They set off at toddler’s pace, the path cutting straight through the fields to a weighted kissing gate at the far perimeter of the second one. It would have been a few minutes’ walk but for the fact that every couple of meters, Leonie found something to stop and look at. She would examine it, hold it up for approval. “Look, Mamma Bee, stick!” “Look, Mamma Bee, stone!”

After about twenty minutes of this they’d barely made it past the first field and were only halfway to the gate. Sam said, “I’m going to go ahead. I’ve got a few things to do, okay? I’ll meet you at the boat in an hour.”

“What are you doing? I thought we were keeping out of sight?”

“Should be fine as long as you don’t draw attention to yourself. Try not to talk to anyone, don’t go into any establishments. You’ll just look like a tourist. I need to make a phone call. I think there’s still a call box here—there was last year.”

“Who are you calling?”

“We need some money. I’m going to get us some.”

“But Sam—”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you soon.”

As Sam paced ahead and disappeared, Ruby took hold of Leonie’s hand and steered her toward the gate. On the other side of it, there was a street of old stone cottages leading toward a village green, at the center of which, a picture-perfect duck pond. “Ducks!” shouted Leonie, and set off running.

“Wait,” said Ruby.

In slow motion, Ruby saw it play out, but she was slightly too far away to stop it happening: Leonie’s welly boot made contact with the curbstone, she toppled like a domino, the hat came off her head, her head connected with a sharp piece of gravel on the ground, all in one short second that seemed to last forever. As she went down, Ruby’s fingers barely brushed the edge of the girl’s coat, her hand grabbed at nothing. The blood came before the screaming, running down her face and into her eyes and mouth, turning her baby teeth pink. A dark bruise formed quickly at the site of the injury, a lump started to swell there. Ruby picked her up and held her, searched for a clean tissue to press to the cut. All the while, she was trying to contain her emotion. Because for the first time, Leonie was crying out loud.

And she wanted to say, Please don’t cry, but she also wanted to tell that sweet baby she could cry whenever she liked, as loud as she liked, for as long as she liked.