‘I’ll go over here, while you . . .’ Basil gestured at the underpants and the pads he’d brought, then went down by the water and sat looking at the surface. Leonie turned the other way as I took off my pants and my underpants and put them in one of the plastic bags. The bleeding seemed to have stopped, but even so I put a pad in Bette’s enormous underpants and pulled them on. They came all the way up to the underwire of my bra, but they were sturdy and supportive and held the pad right where it needed to be, and the teal trackie-daks were comfortingly warm. ‘Done,’ I said.

Leonie turned back and I waved her to the plastic bag with my underpants and jeans, and she gave them a quick inspection. ‘Alright,’ she said. ‘That’s not too much actually.’

Basil had been sitting staring intently at the water. Suddenly he stood, strode towards a draping willow and grabbed a branch with both hands, then swung himself out over the water and back repeatedly while Leonie pressed her fingers to my wrist and counted by her watch and then stuck a digital thermometer in my ear.

‘Does he have an off switch?’ I asked, watching Basil.

Leonie laughed. ‘If you find it, let me know.’ She sat back on her heels.

‘So how pregnant, honey?’

‘Ah,’ I said. ‘That’s tricky. A bit confused.’

‘When was your last period?’

‘Um, probably only four or so weeks ago. Most likely then.’

‘So only four weeks pregnant?’

‘Maybe. Or maybe eight.’

Leonie raised her eyebrows at me. ‘You been throwing up?’

‘A little bit.’

‘Hmmm,’ she said. ‘Okay. So if it is a miscarriage, I want you to know that it’s nothing you did. One in four pregnancies end like that, probably heaps more women don’t even know, they just think they’re having a late period –’

‘Look, it doesn’t really matter.’ I said it, but I didn’t really know how I felt. ‘But, y’know, yeah, could have just thought it was a late period if I hadn’t taken that test . . .’ Leonie pressed her lips together in an expression I couldn’t quite read.

As she was putting her thermometer away in her bag I said, ‘So you called my mum.’

Leonie nodded, unapologetic. ‘I did.’

‘Why?’

‘Why did you tell me she knew you were here?’

I didn’t answer.

‘She doesn’t know about this either, does she?’ Leonie asked.

‘No. Not about this,’ I said. ‘So why is Mum freaking out about my being here? Why did you freak out about it when Basil told you she didn’t know? I’m seventeen, you know.’

‘Honey, you and your mum need to talk. She’ll be here soon. I’m going to let her tell you all the things she needs to tell you.’

She folded away the blood pressure cuff and began putting everything back in her bag. ‘I don’t think there’s anything too terrible going on with you, but I do think we need to get you to a doctor as soon as possible. Probably a good reason to get you away from here pretty quickly too. Do you think you can get yourself up out of here?’