“You can always come home,” said Sophie. “There’s Fitzcharles’s Bed and Breakfast if there’s no room here.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to,” said Emma. “They’re going to be working Matthew so hard, I don’t think he’ll have time. And I want to spend Christmas with him, which is the point of it all, after all.”

Unseen by the others, Fee squeezed her daughter’s hand.

Emma was quiet for a moment, and then collected herself.

“And talking of my wedding,” she said, turning sternly on Lulu, “I’m still waiting to hear what my brilliantly efficient chief bridesmaid is thinking of organizing for the hen party. And don’t say you’ve had the most marvelously amusing and original idea of taking us all on a cookery course, because thank you very much, but I happen to think my cooking is just fine as it is, and so does Matthew.”

“I was going to talk to you about the hen party,” said Lulu. She placed a carved wood angel with flowing gold curls from a German Christmas market next to a pink reindeer on roller skates that Sophie had bought from a street stall in Brighton, and evicted Toby from the decorations box. “Toby, this isn’t a game we’ve invented for your amusement, it’s a very serious business. I’ve been thinking about it, Emma, and I remember you said you wanted to do something relaxing. So I’ve had a word with Charlie, and she says she can get us a deal on a weekend at Granville House—you know that posh hotel spa place in Oxfordshire? Would you like that?”

“Oh,” said Emma, surprised and pleased: Granville House had recently been featured in Vogue’s list of Top Ten Luxury Hotel Spas. “Well, yes, I’d say that on the whole I’d like that very much indeed. Granville House, huh? Wow, Lulu, that’s a really amazing idea, thank you.”

“I do listen,” Lulu told her. “And occasionally, I even remember what I hear. And it is supposed to be a very good place. Not sure if they’ll let Sophie in, but if they don’t, we can always dump her in a field to frighten the cows in the morning.”

Sophie, carefully placing gold and silver glass balls, extruded her tongue with dignity.

“How’s your year been, Lulu?” said Fee. “You’ve had some ups and downs, I think.”

“I suppose I have.” Once again, Lulu thought back over the year and all that had happened in it, from the Goncharoffs, to the Crown & Sceptre, to Joanna in the bright and friendly toy shop; from the new and surprising knowledge she had acquired about her parents, to the terrible thing that had nearly happened to Sophie last month. There had been some bad things, she thought, but they seemed mostly over now, and the worse things hadn’t happened after all. And maybe next year some good things would start to happen instead. “It hasn’t all been great, but I’m liking the toy shop better than I’ve liked any work yet. And I’ve cooked some nice meals and made a couple of new friends, which is nice.” And, of course, she added, but only to herself, it had also been the year she had made the acquaintance of Grandma Jo. That in itself had made it worthwhile. “It’s been an okay year, actually.”