I started jogging in the direction of the edge of town. It was eerily quiet – no birds, no animals, no wind through the grass. I knew the milk boys would be along soon though. Then the sky would turn a silvery grey, as if the darkness were being drained away, and eventually pink and then blue. Everything was different, but life would go on.

Behind me the cottage was burning, although the fire hadn’t spread to the front yet. If I looked over my shoulder I could just make out a faint glow on the air. I wondered if anyone had heard the boom. No lights had come on, as far as I could see.

I turned off the road and started to walk faster. I needed coffee and a bath, and to sleep for most of the day.

It took four hours to walk to the outskirts of Limuru Town, where I hitched a lift from a farmer. It was past quarter to eight when he dropped me at the end of the driveway. I slipped into the house quietly. Maud was already up and moving around in her bedroom; I got into bed fully dressed and fell asleep.

I woke a few hours later. I could hear Maud on the veranda, and another voice out there too, a woman’s. They were both talking very quickly in hushed tones. I took a moment to steel myself. Sleep had done nothing to the pounding in my skull.

‘I must have overdone it at the club last night,’ I said, as I stepped out, ‘I don’t think I’ve felt this rotten for years.’

Maud and Edie looked up at me. Two untouched cups of tea sat on the table. Both their faces were white and drawn.

‘Theo – Edie has bad news.’

‘I wanted you to hear it from me,’ Edie said, turning her cheek for my kiss. ‘I know you haven’t been speaking lately, but … And you might need to look after Sylvie.’

‘What’s happened?’ I asked.

‘It’s Freddie,’ she said, taking my hand. ‘His cottage at Muthaiga caught fire last night.’

I squeezed her, feeling my heart pounding so fast it was almost a vibration inside me. ‘How? When? Is he alright?’

She shook her head, and Maud let out a sob behind me. ‘He’s dead.’

I felt my legs give way beneath me.

Part Three

1937–1938

Chapter Twenty-Five

The city mortuary was a squat building in grey stone near The Nairobi Club. I hurriedly parked Maud’s car outside. Behind the front door was a long corridor with a strong smell of formaldehyde clinging to the walls.