The Sun Sister (The Seven Sisters #6) - Lucinda Riley Page 0,216

has a certain allure, I suppose, but her eyes are cold and that red lipstick she insists on wearing all the time is rather vulgar.’

‘Oh, really?’ Cecily was secretly pleased.

‘It couldn’t be more obvious what’s going on, could it?’ Bill continued. ‘A young woman like that marrying a man like Jock – it all smacks of a gold digger. Jock might be a bore, but he doesn’t deserve to be treated that way by his wife. No wonder Joss was so eager to bring his “new friends” – or should I say “friend” – to stay! Right, I’ve had Nygasi stock up the pick-ups with the usual supplies. As soon as you and Diana are ready, we’ll leave. I’ll see you outside.’

‘Okay.’ Cecily went to the closet to retrieve her safari boots, wondering at the fact that her husband didn’t seem to have fallen under Diana’s spell. Or did he protest too much . . .?

Whilst Nygasi and his fellow Maasai took the pick-up stocked with rifles and supplies, Cecily found herself squeezed in the back of the other pick-up with Joss and Diana, whilst Jock sat next to Bill in the front. Cecily turned to look out at the view of the landscape, tactfully attempting to avoid the view to her right which encompassed Joss’s hand snaking up the inside of Diana’s thigh. As Joss began openly nuzzling Diana’s neck, Cecily sat in an agony of suspense that Jock would turn round at any moment and catch them.

When they arrived at the chosen spot for the day, Nygasi and the Maasai began to set up camp.

‘Is Njala okay alone?’ Cecily made a beeline for him.

‘Njala mother come last night. She okay. Woman’s work now,’ Nygasi said as he unloaded the folding chairs, table and hampers.

‘Which would suit me best?’ Diana arrived next to them and picked up one of the rifles. ‘This one maybe?’ She lifted it into position on her slender shoulder. ‘Yes, this is perfect. Don’t you just love shooting, Cecily?’

‘As a matter of fact, I don’t. I nearly got eaten by a lion on my first game drive, but Bill saved me.’

‘How awfully romantic. I’ve only been out on a couple of safaris since I arrived and I had to save dear old Jock from a lion myself, didn’t I, darling?’ She gave a tinkling laugh. ‘Let’s hope we get some sport today.’

Cecily was happy to stay in the camp under the shade of the trees with the other Maasai on guard, as Nygasi led the rest of the party into the Bush. She saw a large snake slithering along the ground only a few yards from her. Quietly tucking her feet up onto the folding chair, she watched it as it went on its way. She pondered how, only a year ago, she would have screamed in fright at the sight of it, but as it passed her by disinterestedly, she realised how her time in Kenya had changed her. Snakes were commonplace, and she’d learnt from Bill and Katherine to spot which ones were benign, and which ones weren’t.

She gazed at the plain spread out in front of her, the azure sky meeting it on the horizon. A herd of wildebeest loped by in the distance. The rains had brought everything to lush, green life and the watering holes were bustling with animals, thirsty after a long dry season.

‘This is my home,’ she said in sudden wonder. ‘I live here in Africa. Who’d have thought it?’

And in that moment, as she took in the sheer magnificence of the natural beauty around her, Cecily felt she was finally beginning to recover.

The others came back for a late lunch of champagne and fresh antelope meat, which Nygasi cooked expertly on a spit.

‘How was the game drive?’ asked Cecily politely, even though it was obvious by the zebra and the Thompson’s gazelles they had dragged back that it had been a success.

‘It was a glorious day for it,’ Bill said as they heard the buzz of a plane circling above them. ‘One of the reconnaissance lot returning from the border,’ he remarked. ‘Just to remind us there’s a war on.’

‘Bally sight better here than it is in Blighty, I can tell you,’ said Jock, meat juices dribbling from his lips as he spoke. ‘Doubt we’ll get more action today with those buggers frightening the animals. Where have Diana and Joss got to?’

‘They went to see if they could spot any elephants,’ Bill replied smoothly. ‘Nygasi said a