at the Christmas dinner table: one for Ethan and one for Daniel. Her family was complete once again. They would celebrate Christmas with the living, and would look to the future.

Archie lay in his bed with the bright moon shining down through his bedroom window, the ghostly ribbons of light illuminating the room and making him unable to sleep. It was his first Christmas without his beloved Charlotte next to him. He thought of her laughter, and of her love of Christmas and her family. What would she have made of Daniel’s appearance? he wondered. He pulled the blankets up over him, trying to keep warm against the hard frost that was being laid down in the outside world.