I sat down, and Maud sat opposite me, our knees nearly touching. Abdullah sat on one of the mats, legs crossed, and poured tea into the three cups. His hands were perfectly steady, but the air in the hut was almost jangling with tension.

‘Have you found anywhere?’ I asked.

‘I think so,’ Maud said.

They were trying not to look at each other. Scotty came back inside, flopped on a mat near the door and started washing his paws. I took a sip of my tea, trying not to let the anger that suddenly took hold of me spill out. At least leave Scotty behind, I wanted to say. Or do you want everyone to find out?

I looked at Maud’s bowed head. She’d parted her hair straight down the middle that day, and the skin of the parting was almost translucent white; it made her seem childlike, and my anger faded into sadness for her.

‘How long have you been … looking?’ I asked.

Abdullah seemed to draw himself up straighter. Maud raised her eyes to meet mine. She looked defiant. ‘Not long,’ she said. ‘But I’ve wanted to do it for years. It was my idea, you know.’

‘I know.’ I drained my tea and stood up. Abdullah stood up too.

‘Thank you for your visit,’ he said.

I left without looking at him. Maud caught up with me by the fence.

‘Do you know what will happen if people find out?’ I asked.

She bit her lip. ‘Of course I do. Father would fire him. I tried not to feel this way; I didn’t want to put him in danger of that.’ She folded her arms again. ‘But we love each other.’

I looked away. ‘I think you’re making a big mistake,’ I said to her. ‘But I won’t say anything to Mother.’

‘Thank you.’ She came closer and touched my shoulder.

‘I’m doing it for my sake too,’ I said.

I didn’t want to go back in to my mother, so I started my car and turned it in the direction of Mahalbeth. It was fully dark by the time I got there. A few of the windows were lit up, but most of the house was in darkness, and for some reason I felt uneasy looking at it.

I pulled myself together and climbed out of the car. Looking around, I couldn’t see Freddie’s car and felt a pang of disappointment, but I took the box from the glove compartment and knocked on the door.

Waweru answered. He showed me through to the sitting room, where Martha was curled up on one of the sofas. There were no lights on except for a small lamp on a side table near her that barely lit up her face. She got up slowly to greet me.

‘I’ve got something for you,’ I said. ‘From Dr Gregory.’

‘You’re very kind,’ she said, holding out her hand.