His role was over once he’d parked and Lily had bought the parking ticket until the group needed to be conveyed home but he strolled along with them beneath the Christmas illuminations anyway, pulling up his hood as snow tried to find exposed flesh on which to bestow its nippy kisses. The increasingly nervous-looking singers pulled black smocks over their coats and put on red woolly hats and scarves. Eddie swung his guitar onto his back in its gig bag and Warwick carried his keyboard in a case, Alfie taking charge of the stand and Neil the PA. All at once, they looked like a group.

They followed Lily’s phone map app through the swirling snow, along a couple of small streets until they reached the gently sloping town square surrounded by tall buildings painted in pinks, greys and blues, snow outlining the sills and shutters. On some, the rendering was beautifully painted with curlicues or geometric designs. ‘Pretty,’ Lily breathed, eyes reflecting the thousand lights suspended like stars in the night sky above rows of stalls like little red chalets with snow on the roofs. Each stall glittered with stars and lanterns so the entire market seemed luminous.

The jaunty red stalls sold everything from food to decorations to jewellery to glühwein. The aisles were thronged with shoppers, colourful ski jackets much in evidence along with sturdy boots and hats of every description. Delicious smells of hot bratwurst and waffles rose on the air, causing Warwick, Eddie and Alfie to take deep, appreciative sniffs.

‘Apparently the British Country Foods market stall is near the carousel.’ Lily pointed with a gloved hand up the slope to where painted horses on barley-twist poles were performing their up-and-down waltz, gleeful children clinging to their backs.

Isaac could see over the bobbing heads of most shoppers. ‘Kirstin’s there already.’

‘Good.’ Lily’s led the way towards the stall. Not being a Middletone Isaac was happy to step aside and watch as Lily and Kirstin kissed cheeks. Then Lily inspected the stall, something she described as ‘checking the merchandising’ while two smiling ladies served a crowd of customers with marmalade and chutney, pork pies, Cornish pasties, Scotch eggs and crumpets. Lily shook hands with the ladies and Isaac heard her repeat their names: Melina and Sarah.

Lily had pushed back her hood under the shelter of the stall and her blonde hair glowed beneath the lights. Her smile flashed as she consulted Carola, checking her watch, her head tipping back as she laughed. The Middletones clustered around, listening, smiling.