After the call, she clutched the phone to her chest, her heart beating madly with excitement. When she looked up now the girls were standing hip-deep in the water. Abi watched as Beth lifted her arms and allowed Corinne to peel the wet T-shirt off her torso, lowering her head as the soaked cotton came away revealing her pink swimsuit, childish in comparison with Corinne’s bikini. At first, Beth’s arms went instinctively to cover her chest, but then the other girl said something Abi could not hear but knew the words spoken were quiet instructions, and Beth’s hands fell away to her sides; she stood simply in the water, looking to Corinne, like a sinner offering herself for a benediction. Corinne had twisted the T-shirt into a rope, wringing the water out. She held it over her head and swung it towards the bank where it landed with a wet slap and then she eased herself back into the river, but her eyes were on Abi now, her face serious and calm, and Abi felt sudden anger bristling in her throat, a directionless alarm. She had seen the look of triumph in Corinne’s eye – recognized it clearly. The girl had succeeded where Abi had failed. I have the power now, the look seemed to say.

From her place on the rug, Valentina was still and oblivious. She looked up at Abi, offering a benevolent smile. ‘We must celebrate,’ she said.

18

‘What?’

Mark paused in the buttoning of his shirt and looked at Abi who was dressing on the other side of the bed. Evening light fell through the Velux windows above them. The room was very hot.

‘You heard me,’ she said, calmly dabbing perfume on to her wrists.

‘Do I think anything’s going on between them?’

‘Yes.’

‘As in …?’

‘As in a relationship of some sort. A sexual relationship.’

He could hardly believe what he was hearing.

‘No, of course not!’

The words came out terse and more aggressive than he had intended. He caught the way Abi glanced at him and tried to pull back a little.

‘They’re just good friends, relaxed in each other’s company. I wouldn’t read anything more into it than that and nor should you.’

‘I’m not saying she’s gay—’

‘Aren’t you? Because that’s what it sounds like.’

‘She’s a teenager, Mark. They like to experiment. And it’s different for kids these days than it was when you and I were their age. They’re more open about these sorts of things, more likely to question and explore their sexuality.’

It amazed him, the light conversational tone she was adopting.

‘What makes you think they’re having some kind of … romance?’ He struggled with the word.