‘That means your next journey is to Bonnie’s teashop to pick me up a slice of Victoria sponge. McCartney will keep you company,’ Dolores gave a little chuckle.

‘Of course, I will. Just point me in the direction of Bonnie’s teashop.’

Dolores reached for her purse, but Ella put up her hand. ‘My treat – payment for reading my leaves. Where is McCartney’s lead?’

Dolores pushed herself up on her stick and gave Ella directions to Bonnie’s teashop, just at the top of Love Heart Lane.

Ambling down the High Street, Ella and McCartney made slow progress. They were stopped by everyone who crossed their path who immediately went all gooey-eyed over the dog. Everyone was friendly, passing the time of day, and Ella couldn’t believe the difference between village and city life. Usually, she found it difficult to cross a road due to the amount of traffic whizzing by, but in the last five minutes she hadn’t seen one car. Everywhere there seemed to be a slower pace of life, and people were actually standing around having conversations, catching up with each other’s lives, instead of rushing about speaking into telephones and clutching their laptops like their lives depended on it.

Ella carried on walking for another five minutes before she discovered the whitewashed terraced houses of Love Heart Lane. Bonnie’s teashop was at the top of the lane. Ella breathed in the mountain air. ‘Wow,’ she muttered to herself, gazing up at the magnificent mountain standing in front of her. ‘What a view.’

McCartney had discovered the bowl of water outside the entrance to the teashop, whilst again everyone commented on how delightful he was. Ella stepped inside and the old-fashioned bell tinkled above her head, alerting the woman behind the counter to her arrival. She turned around with a welcoming smile.

‘McCartney and…’ She wiped her hands on her tea towel then stretched a hand out towards Ella.

‘Ella, a friend of Callie’s. Her cousin Julia owns the B&B.’

‘Ella! Welcome, welcome to Heartcross. I’m Rona. We heard you were arriving. Felicity… F-E-L-I-C-I-T-Y!’ Rona bellowed towards the door at the back of the teashop. ‘Come and meet Ella.’

Felicity appeared from the kitchen, balancing a freshly baked Victoria sponge on a blue china plate. ‘Hello.’ She beamed. ‘Welcome! Callie told us you were coming.’

Ella couldn’t believe the welcome she was receiving from everyone in the village. They were all so lovely.

‘Pleased to meet you both, and that’s exactly what I’ve come in for.’ Ella pointed at the plate Felicity was holding. ‘A slice of Victoria sponge for Dolores – good timing!’ Ella marvelled, looking around. ‘This place is foodie heaven.’ Her eyes widened as she took in all the delicious-looking pastries, cakes and sandwiches displayed in the front counter.

‘Have you settled in?’ asked Felicity, grabbing a knife and beginning to cut up the cake into over-large slices.