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They stopped on a small beach area and Katie and Wanda deployed the rum-laced chocolate from two flasks. Too full of mince pies, no one wanted Christmas cake as well, so Katie had left it behind.

‘That view is incredible. I’m going to take some photos,’ Athene said.

‘I love the holly, and the rowanberries are such a beautiful shade of scarlet,’ Wanda said.

‘They are,’ said Athene, carefully touching a holly berry. She went on:

‘The gale may whistle, and frost may come,

To fetter the gurgling rill;

The woods may be bare, and the warblers dumb—

But the holly is beautiful still.’

Wanda stared at her, eyes wide in delight. ‘That’s beautiful! Who wrote that?’

‘A Victorian poet called Eliza Cook. We learned it at school.’

‘Well, I love it.’

‘It is lovely, Athene,’ Katie said. ‘Do you know the rest of it?’

‘Erm. I might need a refresher. I’ll look it up and read it later round the fire.’

‘That sounds lovely,’ Wanda said wistfully. ‘I liked poems at school. Even had a go at writing them myself but that all went out of the window once I started work. Ian didn’t have a poetic soul. Unlike your Ned …’ Wanda said, then, ‘Oh, I am sorry! I didn’t mean anything.’

Katie gritted her teeth. ‘It’s fine, Wanda. Don’t worry,’ she said as kindly as she could.

Athene linked arms with Wanda. ‘You know what, I have a secret desire.’

‘You do?’ Wanda said.

‘Yes, I’ve always wanted to be able to skim stones and that beach looked full of the perfect kind. Katie tells me you used to teach her and Tyrone.’

‘I did.’ Wanda sighed happily. ‘I was quite good at it. Even better than Ian. He was always too hasty and didn’t have the wrist flick.’

‘Then please teach me your technique. It always looks so mindful …’

‘I think that’s our cue,’ Jess whispered.

‘Poor Wanda,’ Katie said when they were out of earshot; they had gone to inspect the boathouse. ‘She didn’t mean to put her foot in it. She really liked Ned. So do my mum and dad. So does everyone, it seems.’

Jess nodded and heaved a sigh, gazing out over at the shore. ‘I know it’s awkward. It is funny to think he’s over there all on his own.’

Ned being on his own was the least of Katie’s concerns, but maybe kind-hearted Jess was worried how he’d cope in a strange place, brooding about Katie.

‘He’s not totally on his own. Arlo’s next door,’ Katie replied.

‘I suppose so but I can’t see them bonding, can you? I don’t think Arlo likes Ned.’

‘Really?’ Katie was on the alert. ‘What makes you think that? He doesn’t even know him.’

Jess shrugged. ‘I dunno. Just a feeling.’ She kicked up some dead leaves. ‘I don’t know how I let our holiday plans slip out. I should have been more careful but we were having a coffee and Ned asked me what I was doing for Christmas. I now think he was fishing to find out what you were doing for Christmas.’

‘Probably.’ Katie decided to get something off her chest that had been troubling her since Ned’s appearance. ‘I didn’t know you’d been meeting up with him. You never said you were in contact.’

‘Not meeting up, exactly. The first time was by accident because I was visiting an exhibition at the Fashion Museum in Bermondsey and Ned had been out to lunch with his mate who works for The Bookseller. Since they’re almost next door to each other, you know, we ended up spotting each other.’