‘All right, I can see — you’re shy! Runny, are you?’ She patted Sarah on the arm and laughed. ‘Goodness, what a thing to be ashamed of! We all get it when we first come out here. Now, this’ll put you right.’ She handed Sarah two bottles — a small one with pills in it, and a larger one full of brown liquid. ‘Two pills now — two before you go to bed — two when you wake up — and two every four hours until it clears up. And take a big slug of the other now.’ She picked up the tooth glass from beside the basin, together with a decanter of mineral water. ‘This ought to seal you up for the next forty-eight hours. I know what these abominable loos are like. I’d be surprised if Shiva Steiner’s were any different.’
Sarah gave a start at the mention of her host’s name, then remembered that the Ambassador’s wife must have known where she was staying to have sent the invitation. She swallowed two of the tablets, and drank an inch of the brown liquid which tasted of chocolate. Both bottles, she noticed suspiciously, had labels printed in Arabic script. She considered mentioning her rash, but before she had time to decide —
‘Sarah Laval-Smith!’ The woman was staring down at her, with no smile now, her face like a slab of pumice stone. ‘Listen, you bloody little fool.’
Sarah felt herself stiffen with a rush of anger. ‘What on earth do you mean by speaking to me like that?’
‘If you were my daughter, young lady —’ the woman’s breath smelled of gin — ‘if you were my daughter, I’d give you a darn good hiding and send you to bed without your dinner. But unfortunately you’re not —’
‘No, I’m not,’ Sarah said furiously, and was turning on her heel, dropping the bottles into her handbag, when the woman grabbed her arm.
‘No, but you are a British subject. And that makes you our responsibility.’
‘I’m perfectly capable of looking after myself, thank you, Mrs Braintree.’ She moved towards the door, but the woman stepped round her and leaned her bulk against it.
‘I’ve got something else to give you, my girl. Good sound advice. And you’re going to stay here for as long as it takes me to give it. Get away from Mr Shiva Steiner. Get away as quickly as you bloody well can. Have you got an air ticket? Or did he fly you here in his jet, like he does most of his girls?’
‘In his jet.’
Mrs Braintree shook her head melodramatically. ‘What on earth is a girl like you doing getting yourself mixed up with a man like that? Your father’s Henry Laval-Smith, of Laval-Smith’s Bank, isn’t he?’
Sarah gaped at her; the sound of her father’s name coming from this grotesque woman, in this unlikely outpost of British territory, shocked her rigid. ‘How do you know?’ she asked, in a weak whisper.
‘Well, it’s hardly a common name, is it, dear? And we do keep a copy of Who’s Who in the Embassy.’
‘What are you warning me against, Mrs Braintree?’
‘Mr Steiner. Are you sleeping with him?’ she added casually.
‘Certainly not.’
Mrs Braintree frowned. ‘That’s rather what I was afraid of. I’d be happier if you were.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘Listen, you silly, spoilt, arrogant little bitch!’ She grabbed Sarah by both shoulders; her face was flushed dark, her eyes bloodshot. ‘You may think I’m just another toothy old hag who spends all her time organizing bridge and cocktail parties, and swapping catty stories with the other Embassy wives. But I also keep my eyes and ears open. The Argentine was good training, with all the kidnappings and terrorism. But let me tell you — even the Argentine had nothing on this place.’ She fixed Sarah with a fierce, sober stare. ‘I suppose, before Shiva Steiner got you out here — for whatever purpose that is — he told you about NAZAK?’
Sarah gave a faint nod.
‘Well, they’re bloody terrifying. And they don’t need any proof against you — just a whiff of suspicion, and you’re likely to be picked up and taken to their headquarters where they go in for things like sticking broken bottles up middle-class girls. With a pretty upper-class girl like you they’d have even more fun.’
‘I don’t understand,’ Sarah replied, with blank innocence.
‘Well, that’s too bad,’ said Mrs Braintree, ‘because I certainly don’t understand. All I know is, a lot of strange rumours have been going around lately, and they all suggest that this country’s on the point of bloody turmoil. And a lot of these rumours concern your friendly host, Mr Shiva Steiner. And if you’re not sharing his bed out here, I’d just like to know what you are doing with him. I expect the two gentlemen in the car across the street would as well.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘When you leave, you’ll see what I mean. They’ll follow you. I’m surprised you didn’t notice them on your way here — or perhaps you weren’t given the right training? It’d be like Steiner to pick some pretty little innocent to do his dirty work. Less chance of your being able to talk afterwards.’
‘Mrs Braintree, I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.’ Sarah spoke with a frightened dignity, ‘And I don’t wish to be rude to you in your own house, but I’m beginning to think you’ve had too much to drink.’
The woman gave a hoarse laugh and took Sarah firmly by the arm. ‘All right, I can’t beat it out of you. And I can’t keep you locked up here, or have you deported. But don’t say I didn’t try to warn you.’
She opened the door, led
