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periods of companionship as much as anyone else.”
    He really was a maddening sort of man, Kerry decided. Minutes ago they had been so close talking about books. Now a wide gulf had opened between them.
    “Well, I’m all for companionship,” she said. “So long as it doesn’t get out of hand.”
    She had had enough of cheats. Some airline crew members took full advantage of stopovers abroad. And it wasn’t just the men. Early in her career she had room-shared with her supervisor, an older married woman. After sharing a bottle of wine at dinner they had retired early. On her way to the shower, Kerry had been propositioned. Wash your back? No, thank you. Later she had awoken to find she was not alone in bed. Chad was not married – so he had no one to cheat on. Still, Kerry wanted to relax and enjoy the next three weeks. She hoped her none too subtle hint had got the message across.
    However, she had touched a nerve. “I thought we’d covered this subject up front,” Chad thundered. “For God’s sake, stop acting like I’m a sex attacker out on parole. You’re here of your own free will. Don’t make me regret inviting you along.”
    His strength of feeling shocked her. Perhaps she had been too hard on him.
    “I’m glad that we understand one another,” she said, not sure that she believed what she was saying.
    ***
    That afternoon in Bulawayo they walked through a sun-filled park full of a glorious array of spring flowers. Nearby was a museum which provided more insight into the district’s history.
    Later as they relaxed over Cape brandies after dinner, Kerry asked, “Why are you especially looking for leopards this trip?”
    “I’ve received commissions to paint them. People admire them for their stealth and beauty. Old-time hunters rated them more dangerous than lions.”
    “Why? Lions are bigger, stronger, with a more powerful bite.”
    “Leopards are solitary cats, usually met unexpectedly, and their claws can disembowel a man in seconds. They’re widespread – found across much of Africa, Asia and into China – yet are so elusive they’re rarely seen. How’s your eyesight? Can you get out of bed before dawn?”
    “Good . . .  and maybe.”
    “No maybe, baby.” The South African smiled. “It’s essential we’re on the move at first light when the animals themselves are active. You’ll search one side of the road. I’ll take the other.”
    “Where do we look?”
    “Trees. They spend a lot of time above ground. Ideally, I’d like to photograph one slumped along a bough, tail and legs hanging.”
    “But there are plenty of such photos in books and picture libraries.”
    He nodded. “True, but if you’ve been there, experienced it, you remember it all when creating the painting: the heat, the sun’s position, wind direction, birdsong, the zing of insects . . . the way he moved his head when he knew he’d been spotted.”
    “Chad, you can’t possibly get any of that, except the sun, into a painting. Please don’t think I’m being difficult – I just want to know.”
    The South African took a swallow of brandy. “It’s something not easily put into words. Hemingway once said that the more a writer knew about the subject he was writing about, the more he could leave out without damaging the story. It’s the same for the artist – you can never know enough about your subject.”
    “The Ritz Hotel in Paris has a Hemingway room. I visited the city last year.”
    “He knew painters there in the 1920s. Gertrude Stein was a friend – she had one of the great private art collections. He claimed to have learned how to describe country by studying the work of early Impressionists . . . any clearer now?”
    She smiled. “I may think of other questions.”
    “Anytime.”
    “I hope we get the pictures you want.”
    “Always bear in mind this is a working trip. Leopards are mostly nocturnal, most often seen in the early morning returning from the hunt.”
    “I get the message: no