She shoved it back, her eyes sparkling. ‘It’s crazy. I was going to go for a walk but the sky looks ominous.’

‘Not working?’ Isaac stuffed his hands in his pockets, Doggo’s lead jangling from his wrist.

‘Day off.’ A smile lit her face. ‘I’ve pressed the button on everything I need to do with my designer’s hat on for Switzerland – the Food, Lifestyle & Health show and the Christmas market. I’m thinking about either calling in at the Angel café or calling one of my old friends in Peterborough to make good on one of those vague social media exchanges about meeting up.’ She grinned. ‘You’re looking pretty off duty yourself.’

He rubbed his stubble. ‘It’s good to have a couple of down hours before I start on my working day.’

A gust of wind pushed her an involuntary step towards him. ‘Whoo! I think I’d better go back.’ Barely were the words out of her mouth when thunder rumbled overhead. Doggo’s tail ceased to wag and he curled it between his legs instead. Lily sent an apprehensive look skywards. ‘Make that I definitely need to go back.’ Then she jumped as a hailstone bounced from the top of her head. ‘Ow!’

She hastily dragged up her hood as, with a great clap of thunder, more hail flew on the wind, plopping in the stream beside where they stood. White balls bounced from the ground and from poor Doggo, who hunched his spine and rolled his eyes, scrabbling at Isaac’s legs as if trying to scale them. Isaac gazed around at white missiles bouncing from the ground and from their coats. ‘Hailstones? They’re huge.’ As they came under still heavier bombardment twigs began to snap from trees that bowed before the howling wind, creating an astonishing level of noise.

Isaac grabbed Doggo’s harness and clipped on the lead. ‘Come on, let’s make a run for the pub.’

‘You’re always sheltering me from inhospitable weather.’ But Lily picked her way across the ford and scrambled up through the moving curtain to the road, squeaking and trying to hold her hood to shield her face from the vicious white onslaught. Isaac grabbed her free hand as she slithered on the marble-like chunks of ice that drummed on the road. Ice stung their faces and slid into the collar of Isaac’s coat. Doggo whined, too upset and worried to even growl back at the ever-louder thunder, skittering between them as they ran, in danger of sending them flying.