about the Christmas season. He and Stephen had spent a large proportion of the previous week checking on the pregnant ewes. Luckily Stephen saw going out in the snow as an adventure, and being busy had given Gabriel less time to brood.
Gabriel sincerely hoped that going back to school would be a good thing. Eve hadn’t contacted them now for nearly a fortnight and, though Stephen had stopped mentioning it, he knew by the way that he would sigh sometimes, or wander off in the middle of a game, that his son was hurting deeply. He only wished there was something he could do beyond the practical to make it better.
‘He’s got you,’ Pippa had said. ‘And us. He knows his mother isn’t steady, but he also knows you are. So long as you can provide security and love, he’ll be fine.’
Wise, wonderful Pippa, with more than enough troubles of her own to cope with, but always there to catch you when you fell. Gabriel would have cracked under the strain if it hadn’t been for the support of his favourite cousin. Although Pippa was more like a sibling than a cousin, growing up as they had on neighbouring farms, spending a blissful childhood scrumping and fighting and fording streams together. Pippa, a year older, had always been the grown-up, there to bandage his wounds or salve his wounded pride when he’d come off the worse in a playground fight. And she was still doing the same thing. He’d be lost without her.
The robin hopped away and Stephen ran on ahead down the lane, pretending he was an aeroplane. It was good to see him so carefree for once. He was far too solemn usually, and Gabriel continually worried about the effect that events would have on him. Whatever Pippa said, it wasn’t going to be easy for him coping without his mother. Flaky and all as Eve was, she did love Stephen, and it was clear that he missed her badly.
As indeed Gabriel did. He felt a sudden constriction in his throat. If only he could have done more for her. If only she’d let him. If only…But one of the things he was coming to realise with painful clarity was that, however much he loved her, it wasn’t enough, it was never going to be enough. Eve’s problems were too big for him to mend. Sometimes if you loved someone, you just had to let them go.
The Saturday before school had started, Marianne walked with a heavy heart from the little cottage she rented at the south end of the village, down Hope Christmas High Street. Even passing Diana Carew’s house wasn’t enough to cheer her up. Diana’s garden was filled with a huge plastic Santa and several gnomes, and her house was a blaze of flashing reindeer even during the daytime. Marianne turned the letter in her hand over and over again. It was the means by which she could flee Hope Christmas, go back to her old life. A life that didn’t include Luke. Was that what she wanted? Could she really bear that? Once she left, there would be no turning back. But the thought of never seeing him, never touching him, never hearing him laugh or seeing him turn on that dazzling smile that had made her feel like a million dollars. Never to do any of that again. How could she stay here and be reminded every day of what she’d lost?
Part of her wanted to run home to her mum and escape the pain of walking down the High Street every day and risking bumping into Luke or running into his mother on the rare occasions she strayed into Hope Christmas to visit the beauty salon. All Marianne had to do was post this job application to the primary school in Hendon, where a teaching friend from her London days assured her they were crying out for good staff, and then she could look forward to being back home where she belonged. She had to accept it. Luke had been a mistake. Moving to Hope Christmas an even bigger one.
It was a grey dull day. The clear skies of late December had given way to a glowering gloomy January, with dark snow clouds obscuring the hills for most of the day completely, in keeping with her mood. Marianne had never felt so cold in her life. It was a cold that sapped her strength and seemed to reach somewhere into the core of her being. Even the sight of Miss Woods, the erstwhile head of Hope Christmas primary, whizzing precariously down the High Street on her mobile scooter, flag flapping in the breeze, failed to amuse. Although watching Miss Woods hit a corner too fast and oversteer to compensate, causing the large plastic canopy that covered her mean machine to wobble alarmingly, did draw a small smile. There would be things to miss in Hope Christmas, and the eccentricity of characters like Miss Woods was one of them.
Vera Campion at the post office was another. Always there with a ready smile behind the counter, offering hope and cheer to all the inhabitants of the village, especially the elderly, her shy kindly nature—not to mention her short-sightedness—reminded Marianne of a mole. One who was a force of great good for the whole village.
‘Marianne, how lovely to see you,’ Vera greeted her, but her smile didn’t look quite as genuine as normal. ‘What can I do for you today?’
‘A book of first-class stamps, please, Vera.’ Marianne handed over the money and looked at Vera again. She seemed very agitated. Marianne wasn’t normally one to interfere in other people’s lives, but Vera had been immensely kind to her since she’d come to Hope Christmas, and Marianne didn’t like to see her like this. ‘Vera, I hope you don’t mind me prying, but are you okay?’
‘Oh dear,’ said Vera. ‘Is it that obvious? I’ve just heard that they want to close me down. It’s a government initiative, they say. We’re not profitable enough apparently. From the summer all postal services are to be moved to Ludlow.’
‘But that’s terrible!’ exclaimed Marianne. ‘How will all your old folk get their pensions?’
Vera’s ‘old folk’ formed the core of her customers, and she protected their interests with the fierceness of a mother hen.
‘Exactly,’ replied Vera. ‘And what about the village as a whole? Along with the pub, the post office is the centre of our community. Without it we’ll be lost. But they say that with the building of the eco town, which is nearer to Ludlow, people won’t want to come here for their post, they’ll just get in their cars and drive instead.’
‘Very eco friendly,’ remarked Marianne. ‘Isn’t there anything you can do?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Vera. ‘But I do know I’m not going down without a fight. Mr Edwards said I should start a campaign.’
Vera blushed at the mention of Mr Edwards. It was not a very well kept secret in Hope Christmas that she nurtured feelings for the church organist but whether he was the only person in the village not to know, or whether he was too shy to approach her, so far Vera’s passion remained unrequited.
‘That’s a great idea,’ said Marianne.
‘Perhaps you could help?’
‘Oh, I’d love to,’ stammered Marianne. ‘But I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to be here.’
‘Are you leaving us then?’ Vera looked disappointed and Marianne felt a pang that someone actually cared. Despite what had happened with Luke, she had started to put down roots here. Luke hadn’t been the only draw for coming to the country. From the moment Marianne had first come to Hope Christmas she’d fallen in love. The village, with its quaint high street with pretty little shops full of knickknacks and fabulous old-fashioned bookshop, its square complete with farmers’ market, and its tumbledown workers’ cottages was everything she’d hoped for from living in the country. The friendliness, the warmth of the school she taught in, the kids she taught—and Pippa, she would miss Pippa. And the longer she’d stayed the more she loved it. It would be hard to tear herself away.
‘Maybe,’
