‘He must have been waiting. Waiting for us to come up there. He was dressed like a warrior and he threw his spear at the hyena. Then I fell.’ She choked again. The other hideous memory that she had blocked out moved suddenly into the forefront of her mind, and the nausea rose. ‘But I saw his face. He was wearing a feathered headdress and I could see his face.’ She saw him distinctly once more, etched against the skyline with the cold, bright moonlight shining into his eyes. She looked up at Anthony and Hardy.

‘I knew him, you see,’ she whispered. ‘I knew him. It was Simon.’

‘Simon?’ Hardy leaned forward. ‘My dear, are you absolutely sure? The light could have been deceptive. And there was the danger of the hyena, and then you were falling.’

‘No. It was Simon. He had killed—’ She could not say the name. ‘I know he was the one. He was waiting for us to come.’ Her voice broke in horror as she saw herself crouched over the pit, looking down at her love with his lifeblood seeping away into the earth. ‘It was Simon,’ she repeated. ‘But I can’t . . . why he would do that?’ She began to sob incoherently, her body rocking to and fro, shaking with shock and fear and the terrible pain of loss. ‘Oh God, why? Why would You let him do it? Dear God, why have You taken him away?’

‘Simon is missing, Jeremy,’ said Anthony. ‘He went out with Piet this morning and he’s the only one not accounted for.’

Hannah spoke for the first time, her words coming in a sibilant whisper. ‘I want him dead,’ she said, calm and cold at first, but as she repeated the phrase her voice rose into a scream. ‘I want him dead. I want him dead . . .’

Lottie put her arms around her daughter and Anthony bent to put his hands on her shoulders, trying to offer strength and the comfort of love. Hannah looked at him, silent again, her eyes glazed, her hands clenched.

‘I want him dead.’

Later in the night Sarah opened her eyes, realising that she had been sleeping fitfully. The fire was piled with logs, crackling and hissing, throwing out a great heat, but she was shivering again. Hardy had been gone for a while, but now he was back and talking quietly to Anthony and Lottie about bringing Piet’s body down to the house. Hannah flung out her arm, gesturing to them as she tried to rise.

‘No! We must not take him away from there,’ she said. ‘You all heard him, when we were on the ridge yesterday.’ She looked at Sarah directly and her face collapsed, punctured by the memory. ‘It was only yesterday. Ach, Jesus! Jesus!’

Anthony made her sit back against the cushions and she grabbed at his hands, looking into his eyes, pleading with him in her anguish.