They lay on the ground, side by side. Sarah could see the rage in Piet’s face, the veins standing out on his forehead and neck. The leader of the gang picked up a Persian rug and hurled it across the room. It landed on top of them all, leaving them choking and coughing in a fog of dust and darkness. For a long time Sarah remained still, her head turned to one side, her eyes closed, listening to the sounds of destruction all around her. Books were swept from shelves, glass crashed on to the floor around them. In the bedrooms clothing and linen were grabbed in armfuls from wooden chests that had travelled long ago on swaying ox wagons, to this untamed place of hope and renewal. Time and again they heard footsteps, stamping up and down the steps of the verandah as the contents of the house were removed. When they heard the sound of a car door slamming, and voices raised in discussion, they prayed that the raid was over. But the men returned to the house yet again, to continue their plunder.

‘Help me get free,’ Piet whispered. ‘They haven’t tied your hands so tight, Hannah. Roll closer to me, and see if you can’t undo this wire.’

‘No. If they think you’re trying to put up a fight they’ll kill you, for sure. Stay still, Piet. Please, stay still. It’s our only hope.’ She pressed her face into her shoulder to muffle any sound, trying to still her panic-ridden limbs, to stop them from shaking.

‘What happened to the staff?’ Piet’s muttered question was bewildered and furious. ‘And the dogs. They must have got rid of the dogs.’

Beside him Sarah was rigid with fear, praying that they would not die, at the very moment when she had begun to hope again. She turned her head towards Camilla, prone and unmoving on the other side of her.

‘Are you all right? What about your head?’

‘It’s bleeding,’ Camilla whispered. ‘Don’t worry about it. Just pray for us all. Oh God, they’re back. Don’t let us die here, please.’

They heard the sound of footsteps in the room and then the rug was thrown back, leaving them blinking and exposed in the sudden light.

‘Get up.’ One of the men kicked Piet, turning him over on his back and then stooping down to drag him to his feet. ‘You come with us, open the place with the guns. And money. You have a safe with money. Untie his legs.’

‘No. No, he can give you the keys. Please, just take the keys,’ Hannah implored, unable to control her weeping.

They ignored her desperate plea, and she listened as her brother was pushed, stumbling, out into the night. For a long time a heavy silence blanketed the room so that they could hear only their own frightened, shallow breathing.