‘For her, he’s irresistible, I should think. And he’s fantastic in bed. Take it from me.’ Allie grinned, at the shock she had generated.

‘You and Viktor? Really? But when . . . ?’ Sarah subsided in embarrassment and confusion. ‘Sorry. No business of mine.’

Allie gave a loud guffaw. ‘It’s all right. I wouldn’t have told you if I was going to get all coy about it,’ she said. ‘And there’s no need to look so surprised. I clean up pretty well when I’m going out on the town.’

‘I didn’t mean – God, Allie, I’m really crass. I apologise. It was just that I thought you and Dan were so . . .’ She trailed off, out of her depth.

‘Dan wasn’t around at the time, needless to say. He was working like a maniac, and I wanted to go to Nairobi because it was my birthday, but he wouldn’t go. I was really cross. We were in Tsavo then, and we hadn’t landed the grant we have now. We’d been slaving away without a break for months. Things were a lot less comfortable then, with flimsy tents and precious little to live on. Dan didn’t care – he never notices his immediate surroundings. But I wanted, well, I suppose I wanted to be cherished for a few days. To be feminine. To be the most important for him, even if it was only on my birthday. Anyhow, he bloody well wouldn’t go anywhere. We had a flaming row, and I drove to Nairobi on my own. I met up with Viktor that night, in the house where I was staying with some friends. I was pretty drunk, and so was he, but we hit it off. We spent the weekend together and it was marvellous! We did things I’ve never done before or since!’

Allie was chuckling, but there was a note to her usually brusque tone that moved Sarah to sympathy and a deeper understanding of this small, tough-seeming woman.