‘A springer spaniel. Charlie, we called him, and oh, he was a proper Charlie, if you know what I mean!’ She was animated suddenly as she remembered him, the stiffness temporarily leaving her features and her eyes becoming far-away. Frankie guessed she was tramping through a forest somewhere with a bouncy dog, his nose to the ground, his tail beating with happiness. ‘We always had springers, they’re such smashing dogs. But with us getting on, we weren’t sure we could cope with one any more.’ She folded her arms across her chest and looked down, as if worried that she had said too much, made herself vulnerable in the face of the enemy. ‘Anyway.’

‘Well, I’ll absolutely paint you a picture of Charlie,’ Frankie replied, trying to recalibrate her workload as she said the words. There was only a fortnight to go before Christmas, and she already had quite a lot to get through before then, but there was no way she was about to turn down this offer from Jeanie, even if it meant having to work through the night in order to finish. ‘He sounds brilliant – it would be my pleasure. Paula has all my details, so just as soon as you can get those pictures to me, I’ll make a start,’ she promised.

Jeanie smiled. A rather suspicious, grudging sort of smile, admittedly, but all the same to Frankie it felt like the bright summer sun coming out, right there, on that grey December day, heralding a truce. ‘Lovely,’ said Jeanie, before coming over all brisk and businesslike in the next second. ‘Right! Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’d better get the kettle on. Time to sober up Harry’s sisters, before they fall over on the dance floor. Tea won’t make itself!’ She was about to bustle away again, but hesitated on the verge of departure as if something had just occurred to her. ‘Would you like a cup, love?’ she added after a moment.

It was the smallest of gestures, just the tiniest of things, and yet it felt so much bigger than the mere offer of a drink. ‘I’d love one, please,’ said Frankie, smiling back at Jeanie.

There! Was that the world applauding? Was that the ice finally cracking and thawing, a new rosy dawn on the horizon? Why, yes – yes, it was, and at that moment it seemed as if the whole family felt it, and were celebrating in their own way.

Across the room, Dave and Bunny were kissing under a sprig of mistletoe. Robyn and her children were making up a silly dance routine together and laughing breathlessly. Paula gave a squeak as she glanced at a text from the office, saying that a client had just put in a huge offer on one of her vendors’ houses, and threw her arms around Matt. Stephen and Eddie started a conga with some of the aunts. Even John went to join in.