The five of them had gone to church as a family in the morning, the children’s eyes shining with joy and excitement, the lack of a pony or a real gun with a Christmas bow on not seeming to dim the thrill of finding piles of presents wrapped up for them at the end of their beds. Sue had managed to buy them one real present each, and for the rest she had gone around Castle House, into attic rooms that were scarcely ever entered, and found a selection of random things she knew her children would like. For Petal that was a stuffed owl in flight under a glass dome, with a mouse in its beak. Petal named him Harry, and decided she would take him everywhere. For Forest, she had found an ancient and rusty, but huge padlock, complete with a key, and a very old box that it would serve as a lock for, which instantly reminded Forest that he really wanted to be a pirate, as he filled it with chocolate coins. And for Meadow, a china doll with real hair, that had one been her great-grandmother’s most treasured possession, but which now looked more like it was possessed, especially as one eye didn’t close, and its hair had been badly cut by Sue herself when she was a little girl. Petal didn’t see the doll’s flaws though, instead she name it Kevin and wheeled it about in her old baby buggy.

‘Mum says dinner is nearly ready, the turkey is just resting,’ Tamsyn said, flinging an arm around Jed and kissing him on the cheek. ‘I’m good at hosting Christmas, aren’t I?’

‘Where is Mum?’ Ruan asked. ‘Get her in here, will you?’

Laura Thorne emerged from the kitchen, with her new best friend and cohort, Alex’s mother, Gloria, in tow, the two of them evidently enjoying rather more sherry than was seemly.

‘We’ve got something to tell you,’ Alex said, reaching out for Ruan, who took her hand. ‘I did try to tell a few of you before today, but you were all too busy.’

‘Go on then,’ Gloria said. ‘Don’t keep us in suspenders!’

‘Well.’ Alex took a breath. ‘Skipper, NO!’

They turned around to see a small scruffy dog hauling a bird that was almost the same size of him up the hallway.

‘Oh my God!’ Tamsyn cried. ‘Skipper!’

Sue couldn’t help laughing as the next five minutes were spent in watching her friends and children chase the young dog, round the rectory, as he ducked in and out of room, determined to keep hold of his prize, dribbling turkey in his wake, which in turned caused his pursuers to slip and slide and swear rather more than was appropriate in front of children. Catriona Merryweather, Jed’s verger, and baby Mo’s mother, sat down next to Sue, with her baby on her knee, and rolled her eyes.