‘Of course,’ I said, choking back a tear when I realised what he was telling me. ‘Just go. I’ll come and lock your hut. Where is Wren now?’

‘With Sue.’

By the time we had pushed through the crowds to the hut, the troops had rallied and everything was organised. Wren and Theo’s hut was closed and Noah was manning Sue’s because she was going to drive the pair to the hospital. She’d already got Wren tucked in the back of her car under a blanket.

‘Did you know?’ Abbie asked me as we watched Theo join her on the back seat and Sue drive them away.

‘No,’ I said. ‘I had no idea. Did you?’

‘No,’ she sobbed, before taking a deep breath.

‘Liza!’ I heard Joe call.

He was waving his arms to get my attention and I waved back.

‘I’ll just see what he wants and come back over.’

‘No, it’s all right,’ Abbie stoically said. ‘We can manage. You stick to helping with the trees. We’re all organised here. Noah’s taken a few bits from Wren and Theo’s hut and put them in Sue’s, so they’ll all still make some sales this afternoon. Not that it matters…’ she added, her words trailing off.

I reached for her hand, but Joe called again.

‘I’m sorry, Abbie,’ I said. ‘I’d really better see what he wants.’

‘This chap has come to collect his family tree,’ Joe informed me once I’d made my way back across the yard and was in earshot.

There was no time to assimilate any of what had just happened and I turned my attention to the man standing with Joe. He didn’t look much better than I felt.

‘I’m a bit nervous about it actually,’ said the guy, who was on his own. ‘It’s a sort of rite of passage. I’m relatively new to the family and have been trusted with the task of picking up the tree. Apparently, it’s been in the family for years and my prospective father-in-law has asked me to collect it.’

His nerves were obviously jangling and I forced myself to focus. There was nothing I could do for Wren right now, but I could get on with the task Ned had entrusted me with.

‘No pressure then,’ I said, conjuring a smile.

He shuffled from one foot to the other, looking mildly terrified and I got the impression that his potential father-in-law wasn’t a man to be trifled with. Perhaps there really was a hand in marriage at stake.

‘Right,’ I briskly said, ‘let’s get you sorted.’ Then I added, ‘have you got any identification with you?’