‘That’s better!’ chuckled her companion. ‘You’ve got a pretty smile.’

‘Thank you,’ said Roz, adding with an embarrassed grimace, ‘I hope we didn’t make too much of a show of ourselves.’

The woman waved a dismissive hand. ‘No more than most, and it’ll give the passengers summat to talk about on a long journey, so you’ve done them a favour – it’s just a pity that it’s come at your expense.’ She smiled kindly at her. ‘Want to talk about it? It’s a long way to Betwys-y-Coed, and sometimes talking to a stranger can help sort things out, and I don’t like to see someone so upset, not this close to Christmas.’

‘By trying to please others I hurt the most important man in my life,’ said Roz simply. ‘He’s the one who took his luggage off the train.’

The woman gave a knowing nod. ‘I see. Do you think he’ll change his mind once he’s had the chance to simmer down?’

‘You tell me,’ said Roz, and she went on to tell her travelling companion about Hollybank and the circumstances that had led up to that moment.

‘He’s a silly beggar if he doesn’t,’ said the woman who finally introduced herself as Edith. ‘But they say that pride comes before a fall, and men are proud creatures. Is that what your Felix is like?’

Roz shook her head. ‘I wouldn’t say so. He has a heart of gold and is very kind – he’s never struck me as the sort to be proud, far from it. If anything, he’s quite humble.’

‘Affairs of the heart are different,’ said Edith, ‘especially when there’s another suitor involved, and Bernie sounds quite the catch.’

‘He is, but not for me,’ said Roz. ‘Felix is my kind of man. I just wish I’d stuck to my guns and stayed out of it all.’ Tears began to well in her eyes so she took a handkerchief from her handbag and blew her nose.

‘Well, he obviously loves you, else he’d not have reacted the way he did. I reckon he’ll come back after he’s had a chance to lick his wounds.’ Edith smiled kindly at Roz, who wasn’t looking so certain. ‘It’s just going to take time, that’s all.’

Roz nodded, but in truth she feared she had severed Felix’s trust completely. Sometimes love just wasn’t enough.

CHAPTER NINE