Page 77 of The Sun Sister

‘So you’re just back here visiting family?’ Cecily took a bite of a cucumber sandwich from the silver stand she was offered by the houseboy.

‘Actually, I’m back for good. My father originally came over as a missionary with my mother before I was born; sadly my mother died a few years back, but Daddy is still very much alive and my fiancé, Bobby Sinclair, lives here. After we’re married, I’ll move to Bobby’s parents’ farm – they moved back to Blighty some years ago – and together we intend to build the cattle herd back up, as well as renovate their archaic house.’ Katherine smiled fondly across the table at a stout man with a sun-weathered face and dark hair that had the odd thread of grey running through it.

‘How did you meet?’

‘I knew Bobby as a child when I lived out here. He’s ten years older than me, but I always adored him from afar. You could never get rid of me when I was home from school for the holidays, could you, darling?’ she called to him.

‘Aye, and isn’t that the truth.’ Bobby smiled back at his fiancée. ‘She was like a wee limpet, she was, always calling round to see if I’d take her swimming in the river. Who’da thought we’d end up getting wed one day?’

The affection between the two of them was obvious, and the fact they had known each other since childhood and were to marry soon brought back an image of Jack. Cecily forced herself to remember the vow she had made to herself as she’d looked down at the plains of Africa while the aircraft carried her further away from the two men who had destroyed her faith in romance; love, with all the joy and pain it could hold, was something she was in no hurry to experience again.

‘How long are you here for?’ she heard Katherine asking her.

‘Oh, I...I’m not sure. A few weeks, I should think.’

‘Well, if you’re still in the country, you must come to our wedding. We’re desperate for anyone under the age of fifty, aren’t we, Bobby?’

‘Oh aye, and I hope you’re including me in that category, despite my grey hairs.’

‘I’d be delighted to come if I’m able, thank you.’ Cecily lowered her voice. ‘Do you by any chance know where the, uh...?’

‘Oh, the lavatory, you mean? Of course I do. Come on, I’ll take you.’

Cecily followed Katherine towards the house, hearing laughter from the table as Kiki’s champagne began to flow. The interior was beautifully cool, if chaotic, what with dogs running between their legs, and books and papers strewn on top of what looked like some fine but dusty antique furniture.

Once she’d relieved herself and made an effort to tidy herself up, Cecily wandered along the corridor and outside into the courtyard. She could hear raised voices coming from a building to the side of the main house and walked towards it to find it was a kitchen. Katherine was speaking very firmly (and fluently) in a foreign language to a slovenly-looking Negro woman, who, from the fact she was wearing an apron, was obviously a cook or a maid. Even though Cecily couldn’t understand a word of what was going on, it was clear they were disagreeing about something. The woman was gesticulating, but Katherine seemed as though she was having none of it.

Katherine saw her standing there, said her last few words to the woman, then walked towards Cecily.

‘By golly, did you see the state of that kitchen? It’s disgusting! No wonder poor Alice has had pains in her stomach.’

‘She’s sick?’

‘Yes, and has been for some time. She saw Dr Boyle last week – only because I marched her there myself. He’s sending her to the hospital in Nairobi for further tests. But of course, while the cat’s away and all that...’

‘Excuse me?’

‘What I mean is, Alice hasn’t had her eye on the domestic ball for some time, and with her old housekeeper Noel abandoning ship a few weeks ago, the servants are simply not doing what they should. No matter.’ Katherine smiled at Cecily as they walked back towards the terrace. ‘Alice has asked me to stay here while she’s in Nairobi, so I’ll soon be knocking them into shape, that’s for sure.’

‘Have you known Alice a long time?’

‘Since I was tiny, yes. My mother was a friend of hers, which, now that I look back on it, was actually odd, given the fact they were so frightfully different.’

‘In what way?’

‘Well, Alice was a rich heiress and certainly played her part in the hedonistic lifestyle of the Valley, and my mother was a plain-speaking woman, married to a penniless Scottish missionary. I think it was their love of animals that bonded them – when Alice and her first husband were travelling abroad, my mother would come here with me to earn a little extra as a housekeeper and look after the menagerie. Well now,’ Katherine said as they reached the table and sat down, ‘perhaps you could come and visit me here when Alice is in hospital?’

‘I’d love to,’ Cecily said, as they sat back down at the table. She was liking Katherine more and more.

‘Look, little Minnie has taken a shine to you,’ Alice called to her as a small dachshund jumped up onto Cecily’s knee. ‘Animals always know who the good people are,’ she remarked as she poured herself more champagne. Once again, Cecily refused the offer of a glass of ‘bubbles’, as Alice called it, and turned her attention to the clouds that were settling more heavily on the tops of the mountain range behind the farm.

‘Whoops!’ Katherine stood up as the sapphire sky seemed to darken almost instantaneously and large drops of rain began to fall. ‘Under the veranda, everyone!’ she said as she gathered up as much as she could from the table into one of the baskets. Like a well-oiled machine, the guests moved as one to sit at another table under the overhanging roof as the rain gathered force and began to pelt down around them.

‘It’s only a short shower,’ said Katherine. ‘You wait until therealrainy season arrives in April and the road below us here becomes a sea of red mud that washes down from the hills.’

‘That sounds dramatic,’ said Cecily, ‘but I’m not sure I’ll still be here by then.’

‘Talking of leaving, lassie, we’d better be on our way,’ said Bobby, coming to put a protective arm around Katherine’s shoulders. He was a physical beast of a man, and towered over his wife-to-be.