She shoots him a vinegary smile. “Very funny, Dad. But what if the pigs attack us?”
“They won’t, Mabel.” Theo breaks into a playful grin. “The hunters will shoot them first.”
I can’t help chuckling, but Mabel stomps off, up the path.
When we reach the olive grove, I pause to take in the view. The trees are spaced out pretty evenly over the lumps and bumps of the hillside, their trunks knotted and knobbly, their leaves somewhere between green and gray.
“Adam,” Archie says, squinting as he looks up at me, “how many trees are there?”
“Don’t tell us,” interrupts Callum, his tone mocking, “you don’t know.”
Theo folds his arms. “Give it a rest, Cal. Hey, squirt, why don’t you help us by counting them?”
While Archie’s doing that, I step under the shade of a tree. The sun feels hotter here and more brutal. The trees look parched and the grass between them is burnt the color of golden sand. I pull a branch towards me and examine one of the black olives. The harvest must be some way off as it’s still only very small.
“Olives are gross,” pronounces Mabel.
“Proper minging,” agrees Callum.
“Fifty-three!” Archie shouts out. “There are fifty-three trees!”
“Superb work!” says Theo, pulling down the peak of Archie’s cap.
Thinking we’ve probably exhausted all interest in the olive grove, I decide to take them to the castle. I’ve deliberately saved the best till last. But, as we’re walking down the driveway, the kids start moaning about the heat.
“Just a minute,” I say, “I’m pretty sure it’s hotter than this in Atlanta.”
“Yeah, but Auntie Shona has a pool!” Mabel fires back.
“Why don’tyouhave a pool?” asks Archie.
I frown. “I don’t think my Uncle Wilf had any money.”
“Youcould put one in,” suggests Mabel, as if the solution’s obvious.
I lift my hat to wipe my brow. “But I can’t afford it.”
She snorts. “As if! You’ve got loads of money!”
“I don’t know what gave you that impression.”
“Mum—”
Callum elbows her and she stops herself. My mosquito bites are really itching.
We reach the bottom of the driveway and come to a stop.
“Now, when you were all looking down at those empty shells, you missed the best thing about this place.” I turn and gesture up the hill. “The castle!”
Everyone looks.
Archie’s eyes bulge. “Whoa! Is it real?”
“It is, squirt, yeah.” Theo points out some gaps in the walls, through which soldiers would have fired their arrows.
Archie can hardly stand still. “Can we go and look?”
“Yeah!”
