Page 146 of The Sun Sister

‘Cecily, it’s Kiki. Can I come in?’

‘No,’ Cecily whispered to herself, shaking her head from side to side as she heard the door behind her open and then close again softly.

‘Oh, my poor darling, my angel...What is it?’

‘Please, Kiki, I’m begging you, just leave me alone...’

‘What is it that Dr Boyle told you? Is it terminal? Why, I just saw him in the hallway when I arrived here for breakfast...I’ll go fetch him now and ask him myself.’

‘No!’ Cecily sat upright, wiping her eyes. ‘Please, Kiki, there’s no need to do that. The problem I have is not’ – Cecily swallowed hard – ‘terminal or life-threatening.’

‘Okay.’ Kiki took another step towards her. ‘So you don’t have malaria?’

‘No.’

‘Or cholera?’

‘No.’

‘Or cancer?’

‘No, Kiki. I promise you, Dr Boyle confirmed that I’m not sick. Please don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.’

‘Of course I worry about you, sweetie, you’re my beloved goddaughter. And I’m responsible for you while you’re here. I haven’t been very good at looking after you recently, have I?’

Cecily, who still had her eyes firmly shut, could hear Kiki breathing above her and smell her perfume, which made her feel immediately sick.

‘So, what did Dr Boyle say to upset you so?’

Again, Cecily gave a shake of her head and remained silent. Which engendered silence from above.

‘So, the symptoms you have are dizziness and nausea,’ Kiki said after a pause. ‘Along with exhaustion, right?’

‘Really, Kiki, I’m feeling much better. I...’

Kiki laid a gentle hand on Cecily’s arm and Cecily felt her sit down on the bed behind her.

‘He’s told you you’re pregnant, hasn’t he?’

Cecily squeezed her eyes shut even tighter so the tears couldn’t dribble out. Maybe if she played dead, Kiki would just go away and leave her alone.

‘Sweetie, I know you must be in a terrible state of shock, but you know what? I’ve been where you are at this moment. It’s mighty scary, but we’re going to find a way through this together. You hear me? Cecily?’

She felt Kiki shake her gently, and she managed a miserable nod.

‘So, let’s get you out of here. Aleeki is outside with the car. Tarquin was called back to Nairobi last night after the terrible news about Hitler and has to stay on to do whatever an army captain does in these situations. So you and I will go back to Mundui House together. Okay?’

Cecily shrugged, feeling like a spoilt child, when she really wasn’t. She heard Kiki moving around the room.

‘Come on, sweetie, I have your day clothes here. You need to put them on and then we can go home.’

‘I’m so ashamed, Kiki,’ she moaned. ‘What if Dr Boyle has told all those people out there? Everyone who is anyone around here could know already.’

‘I swear to you that Dr Boyle is the soul of discretion. Some of the things he could have told everyone about me, he never did. Come on now. Let’s get you up and dressed.’

Common sense prevailed and with Kiki’s help, Cecily put on her blouse and skirt, packed her case and, while Kiki spoke to Ali, Aleeki met her at the door then escorted her to the Bugatti. Cecily slid down the back seat, just in case anyone decided to come peering in through the windows.

‘We’re all set, now let’s go,’ Kiki said, getting into the front with Aleeki.