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‘Do you drive?’

‘Yes, but I don’t own a car. Not in London.’

‘Of course. The Tube’s always quicker,’ he said, signalling that he didn’t spend all his time up north.

‘Yes, but I tend to use buses and I love walking and I cycle where I can.’

‘There aren’t any bikes at the Island House, unfortunately, but there is a rowing boat in the boathouse.’ He smiled again. He really was making an effort.

‘That sounds like fun. On another day,’ she said, trying to make out any sign of the island through the mist. Could that be it? The dark clump of trees just visible a hundred metres ahead? She felt like King Arthur being rowed to his last resting place.

Pongo jumped to his paws and gave an excited yip.

‘He can smell the house,’ Arlo said.

‘Smell it?’ Katie wrinkled her nose. ‘Should I be worried?’

Arlo smiled. ‘No. I meant he can sense it or possibly smell the woodsmoke from yesterday’s fire.’

Woodsmoke. That sounded promising. She wrinkled her nose again, trying to catch the sweet aroma on the air but failing.

‘We’re here,’ Arlo said, and as if by magic, the jetty appeared.

‘You said there was a boathouse. I read about it online,’ Katie said.

‘It’s on the opposite side of the island – the rowing boat is in there.’

Wondering if she’d ever dare use it, Katie’s attention was diverted by their arrival and the frisson of anticipation that rippled through her.

Moments later, Arlo had cut the engine, stepped deftly on to the jetty and was tying up at a mooring cleat. Pongo followed him and started nosing among decaying leaves at the back of a tiny shingle beach.

After Arlo had helped Katie off the launch, he unloaded her luggage. Behind the beach, the winter skeletons of oak, beech and silver birch reached for the low cloud. She stamped her feet to keep them warm, aware the tip of her nose was probably turning pink.

‘The house is this way,’ he said, joining her on the shore and pointing to a path through the trees. ‘If you’d like to follow me?’

He walked ahead, carrying her suitcase and her rucksack in either hand while Katie carried the gifts. Three bags for two weeks was hardly excessive. She’d already pared it down by half because she’d always found it impossible to travel light.

Their route led through a small copse scented with damp pine needles, then a sharp twist in the path, and there it was. With Pongo trailing behind, nose to the ground, Arlo led the way across the front lawn.

Katie stopped. ‘Can we hold on a sec?’

‘Of course.’ He gave her a slightly puzzled look.

‘I’d like to savour the moment.’

He held up his hand. ‘Be my guest.’

‘Well, I literally am.’

His smile touched his eyes and Katie could tell he was quietly but intensely proud of his island. Pongo ran back to him while Katie feasted her eyes on the Island House. It was larger than she’d expected: almost too large, with only three other people coming to join her in it. However, it wasn’t only its size that stopped her in its tracks – it was its grandeur.

She shrugged off her rucksack, laid it on the damp turf and caught her breath. It was almost too much.

The grey stone façade had four pillars holding up a porch over the steps that led up to the entrance. There were three rows of sash windows either side of the door on two storeys with attic rooms nestled under the roof on the second floor. To the left side, there seemed to be an extension that perhaps had once been an entrance for tradesmen or for the servants who must have been required to keep such a grand property running smoothly.

She’d been lucky to visit some imposing buildings in recent years but not one that was going to be her home for the following two weeks. With a smile, she thought about how, after all those years of rejection, her last two books had been so successful that she could rent this beautiful place. This was a Christmas gift, a holiday and a huge and heartfelt sparkling thank you all rolled into one for her guests so they would have a very special Christmas. God knows they deserved it.

Arlo had taken her luggage up the steps to the front door and was now striding over the lawn towards her. Pongo had vanished, presumably to explore the island.