Capability stood up, grinning, and straightened his waistcoat. The two of them left the room. I could hear their feet on the stairs. Somewhere up there, Capability laughed a big deep laugh.

‘I shan’t say a word,’ Mrs Keene told us. ‘So don’t even ask.’ She closed her mouth tightly and turned an imaginary key next to it to lock it.

We waited another minute before their feet thumped back down the stairs. When they appeared in the doorway, Capability was dressed as Santa, George as an elf, and the two of them were carrying a huge red sack.

It was Capability’s ‘Ho, ho, ho,’ that woke Michael, who pushed his way out from among the cushions and said, ‘Santa. Santa’s back.’ One of his cheeks was dimpled by the carpet pile and the hair on that side of his head was matted.

Capability had a pillow under his red coat, and baggy red pants attached to a hoop that was held up by suspenders. George was wearing a green forage cap with a feather in it, and green leggings that made his legs look like sticks.

George pulled out a wrapped box and checked the tag. ‘Margot. Merry Christmas.’

‘I wasn’t expecting—’ my mother began, but George cut her off, saying, ‘Nonsense, nonsense. It’s a season for giving, and giving’s a thing I enjoy very much. I’m doing this for me.’

The box was the size of a toaster, and clanked when she sat down to open it. She unpicked the sticky tape, folded the paper back and opened the lid. She lifted out a metal teapot that looked a bit like Aladdin’s lamp, followed by a matching cream jug and sugar bowl.

‘But they’re silver,’ she said. She felt the weight of the sugar bowl in her hand, then turned it over to check the base. ‘Aren’t they?’ She pointed to the hallmark.

‘All the better for making tea,’ he told her. ‘I imagine you’ll have left many of your best things at home in storage, but we can’t have you making do. Making do is so sapping for the morale. And no British home is complete without a nice tea set.’

‘Well, I think . . .’ She stopped herself. ‘Thank you. That’s very generous.’

‘And now, for the man of the house . . .’ George continued, before she could say more.