The sun overhead was almost warm, and it was doing its best to turn the fallen snow into a type of glue Julia had never experienced. Having neglected to bring either her watch or her phone—not to mention her purse—she had no idea of the time, nor how far she had gone, but she was exhausted before she had even reached the bottom of the neighbouring valley. As she gathered her strength for the climb up the hill, she reflected on how different the countryside became when you were facing adversity. On a fine day she would no doubt have passed houses and farm lanes, perhaps even a few dog walkers or even horse riders. Now she felt like all human existence had been erased from the world, except for the roads and the hedgerows hemming her in. Through field gateways she glimpsed distant farms and even a small town, but nothing ever seemed to get any closer. Where were all the quaint cottages that always seemed to line the roads, the lanes leading down to secluded farms? There was just the road, and the hedgerows, and the snow.
She began to give serious consideration to the idea of turning back. After all, her own tracks were the only ones in the snow behind her, and all she had to do was follow them. She had probably only gone a mile, although the sweat down her back and the ache in her thighs made it feel like it was about twenty-five.
For a long time in her life, Julia had felt like a bland, modern version of Huckleberry Finn, one floating downriver with no way of returning, albeit without a friend, a pole, an aim, nor much in the way of any adventure. A couple of failed relationships. A half-decent holiday to Corsica with a couple of friends where she’d briefly snogged a local. A promotion to group leader only for an internal company reshuffle to remove her title even if her pay grade remained. A cat. A car she had liked before it had been stolen and trashed in the process.
Her little stopover in Birch Valley hadn’t been supposed to happen. She should be standing in her mother’s kitchen right now, moaning to her sister over a glass of wine about how Cassandra and Ebony had cut their toenails and not cleaned it up, or how Cousin Albert’s hippy music kept her awake at night. She should have been stuck in a trivial variation of last year’s Christmas—and the year before, and the year before that, going back as long as she could remember.
Then, out of nowhere, she had been gifted something unique. A late train, random new friends, sharing a house with a crazy internet influencer. Wolves. A guy with a weird name. A Norwegian strongman and a crazy lord who chased people with a bedsheet over his head.
And a young, rather confused man whom she found herself thinking about rather more often than she would like.
And she was running away?
She stopped dead in the snow.
‘What on earth am I doing?’ she said aloud. ‘I should be loving every minute of this.’
She had just crested a rise, and there, in the distance, she recognised the tower of Olive Hill’s little church. Her parents’ house was tucked in behind it, just out of sight, but in an hour, perhaps two, she could be standing outside.
With a smile, she turned away, shaking her head.
A couple more days and she would be home anyway, but let her mother and sister deal with Cousin Albert and his clan for now.
‘I’m having an adventure,’ she said.
It wasn’t much easier going back the way she had come, because the wells in the snow that her boots had made had crusted up in the sun around the edges while turning to sludge on the inside, so after a while she stopped retracing her steps and simply created a new, fresh line parallel to the one she had already made.
Now, though, as she headed back, she felt a slowly rising panic. She seemed to have gone much further than she had thought. The sun was dipping towards the distant hills, and her stomach was growling with hunger. She was long past lunchtime, and it was literally the shortest day of the year, dark around four o’clock. She had no source of light, and clouds were moving in from the east, threatening yet more snow.
‘I could die out here,’ she muttered, then louder: ‘I could die out here.’
She tried to run, but after nearly falling on her face realised it was literally impossible. She had tears in her eyes, but it was starting to get cold, her breath puffing out in front of her. The resolve she had felt when she turned back had melted away, and she started to doubt herself all over again. She stopped, turning back, wondering if there was still time to make it to Olive Hill, but she had made her choice. If her fate was a cold, lonely death in the snow, then so be it.
She looked up … and saw three figures coming around the corner in the distance, two humans and one rather large dog. One human towered over the other, and as they spotted her they lifted their hands above their heads and began to wave.
‘Julia! Julia!’
