‘Hannah?’ Sarah paused for a moment, waiting for a reply. But there was none. ‘Han, I went up to the ridge today. I went to see Piet.’ Her throat closed and tears pricked her eyes as she said his name. Hannah spun round to gaze at her with eyes that were unnaturally bright, but she said nothing. ‘I think it’s time for me to go now, Han. Back to work. And you need some time and space for yourself. Lars is here and he will help you, and I won’t be far away. I’ll come whenever you need me, or you can come up to the camp. Any time.’

Silence. Hannah folded her arms in front of her, as if for protection. Her eyes darted towards the door as Lars came to join them. She looked at him intently, almost as though she had never seen him before.

‘Sarah is going away,’ she said. Her expression was unreadable.

‘Lars, I thought originally that maybe I’d go next week sometime. But unless you have something in particular for me to do here, I’d prefer to leave tomorrow.’ She caught his look of surprise. ‘I’ll come back soon. For a weekend or something.’

‘Good,’ Hannah squared her shoulders. It was clear that she was making an effort. ‘I will come up there one day. When it’s over. But for now I must stay here and wait. How are you going to get there?’

‘Dan or Allie could collect me in Nanyuki. One of them is coming down tomorrow, to pick up some supplies.’

‘Good.’ Hannah said again. ‘You can take my car and leave it at the Silverbeck. Lars and I will drive in together and pick it up from there. You should bring vegetables from Langani, and eggs and honey and jam to feed you up in that desert, heh? In the morning I’ll help you to get ready.’

It was mid-morning when Sarah left the farm. She stood with Hannah in the driveway, engaged in meaningless small talk, delaying the moment of parting. When finally they embraced, Hannah withdrew quickly from the contact and walked away. It was impossible to gauge her feelings, but Sarah felt a sense of release as she left the farm where the see-saw of Hannah’s emotions mirrored her own. It was too painful to watch.

‘I’ll take care of her,’ Lars promised, as he closed the door of the car. ‘I think she is beginning to come round. I hope so, because we are soon going to be forced into making some big decisions, and I can’t make them without her.’

‘Such as the lodge?’

‘There’s so much of the farm capital tied up in it, and we’re going to have a serious cash-flow problem unless we open it. Or do something else, like leasing it.’

‘That’s a horrible thought.’