‘I don’t want to spend another three or four years doing more exams and learning things I don’t need to know.’ Camilla’s face was calm, but Sarah saw that her hands were tightly clasped and her body tense. ‘They keep saying I can’t expect to make it on the stage, just because I’ve been in plays at school and here in Nairobi. Not that they’ve ever come to see me, except for once when it was a charity thing and Mother was involved in organising it.’

‘Well, I suppose with their schedules . . .’ Sarah trailed off.

‘Don’t bother inventing excuses for them. They ignore my ambitions, hoping I’ll become discouraged or forget about them. But I won’t. I’m going to be a brilliant actress, and that’s all I want.’

‘Maybe, if you discuss it again, now that school’s over, you can get them to see that applying for drama school right away isn’t such a bad idea.’

‘They see what they want to see, and I’m not going to waste any more time arguing with them. Daddy’s disappointed that I don’t want to try for the diplomatic service, and Mother is only interested in my eventual marriage prospects. They’ve offered a compromise I can live with. And then I can get on with my life.’

‘But they’re your parents. Maybe they haven’t understood how much this acting career means, how serious you are.’

‘Oh, come on, Sarah. They’re not going to pay any attention to what I want. Now, let’s get out of this morgue and have some fun.’

They spent their morning at Muthaiga Club, lazing beside the pool. Sarah lay out in the full sun, drawing the heat into her, glad to be out of the silent, oppressive house. Camilla wore a large hat and sat under an umbrella. Waiters came and went with cold drinks and meals and little pink and white pieces of paper that she signed. A stream of friends and acquaintances came to exchange Nairobi gossip, to organise tennis games, and to discuss invitations they had all received to the same parties and dances. Sarah felt left out, intimidated by the talk of the week’s social events among the main players in Nairobi’s party scene. Camilla drank large, frosted glasses of Pimm’s at lunchtime, and when they were ready to leave Sarah was concerned to see that she was unsteady on her feet.

‘Hey, are you tipsy?’

‘Probably. But I can sleep it off this afternoon. In time for inspection hour, before they go out for the evening.’