The sight of Middledip had never been so welcome. Lily drove the minibus into Main Road in the middle of Monday afternoon. The village lacked the snow that had made Schützenberg look like a fairy tale but it looked pretty under the bright winter sun and Lily could have cried with relief to be home. It must have been because she was exhausted after the marathon drive.

The journey had been uneventful, lacking the excitement that had bubbled within them all on the outward leg. No problems had cropped up taking Doggo through pet passport control even though Lily had never received the email from Isaac to show the officials she had permission to re-enter him into the UK. Isaac had been too busy nursing Hayley, obviously.

It took another half an hour to drop everyone off at their own homes, pasting on a smile as she jumped out to hug each one as their destination was reached. ‘Thanks for being part of our big Swiss adventure! See you soon! Thanks again!’

Franciszka was the last, and then, finally, Lily could drive to Carola’s house to empty the minibus of everything that was left, including wrestling out Doggo’s crate, which took Lily, Carola, Charlotte and Emily all heaving at once, even without Doggo in it.

Carola said, ‘Do you need any help with anything, Lily?’ But she already had her phone in her hand and Lily knew she was bursting to be reunited with Owen.

‘I’m fine,’ Lily assured her, preparing to wheel her case round to her apartment, Doggo’s lead clutched in the same hand. ‘It’s been wonderful, hasn’t it? Thank you for taking part!’ Lily hugged each of them in turn.

Her smile fell away once she was out of sight. Safely in her little apartment she abandoned her case and backpack and placed Doggo’s bed in a corner of the hall next to the radiator.

She worked out how to use the harness that made it safe for him to travel like a human then drove him in the minibus, looking very regal in the front seat, back to Acting Instrumental before it shut for the day. Feeling as if she never wanted to drive again, she and Doggo strolled the mile and a bit back into Middledip, looping around the village to visit Booze & News where she bought dog food and, in a rush of affection for the companionable canine, Bonios and Dentastix.

‘Didn’t know you had a pooch,’ observed Melanie behind the counter, ringing up the purchases.

‘Looking after one for a couple of days,’ Lily said briefly. She trailed home. Doggo paused at The Three Fishes, its strings of lights burning brightly in the darkness, his ears pricked and one paw raised, gazing at Lily with a ‘WTF?’ expression.