Mma Holonga nodded, but in a rather distracted fashion. “Yes, Mma. That may be quite true, but I think that my problem remains. I must tell you what happened when I let it be known that I was looking for a suitable husband. A very interesting thing happened.” She paused. “But would you pour me more of that tea, Mma? It is very fine tea and I am thirsty again.”

“It is bush tea,” said Mma Ramotswe as she reached for the tea-pot. “Mma Makutsi-my assistant-and I drink bush tea because it helps us to think.”

Mma Holonga raised her refilled cup to her lips and drained it noisily.

“I shall buy bush tea instead of ordinary tea,” she said. “I shall put honey in it and drink it every day.”

“That would be a very good thing to do,” said Mma Ramotswe. “But what about this husband business? What happened?”

Mma Holonga frowned. “It is very difficult for me,” she said. “When word got round, then I received many telephone calls. Ten, twenty calls. And they were all from men.”

Mma Ramotswe raised an eyebrow. “That is a large number of men,” she said.

Mma Holonga nodded. “Of course, I realised that some of them were no good right there and then. One even telephoned from the prison and the telephone was snatched away from him. And one was only a boy, about thirteen or fourteen, I think. But I agreed to see the others, and from these I ended up with a list of four.”

“That is a good number to choose from,” said Mma Ramotswe. “Not too large a list of men, but not too small.”

Mma Holonga seemed pleased by this. She looked at Mma Ramotswe uncertainly. “You do not think it strange to have a list, Mma? Some of my friends…”

Mma Ramotswe raised a hand to interrupt her.