Shona had almost drifted off to sleep, curled up on the narrow single bed, oblivious to the honking, Tooting traffic on the streets below, when she became fuzzily aware of a naked Greek apparition in the room. Blinking swiftly, she realized that Parvez was getting changed right in front of her, and was wearing only his underwear. His caramel-coloured chest was smooth and hairless, and the muscles in his back moved like poetry as he pulled on a pair of casual trousers.

‘Hey, sleepy head,’ he said, noticing her stir. Clearly unembarrassed by his state of undress, he sat next to her and kissed her on the forehead. ‘Sorry to do this to you, but you’ll need to pack a few things for a couple of nights. We’ve got to head off soon.’

‘Where are we heading off to? We’ve only just arrived,’ asked Shona bemusedly, disturbed by the proximity of so much handsome flesh.

Parvez kissed her again. ‘Didn’t you say that you’ve always wanted to stay at the Hilton?’

This particular Hilton wasn’t quite as plush as Shona imagined the Karachi Hilton to be, but the room had all sorts of exciting conveniences. A kettle with little sachets of tea and coffee and gingerbread. A very white, very shiny bathroom with wrapped-up soap and sachets of shampoo and shower gel. A perplexing-looking trouser press, which Shona couldn’t quite work out. A TV which announced ‘Welcome, Mr and Mrs Khan’ across its screen. It was this last which made Shona squeal with excitement; it was the first time she’d seen her married name in writing and it made it all feel official, substantial. She was a married woman now, and had been for a whole day and a half. When she pulled the curtains open, she jumped up and down with excitement all over again. ‘Puppy, look at the view! It’s the park! This is Hyde Park, Papa told me about it. There’s a boating lake there - can we go boating, can we?’

‘If you want,’ said Parvez, amused. ‘Do you want a cup of tea?’

‘I’ll make it,’ Shona said. ‘We had a kettle like this in the common room on campus.’ She put the water on to boil, and told Parvez seriously, ‘The important thing about making English tea is to put the milk in first, so it doesn’t scald. And to warm the pot first. And to wait until the water is just off the boil before you brew, and not let the tea be over-brewed when you pour. And you put in one spoon of tea per person, and one for the pot. Except we only have teabags here, so I’ll just put in two.’