‘I’m here!’ she shouted, jumping up and down. ‘I’m right here! And I’m coming back!’
Both Magnus and Joseph looked flustered as they reached her a few minutes later. Joseph reached her first, pulling her into an awkward hug before stepping back and giving her a bashful smile.
‘We were worried,’ he said. ‘You’ve been gone for hours.’
Julia wiped tears out of her eyes. ‘I just … went for a walk. I wanted to see if I could get home, but the snow … it’s too deep.’
Magnus gave her a kind smile. ‘It’s not so much far by the crow. I can take you if you really want.’
Julia shook her head. ‘I think I’ll stay for a couple more days. The snow will melt soon anyway.’
‘Unless we have entered the ice age,’ Magnus said.
Joseph was staring at her, a little smile on his lips. As he noticed her looking, he gave a little shake of his head and pulled off his backpack.
‘We’d better get back soon,’ he said, ‘But we thought you might be hungry. We brought mince pies and a flask of coffee.’
‘Unleaded,’ Magnus said. ‘But if you want the kick, I have some brandy warming in my inner pocket.’
Julia laughed. ‘I’ll be okay,’ she said.
In the company of friends, the snowy road had lost its threat. Julia took a deep breath of fresh air and smiled. Things would work out, one way or another. If you clung to the side of a train long enough, eventually you reached your destination.
‘We should get back,’ Magnus said. ‘Soon, the sunset will come. Then, we will freeze.’
‘It’s about a mile,’ Joseph said. ‘It’s not that far.’
Even so, it was almost dark by the time they returned, tired and cold, to Chapel Cottage. Mabel, sitting inside the window with Elizabeth, came running out, wrapping her arms around Julia.
‘Dear child, whatever got into you?’
‘I was trying to escape,’ Julia said. ‘I’m sorry. I just really wanted to see my family.’
‘It won’t be long,’ Mabel said, as Elizabeth came out on to the front step behind her. ‘Just hang in there a couple more days.’
‘There you are,’ Elizabeth said. ‘Running off like that. What got into you? I thought my blood pressure would go through the roof.’
Julia opened her mouth to explain, then realised that conventional logic wouldn’t work on Elizabeth, the way it worked on normal people.
‘I’m sorry,’ she sniffed, putting on an act that would have made her school drama teacher proud. ‘I wanted to look my best for your wedding. I was trying to get back home in order to pick up my best dress and bring it back. And if I somehow didn’t make it … that was the price I was willing to pay for your happiness.’
‘Sisters!’ Elizabeth gasped, throwing her hands up in the air and then dramatically pushed past Mabel to grab Julia in a bear hug. She smelled of expensive perfume which almost made Julia sneeze. ‘You’re the sister I never had. I can’t believe you would sacrifice yourself for the happiness of me and my online fans. You’re … wonderful.’
‘Thanks,’ Julia said.
‘Well then,’ Elizabeth said, pulling away and wrinkling her nose. She sniffed at the air, then sighed. ‘Oh, the countryside.’ Then taking Julia’s cheeks in her hands, she said, ‘Don’t worry. I’m sure Julian’s mother will have something you can wear. We’ll get through this. I know we will.’
Before Julia could reply, Elizabeth had turned and swept back into the house. She clicked her fingers and then whistled. From the enclosure came the howl of a wolf, then Xavier came running up the path from the garden, his camera still in hand.
‘I need you,’ Elizabeth said, as Xavier followed her inside. Julia caught a glimpse of his camera screen and the image of a wolf before he went inside.
‘It’s grandmother,’ Mabel said.
‘And it’s Joseph,’ Joseph said.
Magnus frowned, then pulled up his sleeve and peered at a watch so complicated it looked like a robot attached to his arm.
‘It is nearly five,’ he said. ‘I must do my security check of the village. It will take me into the vicinity of the pub, which might be open. I may have to go inside. For your safety, I suggest you follow.’
Joseph glanced at his grandmother, then at Julia, who shrugged.
‘It’s Christmas,’ she said. ‘Why not?’