‘I’m very stupid,’ she said. ‘I will get lost, and… what if they never find me?’

She carried on smiling, and he knew he must tear his eyes away because the smile seemed too full of joy. He put his wine glass down, and as she unfolded the leaflet he saw that she had made careful notes on it. There was a drawing he’d noticed at the check-in desk, which seemed to feature one walk in particular. He picked it up and studied it.

‘“Higher Lee Ridge,”’ he read. ‘This is where you’re going?’

‘That’s where I want to go, yes.’

The hotel was marked by a red circle, and a black dotted line ran round the car park they had both crossed earlier. It took you up the steps they had descended, and you then had to walk along the road. The road must be the one the bus had taken – and after fifty metres or so, you veered off to the right across open country. The leaflet showed woods and a stream. It showed a viewpoint and what appeared to be open moorland. He turned it over, and saw that the dotted line continued past a ‘shepherd’s store’, and zigzagged. Then it was moorland all the way, and Higher Lee Ridge appeared to be a narrow, exposed pathway leading to a dramatic peak. The final sketch was of that peak: a kind of stack or column, with views in every direction.

Six hours, said the text. In fine weather. Not suitable for young children or the infirm. No climbing, but steep final ascent.

‘You’ve come up here to do this?’ he said.

Maria nodded.

‘I have two days only,’ she said. ‘A friend told me, “You have to see this place. Higher Lee Ridge – you have to see it.”’

‘Why?’

‘I don’t know. It’s incredible.’

She laughed.

‘Can I get you a drink?’ he said, as lightly as possible. ‘Wine, or a juice?’

He hated to ask, because the words felt like such an obvious proposition. He was older than her, and he was a single man who had appeared suddenly and asked to sit with her. She had been the first to speak, but only out of courtesy – or even nervousness. There were empty tables, and he could have gone to one. In her position, he would be getting worried.

‘No,’ she said. ‘Thank you but… I am sleeping.’

‘Early night. Good.’

‘I was up very early today. I was travelling all day, and I lost my bag.’

‘You lost your bag?’

‘And I found it again. Someone helped me, but…’

She sighed.

‘I am so tired. You know this place? You know Higher Lee Ridge?’