‘Max says his house in Terrassenweg is quite high up,’ Lily breathed as Isaac changed down the gears when the sat nav pointed them firmly uphill. She could hardly sit still for excitement.

Isaac grinned. ‘Thank goodness for snow tyres.’

Evidently they’d been through the middle of town and were now heading into a residential district where drives were flanked by heaps of snow and children were slithering home from school in snowboots, wearing colourful reflective yokes over their coats. Even children who looked to be as young as eight walked without adult supervision.

‘Switzerland seems a well-behaved place, doesn’t it?’ observed Carola.

Finally, Isaac made a right and the sat nav lady pronounced, ‘You have reached your destination.’ They drew up outside a tall grey building wearing a pretty white hat, fairy lights frothing along its balconies. Isaac turned and gave Lily an expectant look.

‘Oh, yes, I have to ring Max,’ she said, waking up from gazing at what seemed to her a magical snow scene outside.

But she never made the phone call because suddenly three figures wrapped up in ski jackets and boots were hurrying down the driveway towards them. ‘Tubb!’ Carola cried, fumbling with the door handle. ‘Janice!’

Lily felt an enormous smile stretch across her face, jolted by an unexpectedly deep pleasure at seeing these familiar faces in unfamiliar surroundings. ‘And Max too.’ Janice’s son, Max, had left the village before Lily ever moved there but he was a regular at The Three Fishes when he and the family came home for holidays.

Then doors were opening all over the minibus. People leapt out, gasping at the temperature that had plummeted in the over five hundred metres altitude they’d gained since leaving Würenlos. Hoods went up and coats were hastily zipped.

Isaac put his hand on Lily’s knee. ‘OK?’

She nodded, aware that he alone knew her dual purpose in being here and suddenly finding it hard to speak.

His hand tightened. ‘Just enjoy yourself. You’ll make the right choices when the time comes. Exciting, eh?’ Then they clambered out to meet the others, Isaac crunching around to the rear of the bus to liberate Doggo, who proved just as delighted to have this cold white stuff to snuffle in as he had been an hour ago.

Lily greeted Tubb, who wore a navy woollen hat pulled down low on his ears. ‘Hey! How are you feeling?’

He grinned, cheeks red in the cold. ‘I’m fine.’

Janice gave Lily a big hug. ‘He’s “fine” as long as he gets lots of rest. Otherwise he’s fatigued. Don’t believe his macho-pride talk.’

Tubb made to put his hand over Janice’s mouth. ‘Don’t take any notice of the bossy-barmaid talk.’