Sarah was all too aware of the threat of the situation and tried to pull Jane out of the shop, but the owner grabbed her hand and yanked her back in, insisting she buy the set of copper bowls on display.

The dogs were now barking furiously, a crowd had gathered, and the men by the entrance were closing in.

Truly frightened now, Sarah wrenched her hand from his grip and reached for Jane. ‘No,’ she said firmly. ‘We’re not buying today. We want to leave.’

He’d roughly grabbed her arm when a man’s voice boomed out. ‘The lady said no. Let her go.’

Sarah’s arm was quickly freed, and the advancing men melted into the shadows as the shopkeeper glared with naked hostility at the intruder. She spun round to see that their saviour was their Australian pilot, but she didn’t have time to thank him, for now he was pulling them both past the surly men, and through the muttering, hostile crowd of watchers.

She and Jane found themselves being propelled along the street at a fast pace as the storekeeper yelled after them, the vicious-looking dogs ran beside them, and the horde of jeering and mud-slinging urchins followed.

They finally reached the shelter of the hotel veranda, and the pilot released his hold on their arms. ‘Sorry about that, but I needed to get you out of there before things turned really nasty.’

‘Thank you so much,’ said Jane breathlessly. ‘I really thought we were done for.’

‘What the blue blazes were you doing there in the first place?’ he roared. ‘Weren’t you warned never to go out alone?’

‘Well, yes, we were,’ Jane admitted, ‘but we got so bored just sitting about in the hotel, we thought we’d explore.’

He expelled an exasperated breath. ‘Strewth, lady, don’t you realise how close you both came to being seriously molested? I’d stick to being bored if I were you. It’s a flaming sight safer.’

‘There’s no need to be quite so rude,’ said Sarah, dredging up the last of her dignity.

‘Rude?’ he barked. ‘You’ve seen nothing yet, lady. Now get indoors and dry off.’

Jane giggled. ‘Gosh, you are cross, aren’t you? Would saying sorry for putting you to so much inconvenience make you feel better?’

He relaxed his shoulders and the furious expression softened into a rueful smile. ‘I reckon I might have come on a bit strong,’ he drawled. ‘But the guide warned you for a reason, and you should have taken notice of it.’

‘We realise that now,’ said Sarah. ‘And won’t be leaving the hotel again, I promise.’ She held out her hand. ‘I’m Sarah Fuller and this is my sister, Jane.’

‘Captain Joe Hamilton,’ he replied, shaking their hands. He glanced across at the wide-eyed servants who were standing by the doors. ‘Let’s get inside before we draw any more attention to ourselves.’

Sarah caught sight of them all in one of the vast mirrors and realised why the servants had looked at them with such shock. She broke into a chuckle. ‘Good heavens,’ she managed. ‘We all look like drowned rats.’ It was then that she realised in horror they’d lost the umbrellas they’d borrowed from the hotel.