Page 133 of The Sun Sister

‘Time to get up.’ Katherine woke Cecily at five the following morning.

‘I’ve put your safari clothes on the end of your bed. We’ll drive Alice’s DeSoto over to Bill’s so I’ll see you outside. I’m packing some hampers with supplies, then I need to call Aleeki and let him know you’ll be coming home tomorrow instead,’ she said as she left the bedroom.

Sleepily, Cecily put on a khaki suit and pants that fitted her almost perfectly, then pulled on the heavy lace-up boots, which didn’t. They were a few sizes too big – she’d always had tiny feet – but they would have to do.

‘Hop in,’ said Katherine, as she stowed some blankets on the back seat of the car. She started the engine and switched on the head lamps as it was still pitch black.

Cecily did so, and with a last glance at Wanjohi Farm and the relative safety and comfort it offered, they were off.

She dozed fitfully during the hour-long journey until bright sunlight jolted her awake. She opened her eyes to see that they seemed to have left the main road and were bumping violently along a narrow track that appeared to go on forever, winding through acres of hot plain, with grasses and trees clinging to the orange earth. Cecily rolled down the window to search for a breeze and was assaulted by the smell of livestock, earthy and faecal. She saw a group of cattle being herded across the grasslands by very tall men in dark orange robes that matched the colour of the earth beneath their bare feet. She marvelled at the cows, which only bore a vague resemblance to their American cousins. They had large humps on their backs, and folds of extra skin that hung almost to the ground around their scrawny necks.

‘Nearly there now, darling,’ said Katherine. ‘Welcome to Bill’s farm.’

Cecily saw they were now approaching a low building with a timber frame sitting in the middle of the plain, the sun glaring off its tin roof.

‘Hello there! You made it.’ Bobby had emerged from the hut and walked towards them, as Katherine drew the car to a standstill.

Cecily climbed out. ‘Jeez,’ she said, looking around her, ‘is this the Bush?’ she asked him.

‘It’s on the edge of the Loita Plains,’ said Bobby, which meant nothing to Cecily. ‘You girls go inside and have a cool drink. Bill and I are readying the vehicles with supplies.’

‘The hampers and blankets are in the back of Alice’s DeSoto,’ Katherine called as the two women walked towards the shack. Inside, Katherine poured them both a glass of water as Cecily looked around the very basic accommodation.

‘Is this where Bill lives?’

‘It is. As you can see, there’s no woman’s touch here,’ she smiled. ‘He spends so much time out in the Bush, I suppose he hardly thinks it’s worth doing anything about it. I must say, I’m rather excited. I do hope we find some elephants for you; out of all the creatures that inhabit these parts, I find them the most magnificent.’

‘Are they dangerous?’

‘Like any wild animal, they can be, but you couldn’t be in safer hands with Bill. Talk of the devil,’ Katherine said as Bill strode inside.

‘Good morning, Cecily. Glad you could make it. Ready to go?’

‘I am.’ Cecily saw he was staring at her feet again.

‘Katherine, can you sort out her puttees?’ Bill offered her two rolls of bandages. ‘Can’t have her precious ankles bitten by a puff adder while she sleeps, can we? I’ll see you both outside.’

‘Sit down, Cecily,’ Katherine ordered. Cecily did so and Katherine wound the bandages around each of her ankles, tucking the hems of her pants in at the top and tying the bandages in two tight knots. ‘There we go. Not very attractive, but it does the job.’

‘Goodness, I’m sweating like a pig in all these clothes,’ Cecily muttered. The heat was something else and she felt dizzy and sick.

‘You’ll get used to it, don’t worry. Right, let’s be off.’

They left the shack and walked around the side of it, where Bill was sitting behind the wheel of his old pick-up, with Bobby in his next to it. Cecily’s eyes widened as she saw what could only be described as a real-life version of one of the drawings of a Maasai warrior she’d seen in the books she’d taken out of the library in Manhattan. The Maasai man, who was sitting at the back on the flat area loaded with supplies, nodded at her regally. He clutched a long spear by his side and was dressed in deep red robes that were knotted around his shoulders. His long neck was adorned with multi-coloured bead necklaces and his ears were pierced by several large rings. His face was angular, the dark skin barely lined, and his hair was cropped closely to his scalp and dusted with a reddish powder. Cecily could only guess at his age – he might have been anywhere between twenty and forty.

‘This is Nygasi, a friend of mine,’ said Bill. ‘Climb aboard, ladies.’ Bill indicated that Cecily should sit next to him in the front as Katherine climbed onto the rear seat with Nygasi perched just behind her. She shielded her eyes against the glare of the sun bouncing off Nygasi’s spear, and wondered if he had ever had cause to use it.

‘All ready to go?’ called Bobby from the pick-up beside them. Two more Maasai men were sitting on the rear of his vehicle, also holding spears.

‘Absolutely,’ said Katherine gaily, passing Cecily a flask of water.

‘Only drink what you need. Water is precious out in the Bush at this time of year,’ she advised, which did nothing to calm Cecily’s jangling nerves.

The pick-up’s engine rumbled to life and Cecily clutched onto the seat, praying she wouldn’t be sick, as Bill pushed down on the accelerator and they set off with a lurch.

Driving for what felt like hours through the dusty grassland, eventually the terrain began to subtly alter and grow lusher. It was a wide-open landscape, the vast blue sky skimming the tops of the fever trees on which giraffes nibbled, their tongues curling out as they pulled the branches towards them. The pick-up swerved suddenly, and Cecily could see that they had narrowly avoided running over two hyenas that had dashed past their wheels.

‘Bloody pests!’ Bill swore above the engine noise.