Franciszka gazed through the minibus windows at the mountain village. ‘It’s good to see the snow. It reminds me of Poland.’

‘Are you far from home from here?’ Lily screwed up her eyes, trying to envisage the map of Europe.

‘I come from east of Warsaw. It would take another two days in the bus.’ Franciszka laughed. ‘I left when I was a young woman and I’m in my late forties now. I have aunts and cousins in Poland still but England is home.’

Max reappeared, calling, ‘I’ll take you to where you’re staying now,’ as he stamped snow from his boots and jumped back into his car. They set off again back to Max’s side of town to reach a Christmas-light-bedecked white house in a road called Toblerstrasse. ‘This is where Los and Tanja live.’ Max gazed up at the traditional chalet with a roof of many shapes and pitches. ‘It’s a family house but it has an annexe. There’s a no pets rule at the Little Apartments so we thought that if you ladies wouldn’t mind sharing a bedroom then Isaac could have the other.’ From this vantage point they could see most of Schützenberg laid out below them like a model Alpine village, roads zigzagging between roofs and gardens, a stream tumbling through banks of snow, bigger buildings with yards, car parks or pitches – it was hard to tell in the snow. Lights sparkled from balconies and the sound of children laughing and shouting drifted on the breeze along with the peaceful chime of a church bell. The mountain air tasted pure and delicious.

When Max pointed across to the opposite slope to a contemporary building that looked like an enormous sugar cube saying, ‘There are the Little Apartments, look,’ Lily found herself glad to be staying in a proper Swiss chalet.

They unloaded their cases and Doggo greeted the snow once again with a happy woof. Max carried Lily’s luggage because of her hand, leading them around the side of the house and down several steps to a single-storey building that was stuck on the side of the main one. Its door had its own canopy porch edged with white fairy lights. ‘Los has given me the key because he and Tanja are both at work.’ He turned the handle and they all stepped into a hall with white walls and caramel-coloured floor tiles.

Max showed them two bedrooms, one with twin beds and the other with a double, a bathroom between the two rooms and a compact living area with sofas, a table and a kitchen corner. Doggo snuffled around excitedly, though Isaac was careful not to let him investigate the twin room, which would belong to Lily and Franciszka.