Bill picked up his cup and held it in both hands, listening to the young man describing his considerations and the station. East Africa was... peaceful, right? It sounded fairly peaceful. Good. If nothing else, it seemed like John's superiors had his back, keeping him out of prison and signing off on him and all that. They wouldn't put him in a particularly dangerous situation, surely.

John's last sentence was lost over the noise of Bill's cup shattering on the kitchen floor. Hot tea hit his trouser leg, but Bill didn't notice. He swayed for a moment. His heart had stopped. He was going to die. This was it. But though his vision went dark for a second, he still stood, leaning against the cupboards for support. His heart hadn't stopped. He was still alive, still in the kitchen, still with John and the unmentionable now out in the open. His shin hurt but the pain was all that kept him rooted. "How do you know?" he whispered. Lottie! Lottie had broken her promise!