But Jonas squinted sideways at me. “Are you going to join the high school in September, then?”
“Oh, I—” I glanced at Nina. “I don’t know yet.”
Nina shrugged. “Who cares? That’s ages away. Let’s not think about it now.”
We fell into single file by a low hedgerow, and yet again, I was left to contemplate my uncertain future. I blinked sweat from my eyes, and I kept my gaze mainly on the uneven ground in front of me, glancing up only occasionally to examine Jonas’s broad shoulders, the whorl of hair at the base of his neck, and the scar on the back of his arm. Our conversation dropped to just an occasional comment.
We followed the curve of the lake until we’d traveled almost halfway around it. When I looked back, I could just see the chimneys of Raven Hall over the tops of the scrubby trees on the central island. Here, we turned away from the lake and walked along the edge of a field dense with glossy broad-leaved plants, which Nina told me were sugar beets. Finally, we scrambled up a steep bank at the back of the field, and I found myself gazing down into a wide channel of slow-flowing water, bordered by lush grass and bright yellow flowers on either side, glinting invitingly under the high sun.
“This is the drain?” I said.
Nina grinned. “Yep. Milner’s Drain. It takes all the rainfall from the fields all the way along—it’s glorious fresh water, not swampy like the lake.”
Jonas was already stripping off to his swimming trunks, and I half turned away, heat flaring in my cheeks.
“Where does the water go to?” I asked, gazing as far up the channel as I could see.
“To the sea, of course,” Nina said.
Jonas sounded mildly annoyed. “Don’t say of course. How’s she supposed to know?” He gave me a serious look. “It’s all reclaimed land, the Fens—it used to be mostly under the sea. The water’s drawn out by big pumps now, and the coastal walls stop it flooding back in again.”
“Oh my God,” Nina said. “I’ve just remembered why I hated school.”
“Oh, very funny.” Jonas turned away, preparing to dive into the water. I watched his muscles tense. “You hated school because you can’t stand being told what to do.”
He dived in cleanly, creating the smallest of splashes. I held my breath as I watched him glide under the silvery green surface.
“We’re eight feet below sea level here, did you know?” Nina said brightly. “If those sea walls gave way . . .”
She didn’t wait for me to respond, but stepped to the edge of the bank and dived in too. My heart rattled, and I scanned the horizon. How fast would the water come rushing inland? How quickly could we run back to Raven Hall? Did the family keep a store of food upstairs, in case of this eventuality?
“Beth!” Nina called from the water. “Come in—it’s wonderful!”
I checked that Jonas was still swimming away from us, not watching us, and I took a flying leap and plunged in feetfirst. My head went right under, and the shock of the cold took my breath away, even once I’d surfaced. Nina swam closer.
“You okay?”
I gasped in great lungfuls of air, and then I laughed.
“Yeah, you were right. It’s freezing. But I love it.”
The three of us swam for a while, and then we floated, chatting lazily, as the sun blazed down on us. Nina showed me a newt peeking out from the long grass on the bank, and the newt and I stared at each other for several seconds before it pottered away. It was the first one I’d ever seen. Jonas pointed out a buzzard circling overhead, silhouetted against the blue dome of a sky, and I heard its kee-yah call. I learned that the cheerful chirruping coming from somewhere nearby was a reed warbler.
Eventually, we hauled ourselves out of the water and sat drying on the bank with dragonflies flitting around us. I was much paler than the other two, and I draped my T-shirt across my shoulders, not wanting my sunburn to get any worse. If I wasn’t allowed to cycle into the village to buy sun cream, how would I get hold of any? Would Leonora let me add it to her shopping list? I’d ask Nina later, I decided, when we were alone.
“There’s a party tonight,” Jonas said casually, after a spell of companionable silence. I assumed he was directing this at Nina rather than me, although he kept his gaze fixed on the blade of grass in his hand. “A load of kids in the village. You could come, if you wanted to sneak out?”
Nina rolled her neck, considering. “We can’t. Not tonight. My parents are kind of twitchy at the moment. I think they’d be on the lookout.”
Her use of the word we—her assumption he was inviting both of us—gave me a glow of reassurance. I didn’t miss the implication that she’d snuck out on previous occasions.
“Okay.” Jonas tossed his blade of grass aside and looked directly at me. “Maybe next time.”
My pulse jumped, and I looked away, turning to Nina.
“Why are your parents twitchy?” I said. “Not because of me, I hope.”
When she didn’t immediately reply, Jonas gave her a speculative look.
“Did you know,” he said, “that Markus’s dad is flying over from the States? He’s booked himself a room at our place at the weekend. Is he coming to see you?”
“Markus’s dad?” I said. “As in”—I looked at Nina expectantly— “your grandad?”
Nina’s voice was surprisingly harsh. “Yeah, great, he’s finally decided to visit, after all these years. He left the country when I was a tiny baby, never even sends me a birthday card—I mean, it’s nothing to do with wanting presents, but—he’s never acted like a grandad at all, even though he’s the only grandparent I’ve got.” She made a noise of disgust. “And suddenly he wants to come and meet me.”
Jonas and I exchanged a look. He seemed just as unsettled by this outburst as I was.
“That’s weird,” I said. “Do he and your dad not get on? Did they have an argument or something, and now he wants to patch things up?”
“I don’t know, Beth.” Nina jumped to her feet. “And I don’t want to talk about it. I’m going back to the house. Are you coming with me, or not?”
I glanced again at Jonas, who showed no sign of moving. I kept my expression light and got to my feet.
“Of course I’ll come with you,” I said.
Jonas said nothing further, and Nina and I left him lying there in the long grass, his golden arm shielding his face from the sun. We headed back along the edge of the field, talking of other things, and gradually her good mood returned. But I was careful not to mention Markus’s father again, and, privately, I added him to my growing list of prickly subjects where Nina was concerned. We retraced our route all the way to Raven Hall, and the cool air of the entrance hall felt like a welcome-home caress on my skin.