Sarah had written to Hannah afterwards, but she had left out any mention of the nightclub. Another unpleasant incident involving the Broughton-Smiths. And this time it was their blood-sworn sister who had inflicted the pain. Hannah’s reply had come by return, envious of Sarah’s life in Ireland. She had mentioned Lottie’s efforts to put by money for her own university fees, but it was plain that Hannah wanted to finish her business course as soon as possible, and go home to Langani. Her scribbled pages conveyed little about the reality of her life, and Sarah was struck by what had been left unsaid.

From Piet there had been no word. When they left the nightclub, Sarah had tried to comfort him, but he had been brusque almost to the point of rudeness. In the end, she had mumbled a few platitudes and left him nursing his humiliation. There was nothing she could have said to alleviate his misery. It was time to do what Tim had advised – and forget about the whole sorry affair, and find a life for herself in Dublin until she graduated. She thought about the plan that she had made with Camilla and Hannah to celebrate their twenty-first summer together. Life had been so simple when they had made that promise, so full of the belief that they were all invincible, inseparable. She shrugged, burying herself in her determination to survive the present. There were exams to cram for, and this abysmal weather to survive, before she could return to the world she loved. And in the meantime, photography had become her one pleasure. Her father had given her his single-lens reflex camera, a Leica, when she started college. It was a possession he treasured.

‘It will be an asset later on, for your wildlife studies. Join the photographic society in college. Learn your craft,’ Raphael had said, as he showed her the basics. ‘I’ll be expecting wonderful pictures as you get the hang of it.’

It had been the beginning of a new passion. Her first efforts had been mediocre. But gradually she had learned to use the light meter and the filters, to master the long, slow exposures that softened her images and made them part of her own way of seeing things. Now she was preparing a portfolio, hoping to do some freelance work for magazines. And there was the Irish Times competition coming up, which carried a substantial cash prize and the opportunity for the winners to exhibit their pictures.