The dominee was speaking his first words of welcome when a movement caught Sarah’s eye. She made a small exclamation and tugged at Anthony’s sleeve. Hannah heard the sound and turned, following Sarah’s gaze. Camilla was standing at the end of the aisle, hesitating, looking for a place where she could slip unnoticed into the gathering. There was a low murmur of surprise as Hannah whispered to Lars and left his side. She took Sarah by the hand and they moved down through the congregation to embrace Camilla, and to lead her back to join them at the altar. Sarah had dreaded the moment when Hannah and Lars would make the vows that she had once hoped to exchange with Piet in this very place. But as they said the words, promising to love and cherish one another all the days of their lives, she was filled with a boundless happiness for them, and her own loss dissolved in the tenderness of their expressions and the beacon of Hannah’s smile. She stepped forward to sing.

Sarah had wrestled with the song for days, but on the eve of the wedding, words and music had come together, and now her clear soprano soared into the evening air, carrying all her love and her hopes for her dearest friends. She had been afraid she would break down, overcome by the emotion of this wedding and all that had gone before it. But as the last note died it was the gathering of friends who stood transfixed, with tears welling in their eyes. Then the sound changed to a gradual crescendo of chanting, as the farm workers offered their own jubilant music. The dominee pronounced the blessing, and everyone crowded around the bride and groom, but Hannah pushed her way through the throng, searching out Sarah and Camilla, laughing and crying with joy as they hugged her until she thought she might never have breath again.

As the wedding supper drew to a close, the sound of drumming filled the air, and all the guests walked down to an area that had been cleared for a bonfire. Every worker on the farm had assembled, dressed in their tribal costumes. The women gathered around Hannah and Lars, dancing and ululating and clapping their hands, while the men chanted and leapt and somersaulted, their goatskin cloaks and scarlet shukas, ornaments and headdresses glowing in the firelight. Lars had arranged for a roasted ox and beer, and as evening slid into night the entire community of Langani joined hands and danced together in a vast circle of celebration. It was almost dawn when the bridal couple left for the Mount Kenya Safari Club where they would spend the weekend. Then they would fly to the coast, where their destination remained a well-guarded secret. As Hannah ran down the steps to the car she was looking for Sarah and Camilla.