‘But you would have had some visitors turn up anyway, because they hadn’t gone on social media and seen the announcement, and then they would have been annoyed. I think with something like this, it’s very hard to please everyone.’

‘You’re right. Another?’ Charlie took Hannah’s mug and went into the kitchen, the coffee machine whirring to life.

Charlie made an excellent cappuccino and, even though Hannah was now about seventy per cent festive-flavoured coffee, she couldn’t resist. The bus was a warm haven, the fairy lights fading softly in and out and Christmas hits playing in the background. There was a box of Christmas cards and crocheted snowmen and robins for sale on the corner of the kitchen counter, next to the contactless payment machine. A sign on the front of the box said: Local and hand-made.

‘You don’t have to spend your day here, you know,’ Charlie said, bringing over their drinks and a plate of warm sausage rolls that smelled utterly tantalizing. Hannah was going to put on all her extra Christmas weight before Christmas arrived at this rate. ‘The hotel is much cosier.’

‘I’ve spent a lot of time at the hotel over the last few days and, lovely as it is, I wanted a change of scene.’ And a change of company. ‘And it’s not a day for walking the coastal path, even if the views would almost make it worthwhile. Has Marmite minded being cooped up?’

Charlie laughed. ‘He did laps of my house yesterday, and managed to destroy a cushion and break a vase, so I took him and Jasper on one of the most bracing walks of my life. Jasper was done after five minutes, but we got all the way down here to the beach before Marmite changed his mind and started whimpering.’

‘Careful what you wish for, little guy,’ Hannah called to the driver’s seat, where the dog was curled up. An ear-twitch was all the reaction she got.

Her gaze tracked a couple wearing waterproofs; they were running from the car park towards the fudge stand, holding their hoods tight to their heads. The rain had started again, the earlier chink of sun long since hidden behind a wall of cloud. Reenie’s little house was obscured by spray as wave after wave hit the cluster of rocks it sat on.

‘Is Reenie in her house at the moment?’ Hannah asked. ‘It must be terrifying.’

‘She’s mentally tough,’ Charlie said. ‘And I’m keeping in touch via WhatsApp and Skype. She’s well stocked up, and she’s working her way through the Walking Dead box set.’ She laughed. ‘I’m more worried than she is, but she ignored Daniel’s entreaties to stay at the hotel for a few days before the storm broke. Reenie won’t do anything she doesn’t want to.’

‘She’s braver than I am,’ Hannah admitted. ‘I’m much more frightened of the storm than I am of Audrey’s impending ghost hunt.’ And seeing Noah again, she added silently, although ‘frightened’ was a bit strong. ‘Uneasy’ was a better word for how she was feeling.