But Harriet saw them and gave a gasp of alarm as she followed Gerhard into the kitchen.

He looked around, searching for any kind of refuge. By the sink, Mashraf was shouting, ‘Hold your fire!’ to one of the totos, who had wasted a bullet firing at one of the Mau Mau, who were popping up at random intervals in the window or the doorway, tempting the defenders to waste ammunition. The stove was once again the site of great activity as the maids heated up any liquid they could get their hands on to fling at the enemy.

Gerhard decided that the storeroom could offer sanctuary, and let Harriet in.

He stopped and tried to warn her. But it was too late. Harriet had seen Leon lying in one corner of the room and heard him moaning in pain as Mary tried to staunch the flow of blood from his belly with nothing more than a pitcher of water and a pile of old dishcloths. Mpishi was trying to get Leon to drink some brandy to lessen the pain.

Harriet put Kika on the floor and rushed to her husband’s side, while Gerhard took the children to the other side of the room.

‘What’s the matter with Grandpa?’ Zander asked.

‘He’s hurt himself,’ Gerhard replied.

‘Did the Mau Mau do it?’

It was a bit late now to shield the children from the truth, so Gerhard said, ‘Yes.’

‘Were the men in the cellar Mau Mau?’

‘That’s right.’

‘But you shot them.’

Zander held out his hand like a pistol, with two fingers for the barrel, and made shooting noises.

‘That’s enough,’ Gerhard told him. ‘You settle down here. I’ve got to go back outside.’

‘Are you going to shoot more Mau Mau?’

‘Probably – but don’t think about that. You just look after Kika, and Granny Harriet will soon be back to take care of you both. All right?’

‘Yes, Daddy.’

‘Kika?’

The little girl’s thumb was in her mouth and she couldn’t talk, so she nodded.

On the way out he said to Harriet, ‘I’m so sorry.’ He added, ‘Do you still have the gun. I’m going to need it.’

‘Take it,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t use it. And this . . .’ She passed Gerhard the bag.

‘Thanks.’ He grabbed the spare rounds from the bag and stuffed them into a pocket. ‘I’ll make sure I keep three spare. One for you too, if you need it.’

Harriet gave a nod of the head, caught Mpishi’s eye and said, ‘You go with Bwana Meerbach. I will take care of Bwana Courtney.’

‘Yes, memsahib,’ Mpishi said and hurried to catch up with Gerhard.

There was a sudden firecracker burst of gunfire from the hall. A woman started screaming.

Jane Sharpe was lying across the floor, outside the kitchen door, stone dead from the bullet that had blown her brains out. Sophie Courtney was desperately trying to regather her composure. Tommy Sharpe was screaming insults up the stairs as he emptied a three-round magazine and reached for another.