Page 54 of Winter Magic at Hollybrae Castle

Oh, no, we didn’t go into that with them. I try to catch her eyes behind his back, but she realises and says, ‘Yes, health issues, it’s lovely to see her looking so healthy and happy now. True love heals us all in the end!’

I’m impressed by the way little white lies can roll off my mum’s tongue, although I don’t think love, true or not, has that much medicinal power, given my numerous battles with fictional ailments, but Dand nods like it was the right thing to say.

After the chaos of introductions, even the grand entrance hall feels small with everyone crowded into it.

‘Right, I’ve got a batch of mince pies coming out of the oven in twenty minutes,’ Nancy announces over the noise. ‘Why don’t the lord and lady of the manor give everyone the grand tour, and then we can meet in the guest lounge and you can take the weight off your feet. You’ve all had a long drive!’

‘Worth it though for these views.’ Dand is looking back out the main door, admiring the mist-shrouded distant hills.

‘Didn’t realise quite how remote you were, Oliver.’ Clint’s got a sneer on his face. ‘You’re probably lucky to have electricity, never mind the internet. I prefer something more civilised myself.’

‘Luckily, I find civilisation comes from within, Clint,’ Ollie says without missing a beat.

‘And he’s got his lovely wife, what more does a man need?’

‘Exactly, Dand.’ Ollie’s eyes find mine over the tops of their heads and he grins at me, and I give him a nod in return, because they’re right… For somewhere so remote, being with Ollie makes it feel the furthest thing from remote at all.

‘Every room has got a Christmas tree ready to be decorated with your own families. Presents can be left there or put under the tree in the entrance hall.’ Ollie begins the tour from where we’re standing. Hamish insists on taking suitcases upstairs, while Nancy and my half of the family disappear to the kitchen, and Maisie and Rory tag along with us.

Between us, we show them where to leave their coats, around the dining hall, and to each of the bedrooms.

‘This is how they met, you know,’ Rory announces once we reach the library. ‘An online book group. Dad asked for recommendations and Mum told him to read A Christmas Carol and not just watch the Muppets doing it on TV. Here it is, look, the very book that started it all.’

He’s got an old copy of the book that’s displayed on a stand in the library at his and Maisie’s insistence, and everyone crowds around to have a look. I catch Ollie’s eyes and he flashes his eyebrows at me with a grin. The story is so well rehearsed that it almost feels true.

‘Oh, you two are simply adorable.’ Gisela catches the look between us.

‘Mummy and Daddy are sooooo in love,’ Maisie says. ‘They’re sooo romantic, it’s embarrassing!’

Clint’s twins make vomiting noises, and we’ve already lost the teenagers who have gone in search of the Wi-Fi password and a better phone signal.

‘I’d always wondered how you two met. Oliver’s never mentioned it.’ Clint is leafing through the well-read book like it might give him some clues. ‘In fact, he hardly talks about you at all, Lucy. It’s almost like you didn’t exist until this month, and then you just appeared out of nowhere.’

I try to ignore the jolt of panic that reignites inside me because I am, once again, certain he knows and is looking for a way to prove it. ‘We’re big on keeping our work and home lives separate here, Clint. Ollie doesn’t come home and talk about work for hours, so why should he go to work and do nothing but talk about home? It’s called being a professional.’

I’m not usually very good at comebacks, but that one is enough to shut Clint up for the time being, although I can envision his hackles rising even further and I suspect I’ve just given him more incentive to prove there’s something untoward going on between us.

‘It must be your first Christmas together in years, what with him always being away with us and you always being at your parents’,’ Halston says to me as we file down the tower stairs and show them the far less interesting linen cupboard with instructions to help themselves to anything they need.

‘Yeah.’ I look over my shoulder and catch Ollie’s eyes where he’s standing a few people behind me. ‘I’d forgotten how much I love spending time with him.’

‘And making him blush like a lovesick puppy.’ Dand is standing near enough to elbow him, making everybody look between the two of us.

My cheeks are burning as much as Ollie’s are and he laughs, raises his hands to cover his face without taking his eyes off mine, and one of them gives him a shove until he steps across to me, takes my hand and drops a kiss on my temple.

‘That airline cock-up really is a blessing in disguise.’ Orla repeats something similar to what she said at the office party. ‘It’s lovely to see you two together and we’re honoured to share Christmas with you.’

‘We’re thrilled to have you,’ I say easily, trying to sound as at home here as possible and Ollie jiggles our joined hands but doesn’t let go as we walk them around the rest of the castle.

In the guest lounge, I put Maisie and Rory in charge of handing out festive headbands and Santa hats with the theory that no one can say no to a child, and Ollie and I meet Hamish and Nancy in the kitchen to make God-only-knows how many cups of tea, glasses of orange squash, and the ‘something stronger’ requested by both Dand and Orla. As all four of us carry trays of drinks back in, I’m glad to see everyone wearing something festive, and only the twins having a battle with their antler headbands.

There’s a big TV on a cabinet in one corner, a suite of two- and three-seater leather sofas that look like they’d be uncomfortable for sitting on for very long, unlike Ollie’s cosy couch in our little living room, and plenty of gold-and-glass coffee tables, a hearth where Hamish has got a fire going, and it’s actually nice to see everyone sitting around and socialising.

Dand and Halston are chatting away to my dad, while my mum is holding court with Orla and Michelle, and Gisela has made a friend in Mira. Only Clint is mooching around like he’s inspecting the decorations while ignoring Gisela telling him to sit down.

‘This place really is exquisite,’ Michelle says when everyone has been served their drinks. ‘You must be so proud.’

‘Proud of my wife who made it all happen.’ Ollie’s arm wraps around my shoulders and squeezes me against him, and I slip my arm around his waist and return the squeeze. I’m not complaining about the show we have to put on, because it gives me more excuses to touch him, and I try to ignore that niggling feeling of time running out. They’re here now. This is what we’ve been building up to. Within days, this will all be over. Completely over.