‘Oh, he is,’ added Hazel. ‘He cut my grass for free the last time he did it because I’d forgotten to get the cash to pay him. He wouldn’t even let me drop it in later. Silly boy.’

‘I heard it was about their kids,’ said Matilda, looking at Bella.

‘I’m not saying anything,’ Bella replied.

‘Me neither,’ mumbled Nina.

‘Well,’ Mr Whittaker announced, crossing his arms over his chest. ‘I can tell you that Nick Cowley did not hit him. I saw it all. I was walking Mitzie, and that foul man Cole tried to get me to side with him. I just ignored him.’

Bella hadn’t believed that Nick had hit him but couldn’t stop the relief flooding through her knowing for a fact he hadn’t.

‘Perhaps we’d better get started,’ Bella said before they could gossip any more. She knew none of it was meant horribly. People were always going to talk about something like that. She, Nina and Johnny had dissected it after school the next day and the consensus of opinion was that Nick was far too nice to wallop Seymour Cole no matter how much he wanted to. Bella had agreed and thinking of him had brought a warmth to her chest.

As it filled her again now, she headed off to grab a bacon sandwich and make her way to her little Christmas workshop. Bella quite liked the idea of having a little place all to herself and decided to decorate it with some bits and pieces from her house. She was going to be spending a lot of time there after all and she might as well make it cosy.

Opening the door, she moved further in. One end held a workbench, and Mr Whittaker had stacked the presents in the opposite corner. It was fairly small, but she was sure she’d be able to manage. At least it would heat up quickly. After stashing the wrapping paper and Sellotape she’d brought with her, she took the first present from the pile and went to the workbench, eager to begin her work. Fastening a pretty bow and the tag while humming ‘Driving Home for Christmas’, Bella admired her handiwork before starting a new pile at the opposite end of the shed to the unwrapped ones.