‘But anyway,’ Hendrik finished. ‘That’s what I like about England. Whatever happens, every day we finish in the pub!’

‘Remind me not to go walking with you.’ The speaker was a girl, Clara. She was blonde and athletic and had a strong Yorkshire accent and went everywhere with her friend, Lizzie. ‘Although it does sound like an adventure.’

Donny nodded. He was shorter than Hendrik and very muscular, with a round, freckled face and cornflower blue eyes.

‘Tomorrow we go hiking again,’ he said. ‘It will be even more fun. You can come. And Lizzie, of course. Has anyone ever seen you two apart, by the way?’

‘No,’ Clara said. ‘Never been done. Where are you going?’

‘We’re going to that one you guys call Hell.’

‘Helvellyn?’ Ned, Alice’s boyfriend, leaned forward. ‘You’re going up Helvellyn?’

‘Yah. That’s it.’ Donny said. ‘That’s the one.’

‘You might want to be a bit better prepared. It’s a serious mountain.’

There was a brief, uncomfortable silence around the pub table. Alice and Ned had come to the Lake District for a holiday after graduating from university in Nottingham. On the first night they had met Hendrik, Donny, Clara, Lizzie, and a host of others in the youth hostel, and over the past few evenings had met up with them to eat or go to the pub. Alice enjoyed their company, enjoyed hearing the stories of their home countries, but Ned was less interested. The night before she had bumped into Clara and arranged to meet up, but Ned had insisted they go to a restaurant to spend some time together – after all, that was why they had come away.

They had found a place and had a formal, three-course meal, during most of which Alice had wished they were in the pub. Tonight, though, they had come out with the group.

‘Well,’ Donny said. ‘Maybe we will be more careful. Or maybe not! It is fun to have risks in life, no?’

‘It’s not fun for Mountain Rescue when they have to come and pull you off the mountain.’

‘Pull us off on the mountain?’ Hendrik said, deliberately choosing to misunderstand. ‘This Mountain Rescue service sounds very appealing.’

Ned didn’t reply. Alice watched his jaw clench and unclench. She could almost hear the grinding of his teeth above the din of the pub. She felt a growing exasperation. What was his problem? He was a great guy – loving, considerate, warm – so why did he have to behave like this? Why couldn’t he just relax? It made everyone uncomfortable.