She looked up. A girl of her age, with long, blonde hair and a deep tan, was hovering by the table. She smiled a broad and welcoming smile.

‘Hi,’ Alice said.

‘Mind if I sit here?’ the girl asked. Alice realized she had a strong Australian accent. ‘Join you for a beer?’

‘No problem,’ Alice said. ‘Feel free.’

The girl sat down. She was holding a half-pint of lager and an iPhone.

‘I’m Brenda,’ she said.

‘Alice. Are you from Australia?’ A few days earlier Ned had offended a New Zealander by assuming he was Australian, so she added, ‘Or New Zealand?’

‘Oz, mate,’ Brenda said. ‘Perth.’

Alice had, for a while, been contemplating a post-graduation trip to Australia and had read a couple of travel guides.

‘That’s the west of the country, right?’

‘Right. Surrounded by a whole lot of nothing much. Fun city, though.’

‘I was thinking of going there.’

‘To Perth?’

‘Australia. But I could have ended up in Perth. Passed through.’

Brenda raised an eyebrow. ‘You don’t really pass through Perth,’ she said. ‘It’s the kind of place you have to really want to go.’

‘Maybe I’ll get there someday.’ Alice sipped her wine. It was good to have some uncomplicated company. She gestured at Brenda’s glass. ‘Can I get you a drink?’

‘You sure?’ Brenda said.

‘I’m sure.’

‘Then yeah, thanks. Half a pint of Stella, if that’s all right.’

When Alice got back from the bar, Brenda was typing something on her phone. ‘It’s amazing,’ she said. ‘All I need is a wireless signal and I can FaceTime my friends on the other side of the world for nothing. Or message the mates I came over here with.’

‘You came with friends?’ Alice asked. ‘Are they here?’

‘There’s three of us, but the other two wanted to go to Durham. I’d heard the Lake District was spectacular, so we split up. We’ll meet up again in a week or so.’ She sipped her beer. ‘Are you here alone?’

‘No. I came with my boyfriend.’

‘That was the guy who just left?’

‘Yes. Ned.’

‘I wondered if you were together. You were having a pretty intense conversation.’

Alice nodded. ‘It was more of an argument, but yes.’

‘He stormed out?’ Brenda raised a hand. ‘Sorry. None of my business. Tell me if I’m being nosy.’

‘That’s fine,’ Alice said. ‘I don’t mind. We were supposed to go – or at least I thought we were supposed to go – out with a group of people we met at the youth hostel, but he turned against the idea. He was quite hostile to them.’

‘Why?’

‘I don’t know. He can be a bit overprotective. A bit jealous.’

‘You been together long?’

‘Since the first year of university,’ Alice said. ‘We just graduated, so like, two and a half years.’

‘That’s a long time.’

‘And we’ve been through a lot together.’