Two girls of about eight played a wavering clarinet duo and one said something to the other in a strangled whisper as she exited that made everyone within earshot laugh. Max, grinning, translated for the Middletones. ‘She said, “Shit! I got it wrong!”’

Lily laughed along with everyone else but she’d noticed with a lurch that she’d missed a call from Isaac while they’d been singing and sidled out to the corridor to call him back. Annoyingly, he didn’t pick up. She left him voicemail to ask how things were going.

They arrived at the Christmas market in the afternoon to the news that this was to be their final performance as Sarah and Melina informed them that a snowstorm was forecast and the organisers were closing the market at five instead of eight. ‘No one will come to shop in such weather.’

Lily spent the hour before they were due to sing doing Christmas shopping, knowing that her loved ones would adore presents from a proper Swiss Christmas market.

When it was time to sing they received a better reception than ever but Lily felt flat, very much aware of Isaac’s absence. Carola, though on the phone to Owen every hour to check he really was OK after his mugging, was high on the knowledge that he was neither a dud nor a ghoster and made up for it, singing lustily enough for all nine of them.

Lily was so fatigued that Christmas lights were turning from twinkles to blurs in her vision. She was touched, though, that so many from British Country Foods turned up, giving up part of their Saturday to listen to them sing: Los and Tanja, Garrick and Eleanor, Stephen and Kirstin – each with a young man in tow – and Felix with his two little sisters, who’d brought Swiss chocolate bars for each of the Middletones. Tubb was there but Janice had stayed home to take care of Dugal and Keir. The one thing that did lift Lily’s spirits a notch was Tubb and Garrick giving her big hugs and telling her what a great job she’d done. For a split second she wanted to spill her heart, to tell them who she was. If only she knew they’d be as overjoyed to have her as she was to have them …

Then Los was speaking, presenting the Middletones with a huge hamper of delicious-looking cakes, gingerbread and ‘hanselmanne’ – little men made of sweet bread. Then he singled Lily out and gave her a case that held a dark wood watch, its hands of gold and the strap of leather.

‘Wow!’ she said, staring at the handsome timepiece.