Chapter 14

Kenya, September 1965

Hannah felt helpless. A sense of outrage made her edgy and fretful. Her secure haven had been violated, despoiled by evil, for a reason she could not fathom. She missed the dogs that had always lain at her feet in the evening, thrusting their soft muzzles into her hand. They had been found at daybreak on the morning after the attack, near the gate that led from Lottie’s garden on to the open plains. Their throats had been slit, although it was clear from the glazed eyes and obscenely protruding tongues that they had already been dying from poison. Piet had taken a shovel and buried them in grim silence. Then he had walked away to give the day’s orders to his watu, while Hannah flung a few clothes into a suitcase. He had chartered a small aircraft to fly Lars to the Nairobi hosptial, and the three girls went with him. The farewells at Langani had been quick. Camilla was ashen-faced and trying to cope with a crushing headache, while Sarah was shocked and subdued. Hannah focused her thoughts on Lars and tried to banish her feelings about the assault on her home. But on the following evening, as they gathered in the courtyard at the Norfolk Hotel to say goodbye, Hannah had begun to cry, her anguish pouring out as if something inside her had given way and could not be shored up.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said, gulping for air, rubbing her hand over swollen eyes. ‘But I’m so scared. I’m frightened to go home. I don’t know how I’m going to manage to do it, and it’s so stupid and cowardly. So bloody stupid.’

They had stood with their arms around one another, offering words of comfort and reassurance. They would all be together again soon. It was a promise. Hannah had straightened her shoulders and disappeared into the cottage they had shared, closing the door, so that she would not be there to see them drive away. She had spent several days in Nairobi, staying close to Lars as he lay recovering from his surgery. Now she wished she was back in the hospital room, instead of here in her own sitting room where fear threatened to extinguish her love for her home.

The drive back to Langani had been tense. It had been a bright morning, the air dappled with small clouds racing across the sky. Piet had insisted on coming down to collect her and was deliberately cheerful, whistling through his teeth as they travelled north. But he watched his sister with growing concern as she sat, mute and wan, gazing out the window, making no comment on the landmarks she loved the best. At the farm, Hannah stepped down from the vehicle and greeted the staff. She was determined to be courageous, to stand shoulder to shoulder with Piet and to do whatever was needed to protect their heritage. Just as her great-grandparents and her grandparents and Jan and Lottie had fought for their home and their land. But she did not feel ready for the demands that would now be made of her. She clenched her hands and prayed that she would remain strong, that she would show only loyalty and valour.