‘I don’t know. I just thought . . .’ He shrugged and looked away. ‘I just thought it might make things better, that’s all. Better for everybody, you know.’

‘Is there a problem at school here?’

Liam shook his head. ‘No, it’s OK.’

‘You’re not being bullied or anything?’

‘Of course not,’ said Liam disdainfully.

‘So what’s the problem?’

‘It’s not a problem,’ said Liam. He sighed again. ‘I’m just fed up being here on my own.’

‘You’ve got Katra.’

‘Katra’s great but she’s not my family and she’s a girl.’

‘You’ve got your grandparents.’

‘And I’d still have them if I was at boarding school. Dad, it’s no biggie.’

‘It is a biggie,’ said Shepherd. ‘It’s about you leaving home.’

‘It’s boarding school, Dad. That’s not leaving home. I’d be back at holidays and half-terms and you can visit at weekends. I don’t see what the big deal is.’

‘There’s the cost, for a start.’

Liam scowled. ‘So it’s about money? I thought with all the overtime you work that money wouldn’t be a problem.’

‘Of course it’s not about money.’

‘So why talk about the cost?’

Shepherd fought the urge to smile. He hadn’t realised how forceful and devious his son had become. It seemed like only yesterday that he’d been changing his nappies and wiping away his tears, and now he was arguing his case as confidently as any adult. ‘OK,’ he said quietly. ‘Let me think about it. But answer me one thing. What’s put this in your head? Something must have sparked it off.’

Liam shrugged carelessly. ‘Well, a friend of mine left school here to go to boarding school and he says it’s great.’

‘Where is his school? The new one?’

‘In the Lake District. He says there are no girls there, which is great, and they get to play sports every day and they’ve got an amazing swimming pool. They do lots of day trips to the lakes and he’s learning to sail. It sounds great, Dad.’

Shepherd smiled. ‘It does, doesn’t it? I might see if I can book myself in for a few months.’

‘It’s for kids, Dad.’

‘I was joking,’ Shepherd said. ‘Are you serious about this? It’s not just a whim?’

‘I want to do it, Dad. Really.’

‘OK,’ said Shepherd. ‘I tell you what, you get me the details of their website and I’ll take a look.’

Liam’s face brightened. ‘And then I can go?’

Shepherd wagged a finger at him. ‘Then we’ll talk about it.’

‘But you’re not saying no?’

‘I’m saying I’ll look at the website and we’ll talk about it.’ They were a hundred yards from the school entrance and he slowed the SUV. ‘Do you want me to drop you here?’

‘Why, can’t you take me to the gates?’

‘I thought teenagers didn’t want to be seen with their parents.’

‘Dad, this is a BMW X3. Do you think I don’t want to be seen in a cool car like this?’