Dear Ann,

Thank you so much for including me in your wedding. I am honoured to have been chosen as one of your special friends and will do my utmost to see to it that all goes flawlessly. I have already been fitted for a new suit. I do have occasion for formal wear more frequently than one might expect.

I’m delighted that we will be able to begin restoration upstairs. Work on the saloon has moved remarkably quickly since you loosened the purse strings a few weeks back. I’m now waiting for a final confirmation on a wallpaper style from Emma—she has a portion of the historic photo collection at her flat that includes an early view of the room. You may recall that I had asked that documentation like this not leave the house, fearing that just such an inconvenience might arise with people borrowing things and taking them home. Still, I hate to be too hard on her. She has, as you are no doubt aware, recently split with the vicar and seems quite blue. I’m so glad to see that your relationship with Simon has survived the rocky patches that inevitably occur. I continue to admire you Ann, for your ability to overlook our everyday foibles. Few women would show such forbearance towards something like gambling, for example. I would caution you, however, as a man of the world myself, that characters like The Hat can spell trouble in the long run. He was in the village, you know. The Hat, that is.

I have taken it upon myself to review the progress of the Church restoration, and can assure you that the sanctuary will be at its best on 11 August.

With all best wishes,

Chester