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He chuckles as if we’re pulling his leg. ‘We’re on the naughty list, are we?’

I take a deep breath. ‘It’s true. They’re not coming. Not Father Christmas, or the starlet dancers, or the drummers . . .’

By the time we’ve explained everything again, Luke is already thinking about solutions.

‘I’ll get on to Scarlett. Get her to put it on her socials.’ He marches out towards the barn with his elf slippers ting-a-linging furiously, making an inquisitive Gloria jump with every step.

I watch as he pulls off his hat and puts his phone to his ear. He’s stopped halfway between the house and barn, looking out over the crisp, clear morning view. The valley looks like a Christmas card this morning. Everything about it is perfection. Luke seems to be arguing on the phone, throwing up his hand and waving his hat.

Lara chews her bottom lip anxiously. ‘She could really help out here. Put the word out, get us some more performers . . . We should have asked her sooner.’

‘Well, except I don’t think Scarlett is as keen to keep the farm open for business as Luke is,’ I say.

Luke finishes the call and throws his hat to the ground, then picks it up, stomping towards the barn.

Lara straightens up. ‘Right – I’ll go and put up the Open signs,’ she says, with a decent stab at enthusiasm. ‘You never know. People might still come.’

‘Yes, we might get a few taking the wrong turn for Christmas Tree World,’ I say.

Will has returned to the kitchen table, where he was decorating mince pies this morning before everything suddenly went off the rails. Now he lifts one up carefully and holds it out to me.

‘Try one, Gwen,’ he says.

I smile and take it from him, biting carefully into it. It takes me by surprise.

‘Will, have you added spices from your tin to these?’

He nods and beams. ‘I mixed them into the mincemeat and warmed it up in the pan. I messaged Nadiya about it, and then Horse helped me last night. What do you think?’

Despite everything, I’m genuinely impressed.

‘I think they’re fabulous!’ I say and take another bite, tasting ginger, cinnamon and coriander. It’s delicious and somehow uplifting. ‘If nothing else, we’ve got spiced mince pies to share!’ I smile back at him.

I make mugs of tea and take one out to Luke. He’s changed his slippers for the leather ankle boots that were so pristine when he first arrived here. They’re a lot more scuffed and worn now.

‘Sorry, Gwen,’ he says as he sees me come into the barn. He shakes his head. ‘I couldn’t get her on board.’

‘Don’t worry. I’m not sure opening the Christmas tree farm was ever something Scarlett wanted.’

‘She says she didn’t mean to do it. The guy from Christmas Tree World came up when we were all busy. She showed him around, getting a feel for the place. Says she told him about our plans because she was excited.’

‘Did she . . .’ I start, but he carries on.

‘She told him about the performers, where we got them from, and that they were doing it for nothing.’

I’m tempted to say exactly what I think about Scarlett’s ‘mistake’ but am stopped by the sound of a car pulling up, which probably isn’t a bad thing. I turn to look out at the car, but I don’t recognize it.

‘She wants to complete the sale as soon as possible,’ Luke continues. ‘What Scarlett wants, she usually gets . . . I used to find that attractive in her.’ He sighs. I can’t help but notice that he’s used the past tense.

‘Drink your tea. I’ll go and see who that is,’ I say.

‘If it’s customers, tell them we’re open!’ he calls after me.

It’s not customers. It’s Anne and the knitting circle. They’re here! I think to myself, suddenly cheered. But as lovely as it is that they turned up, it’s not going to be enough; I know that. Three Wise Knitters would have made a nice addition to everything else, but it’s hard to see them as a star attraction.

I tell them there’s been a hiccup with the performers, so it looks like they won’t be needed after all.

As the knitters get back into their Skoda and drive off, I head into the forest to find Horse. He has been measuring and labelling even more trees with the colour-coded ribbon system, pricing according to species and height. I’ve brought him a spiced mince pie to soften the blow of the news.