The question threw him. And he realised it was because he didn’t want her to know about Natalie. Of course, that was stupid, because she would likely find out soon enough, but at that moment he didn’t want to lose face in her eyes.

‘An inferiority complex?’ he ventured awkwardly. ‘I don’t know, isn’t that what usually motivates bullies?’

‘And he’s your dive buddy in this cave?’ She was looking worried again.

‘Unfortunately, yes. And there’s too much riding on this to turn back.’

He told her about Jacquie. Mia, being a doctor, was able to clarify things he didn’t quite understand, like her chemo regime. Then he told her about his parents and Margaret River. The longer they talked, the more fraudulent it felt leaving Natalie and the accident out, but Nash was in too deep now, and when he sensed Mia was about to ask him whether he had a partner, he turned the spotlight back on to her.

Mia Carter was a high achiever, sporty like Jac, but driven to public service, which had led her into what sounded like a completely immersive and exhausting career.

‘And you really plan to stay on in Papua?’ Nash was feeling slightly embarrassed by the contrast with his singularly self-serving life.

‘You sound like you think I’m entering a nunnery.’

He gave a sheepish grin and Mia laughed.

‘People think that because they don’t understand what a vocation is.’ Her face grew intense and he saw the great strength in her. ‘For me, the mission is nothing to do with religion. It’s about helping people who really need help. It makes me feel like there is a point to what I do.’

‘And you’ve never wanted a more conventional life?’

‘You mean a hubby and kids?’ Her laugh suggested this was never on the cards, and he shrugged. ‘Maybe, one day. My parents would love me to stick around and take over their clinic in Connecticut. I love them dearly, but the whole idea bores me senseless.’

‘I can imagine it’s pretty tame compared to out here.’

She smiled. ‘The mission’s in the last great wilderness of Papua – no loggers, no mines, no roads. The first time I went for a hike I thought I’d travelled back in time. The forest is full of these incredibly ancient towering giants which humble you, and the tree kangaroos and dwarf cassowaries just stand their ground when you pass.’

‘What about birds of paradise?’

Her eyes lit up. ‘My favourites are short-tailed paradigalla, they carry on like tiny bossy penguins, but the King of Saxony and splendid astrapia . . . wow, don’t they just take your breath away?’

Nash smiled in agreement. ‘They remind me of vivid oil paintings.’

‘Yes, like a Rousseau! Those vibrant flashes of colour magnified against the dark canvas of the canopy.’