“Stunning mayhem. Meanwhile we’re killing the cats to protect the birds.”

“So we saw.”

“I wasn’t joking with what I said. It’s only going to lead to more problems.”

“Seriously?”

“You know the whole place was once crawling with rats? They’ve been here since the first ships arrived. That’s why the cats were introduced in the first place. It’s just a shame that the cats prefer eating the birds. We’ve already lost some species here forever. Anyway, it turned out the rats chewed at the cactus seedlings and once the rats started to die the cactus ran wild—the donkeys spread the seeds. Ideally we’d eradicate the donkeys, but no one wants to do that—they’ve become a part of the place. So now they’re trying to introduce various insects that might want to eat cactus. God knows who brought the cactus over.”

“There was an old lady who swallowed a fly.”

“Right.”

They climbed higher. Thomas was in good shape. Kane was glad he’d kept up a habit of long walks while in Oxford.

“But it is stunning. You’re right. I can never believe the guys on the base who never explore. They haven’t seen even half the island. Collect their paychecks, enjoy the cheap beer, counting down the days. But they’re younger . . . Maybe they don’t realize how special it is. This is where the boss lives,” Thomas said.

They passed a colonial-looking building with its standard-issue lawn and flagpole. A signpost beside the entrance directed people to two separate paths: INVALIDS and CONVALESCENTS .

“The Administrator?”

“That’s right. Originally a naval sanitarium.”

Kane looked for signs, but couldn’t see any evidence the Administrator was home. Her Majesty’s representative, Nigel Horsley: career diplomat, ex-ambassador to Gibraltar. Kane tried to imagine the diplomatic trajectory that led him here, and the reason someone would accept the post. In place of global heft you got a kingdom of your own—perhaps that was it. An idyll that was yours to rule.

The Royal Marines building was far below them now. They’d climbed more than five hundred feet. The path became rougher. Now the mist came down as they continued up the final steep track.

“Here’s the cloud.”

Kane had never walked into a cloud before. The dampness appeared like a living presence, wreathing around them. Leaves held beads of moisture. The ground was muddy, with a wall of bamboo on either side, and a rope handrail for the final ascent to a small pond.

“This is it: the Dew Pond. This is what we were to depend on if everything else went. Our emergency supply of water.”

The pond was clouded with water lilies supporting delicate blue flowers. Goldfish flashed in the gaps between them. Thomas sat down on a bench.