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“Oh,” was all she could manage.

“Nothing’s confirmed yet,” Lucie added quickly.

“What kind of job?”

“Similar to what I was doing in Botswana. An old colleague has secured funding to set up a youth programme. I need to meet her in the new year to discuss it, to see the site.”

“Set up?” Frances asked, hoping that meant the situation would be temporary.

“Yes. Likely until the end of the summer, but... there is a two-year master’s degree starting in September that I’m going to apply for. It will enable me to become a drama therapist and have more of an impact in my career.”

Frances nodded. It was all she could do. She understood, but it didn’t make Lucie’s news any easier to digest.

“Thanks for lunch,” Lucie said, shifting the blanket aside as she stood. “Say goodbye to Rose for me.”

Frances nodded again and moved to follow her, but Lucie shook her head.

“Don’t worry. I can see myself out.”

A moment later, the front door clicked shut.

Frances slowly sank back into the sofa, processing everything. She was pleased that Lucie had found a direction, but part of her wished it wasn’t one that might take her away from Winterbourne.

Decisions loomed. How was she going to manage a full-time job alongside what already was essentially a full-time caring role? And, more pressing, how would she handle the ache in her chest at the thought of losing her Christmas elf?

CHAPTER 16

Frances entered the hallway and closed the front door against the cold, happy to see Lucie emerging from the sitting room. She’d come back home a little early, hoping to catch her for a few unhurried minutes together.

“Bye, Rose,” Lucie was calling. “See you tomorrow.”

“Hi, Lucie. You off?” Frances rhetorically asked. She was aiming for casualness but landed somewhere closer to disappointment.

“I’m working at the grotto tonight,” Lucie said, putting on her coat. “I need to get a head start.”

“After your shift, would you pop by?”

Lucie paused. “Okay.”

The other woman’s hesitation made her chest tighten. “Unless you’ve got New Year’s Eve plans already?”

“No,” Lucie replied quickly. “Not at all. I was just going to hang around at the pub until midnight, then head to bed. I’m surprised there isn’t a grand firework party here.”

“It’s too much alongside the Christmas event,” Frances replied. “We just let that roll into the new year.”

“Makes sense.” Lucie shifted her weight, hand already on the latch. “I’ll see you later, then.”

“Great. I look forward to it.”

“Me too,” Lucie said, stepping outside. She walked backwards a few steps, their eyes meeting, until she finally turned and headed towards the door to the hall.

Frances remained in the doorway longer than she meant to, watching her go with the easy confidence she seemed to hold. At Lucie’s age, she’d been finding her feet as the hall’s managing director. Surely she hadn’t carried that kind of ease herself. Had living abroad given Lucie a different kind of self-assurance? Or perhaps it was simply that Frances had spent too long in boardrooms that taught women to second-guess themselves.

She closed the door gently, already impatient for Lucie’s return and the evening she had planned for just the two of them. It was ridiculous to feel this way over a few hours’ wait, and yet the house and her heart already felt dimmer from her absence. Determined to stay occupied, she made dinner, then another when her mum absent-mindedly stood up from her sitting-room chair with her tray on her lap. Frances made a mental note: Meals would have to be eaten at the table in future.

At ten on the dot, there was a light knock at the front door. She knew it was Mara before she opened it. Lucie’s knock was very familiar to her now.

Mara stepped inside as Frances opened the door, shrugging off her coat. “I’m not sure how you convinced me to do this. I hope you know what you’re doing.”