I circled the house, then crouched in the bushes where I knew the neighbours wouldn’t be able to see me. It wasn’t a comfortable spot – the ground was hard and cracked. Every time I shifted I sent up a spray of dust that the wind blew back into my throat and eyes. Cicadas were chirping all around me, and I had to strain to hear the sound of the road. After a few minutes I sat down against a tree. Above me in the sky, I picked out the Southern Cross, glowing against the blackness. It was Freddie who’d taught me about the stars.

He arrived two hours later, when the lights in the surrounding houses had already gone out.

I heard a car door slam, footsteps along the gravel, and the front door open and close. Then lights came streaming out, puddling in squares on the grass. I waited for a moment then got up and walked to the centre of the lawn where I knew I’d be seen.

He opened the back door and stood for a moment in the doorway. The alcohol was making my head feel heavy, and I was suddenly aware of how ridiculous my position was. Freddie could call the police at any moment and I’d be charged with trespassing. I wanted to say something reassuring, but my throat seemed to have seized up.

Eventually he stepped back into the room, leaving the door open. I followed him in, shutting it behind me.

‘It’s melodramatic,’ he said. ‘But effective.’

I leaned against the door, feeling foolish. ‘What do you think I’m here for?’

‘I really couldn’t say. I thought you’d dropped me as a friend.’

‘Can you blame me?’

‘I said I was sorry.’ He looked at me and smiled. ‘Look, Theo, is this going to take long? I’ve got work tomorrow.’

‘Of course. Your important work.’

He was quiet for a moment. ‘I’m not just in politics for my ego, you know. I really want to help our community, our producers.’

‘Very noble of you.’

‘Farming is bloody hard work. Maud knows that now. And sometimes it’s more trouble than it’s worth.’

‘Some farmers have the money to keep going when the crops fail.’

He looked angry. ‘You don’t know what it was like for me.’

‘No?’

‘When they fail for the fifth year in a row,’ he said, ‘and the money’s disappearing, and the servants are lazy and you’re dragged into some ridiculous case of a miscarriage being the result of “black magic”, rather than just a medical complication …’ He shrugged. ‘It gets hard to remember why we’re here in the first place, me as well.’

‘Why don’t you go back then?’