After his introduction Anthony showed them to their tents, and then left them to settle in. Camilla sat down in a canvas chair, absorbing the heat and stillness of the hour, listening to the sounds of the bush. She had never travelled this far north before, into the arid beauty of the semi-desert. Hornbills hopped, ungainly and comical, in the trees around her. A group of starlings strutted at her feet, decked out in iridescent plumage, noisy, fractious and vain, reminding her of the people she all too often encountered and had to work with in London. Shading her tent, the acacia trees held out pale branches festooned with the haphazard nests of social weavers, and in the distance she could see a herd of zebra standing motionless in the shimmering heat. Below their camp, the Uaso Nyiro River flowed brown and sluggish and slow, through the thirsty land.

Sarah entered her tent with a sense of wonder. The floor was made from some kind of plastic sheeting, but it had been covered with a sisal rug. Twin canvas beds had crisp white sheets and pillows, and hand-printed bedspreads. Blankets and towels were laid neatly on storage chests at the foot of each bed. The bedside table held lanterns and torches, and a selection of soaps and shampoos had been placed in a reed basket. A mirror was attached to the side of the tent, hanging above a wooden console that served as both a dressing table and a small desk. Thermos flasks of cold water and two glasses stood on the polished surface. A vase filled with wild flowers and grasses provided the final touch.

‘Not bad, heh?’ Hannah sat on the edge of her bed.

‘It’s so grand,’ Sarah said in astonishment. ‘I never expected anything like this. I don’t think I can ever go home again.’ She smiled. ‘I suspect it’s no accident that Camilla has a tent to herself.’

‘There’s a message in that, yes.’ Hannah was rolling eyes that were full of amusement. ‘But she should go carefully. All these hunters and safari people have a reputation, and when someone gets hurt they stand back and tell you that some woman literally threw herself at them and they couldn’t turn her down on pain of death. Anthony’s no different from the rest of them in that respect.’

‘He seems a decent sort, and besides, Camilla can take care of herself,’ Sarah said. ‘She must have been through this a hundred times in London, the way she lives.’