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I laugh faintly. ‘Yes, I’m sorry . . . It’s just that we . . .’ I pull myself together. ‘How can I help?’

‘I’m Hana. I know Lara. I’m here to do a piece about the farm?’

Lara is coming down the drive behind me.

‘Hana!’ she calls. Hana’s face lights up, and they wave to one another. ‘This is Hana,’ Lara explains to me as she reaches us. ‘We met years ago.’

‘When I was a pain-in-the-arse teenager,’ Hana puts in.

Lara laughs. ‘And I was a young social worker, starting out. Hana’s on TikTok now, with a huge following. She’s doing fantastically well. Her parents have started fostering, taking in little ones that come into care, so we still see each other.’ She leans into the open car window and hugs the young woman. ‘You’re looking fantastic!’

‘So are you. You look like a woman who’s found happiness!’ Hana says. ‘Whoever he is, he has to be better than that Tom bloke you were with. Mum always said he wasn’t right for you.’

I’m finding it hard to keep up.

‘Sorry, there’s been a lot going on today . . .’ Or not, I think to myself. ‘We’ve had a problem—’ I say to Hana.

Lara puts a gentle hand on my arm to stop me. ‘I rang Hana’s parents and asked if she’d come over. After Scarlett . . . refused.’

‘She’s got a reputation for being tricky in the influencer world,’ says Hana knowingly.

‘So I decided to see if anyone else could help us, tell people we’re here,’ Lara adds.

‘The place looks amazing.’ Hana is peering past me along the drive. ‘Can I still come and see?’

I look at her. She’s come to do a piece about us. That is so kind of her – and Lara, too. Even if it makes no real difference and everyone still goes to Christmas Tree World for the experience, it’s still kind.

‘Yes, of course you can.’ I think about the trees that Horse has already cut. They will all need homes. ‘Come in.’ I reopen the gate and let her drive on through.

‘You must take a tree home with you,’ I say, when Lara and I reach the farmyard; Hana is out of the car now, looking around. Our voices bring Luke out from the barn.

‘Luke, this is Hana,’ I say. ‘She’s an influencer.’

‘Hi! Yes, I follow you on TikTok.’ He nods, smiling. ‘Your account is great.’

‘And you’re with Scarlett, aren’t you? You’ve been together for years. And you’re moving, right? She’s been posting all her ideas from her designer, and the brands she wants to work with.’

‘Yeah, that’s right,’ he says, looking down. Clearly the social media world is small.

‘Sounds like you’re going to have your hands full,’ Hana says to Luke with a sympathetic grin.

‘Yep,’ he agrees, not looking at all like his usual perky, cheeky self.

I clap my hands together. ‘Right, well – as you two know each other, that makes introductions easy.’

‘Everyone knows Scarlett,’ says Hana. ‘She’s massive. When Scarlett says something’s the bee’s knees, it sells out in no time. Loads of brands want to work with her.’

Luke says nothing. It’s clear that, like me, he has things on his mind.

Delilah the donkey lets out a loud ee-hawww, making Hana jump and then laugh.

‘You have donkeys!’ she says.

‘Just the one – Delilah. She’s looking out for the puppies.’

‘Puppies?! Oh, wow! This place just gets better and better. And I’m sorry to come here after you’ve closed. Thank you so much for letting me in.’

‘It’s fine. As I say, we’ve had some issues today . . .’ But Hana doesn’t seem interested in what those issues were.