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‘What kind of things?’ Amy asked.
‘Oh, you know,’ Oliver said. ‘Like calling one of the dinner nans a hairy poodle, or that time I went in the cupboard and Darcey-Mae told Harry to shut the door.’
‘Darcey-Mae told Harry to shut the door?’ Amy said.
‘Did Harry even know you were in that cupboard?’ Matt asked.
‘Dunno.’ Oliver suddenly looked shifty.
‘Did you, Harry?’ Amy asked.
‘She said there was a great big hairy rat in there, and I had to shut the door ‘cos she was scared. I was, like, protecting her from the rat. She never said Oliver was in it.’
There was a moment’s silence, as Matt and Amy looked at each other.
‘I think when we get back home I shall be going to have a word with Darcey-Mae’s mother about this,’ Amy said. ‘Why didn’t you tell me any of this before?’
‘Because Darcey-Mae wouldn’t like it. If you tell on Darcey-Mae that makes you a grass, and you know what happens to a grass?’ Harry said.
‘No?’ Amy said.
‘They get sent to see the dinner nans!’ he said, and both boys shuddered.
* * *
Matt and Amy went out to survey the ruins of Amy’s tent. Matt’s temporary lashing down seemed to have worked, and underneath the soggy flysheet her possessions seemed to still be in place, though soaked through. The cereal box had fallen to pieces, but the plastic wrapper inside, secured with a clip, had remained watertight, and there was enough cereal for them all to have some breakfast.
‘I hope this means Darcey-Mae is going to have less influence over the boys when they get back to school,’ Matt said, as he held the flysheet up while Amy rummaged in the wreckage for bowls and spoons. ‘She doesn’t have a good effect on Oliver’s behaviour. She encourages him to whine and look for pity.’
‘I know what you mean. I know Harry has an awful temper — but it sounds like she’s deliberately been making him lose it for her own entertainment. I’m going to have to give this some serious thought. Perhaps I should go and have a chat with Nessa Fenton myself.’ She thought for a moment. ‘Or perhaps it would be better to talk the head teacher and ask her to get Darcey-Mae’s mum to come into school. See how she likes it!’
They went back into the campervan and Matt turned the bed back into a seat while Amy put cereal into bowls and made some tea.
‘A quick cuppa, then we’ll have to do some packing up,’ Amy said. Matt opened the front blinds of the van, and they looked out over the ravaged campsite. Several tents at the top of the field had gone, two more were sagging considerably. Only another campervan and a couple of the little backpackers’ tents were still standing, and those tents were the ones which had been tucked behind the shelter of the old stone wall at the bottom of the campsite. The wind had removed all the tents at the top of the site as it tore through the valley, but the storm had died away as quickly as it had arrived. The sun was even starting to break through the cloud, and everything sparkled with drops of water.
‘It’s been eventful.’ Matt sighed, picked up his half-drunk cup of tea and attempted to sit back down next to her on the bench. The boys seemed to have expanded when he stood up to take up more than their fair share of space. ‘Budge along, guys, make a bit of room!’ he said, and they scooted along to make more space in between them. ‘What a holiday!’ he added as he sat down with Oliver on one side and Harry on the other.
‘I still can’t believe the coincidence that you turned up on the pitch next to us,’ Amy said.
‘Perhaps it was more than a coincidence. Perhaps it was fate?’ he suggested, and she wasn’t sure if he was serious.
‘Perhaps it was. At the very least, it shows we have similar tastes when it comes to choosing a holiday!’
‘You’re right there. I’ve had a great week, all things considered.’ He grinned.
‘Harry falling over your tent, the sheep poo, getting punched by my idiot of an ex-husband …’ she said, wryly.
‘Like I said, I’ve had a great week!’ he said, his eyes meeting hers over the top of the boys’ heads, in a way which they would not have approved if they had seen, but they were intent on comparing bowls to see which had the most cereal in it.
‘Me too. Being out here away from everything … it’s been special, Matt. Getting to know you and Oliver better has been great.’ She could venture that much, even with the boys listening in.
‘And you. After the number of times I tried to speak to you on the yard, but you had your head down and your eyes on the exit. With Nessa Fenton watching my every move… well, let’s say it wasn’t ideal conditions for getting to know you better.’
‘I thought you disapproved of me, like all the other people on the playground.’
‘Can’t stand them.’
‘I thought you were one of them. Always clustered round you with cakes and sympathy. I thought you liked all that.’
‘I never said no to a cake, I suppose!’ he said. ‘But the sympathy was plain awkward.’
‘The minute they see you talking to me, that’ll be the end of the cake and the sympathy!’ Amy said. ‘You are going to talk to me, aren’t you?’
‘I might consider it …’ he said with a laugh.
