‘You shouldn’t call him mean,’ chided Noël. ‘I expect Father Christmas is bringing you a lovely present from him.’

‘Oh, Grandpa!’ She rolled her eyes. ‘I’m much too old to believe in Father Christmas and I saw that big parcel with American stamps that George brought yesterday. I suppose there are some from Mum and Dad in that big sack of presents you brought up with you?’

Noël tapped the side of his nose and tried to look mysterious, while I suddenly realised that I would be the only one who wasn’t giving or receiving presents on Christmas Day. . like Granny’s first Christmas at the new hospital in Ormskirk, when she had nothing to give to her friends in return for their gifts, until she’d thought of the bookmarks. .

I didn’t even have bookmarks — and, come to think of it, Jess had said she was going to give me something she had made herself, so presumably I would have one present at least.

As if she could read my mind, Jess piped up just then and said, ‘We can put all the presents under the tree when we’ve finished decorating it. I’ve nearly finished making all mine, but I’ve still got to wrap them.’

‘Jess is an expert in origami,’ Noël said proudly.

‘I make origami jewellery and sell it at school,’ Jess explained. ‘Tiny, fiddly origami.’

‘That’s very clever,’ I said, ‘I’d love to see some of it.’

I’d been wondering whether to take a last trek down to the village to stock up on odds and ends that seemed likely to run out, like cocoa powder, and now I thought I ought to get in a supply of small emergency Christmas gifts too, just in case!

‘Are you going to help us decorate?’ asked Noël. ‘You seem to have been very busy already, so perhaps you would rather put your feet up for a bit, m’dear?’

‘No, I’m fine. I’ll help you for half an hour and then I think I’ll walk down to the village. I need a few last things from the shop and to stretch my legs, but I won’t take Merlin — it’s a bit freezing out there for his arthritis and I’d have to tie him up outside.’

I could see Jess was torn between coming with me and decorating the tree, and added quickly, ‘I’d be grateful if you could keep an eye on him while I’m out, Jess? The poor old thing is missing his master and has latched on to me as a substitute, so he isn’t going to like my going off without him.’

‘Yes, and I’ll need you to climb the stepladder while I hold it,’ Noël pointed out. ‘I can’t do it alone and our old Father Christmas needs to go on top of the tree.’ He held aloft a brownish figure of moulded paper. ‘My brother Jacob bought this with his pocket money when he was about five, so that makes it well over eighty years old,’ he said sentimentally.

‘He’s a venerable Santa,’ I said, touched, ‘and he’s earned his place. And actually, I think if I leaned over the balcony I could put him on top of the tree from there.’

I managed to put quite a lot of small baubles on the top of the tree that way and helped drape the long string of fairy lights around it, so at least when I went out I knew Jess wouldn’t be teetering about too high up on the ladder.

‘You will be careful while I’m out, won’t you?’

‘Of course — we’re a team, aren’t we, Jess?’ Noël said. ‘The sitting room will be a picture by the time you get back!’

‘I’m sure it will,’ I said and left them to it while I made a few preparations in the kitchen and then got wrapped up for the walk. (I didn’t fancy my chances of getting the car back up the hill this time.)

Merlin was beginning to look anxious, but when I went back into the sitting room Jess stopped unravelling a garland and made a fuss of him.

‘I’m just off, but I’ve left soup in the pan on the back of the stove and sandwiches in the fridge for lunch. There’s carrot cake or mince pies for after. You don’t need to save anything for me, because I’ll have bread and cheese in the pub.’

‘I’ll sort that out and from the sound of it, I don’t think we’ll starve while you’re gone,’ Becca said cheerfully. ‘And if you don’t come back, we’ll send out search parties!’

‘If I gave you the keys, could you possibly pop into the lodge and just make sure everything is all right?’ asked Noël. ‘No burst pipes — always a worry at this time of the year.’

‘Yes, of course.’

‘And if you need anything from the kitchen, just help yourself,’ Tilda said graciously from the easy chair where she had placed herself to direct the decorating proceedings.

‘Thanks — that would be very useful, especially if you have almond and vanilla essences?’

‘I’m sure there are. Bring back what you need.’

‘I don’t like to ask for yet another favour,’ Noël said, ‘but if I gave you Jude’s mobile phone number, could you try calling him while you are down there, and tell him where we are?’

