Lennie didn’t care what Ewan said- football was a lot more fun if you played it with Medieval rules.

Ewan looked down at Lennie and Wesley, who were wrestling for the ball, and sighed. “If this was a real football match, you’d have been sent off for about five different reasons by now.”

“Not if we were Medieval peasants,” said Lennie, twisting her head so she could look up at him, “They used to call it ‘balle’, with an e, and it was like a melee. They used to… Oi!” Wesley had managed to grab the ball and wriggle away while she’d been distracted. Lennie reared up, leapt, and pinned him to the ground again.

Ewan shook his head. “Guys. Guys. This is not professional behaviour. Do you think Harry Kane and Megan Rapinoe spend all their time trying to smash the other players into the pitch?”

He looked to Aunt Sammy and Camilla for support, but Sammy clearly wasn’t going to be much help because she was doubled over laughing. Camilla, who’d been sitting on the bench reading her book, looked over and frowned. “Ewan? You and Lucy definitely haven’t put any weedkiller down on the lawn today, have you?”

Ewan tapped his chest. “Scout’s honour. I’d never have let them play out here if we had.”

“Well, alright, then,” said Camilla, going back to her book.

Lennie relaxed her grip on Wesley, and hauled herself to her feet. “Back in a minute,” she announced, dashing into the house. She was going to fetch a packet of crisps, but if she told everyone else that, they’d all want one.

Unfortunately, when she got to the kitchen, Lennie found that Mum and Nana Celine were already in there, talking. Normally, that wouldn’t have been a problem (apart from the risk that Mum would tell her it was too close to dinner to have any snacks), but this time, they were talking about her.

“I don’t want him speaking to Lennie like that,” said Mum. Lennie’s hand froze, inches away from the door. Time to get some spying done.

“It was a joke,” said Nana Celine, “It was obviously a joke.”

“Well, I don’t want him making jokes about my daughter and her clothes. Alright?”

So that was what it was about. Lennie had told Mum about what Charlie had said yesterday, about her shorts, and Mum had shaken her head and told her not to listen to him. She hadn’t sounded angry then, but she did now.

“I just don’t see why you’re making such a fuss about this,” said Nana Celine.

“Mum, I wouldn’t even let Ewan speak to her like that, let alone some guy she barely knows.”

Lennie rolled her eyes. As if Ewan would have a problem with her wearing shorts. What else were you supposed to play football in?

“Charlie is not ‘some guy.’ He’s a member of your family!”

“Before this week, I hadn’t seen him in fifteen years! And Lennie’s never…”

Nana Celine interrupted, her voice rising into an injured wail. “Charlie was more of a father to you than anyone else, so don’t try and tell me he’s not family!”

“He…” Mum let out a heavy sigh, giving up. “There’s another thing, too. What’s Van going to think if he shows up at the wedding?”

“Well, I hope she’ll be happy for me…”

“Mum, she won’t. You know she won’t.”

Lennie hadn’t known for sure that Aunt Van was coming. Her pulse started to race at the news. Not that she knew Aunt Van well- she’d only seen her once or twice, usually at people’s weddings- but that didn’t matter. Aunt Van was famous.

About a year ago, Lennie and her Mum had been in Sainsburys, and Mum had suddenly stopped in the book aisle and picked up a book the size of a brick, with a black cover with a silver barbed-wire pattern. “Look at this!” she’d said, “One of your auntie’s books!” It had been called Branded by Van Kowalczyk, and Mum had brought it home and given it a position of honour in the bookshelf. Lennie had tried to read it a couple of times, but she’d always given up after a few pages. It was all creepy real-life stories about horrible things that had happened to people in prison. But Lennie was proud of her anyway.

She didn’t know why Aunt Van wouldn’t want to see Uncle Charlie at the wedding, but, if anything, it made her like her more. Giving up on the crisps (but glad that she’d got some useful information instead), Lennie headed back outside to continue the football game.

(To Be Continued)