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Larry, it turned out, was waiting patiently by the entrance. As Kelly approached with Edward, he bounded towards her like an enthusiastic dog.

She picked him up, the big toad nestling into the crook of her elbow while Edward and Old Ned watched.

‘He was waiting for you, lass,’ Old Ned said. ‘Weren’t you, son?’

‘He does seem to like me,’ Kelly said.

‘You know what he’s waiting for, don’t you?’ said Old Ned.

‘I’m hoping I don’t,’ Kelly replied.

‘I don’t know,’ Old Ned said with a laugh. ‘Go on. Pucker up.’

Kelly lifted the toad and stared at him.

‘Do I really have to give you a kiss,’ she said, ‘for all your help?’

She was still thinking about it when Larry’s mouth opened and his tongue flicked out, tapping her on the end of the nose.

Old Ned and Edward both burst out laughing as Larry settled back down, his eyes closing.

‘I think he might be good now,’ Old Ned said, taking Larry from Kelly’s hands. ‘I’ll go and take him down to the pond so he can see his ma. Maybe he’ll eventually be able to forget you when he has a missus of his own.’

‘How heartbreaking,’ Kelly said, glancing at Edward, who winked.

As Old Ned wandered off with Larry, Edward stepped closer. He gently touched her arm.

‘If you’ve got any more going,’ he said, ‘I wouldn’t mind one.’

Kelly felt her cheeks redden.

‘What did you just say?’

Edward shrugged.

‘Oh, nothing. Must’ve been the wind. But anyway, we’ve got a Halloween parade. Did you bring your costume?’

‘You know what?’ Kelly said. ‘I didn’t even think about it.’

‘Well, it just so happens,’ Edward said, ‘that I have an entire box of them in the storeroom behind the restaurant. Why don’t we go and have a look?’

With the parade kicking off after lunch, Kelly had plenty of time to go through Edward’s box of dusty old costumes before settling on a tasteful witch’s outfit. Nothing too revealing and nothing too uncomfortable.

Edward went as a very basic version of Frankenstein’s monster, wearing a green sweater with a lightning bolt across the middle, and taping a plastic nail to the side of his head.

They headed down to the parade together.

Crowds had descended on Briar Speckles’ main street. Several busloads of people had arrived from the surrounding villages to witness the festivities.

There were numerous Halloween-themed floats making a mile-long circuit of the village, including one from the local primary school, which had transformed a tractor trailer into a giant pumpkin patch. Meanwhile, the local amateur dramatic society had built a haunted mansion from cardboard on the back of a flatbed lorry, filling it with ghosts, skeletons and other ghoulish characters.

There were ghosts and zombies, witches and bats, headless horsemen, men with pumpkin heads, and children dressed as every imaginable character from films and television. Kelly counted six Wednesdays, at least five Harry Potters, three leprechauns, and an entire nursery class dressed as Krampus’s evil elves.

She spent the afternoon eating and drinking from the various stalls, buying souvenirs, and bumping into several friends from Brentwell.

There was Pete Markham, grinning as always, serving burgers and coffee from his van, which had relocated to Briar Speckles for the afternoon. Jennifer, who taught at the primary school. Lizzie, her old classmate, now working at Brentwell Library.

Everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time.