She took a breath and folded the letter into her pocket instead. No. She refused to be responsible for wreaking catastrophe on Niall and his mum, possibly ending a marriage and breaking up a home. She tried to deflect by saying, ‘Mac’s nothing to me,’ before repeating, ‘I’m seeing Grady.’

‘Then why lie about the letter being from Mac?’ Tonya persisted, reasonably but tensely. Her eyes were troubled rather than angry. ‘You might as well tell me. He’s been odd ever since you came back to Middledip.’

Then Daisy arrived in the hall with fabulous concoctions of yew and holly in each hand, blurting breathlessly, ‘Sorry I didn’t get round in time this morning Mrs Cassidy, but here are the wreaths for you and your sister. Are there enough cones and berries? Do you like the seed heads?’

Rea arrived right behind her. ‘Hello, Tonya. Do you have time for a cuppa?’ As ever, she seemed comfortable with visitors she knew.

Tonya treated Laurel to a last level stare before offering the others a smile that got nowhere near her eyes. ‘Daisy, those wreaths are gorgeous. Hi, Rea. I’m a bit short of time for a cuppa, I’m afraid, but your sister was just telling me that she’s seeing my brother-in-law, Grady.’

‘Are you?’ Rea raised her eyebrows at Laurel with a grin. ‘Old sparks burst into flames, have they?’

Daisy looked smug. ‘Have you only just found that out, Mum? I knew on Wednesday when Auntie Laurel walked me home then went back to Grady’s.’

Tonya looked less sure of her ground at hearing these indications that there might be some foundation to Laurel’s claim concerning Grady. Abruptly, she said, ‘I need to speak to Mac. Thanks for all your hard work on these wreaths, Daisy. I’ve paid you already, haven’t I?’ With a last, wooden smile, she turned and strode down the drive, a wreath in each hand.

Rea rounded on Laurel as soon as the door closed on Tonya’s small figure. ‘You didn’t tell me about Grady.’ Having come in on the tail-end of the conversation, neither she nor Daisy remarked on anything odd in Tonya’s manner.

Laurel managed a weak smile. ‘It’s so new. We don’t want to be too public yet.’ She hoped Rea wouldn’t question why, in that case, Laurel had just discussed it with Tonya. Laurel wasn’t even sure why she hadn’t told Rea before now. Probably, she thought painfully, it was because part of her knew towering obstacles and canyon-like pitfalls lurked for her and Grady. The letter in her pocket was an all-too-stark reminder.

Daisy tugged Laurel’s arm. ‘Ready to get off to Grady’s now? Let’s get Christmassy!’ Her eyes glowed with excitement.