‘Plenty,’ she said, joining me at the window as he began to set out a sleigh and eight reindeer on the front lawn. ‘And don’t worry, these are all mine. They’re a brand-new addition to the display. Beamish has been storing them at his place as he has the room.’

‘Aren’t you worried that they’ll make the cottage look tacky?’

Dolly looked up at me, her eyes wide.

‘What I mean is,’ I faltered, ‘wouldn’t a simple wreath on the door and some warm white lights around the windows be a little more in keeping?’

‘With what?’

Clearly, I wasn’t explaining what I meant particularly well and I had upset her, but that hadn’t been my intention.

‘I just meant with the style of the cottage,’ I rushed on, trying to make amends.

‘If you’re suggesting my decorations are Christmas tat, Hattie—’

‘No,’ I interrupted, ‘no, of course not.’

‘Then you’re probably right,’ she laughed, ‘but the children love them and for that matter, so do I. The town produces a little map of the most illuminated streets now and my cottage is one of the furthest. Lots of families come to enjoy them, so where’s the harm?’

‘There is none,’ I said, shaking my head and feeling suitably chastened.

‘I can remember you once telling me that your father went in for something similar.’

That was true, or it had been. Obviously, I didn’t know how he and Mum decided to decorate now, but Dad had always favoured a slightly over the top attitude when it came to Christmas. It had driven Jonathan to distraction the one and only December we had visited together before I snipped that thread. Come to think of it, lots of things my parents liked hadn’t met with my partner’s approval.

‘And when the Luccas owned the hotel you were always first in the loft to bring the boxes of decorations down, weren’t you?’

‘Yes,’ I said, smiling as I remembered. ‘I suppose I was.’

‘You used to work through your days off to help put them up. What happened to that girl, Hattie? Where’s she disappeared to?’

‘I don’t know,’ I said, my smile faltering as Beamish gave us a thumbs up and Dolly waved back. ‘I haven’t seen her for a while.’

The hotel still had Christmas decorations, but they came and went with a professional designer and were stylishly coordinated and confined to a corner of the reception and dining room. It was all very chic, not unlike my festive holiday in the sun with Jonathan. There was certainly no room or allowance for the so-called ‘tacky Christmas tat’ that Dolly favoured.

‘Well,’ she said, rubbing my arm, ‘I’m sure we’re going to find her in the next few weeks, whether she wants to stay hidden or not.’

*