Eventually, he and Holly were the only two left on the hill. Holly still hadn’t stood up.

‘May I join you?’ Charlie asked, walking hesitantly over to where she sat, gazing out over the rain-soaked but nonetheless impressive vista.

‘Well, you’ve already scared off my class, so feel free,’ Holly said quietly. She looked, uncharacteristically, utterly defeated. Charlie’s heart ached.

The pause between them seemed to stretch for an eternity. Not worrying about his suit trousers, that were probably ruined beyond all redemption anyway by the rain and the mud, he plonked himself down next to her, turning to look at the view, to see what she saw. Suddenly, all of the primeval yelling made sense. The rain was easing and the rolling mists were beginning to clear. There was something about that view, even about the wide-open space between himself and the still semi-shrouded land and seascapes beyond, that made him want to yell out too. The sound built up inside him, rising in his chest until he felt he couldn’t contain it for a moment longer, and he released it, a long, loud, scream into the warm wind and what was left of the rain.

‘Feeling better?’ Holly’s expression was unreadable, but Charlie was sure he’d seen the slightest of smiles lifting her mouth at the corners.

‘Not much,’ he admitted. ‘But at least I’ve got rid of some of the frustrations.’

‘Lucky you.’

An uncomfortable pause fell like the raindrops between them, made all the more so by a sudden gust of cold wind.

‘Look, can we get off this bloody hill and talk?’ Charlie made to stand up, but Holly’s hand on his knee stopped him.

‘No. You’ve come all the way up here, you might as well say what you have to say right here, right now, in the rain.’

She was drenched from head to foot, but Charlie thought he saw a tear slide out from under her lashes as she raised her eyes to look at him before she scrubbed impatiently at her face.

‘OK.’ Charlie drew a deep breath. ‘You were right. You’ve been right this whole time, about my job, about the Department of Health, about the drugs campaign… and I’m hoping it’s not too late to do something about that to show you how right you were.’

‘What can you do? It’s over,’ Holly replied. ‘At least as far as you’re concerned. You made that clear when we last spoke, and in that ridiculous interview.’

‘Well, not exactly,’ Charlie replied. ‘One of the good things about being a rookie at this job is that, if I make a mistake, people tend to be a bit more forgiving for a while. Provided it’s not too serious, of course.’

‘Like involving a duck house or a brothel?’