‘It’s Christmas,’ Hannah replied. ‘And as Ma said earlier, we’re a group of people who love each other, and best of all you’re here to join us. So we should concentrate on that for now. I love you, Sarah, and you’re my sister. And you look like you need some sleep. I’ll see you later.’

Sarah lay down on the comfortable old bed, thinking about Hannah and Lars and whether anything could be salvaged from the mess. She sighed, and took out a paper that Dan had given her about the mating habits of the jackal. But within moments her eyes closed and she slept, like the trusting child she had once been in this same room. A light knock woke her.

‘Come with me to the ridge,’ Piet said. ‘Bring a sweater or something warm.’

Piet brought a rug and cushions in the car, and they sat looking out over the bright sweep of the land where the wind stirred the vlei grass, feathered and green after the blessing of sudden rain. He put his hand on the back of Sarah’s neck and made a soft, clicking sound in the back of his throat that she remembered from her childhood. It was something Kipchoge had taught him, and Piet had often made this special noise as he walked beside her in those innocent years, pointing out birds and plants and animal tracks that he knew and wanted her to share. Sarah sat watching the changing colour of the sky, and the pink that stained the snow peaks of Kirinyaga as the sun began its descent towards the edge of her world. Then Piet spoke.

‘I love you,’ he said, simply. ‘I’ve always loved you, but I was just too dim-witted to know it. To understand and see it. I want you to forgive me for that, because I do love you, Sarah, more than anything. More than life. And I know that you are the only one for me.’

She turned to look at him, and made a small sound as he put his arms around her and kissed her over and over.

‘I love you, love you, love you,’ he repeated, stroking her hair, touching her eyelids and cheeks, running his fingers tenderly across her lips. ‘I don’t remember any time when you weren’t a part of me, and I can’t see any future when you’re not with me. Is that all right with you?’

She nodded and tried to respond with words, but she was dumb with happiness and wonder, so she lay back on the rug and let herself dissolve into the ecstatic joy that came over her as he kissed her, and touched her body for the first time. They lay side by side, breathless with love and discovery, watching the first stars pierce the darkening bowl of the sky.