‘But surely a white man can’t be that close to a black man, not in a place like Kenya,’ Marks said. ‘From what I can gather, the place is stuffed with bloody idiots who think Negroes are one step removed from monkeys.’

‘It is, and they do,’ Saffron agreed. ‘But as you say, they’re bloody idiots.’

‘Trust me, Leo, Manyoro is a second father to Saffron,’ Gerhard said.

‘Poor Gerdi.’ Saffron leaned over and gave her man a consoling pat on the back. ‘He thought he’d survived the third degree after he’d got past Daddy Courtney. Little did he know he was in for another talking-to from Manyoro.’

‘He made it as plain as Leon Courtney had done – if I hurt Saffron in any way, he would be my mortal enemy.’

‘He was only like that because he loves me so much. Once I’d assured him that I knew I’d found the right man, he gave Gerhard a huge hug, and started giving me a lecture instead.’

Gerhard grinned. ‘You should have heard him. He was telling Saffy that she had to give me many, many children—’

‘I’ve managed two so far, one of each, and that feels like quite enough.’

‘What are they called?’ Margaret asked.

‘Alexander, who’s four, and Nichola, who’s two. But we always call them Zander and Kika because that’s how they say their names.’

‘Did you bring them with you to England?’

Saffron’s face fell as she gave a shake of the head. ‘No. We thought about it, of course. But it’s much better for the children to be at home with their grandparents and their nanny, surrounded by people who love them. They’d have been miserable traipsing around Europe with us, too young to understand what was going on or where they were.’ She smiled wistfully. ‘I got a letter from Harriet this morning. She wrote about how happy Zander and Kika are and what fun they’re having, being spoilt rotten by everyone. She was only trying to reassure me, but of course it made me weep buckets.’

‘I think you’re doing the right thing,’ Margaret said, patting Saffron’s hand. She looked at Gerhard. ‘I’m so sorry I interrupted your story.’

‘Don’t worry,’ Gerhard said. ‘I was only going to pass on the final command that Manyoro gave Saffy. He said that when she grows older, it will be her solemn duty to find new young wives for me and make sure that they behave and produce even more offspring.’

‘I say, that’s the spirit!’ Churchill exclaimed.

‘Pah!’ Odette snorted, in true Gallic style, rolling her eyes at the idea. She smiled and said, ‘Look, everyone, here comes Pierre!’

The others looked towards the kitchen, from which the chef and proprietor Pierre Duforge was emerging, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he came towards them.