Back in the office, Mma Ramotswe tactfully said nothing. Mma Makutsi gathered her thoughts, standing before the window, looking out to the trees in the distance and the evening sun on the grey-green hills beyond the trees. She had so much to think about: her past, and the place from where she had come; her family, who would be so pleased with this news, up there in Bobonong; and her late brother, Richard, who would never know about this, unless, of course, he was watching from somewhere, which he might be, for all she knew. She loved this country, which was a good place, and she loved those with whom she lived and worked. She had so much love to give—she had always felt that—and now there was somebody to whom she could give this love, and that, she knew, was good; for that is what redeems us, that is what makes our pain and sorrow bearable—this giving of love to others, this sharing of the heart.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the acclaimed No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. He was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and taught law at the University of Botswana. He is the author of more than fifty books: novels, stories, children’s books, and specialized titles such as Forensic Aspects of Sleep. A professor of medical law at Edinburgh University, he lives in Scotland.

ALSO BY ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITH

BOOKS BY
ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITH

IN THE NO. 1 LADIES’ DETECTIVE AGENCY SERIES

The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency

Tears of the Giraffe

Morality for Beautiful Girls

The Kalahari Typing School for Men

The Full Cupboard of Life

In the Company of Cheerful Ladies

IN THE SUNDAY PHILOSOPHY CLUB SERIES

The Sunday Philosophy Club

IN THE PORTUGUESE IRREGULAR VERBS SERIES

Portuguese Irregular Verbs

The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs

At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances

The Girl Who Married a Lion and Other Tales from Africa

COPYRIGHT PAGE

Copyright © 2004 by Alexander McCall Smith

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Pantheon Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.. Originally published in Great Britain by Polygon, an imprint of Birlinn, Ltd., Edinburgh, in 2004.

Pantheon Books and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McCall Smith, Alexander, [date]

In the company of cheerful ladies / Alexander McCall Smith

p. cm.

1. No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (Imaginary organization)—Fiction. 2. Ramotswe, Precious (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 3. Women private investigators—Botswana—Fiction. 4. Botswana—Fiction. I. Title.

PR6063.C326I5  2005      823'.914—dc22      2004056827

eISBN: 978-0-375-42357-4

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