‘I saw your interview on the rushes.’

‘Yes, I thought that might have something to do with your dropping in.’ He sipped the Scotch, feeling it tingle, familiar and unfamiliar, against his tongue. ‘For which I’m very grateful.’

The smile turned into a laugh. ‘Friend, I could scarcely believe my eyes! To see Andrew Leedon buying a monkey’s penis from a juju stall.’

‘That was it, was it? They told me it was something one bought to bring one luck.’

‘I suppose that is true, in one sense.’ Abonitu’s face relaxed into the somewhat anxious solemnity which was normal to it. ‘You need not worry, Andrew. It will not be screened. I had you cut out altogether.’

Andrew shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t have minded. Do I have to give the pound back? I’m afraid it’s mostly spent.’

‘Andrew, it distresses me to find you like this. Believe me, this is so. When I saw your face on the monitor screen … I wished to find you, you understand, and yet the thought embarrassed me – to think that you might be embarrassed. Is this clear to you?’

‘Roughly. You need not have worried, though. Embarrassment only afflicts those who are still managing to keep up appearances.’