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Sheere laughed.

‘I don’t think it’s a laughing matter, if I may say so,’ said Ben, his tone icy.

‘I don’t believe a single word you’ve said. You’re not the headmaster’s assistant, you’re not twenty-three, and no cook was ever hit by a shower of bricks,’ said Sheere defiantly.

‘Are you suggesting I have provided you with inaccurate information?’

‘To put it mildly.’

Ben weighed up the situation. The first part of his strategy was on the point of floundering, so he had to think of a change of direction, and it had to be clever.

‘I may have been carried away by my imagination, but not everything I’ve said is untrue.’

‘Oh?’

‘I didn’t lie about my name. I’m called Ben. And the bit about offering you our hospitality is also true.’

Sheere gave a winning grin.

‘I’d love to accept, Ben. But I must wait here. Honestly.’

The boy adopted an expression of calm acceptance.

‘All right. I’ll wait with you,’ he announced solemnly. ‘If a brick falls, let it fall on me.’

Sheere shrugged and fixed her eyes on the door again. A long minute of silence went by. Neither of them moved or uttered a word.

‘It’s a hot night,’ said Ben at last.

Sheere turned her head. ‘Are you going to stand there all night?’

‘Let’s make a deal,’ Ben proposed. ‘Come and have a glass of ice-cold lemonade with me and my friends and then I’ll leave you in peace.’

‘I can’t, Ben. Really.’

‘We’ll only be twenty metres away,’ said Ben. ‘We could tie a little bell to the door.’

‘Is it so important for you?’ asked Sheere.

Ben nodded.

‘It’s my last week in this place. I’ve spent my whole life here and in five days’ time I’ll be alone again. Completely alone. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to spend another night like this one, among friends. You don’t know what it’s like.’

Sheere looked at him for a long while.

‘I do know,’ she said at last. ‘Take me to that lemonade.’

ONCE BANKIM HAD LEFT his office, Mr Carter poured himself a small glass of brandy and offered another to his visitor. Aryami declined and waited for Carter to sit in his armchair, with his back to the large window below which the young people were still celebrating, unaware of the icy silence that filled the headmaster’s room. Carter wet his lips and looked questioningly at the old woman. Time had not diminished the authority of her features in the slightest. Her eyes still blazed with the same fire he remembered in the woman who, so long ago, had been his best friend’s wife. They gazed at one another for a long time.

‘I’m listening,’ said Carter finally.

‘Sixteen years ago I was obliged to entrust you with a baby boy, Mr Carter,’ Aryami began in a low but firm voice. ‘It was one of the most difficult decisions of my life and I know for a fact that during these past years you have honoured the trust I put in you and haven’t let me down. During this time I never interfered with the boy’s life, for I was well aware that he wouldn’t be better off anywhere else but here, under your protection. I’ve never had the opportunity to thank you for what you’ve done for him.’

‘I was only doing my duty,’ Carter replied. ‘But I don’t think that is why you’ve come here, at this late hour.’

‘I wish I could say it was, but you’re right,’ said Aryami. ‘I’ve come here because the boy’s life is in danger.’

‘Ben.’