In the opening scene this week Laura walked to work as the new clock struck the hour and you just knew that the poor girl was going to feel a knife through her heart every time she heard those chimes. But like a harbinger of doom, those chimes rang out over the rest of Candleford and Lark Rise like an ill wind of sound, and Laura’s problems paled in comparison with some who heard them.

Who’d have thought that after umpteen years together, Twister and Queenie could still have ructions? But the arrival in Lark Rise of Emma’s father Edmund drops a cat in between those two pigeons. Twister still hasn’t forgiven Edmund for kissing Queenie after they were betrothed. And Edmund still hasn’t given up hope that he can steal Queenie away. He reveals that champion procrastinator Twister never did quite get around to going through with the marriage!

Edmund’s annual visit seems set to become a permanent affair now that he’s had to retire from his post as coachman. Still, Emma makes good her promise to her Mum to look after him, and makes room for him to live at the cottage, much to everyone’s consternation. Edmund is like sand in an oyster. He’s reached the age where he’ll say what he wants whether it upsets people or not. Even so, sometimes that irritation does give rise to a pearl – of wisdom.

The net curtains are a-twitchin’ over at Candleford with the arrival of an elegant lady who Minnie mistakes for the queen. But it’s really only Celestia Brice-Coulson, who appears to have some form of attachment to Mr Dowland. After all the weeks of dithering a rather breathless and hasty proposal from James to Dorcas only serves to confirm the suspicion of there being more to their friendship than meets the eye. Indeed Celestia delights in revealing to Dorcas that theirs is both a financial and a personal arrangement. As a rich widow, she’s been keeping James’ wallet filled with cash, and in return he’s been… well… you get the picture.

Celestia’s relationship with James is not the one testing Margaret’s nerve. Rather it’s what is going on between her and Thomas that has Margaret worried. He’s spending so much time at the hotel, often emerging while still putting on his postman’s uniform, that she believes his head has been turned.

As with all high drama in Candleford, these are all just blustery days in very small teacups. James declares his “arrangements” (both financial and a personal) with Celestia to be at an end, signs over to her his share of every hotel bar the Golden Lion and rushes off to convince Dorcas she is the one for him. Meanwhile, since hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, Celestia marches off to the Post Office to make clear to Dorcas just what kind of a man James is. Dorcas has a severe but temporary case of high dudgeon on account of him lying to her, but the sight of Queenie and Twister finally making their way to the posting of their bans makes her realise that faces look so much better without their noses cut off.

Thomas declares the extra money he’s earning for working at the hotel is not worth the aggravation, and jacks the job in. And Edmund is reminded that he changed his age when he was 15 so he could get a job as a stable boy, so in truth he has another two years before he needs to retire. He happily repacks his bundle and sets off back for more coaching, leaving Lark Rise (and Candleford) back pretty much where they were when we started. Older perhaps, but on this week’s evidence, not very much wiser.