Chapter 26 Summary

Isabel phones Amal in Tawasi to announce she is three-months pregnant and madly happy. 'Omar is concerned over his age, and Amal is giving him plenty of space. Amal imagines how trapped her brother must be feeling and concerned how his grown children will react. He cannot have broken the news about Jasmine, Amal is sure. 'Omar will not appreciate the thought of being father and grandfather in one, so Amal convinces herself anew he is not Isabel's father. Isabel cannot make plans to return to Egypt and asks Amal to come to her.

Amal tells Isabel she is near the end of the story. Cromer has resigned and four official political parties have been allowed to form. Anna's journal speaks: Sharif has joined no party. The Party of the Nation would be the most natural, but unaffiliated, he can write without restriction...