‘Yes, jellied eels it is – but won’t that sound a bit odd if you just shout it out as he comes in? Like you’ve got Tourette’s or something?’

‘I could sing it, like I’m just singing along to the radio.’ And with that she launched into ‘Oh, je-llied eels’ in the tones of ‘And so, Sally can wait’ from Oasis’s ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’. Emma poked her head back in to the shop and they laughed together. Emma knew she had to laugh, or else she might just end up choking with tears – the threat to her beloved shop was very real.

‘I’m sorry to hear that the shop’s having to close, pet.’ Old Mrs Clark had just ambled up to the counter and was still slightly out of breath from her walk up the hill. ‘It’s a bit of a bugger, that.’

‘Pardon?’ Emma was taken aback.

‘Oh yes, heard it from Sheila at the grocer’s. She was telling me about all the financial problems you’ve been having and that you’re having to finish.’

It was only two days after Mr Neil’s ominous visit. Blimey, the village gossip merchants had been busy.

‘Oh, but that’s not true, Mrs Clark. I’m not closing at all.’ She was keen to put the record straight as quickly as she could.

‘Oh, but …’ The elderly lady looked confused.

‘No, I’m absolutely not closing The Chocolate Shop any time soon.’ She felt more determined than ever. Hearing those words coming from an old friend in the village was rather shocking and felt like a knife blade. Imagine if they really were true?

‘I’m so, so, sorry, Emma. It’s just that as I’ve heard that from a couple of people in the village now, I believed it.’

‘Well, to be totally honest, Mrs C, there was a small issue with a slightly late payment this month, and the landlord has hiked up the rent on me this year. So maybe that’s got a little confused in the chatter. But that’s all settled and it’s fine. I have no intention of leaving any time soon.’

‘Well, I’m very glad to hear it, Emma. I’d have missed you and your shop so much. I enjoy my weekly stroll up here, despite that bugger of a hill, and your chocolate brazils – they are so much better than any of those supermarket ones.’

‘Can I get you some now?’

‘Yes, please, pet.’

‘I’ll put a few extra ones in for free if you can do me a favour and go back and let the villagers and Sheila know there’s no truth in the rumours, that I’m not going to be closing at all. The Chocolate Shop by the Sea is doing fine, and is here to stay.’

Well, she mused silently, for the next few months at least.