‘Still,’ said Dolly, handing me a mug of tea from the tray she’d carried up before passing one out of the window to Beamish, ‘at least we know you aren’t really allergic. If she’s been up here with you all night you would be sneezing and itching all over the place by now.’

‘I didn’t notice any scratch marks.’ Beamish unhelpfully put in, earning himself a stern look from my friend and a head shake from me.

‘Have you nearly finished up here?’ Dolly asked him.

‘Almost,’ he answered. ‘By the time you’ve made me that bacon butty you promised I’ll be ready to set up the Santa and reindeer.’

‘You still haven’t told me what you’re doing,’ I reminded him yet again.

I was beginning to feel as if I was the star turn in some silly bedroom farce.

‘He’s putting up my Christmas lights,’ said Dolly. ‘It’s the Wynbridge switch-on tonight, surely you haven’t forgotten?’

‘No,’ I said, thinking how very resourceful Beamish was for a taxi driver, ‘of course not. I just didn’t realise that your cottage was part of the attractions, Dolly.’

‘Oh, we’ve all signed up to do it now,’ she said, taking back the mug Beamish had already emptied. ‘Well, lots of us have anyway. This is our second year. It’s all part of the festive fun.’

Beamish went back to his tapping.

‘I’ll come and give you a hand with the breakfast,’ I said to Dolly. ‘I’ll just get dressed first.’

‘Well make sure you close the curtains,’ she said pointedly. ‘It was quite a shock coming in here and finding the pair of you in such a compromising position.’

She disappeared back through the door and Beamish began to laugh again.

‘Excuse me,’ I said, carefully closing the window and drawing the curtains again.

I could still hear him chuckling so decided to get dressed in the bathroom.

After a hearty breakfast which included eggs, tomatoes and mushrooms as well as bacon and doorsteps of thickly buttered bread, Beamish went back to dealing with Dolly’s exterior illuminations and I helped clear up. He was obviously much more than just a rugby-playing taxi driver, but I didn’t want to ask about his other skills. I was too embarrassed about where I had chosen to sit during the journey from Peterborough to Wynbridge and had no intention of drawing attention to my faux pas. Perhaps I shouldn’t make assumptions or jump to any more conclusions while staying under Dolly’s cosy roof?

‘Just exactly how many lights are you planning to have out there, Dolly?’ I asked as I spotted Beamish unloading yet more boxes from his truck. ‘I think you might need to rein your friend’s enthusiasm in a bit.’