Page 213 of The Sun Sister

‘Absolutely, and besides, Nygasi will be here to oversee things whilst we’re in Nairobi.’

‘Oh Bill, I can’t go tomorrow. I want to make sure with my own eyes that she’ll take care of Stella properly.’

‘My instinct is that the woman is a trustworthy soul, who has had a difficult time of it. I suggest we leave Stella in the nursery with Lankenua now and have an early night.’ He smiled down at her. ‘Then see how she’s got on in the morning.’

‘Okay.’ Cecily took the hint and nodded shyly. With Bill’s arm draped across her shoulders, they both walked back towards the house.

So began a new era for Cecily. Having seen that Lankenua was already in love with Stella, she accompanied Bill to the races in Nairobi. The fact that her clothes were two years out of date and that her hair was not cut in the latest fashion didn’t matter a damn because Bill told her she looked beautiful anyway. And after long, warm nights of lovemaking in his cell-like room at Muthaiga Club, she felt as gorgeous as Diana, whose affair with Joss was now common knowledge. Cecily and Bill joined them to dine one night, and Jock sat next to her – the cuckold in the nest, as Bill called him – slowly getting drunker. No one at the club seemed to turn a hair at what was happening.

‘They’re all used to Joss and his ways, darling,’ Bill said with a shrug. (Cecily just loved it when he called her ‘darling’.)

She was persuaded to stay on for New Year’s Eve and met her godmother at the big party held at the club.

‘Why, sweetie! You look positively radiant!’ Kiki enveloped her in a cloud of perfume and cigarette smoke. ‘But you do need to update your wardrobe,’ she whispered into her ear. ‘I’ll give you the address of a little place I know that sells the most fabulous clothes, copied from the latest Parisian catwalks. And you must meet Fitzpaul and Princess Olga of Yugoslavia – they’re staying with me whilst this wretched war continues. Come over one weekend and we’ll have a house party!’

Cecily agreed, knowing that Kiki would probably forget all about the invitation. Despite her outwardjoie de vivre, and perfect make-up, her godmother had dark rings under her lovely eyes and her hand shook as she put her cigarette holder to her lips.

‘Must you go home?’ Bill asked Cecily as they lay in bed naked, listening to the party still continuing well into the early hours of 1941.

‘You know I must, Bill. I haven’t seen Stella for days. She might forget who I am.’

‘As long as babies are fed and their napkins are changed, they don’t care who is providing the service,’ he commented. ‘Or at least that’s what my old nanny used to say.’

‘I’m sure your nanny was right in a way, but I do believe Stella will be missing me. Besides, you’ll be back to work and what will I have to do all day here?’

‘True. Well,’ he said, kissing her on the forehead, ‘you run back to your baby and your cabbages, and I’ll join you as soon as I can.’

Cecily left the following morning, the trunk of Katherine’s pick-up chock-full of the ready-to-wear clothes Cecily had bought from the boutique Kiki had recommended in Nairobi.

‘Wasn’t that fun?’ Katherine yawned as they headed out of Nairobi, her stomach straining against the steering wheel.

‘Do you want me to drive, Katherine?’

‘Goodness, no, and most of it isn’t the baby, just blubber,’ she said. ‘I must say, I’ll be glad to get back home; all that partying has quite worn me out. Bill seemed to enjoy himself too – he’s always been such a stick in the mud about such events. Obviously you two are getting along awfully well just now – your husband looks like the cat who got the cream. You walking into his life was the best thing that ever happened to him.’

‘And I feel the same about him walking into mine,’ Cecily smiled. ‘I’ll miss him while he’s away.’

‘That’s the first time I’ve heard you say that, and I couldn’t be happier for both of you.’

And indeed, once Katherine had dropped her and her purchases off at Paradise Farm and had been introduced to Lankenua, Kwinet and Stella – the latter of whom she had cooed over endlessly – Cecily, with the baby in her arms, waved Katherine off and thought that she really couldn’t be happier either.

Over the next few weeks, Bill did his best to get home as often as he could, sometimes arriving late at night and leaving again at dawn. During those nights, Cecily installed Lankenua and Stella in one of the spare rooms – she point-blank refused to countenance Stella sleeping in the barn – so that she and Bill wouldn’t be disturbed.

The more she got to know Lankenua, who she’d worked out must be around the same age as herself, the more she began to trust and like her. She was a fast learner and after less than a month was already able to present a decent roast chicken dinner and a curry (even though she had mistakenly strangled one of Cecily’s precious chickens instead of taking the one from the refrigerator). Kwinet was also proving very useful in the garden, as Cecily taught him how to care for the different varieties of plants and vegetables. She had only needed to reprimand him once, when she went out onto the veranda to see the two scrawny cows grazing in the centre of her front lawn. On the whole, he was a sweet boy, and the regular nourishment he now received daily was filling out his hollowed cheeks. Lankenua was also endlessly gentle with Stella, which gave Cecily the confidence to drive down to Nairobi on occasions when Bill couldn’t make it home.

In the last week of January, Lankenua woke Cecily with a knock on her bedroom door.

‘Come, Missus Cecily.’ Lankenua mimed a telephone receiver held up to her ear. Cecily put on her robe and padded along the corridor to take the call.

‘Hello, darling, it’s Bill here,’ her husband’s voice crackled down the line. ‘I just wanted to warn you that I’ll be home late tonight. Something bloody awful has happened.’

‘What?’

‘Joss has had a motoring accident out near Diana and Jock’s house in Karen. He’s broken his neck apparently...Oh God, Cecily...Joss is dead!’

‘Oh no!’ Cecily bit her lip. She knew that Bill adored Joss, despite his friend’s appalling antics with women. ‘I...is there anything I can do?’

‘No. Obviously I’ll have to take over his duties here whilst they sort everything out. I’m going to drive over to the mortuary now to...see the old chap and say goodbye,’ Bill added, his voice breaking.