‘Are you all right, Dolly?’ I called over to her.

I tried to sound casual so she didn’t think I was fussing.

‘I’m done in,’ she shocked me by saying and I wasn’t the only one taken by surprise. A fair few heads swung around in her direction.

‘In that case,’ said Mr Matthews, sounding more authoritative than I had ever heard him, ‘I’ve got just the job for you.’

Dolly readily accepted his suggestion and initially I wasn’t sure if that was because he was the boss or if she was really feeling that tired, but on closer inspection, I decided on the latter.

‘Do you think she’s all right?’ I asked Beamish as Mr Matthews fetched her a chair and sat her down next to the snack table which she was going to be supervising.

‘On any other day I’d say yes, but she does look tired, doesn’t she?’

‘I’m beginning to wonder if having me to stay is a bit too much for her,’ I frowned. ‘She won’t let me do a thing back at the cottage.’

‘Oh no,’ said Beamish. ‘I’m certain that’s not it. If anything, I think having you there has been a tonic. She was really quite unwell when she caught that cold.’

This cold which had plagued her had been mentioned before, but Dolly had never spoken about it directly to me and I couldn’t remember any telephone conversations where she’d sounded bunged up.

‘She kept herself shut away for a good couple of weeks,’ he went on, ‘and of course these last few weeks of term are always heavy going. You’ve been a great help, Hattie, and think about how energetic she was on the ice.’

That was true. She had positively whizzed around the rink putting many of the youngsters to shame.

‘These next few months are going to be such a change for her,’ Beamish continued. ‘Not coming into school is going to take some getting used to, even if she does keep saying she’s ready to give it up. It’s all bound to take a bit of a toll.’

‘And I should be with her, shouldn’t I?’ I said, biting my lip. ‘That’s when she’s really going to need me and I’m going to be halfway across the world.’

‘You haven’t gone yet,’ he smiled, nudging me. ‘There’s still hope.’

Thankfully, there was no time for me to try and work out if there was a hidden meaning behind that comment. Beamish went back to his chores and I didn’t have a chance to talk to Dolly either as the hall doors were wrenched open and the children charged in, drowning out the requests from their teachers not to run amok.