9
Walking with Mary in the early morning through the fringe of uncultivated jungle beyond the plantation, Jasmine’s heart lightened with every step. Her sense of liberation grew. Those last weeks in Nairobi had been like wading through a sea of sludge, every day dragging her down, threatening to submerge and suffocate her.
It was not because of her family. She loved them all dearly. Her adored little brother, Hugh, her only living blood relative, Mummy, whom she loved more than anyone else in her life, and Arthur, who had become a steady presence in a world in which Jasmine felt increasingly disorientated. No, it was not any failing in her family. Jasmine knew she was loved and she loved them in return, all too aware she was fortunate. Yet she still had an uncomfortable feeling of being