‘I’ll give it a go,’ I said dubiously, since I’m not in the habit of making transatlantic calls.

‘And go and make sure Old Nan and Richard are all right while you are down in the village, too,’ ordered Tilda autocratically, though it did show a caring and thoughtful side to her.

‘Actually, I’ve wrapped up half a dozen mince pies each for them already.’

‘Good idea.’

‘Wine gums,’ said Jess suddenly. ‘Can you bring me back a big bag?’

‘You’ll rot your teeth,’ said Tilda.

I left Jess hanging onto Merlin’s collar and set out, feeling just like one of those tiny figures in a vast snowy Breughel landscape painting. I followed the ploughed track down the driveway (I thought I’d heard the roar of the tractor earlier), slipping and sliding a bit on the fresh snow that had half-filled it. It was easier going under the pine trees by the river, where the ground was free of snow, and on impulse I turned up the wide path off it to where I knew Jude’s mill studio was.

It was only a few yards until the trees opened out to reveal a tall, narrow building with the remains of a mill race and dark, deep-looking pool below it. I peered through the window and saw that it was open right up to the rafters and full of all kinds of mysterious shapes, most vaguely equine.

It was pretty freezing so I didn’t linger, but went on to the lodge, where everything looked fine. The kitchen cupboards didn’t reveal much that I hadn’t got already, apart from a few flavourings, spices and ground almonds, which I put in my rucksack in case I forgot them on the way back.

The lane down to Little Mumming had been cleared and grit spread on the worst part of the slope, but it was still slippery, so I was grateful when George stopped his long-wheelbase Land Rover and offered me a lift. I had to share the front seat with his slightly smelly sheepdog, but to be honest, by then I was just glad of the warmth.

‘You must have been out really early, George! How is the road down beyond the village?’

‘Liam was the one out first thing and he said you could still get a four-wheel drive up and down to the main road, but anything else would be in trouble,’ he said. ‘My lad and Ben from Weasel’s Pot are friends, so one ploughs up and the other down and it gives them a chance to meet in the middle and waste time, like.’

I smiled. ‘You all seem to work really hard already — you must have plenty to do without all this road clearing.’

‘Ah, but farmers have to diversify to make the money these days, and the council pays well for road clearing. Then Jude and one or two others pay me for clearing their drives too, so it all helps.’

‘Yes, I suppose it must.’

‘And in the summer I hitch up this dinky little trailer with bench seats behind the tractor and take the tourists up the track to the beacon and back. Pays better than the sheep, that does.’

‘That’s very enterprising,’ I said and, as we came down past the church, added, ‘you know, I hadn’t thought to ask if the shop would even be open today!’

‘Oh, Orrie will only close Christmas and Boxing Day and she’ll always open in an emergency — she lives above the shop. Yes. . very obliging, is Orrie,’ he added thoughtfully — I could see I had an established love rival!

‘She certainly seems to have a wide-ranging stock, doesn’t she?’

‘Yes, well, she’s a general store and gift shop rolled into one, you see — caters for the tourist trade in summer and opens that café of hers for cream teas. Were you wanting anything in particular?’

‘Not really, just a few bits and pieces I thought we might run out of, and Tilda wanted me to check up on Old Nan and the Vicar — do you think you could drop me by the almshouses? I’ve been wondering how they’ll get up to Old Place for Christmas dinner. At a push, I expect I could drive them home again in my car, but I’m sure it won’t go up this hill. I’d have to leave it down there.’

‘Nay, that little car of yours won’t be much good on ice! It’s a pity Jude took his old Land Rover with him, or you could’ve used that.’

‘But I couldn’t use someone else’s car and I’ve never driven a Land Rover before.’

‘Well, don’t you fret about Christmas Day: our Liam can plough the road to the village and your drive first thing and then one of us will go down and fetch the old folks up for you.’

‘Surely you won’t be out on the roads on Christmas morning?’

‘We’re farmers: we’ll be out tending the livestock anyway, Christmas morning or not.’

‘You’re very kind,’ I said gratefully.

‘My pleasure,’ he said, with a quick sideways glance accompanied by his engaging grin.

Some children were making a snowman near the church and it all looked picturebook with its coating of snow. . until I saw where the children had chosen to stick the carrot.

‘Little bleeders,’ George said amiably, glancing at them as we passed and circled the green.