‘Oh, we wouldn’t want to interrupt Viktor if he’s sleeping.’ Lars was heavily sarcastic. ‘Excuse me. I’m going to check on the generator. They had a problem earlier on. So I may not be all togged up in Italian linen and aftershave at the dinner table, but I hope I’ll be invited to eat with you anyway.’

‘Don’t be such an idiot, Lars,’ she said, irritated by his outburst. ‘You’re being childish because I’ve spent the day out with Viktor, and you don’t like that and your dinner is delayed. You’re too set in your ways, you and Piet. Like part of an old married couple stuck in their routine. But I’ve had a lekker day, let me tell you. It was fun and it was the first in a long time. And you’re not going to pour cold water on it.’

At dinner he was taciturn, responding to Viktor in monosyllables, refusing to meet Hannah’s eyes as she pointed out that she and Viktor had caught the trout that Mwangi was serving.

‘It’s beautiful along the river,’ Viktor said. ‘A place that Shakespeare would have dreamed about for his forest settings. Piet and I talked briefly about putting the lodge down there, you know, when he first came up with the idea. But the kopje had such a fine view, even though we had to pump water up there.’

‘So you spent the day by the river?’ Lars said, trying at last to take some part in the conversation.

‘Yes. Wonderful out there,’ Viktor replied. ‘It’s hard to tear yourself away. Hard to tear myself away from any part of Langani. But I’ll be leaving first thing in the morning.’

‘I thought you would be staying until Monday,’ Hannah’s stomach lurched with dismay.

‘I must return to the city lights. To the real world of work and noise and aggravation. I must leave this wonderful place of fresh air and natural grandeur,’ he said, waving his hand in the air. She hated his cheerful expression. ‘I will go to Nairobi in the morning, otherwise I may be seduced into who knows what kind of madness.’

After dinner Lars mumbled an excuse and vanished into the night, but Viktor helped himself to brandy and lit a cigar. Hannah sat beside him, breathing in the expensive, pungent aroma, counting the moments until Mwangi came to bid them goodnight and she would have Viktor to herself. He touched her softly, setting up an immediate current of desire, making her smile at her own impatience and her lack of inhibition. When they were finally alone he lunged at her, laughing, and she flung herself into his arms, kissing him with greedy delight until he dragged her to her feet and led her away to the bedroom.