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‘Don’t stress. I’ll do some emergency repairs,’ Jess called from the landing.

Used to jeans and a sweater, Katie found it weird to be prancing around in a full skirt with a petticoat under it. She’d teamed it with a blouse and waistcoat and felt ready to join the cast of Calamity Jane. She was also having second and third thoughts about her silver boots, wondering if they were over the top but Arlo was knocking on the front door and announcing his presence so it was too late.

She was first down into the hallway and narrowly stopped her jaw from unhinging.

He’d done as he said and turned up in a plaid shirt, jeans and boots.

Except the jeans were stone-washed denim that showed off his long legs and bum to perfection. The shirt was a soft plaid that made her want to burrow her face in it and while he wasn’t in Western boots, the chunky Timberlands he wore were perfect in her eyes.

‘Everything OK?’ he asked with a slight frown.

Katie realised she’d been gawping. ‘Fine. Everything is fine.’

Arlo was now gawping back at her. ‘I – like the boots.’

Katie felt a deep blush rise from her chest to hairline. She dropped a curtsey and said, ‘Yeehaw.’

Arlo laughed softly.

‘I was a bit worried they were too much,’ she said, poking out her ankle and resting the heel on the tiles.

‘Oh, no!’ he said with genuine enthusiasm. ‘They’re – very appropriate.’

The others arrived, and even Athene was buzzing with excitement, though she refused to wear the cowboy hat as a trade-off for agreeing that the fringed blouse was ‘actually quite fun’. Katie couldn’t wait to see Greg’s expression. With everyone happy, she put Ned out of her mind for the time being and was determined to make the most of the evening.

The buzz only grew on the clandestine voyage to the jetty whence they all squashed into Arlo’s Land Rover. It was a bit of a squeeze but it led to even more giggles and hats getting tangled in fringing. They piled out at the barn in the village that marked the start of the cave walk.

By day, Katie had thought Rosthwaite quaint, but at night, it transformed into a fairytale place with almost every cottage lit by glowing candles and Christmas trees in the windows. Arlo explained that the barn, on the edge of the village, was actually a function space used for village events.

One of the wide double doors was cracked open when they entered. One end was screened off to create a bar area where people were queueing. The far corner was obviously the ‘stage’ and the band were setting up with the odd scrape of a fiddle and skirl of an accordion escaping while they warmed up.

They stopped briefly at the entrance where Arlo had a quick word with Erin about their seats. Open to the rafters, the space was huge yet also cosy.

‘Gosh, this is actually quite impressive,’ Athene said to Katie. ‘It looks centuries old.’

‘Almost three hundred years. Arlo told me it’s a Westmorland barn that they used to use for the animals and hay.’

‘Well, it makes a great party space, I must say.’

Three sides were lined with trestle tables, half of which were already occupied with people. Wanda and Jess were also agog, mainly at the guests, most of whom had entered into the spirit of the occasion in a variety of Western-themed outfits.

‘I’m glad we made an effort,’ Wanda said in a low voice.

Jess had a grin on her face. ‘Told you,’ she said, clearly delighted that her plan had worked.

Athene heaved a sigh of relief. ‘Thank God. I had a nightmare last night that I’d done a Bridget Jones and turned up at the party dressed as a bunny girl while everyone else looked normal.’

‘Now that I would love to see,’ Katie said.

Arlo rejoined them. ‘OK, we’re over on the left in the middle. Look. Greg’s already here.’

They all trooped after him and Greg managed to make sure Athene had the seat next to him. Katie was opposite Arlo which made it quite difficult to chat without raising her voice above the hubbub.

‘There’s dancing then food then more dancing,’ Arlo said. ‘But first, I’ll go to the bar.’

Erin and ‘Magda TSW’ – whom Katie could barely look in the eye – came over and they chattered away until Arlo and Greg returned from the bar. The band were on stage and the tables were almost full when Erin and Magda walked on the stage with microphones in hand.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, or should I say, howdy, folks!’ Erin called. ‘Can I have your attention, please?’