It was only a temporary measure. The Mau Mau would soon shove their way through. But it would buy a few precious seconds.

Then Mpishi heard Gerhard calling his name. He turned around.

Leon was lying on the floor. There was a small, neat hole in the base of his back. And a pool of blood was pouring out from beneath his body and spreading in a rich crimson pool across the polished wood floor.

Once Harriet Courtney had settled the children in the wine cellar, which was tucked away at the furthest, coolest corner of the basement, she had turned out the lights. She did not want to risk the chance that one of the Mau Mau might venture downstairs and see the faintest glimmer to suggest that someone might be hiding down there.

She had hoped, though she knew she was asking too much, that the darkness might soothe two exhausted children and send them off to sleep. But there was no chance of that. They could hear the gunfire, the shouts and the screams coming from up above them. Small boys in Kenya told one another blood-curdling stories about the bestiality of the Mau Mau and now, for Zander, those stories were coming true. Kika was only in her first year at nursery school. She had no idea who the Mau Mau were or what they might do. But the sounds from upstairs were as terrifying to her as to her brother. The two of them were crying out for their mother and saying that they wanted to get out of this horrid place and asking, ‘Why won’t the bad men just go away?’

Harriet had no answer for them. She was as frightened as they were. But the need to look after the children and keep them quiet occupied her mind enough to keep the feeling of panic at bay.

The far end of the cellar, opposite the door, was lined from floor to ceiling with wine racks. But there was room on one of the side walls for Harriet to sit on the floor, with her back to a wall and the children to either side of her. She cuddled them close, stroked their hair and told them to be as quiet as little mice who didn’t want a cat to find them.

Gradually, Zander and Kika became calmer and as they did, the sound of fighting ebbed away and a brief moment of peace descended upon the cellar.

In that moment, Harriet heard something. It was the clatter of heavy, nailed boots on a hard surface, and more than one set of footsteps. A sudden glow from beneath the wine cellar door indicated that the basement lights had been turned on. There were other people down there. And they were heading for the wine cellar.

Maina Mwangi had been given a special task by Kabaya: to lead five men around the far side of the house, where no truck had gone, and see if he could find a way in. De Lancey had told Kabaya that there were no ground floor windows on this side of the building.