If anything, Lily preferred Boxing Day – or St Stephen’s Day – to Christmas Day. Garrick and his family had their own plans so, with Ainsley in a papoose on Max’s front, the rest of them walked down into Schützenberg and around the lake, pausing for hot chocolate or lemonade, making a snowman with Dugal and Keir, which the boys then took enormous pleasure in kicking down.

Then they struck off into a wood where the snow was less disturbed and it was still and magical, examining animal tracks in the snow and kicking it into crystal showers or trying to blow ‘smoke’ rings with their white breath in the frigid air. Tubb and Janice walked hand in hand – or mitten in mitten. Lily found herself watching the easy way they chatted and how often each made the other smile. In relationship terms they were still at the honeymoon stage, only having been together a year, but they might as well have been wearing badges that said ‘in love’.

Funny how the cold air stung her eyes to watch them.

Finally, they tramped back up the hill to Max and Ona’s house and Lily helped Janice put together ‘Boxing Day Pie’, which involved slicing up the leftover turkey and sausage meat, pouring gravy and wine over it in a roasting tin and mashing up leftover root vegetables for the topping, then sticking it in the oven to cook. The boys were happier with fish fingers, little jacket potatoes and peas, but the Boxing Day Pie did very nicely for the adults, washed down with beer and followed by plunging into the stash of chocolate.

Lily helped Dugal build a Lego house while Max showed Keir how to put a wooden train track together, which Keir much preferred taking apart. Then they all got ready to march further up the hill to Los’s house for fondue.

‘It’s lovely that the children are invited, isn’t it?’ Lily said to Ona, who was pushing Ainsley in a buggy that seemed to be his car seat fixed to a set of wheels.

‘The Swiss are very family-minded.’ Ona’s ski jacket was a dark gold and set off her pretty freckles as she tipped up her face to admire an especially beautiful balcony hung with swags of greenery and lights like icicles. ‘It’s great not to need babysitters but not so much when we want a night off on our own with a bottle of wine.’