Page 2

He seemed taken aback. ‘Hmm, yes. Well, I’m incredibly sorry that I’m late. I came across a biker who’d come off the road and I had to help him.’

‘Is he OK?’ she asked.

‘He’s been very lucky but I waited until the tow truck arrived to make sure. I did try to call but the signal is terrible.’ He pulled off his hat and groaned. ‘Oh God, you’re soaked. I am so sorry. I’ll fetch your bags.’

Before Katie could protest, he marched off, hoisted her rucksack on to his shoulder and hefted her suitcase down the jetty to the launch. She picked up the waterproof bag of gifts and followed him to the boat where he was stowing her luggage inside the cabin.

After putting the present bag inside, he stood on the deck, his hand outstretched. ‘Would you like to get on board? The launch cabin is heated. I’ll light the fire at the house as soon as we get there. The Aga should already be warm and the heating on.’

Amused at his attempts to overcompensate for his initial brusqueness, Katie let him help her on board. The cabin was cosy and she sank on to the bench seat with an inner sigh of relief.

‘Pongo!’

The man barked even more sharply than his dog, who came bounding back from the trees, his tail wagging like a propeller. Katie suppressed a snigger. Pongo? For a stately dog like that?

‘Come on, boy!’

With a woof, Pongo leapt aboard and the boat wobbled slightly. He jumped on to the bench seat opposite Katie and stuck his nose on his paws, watching her with curiosity.

‘Um. Mr Crabtree said that the housekeeper would be there to welcome me, and my guests when they arrive,’ she said while the boatman stowed her cases.

‘Normally she does but Helen has had to take Christmas off because her husband’s unwell.’ He smiled briefly. ‘Don’t worry, you won’t be neglected. I can light the fires and, er, do the welcome thing.’

Katie winced inwardly. ‘Are you sure? Mr Crabtree said—’

He smiled, which actually only made him look a little less fierce. With his height, strawberry-blond mop and the beard, she’d have definitely bet on him having Viking genes.

‘Actually, I’m Mr Crabtree.’

‘You are?’ Katie felt her eyebrows lift.

‘Yes. Why? Were you expecting someone different? To me, that is.’

Katie had pictured a man of at least sixty, ruddy-faced with a cloth cap. That’s how she’d have written Mr Crabtree anyway. She smiled. ‘No. Not at all.’

‘Arlo Crabtree at your service,’ he said and held out a wet hand.

Katie took it. ‘Pleased to meet you.’

He scraped up a warm smile. ‘You too. Welcome to the Island House.’

CHAPTER TWO

The launch puttered through the mist and, despite the heater in the cabin, Katie shivered and wriggled her toes inside her damp boots. There was absolutely no sign of the large Georgian house she’d seen online and longed to visit since her very first trip to the Lakes as a student fifteen years previously.

Her guests would be sure to love it, apart, possibly, from her mother’s sister, Auntie Wanda, who’d worry that the electric would go off and they’d all starve or a tsunami might swamp the island. Oh, and Athene would be paranoid about the Wi-Fi dropping out. At least Jess would be as excited as a Labrador puppy in a ball pool.

Her mum and dad would keep telling her how guilty they felt that they couldn’t be there despite Katie insisting that her sister, Lou, needed them more, having had twins arrive three weeks early.

Firstly, however, they all actually had to make it to the Island House, including Katie herself. She’d decided to arrive the day before her guests so she could settle in and make sure everything was perfect for this once-in-a-lifetime Christmas.

‘How was your train journey?’ Arlo broke into her thoughts.

‘Actually, I travelled by coach.’

‘That’s a long way from London on a coach.’

‘It was a very nice coach,’ Katie said briskly. ‘And I stayed overnight with a friend in the Midlands to break the journey.’