sat down again. Both of them were breathing heavily. The ship, out to sea, had moved on, almost out of sight.
“Are you … are you frightened?”
She didn’t reply straight away. “A bit.”
“I can sleep on this chair, if you want—right outside your door—if that will make you feel safer.” He moved his chair closer to hers. “Of course, you’d be safer still if I was in the room with you. Think of it as my gift.” He grinned, lifted her hand, and kissed it.
“I thought you might say that.” She put her hand on his forehead. “I think the sun’s got to you, too.” She ran her fingers down his cheek. “But as it happens, on this occasion, I agree with you.”
10
WOUNDED
“Good morning, everyone, and thank you for coming. I think we are about ready to begin, if you’d all like to sit down.”
Eleanor stood on the low stage in front of the gentle rake of seats in the main lecture hall in the Royal College in Nairobi. With her silver hair in the tightest of chignons, her crisp white shirt, and her wrap-over khaki skirt, Natalie thought she looked more French than ever.
The lecture hall had no windows, so it was cool. Huge saucer-shaped lights hung from black cables anchored in the wooden ceiling. A silver-white screen stood behind the stage. There were already fifty people in the room and more were still arriving.
Eleanor sat down at a long table, with microphones at the center. Natalie sat on her left, Daniel on her right, with Jonas Jefferson on his right. Most of the people in the room—though by no means all—were white. Jack, Christopher, and Arnold were in the front row. And in the second was—Russell North.
The evening before, Natalie, Jack, Christopher, Eleanor, and the rest of the team had eaten dinner together at a restaurant near the Rhodes Hotel after their meeting to discuss how the press conference should proceed. Natalie and Jack had just flown in from Lamu, Jack once again parking his Comanche where he could get a good look at the private jets on show at Nairobi International. Christopher and his mother had stayed behind with Daniel to discuss the slides they were going to show. Arnold and Jonas had gone off in search of a late-night beer, leaving Natalie and Jack to stroll back together to the hotel. In the lobby they had bumped into Russell.
“My God,” Natalie had said. “This is a surprise.”
Russell hadn’t replied immediately. He towered over them like a bear. “I’m here for the press conference,” he had said at length. “Was anyone going to tell me? Or has my contribution been forgotten already?” His face was flushed.
“California is twelve thousand miles from Kenya, Professor North,” said Jack. “No one imagined you would want to make such a long journey for a two-hour press conference. But you don’t need to worry, your part will get its proper due. I wrote the words myself.”
“Hmm,” grunted Russell. He addressed himself to Natalie. “You look more lovely than ever. Are we going to get a chance to talk?” He pointedly ignored Jack.
“Yes, of course,” said Natalie.
“When?”
There it was, the same directness, the same edge, the same stampede. Russell hadn’t changed.
“Sometime tomorrow? After the conference?”
“Dinner?”
She glanced at Jack.
“Do you need his permission now?”
“Steady—” Jack put his hand on Russell’s arm.
“I’m talking to her!” Russell shook it off.
He stared at her, unflinching. “Well?”
Natalie slowly looked from Russell to Jack. “When do we fly back to the gorge?”
“Not for a day or two, not till we have seen the press reaction to the conference.”
She had nodded, and said to Russell, “Then I’d love to.”
“Good, let’s meet here in the bar, at seven. We can have another whiskey session.” He had smiled but disappeared without saying anything more.
Natalie and Jack had stood awkwardly in the lobby for a moment.
“Nightcap?” Jack had said eventually.
“No,” she replied softly. “We all have to be at our best tomorrow, the future of the gorge may depend on it, on how we perform. Your mother said she wants me up there on the stage with her, so I’m going to bed now. I’m going to brush my hair for a couple of minutes, as I always do, and then I’m going to sleep. I want the full eight hours tonight, so I’m spick and span in the morning.”
“I get the message,” Jack had said. “I’ll have a nightcap and try to relive last night.” He kissed her on the cheek and went