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‘There isn’t any Wi-Fi.’
‘But there is. If you go into the end one in the boys’ toilets, there’s Wi-Fi.’
The end one in the boys’ toilets. The one nearest the house. Harry had been using the farmhouse Wi-Fi. No wonder he and Oliver had spent so much time up in the toilets; it was nothing to do with a sudden interest in cleanliness, or spending a long time on the loo. He’d been on his phone. His bloody phone!
‘What about the password? Where did you get that?’
‘There wasn’t one,’ he said with a shrug. ‘It’s fine, Mam!’
‘You shouldn’t have done that. You should’ve told me!’ She tried to sound stern and commanding.
Laurie lowered herself into one of the camping chairs, wiping it carefully with a tissue before she sat down. Amy would have been offended if it wasn’t for the fact both chairs had sheep poo on them after Harry’s adventures in his “den”, and Laurie was wearing a pair of cream linen trousers.
‘If I’d told you, you wouldn’t have let me do it,’ Harry pointed out, logically.
‘You’re right! It’s a kind of stealing, Harry, using something that belongs to someone else without their permission. What if the Thompsons knew you were using their internet for free?’
‘I knew how important it was to tell Daddy everything, he said so.’
He made it sound as if she was deliberately trying to stop him communicating with his father, and she took exception to it even though it was true.
‘He has a point,’ Laurie added, sitting awkwardly on as little of the camping chair as she could manage. Still James was silent, standing watching Harry, who was desperately looking for somewhere to escape. ‘If he hadn’t used that internet,’ she continued, ‘we wouldn’t be any the wiser about what you and this man have been up to. I’m glad he did.’
Harry must have told them about the kiss in the cottage. How much trouble could one kiss cause? She sighed, under her breath.
‘I see. Maybe I shouldn’t have let it happen, but I did. I’m sorry Harry found out, but we did nothing wrong.’
‘Nothing wrong? Is that what you think?’ Laurie sounded genuinely horrified. ‘James told me you could be rather liberal, and I’ve tried to understand. I’ve always stood up for you, you know. But this!’
Amy said nothing.
‘You’re not even trying to deny it. Laurie and I are appalled, and we’ve come to take him away.’ James was spoiling for a fight; she recognised the well-known gleam in his eyes.
‘No! You can’t! It isn’t your time until the end of the week —’
‘I don’t mean for now. I mean permanently. I shall be starting the process to apply for custody as soon as I get home. This is the very last straw. Clearly, you aren’t fit to look after him. No wonder his behaviour has been so awful since I left. You’re not fit to have care of our son, if this is how you carry on!’
He was tense, his breathing heavy. He wouldn’t let her win when he was in this mood; his mind was made up, his actions pre-determined, and he was waiting for her to walk into his trap. Her mind raced away in panic. He couldn’t do this to her, and to Harry. She wouldn’t let him.
‘I haven’t been ‘carrying on’! It was one kiss, that’s all. What’s so awful about that? Come on, James! I mean, you must have kissed Laurie at some point before we were even divorced! You can’t try to take Harry away from me because I kissed someone.’
The whole reality of the outside world and more was coming crashing in on the beautiful little campsite. The hills no longer provided a refuge but a barrier, looming over her, penning her in. There was no escape.
‘Daddy,’ Harry’s voice was trembling. ‘I didn’t mean …’
‘Laurie and I were a whole different set of circumstances, and you know it. She wasn’t some random woman who happens to be staying on the same campsite as me, and you practically drove me into her arms. This is different. This is very serious, and I don’t want this new man of yours anywhere near Harry!’
