Tess was amused when Mr Bell began to manoeuvre the umbrellas into an odd sort of changing room, for since he was already wearing his costume there seemed little need for such modesty, but as she and Jonty ran down to the sea to test the water Jonty told her that his father was very shy. ‘And wait till you see his costume; Ma knitted it for him the first time they took Maggie and me to the seaside. Before the war, it was,’ he explained. ‘Do you know what wool does when it gets wet?’

‘Dunno; my costume isn’t made of wool,’ Tess said, as they splashed into the shallows. ‘Tell me!’

Jonty chuckled. ‘It gets long and droopy. Dad wears a belt so his trunks won’t fall off, but they look pretty horrible, I can tell you. I suggested he might buy a proper pair but he says it’d be a waste of money ’cos we only go to the seaside a couple of times a year and no one sees him when he goes for a dip in the Broad.’

Mrs Bell had decreed that they should eat their picnic as soon as she had set it out, and would not allow bathing until an hour after the food was eaten. Tess assured her that she had never heard of anyone drowning from cramp, but her hostess was firm, so as soon as Mrs Bell’s preparations were complete Tess and Jonty charged back up the beach and flopped on to the sand to devour their lunch. The heat was such that they quite pitied Mrs Bell, the only one who would not be able to bathe, but once the remains of the picnic were tidied away she accompanied them down to the shore and wandered along it, tucking her skirt into her bloomers so that she could go in up to her knees. Jonty and Tess were both strong swimmers, but Tess was astonished at Mr Bell’s prowess. She could manage a creditable side stroke but her attempts at a crawl were pretty poor, so when they began to compete, swimming between the breakwaters, Mr Bell was usually the victor, though Jonty was never more than a couple of feet behind him. After frolicking in the waves for well over an hour, they returned to their encampment among the dunes and lay down, meaning to have a little rest, but to Tess’s astonishment she fell instantly asleep. When she awoke it was to find that the farmer’s wife had moved the umbrellas as the sun moved round. ‘Otherwise you’d find yourself with a nasty case of sunburn,’ she told her young guest. ‘Now, I brought a couple of bottles of my homemade lemonade and some of them scones you and Jonty are so fond of. Want them now? If so you can’t bathe again for another hour.’