‘You’re really hopeless, you know.’ Hannah’s words carried resignation, but she was smiling. ‘You never accept that there’s a time to give up.’

‘No, she’s right, Han. Camilla should be here,’ Piet said. ‘We’ll track her down somehow, over the next few days. Now listen, I’m going to go out to the lodge early tomorrow morning and I’ll stay out there for the night. I want to make sure the lights are set properly, inside the buildings and around the pool and the waterhole. And to check that the plumbing is all working. We don’t want any hitches when our guests arrive.’

‘Do you want any of us to come with you?’ Hannah asked.

‘No. You have plenty to do here. I’ll take Kipchoge and Simon. Ole Sunde, the nightwatchman, is out there already and he can give us a hand.’ He grinned at Sarah. ‘I’ll be back first thing on Saturday morning though, because I can’t stay away from my girl longer than that. You should give our friend here a couple of those pictures, you know.’ He slapped Anthony on the back as he spoke. ‘Take a close look, old chap. They might knock some sense into you. You’re even slower than I’ve been. And keep these women in order tomorrow, heh?’

Sarah dressed quickly the next morning and went outside. It would be good to have breakfast with Piet before he left for the lodge. No one else seemed to be around except the birds, welcoming a new day with raucous enthusiasm. Everything looked so fresh at this time of day, she thought, entranced by the palette of the sunrise and the moon fading, ghostlike, into the high azure of the sky. It was cool, but she knew that it would be scorching later. As she turned towards the dining room she saw Simon, standing very still, observing her. She had not heard him approach.

‘Good morning, Simon. You’re here early.’

‘Good morning, Madam. Bwana Piet told me to be ready at seven, for the lodge.’

‘Oh yes. You seem to have settled very well into the work at the lodge,’ she said, for the sake of making conversation. ‘And I suppose you’ve made some friends here now.’

‘I work hard for Bwana Piet, Madam,’ he answered. ‘I hope I will be very good in my job. And then he will be pleased. Later I will think about making some friends, but I do not go with these Kikuyu clans here.’ He made a disdainful gesture with his hand. ‘They are not good people.’ A small nerve was jumping in his neck, and he pursed his lips disapprovingly.