“I’m not spending another night sleeping in the same room as Isis. She creeps me out.”

“Then sleep in the meditation room,” Leanne says. “I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if you dragged your mattress in there.”

Al shakes her head. “Nah, it’s cool. I’ve made up my mind.”

“But it’s spitting already, and Johan said the rain is going to get heavier! It’s not safe trekking up or down the mountain in bad weather. And it’ll take you hours.”

“It’s downhill, and unless Johan is channelling the Weather Station straight into his brain, he’s guessing about the weather.”

I shake my head. “You’re not going on your own. I’ll come with you.”

“She speaks!” Daisy feigns shock, and Leanne laughs.

“You don’t have to,” Al says.

“I want to. I can’t bear feeling so on edge. I’d enjoy this holiday a whole lot more if I could get some more tablets. I’m sure there’ll be somewhere in Pokhara where I can buy some. Daisy bought Valium over the counter in Kathmandu.” I glance at her, waiting for her to launch into her “You can’t go, you’re my wing woman” speech that I get every time I try to leave a London club early, but she merely raises her eyebrows and gives me a half-smile.

“Please.” Leanne grips Al’s hand. “Don’t go. Give it a few more days. I know I’ve been a bit crap at spending time with you, but we can fix that. We can go swimming more often, and Raj said he’d give us cookery lessons, if we want. I know how much you love his dahl bhat.”

Al shakes her head. “Nah, no offence. It’s nothing to do with you, Leanne, honestly. I just need to clear my head and it feels claustrophobic here. Look, we were only planning on spending another week or so here, anyway. I can meet you back in Pokhara and then we’ll get the bus to Chitwan and do our jungle trek.”

“Um …” Leanne lets go of Al’s hand. “About that …”

“What?”

“I haven’t actually booked it.”

“Why not?” Al glances from me to Daisy. “I thought the plan was Kathmandu, then Pokhara, two weeks here, then Chitwan. That’s what we agreed before we came out here. Haven’t you guys already paid for it?”

Daisy and I both nod as Leanne shifts from foot to foot and pulls the blanket more tightly around her. “I … I was going to book it, but then I thought I’d play it by ear just in case we … in case …” She glances up towards the patio. Isaac is alone now, the dim light of his cigarette tracing through the air. “Anyway, someone told me it was cheaper to book treks from here.”

“So we’re still going?”