‘So you and Mother are finally going to live apart? Separate officially?’ Now that the moment had possibly arrived, Camilla felt a strange apprehension as she waited for his reply. It would be a logical decision, and she wondered if a divorce was the real reason behind this change in her father’s life. It would spell the end of their small family, flawed though it might be. She was surprised to discover a deep sadness at the realisation that they had reached this point.

‘No. We’re not going to make any changes.’ George was not looking at her.

Camilla sighed. She would never understand why he stayed with her mother, why they could not reach some amicable settlement and go their different ways. At least one of them would then have a chance at happiness. ‘When do you start your new appointment?’ she asked.

‘In a couple of months. July, in fact.’

‘You must have been thinking about this for a while, but you never said a word. Not to me anyway. It’s all so sudden.’ Now she was sullen and hurt, although she could not explain why. ‘How much time will you spend in Kenya?’

‘I hope it will be about half and half, by the end of this year. I’m flying out to Nairobi next week for talks with the Ministry of Tourism and the national parks. Then on to Tanzania and Uganda for more of the same. And there are other projects in Asia – tigers and pandas, and forests that are being hacked down with no thought for the future of the resident wildlife.’

‘And where will Mother be, while all this is going on? I’m sure she has no intention of wandering through the world’s jungles with you.’

‘She may join me for some of the time.’

‘You know she won’t.’

‘I think she’ll be happy to stay here in London for the main part. She’s looking for a house in the country. Something small, for weekends.’

‘I knew it! This is about her. Now she’ll get what she always wanted – a flat here and house parties in the country at weekends, for her smart chums from London. This new job will finance her social dreams, even though you’ve had to give up doing what you love.’

‘Life isn’t that simple, Camilla.’

‘It is for her.’

She was still bitter as they parted in Pall Mall and she watched him walk away, his shoulders hunched down against the wind. She did not want to spend the rest of the evening alone contemplating her parents’ strange lives, and she hailed a taxi and made her way to Ricky Lane’s studio. It was late, but she was sure he would be there.