At his club in Pall Mall she was amused by the elderly porter’s admiring appraisal of her short skirt and patent leather boots. He escorted her to the bar where George was waiting. Their conversation jumped from London’s theatre and galleries to the forests of India, where he had lately been to study the conservation of tigers and their habitat. Discussion of Marina’s health was postponed. They would both be seeing her later in the day.

‘I’ve had letters from both Sarah and Hannah,’ Camilla said. ‘I don’t know how they are able to function at all.’

‘I didn’t see Hannah,’ he answered. ‘But she should receive the first instalment this month, of the grant I arranged for Langani. And she has Lars to help her. Sarah was very brave outwardly, but it’s a thin shell. She’s an exceptional young woman.’

‘I should have gone when Piet died, but—’

‘You couldn’t have gone, my dear,’ George said. ‘You had to be here for your mother.’

‘Don’t, Daddy. You don’t have to make excuses. The truth is that I didn’t go because I was afraid. I hadn’t seen them or been in touch since September, and I was ashamed. But I will go when I can. As soon as—’ She did not need to finish the sentence.

‘I have another piece of news,’ George said. ‘I’m moving my base of operations. Not now, of course. Not immediately, but later in the year.’

‘Where to?’ Camilla was surprised.

‘To Nairobi, oddly enough. I’ll be working closely with the Ministry of Tourism, and supervising the projects to which we’ve given funding. Keep a tight rein on where the money goes.’

‘Haven’t you been doing that anyway?’ Camilla asked. ‘From here, with visits to Kenya?’

‘Yes, I have. But we’ve got four or five new East African proposals in the pipeline, and now someone has to be on the ground there full-time.’ He paused for a few moments. ‘I offered to take it on, actually. I started up most of these projects, and I’d like to see them through myself.’

‘I can’t believe you’re going back to live in Nairobi,’ Camilla said. ‘It seems very strange.’

‘I’m enthusiastic about it,’ he said. ‘I hope to see more of your young friends once I’m there. Help them along in any way I can. So what do you think?’

‘Well, if you can spend time out in the parks and game reserves, rather than sitting at a desk . . . It’s odd, the way life zigzags in unexpected directions. You’re off to the wilds of Africa, and I’m still in the big city, locked into the eye of a camera. Moth to the flame.’