He nodded, lifted the Sterling to his shoulder and walked towards the kitchen with Saffron beside him and Benjamin, Wambui and the pseudos behind them. They were outnumbered five, even six to one by the Mau Mau. But they had the advantage of surprise and plenty of ammunition.

Maybe we’re going to be on time. Maybe it’s going to be all right, Saffron thought.

And then silence fell on the kitchen. The men nearest the door backed away and the grenade went off.

At least four of the Mau Mau were killed by their own blast. But the rest were running for the open door and suddenly Saffron knew this was the endgame. The battle could still be lost.

She had to stop them before they could get inside the storeroom. She opened fire the way she had been taught at Arisaig, not taking careful aim, but looking at her target and letting the gun follow her eyes.

Look, burst, kill.

Look, burst, kill.

Beside her, Makori was dealing out carnage at a brutal rate. Wambui was shooting like a born marksman. Benjamin had forgotten his oath and his political principles as he took out one man after another. The pseudos were locked in combat with guns and knives.

But though the casualties kept falling, it seemed to make no difference to the men by the door. Saffron saw two faces she recognised, and realised that they belonged to Kungu Kabaya and the sidekick he had brought to the meeting with Jomo Kenyatta. Their attention was focused on killing whoever was in the storeroom.

Saffron felt a desperate hope that her father and Harriet were safe in there, mixed with a terror that all was lost. She swapped magazines, lifted her gun and fired at the two men. Gitiri went down, clutching his chest, high up by one shoulder.

That got Kabaya’s attention. He saw her and shouted orders to his remaining men to turn and face the new enemy. He raised his gun towards Saffron.

She fired a lone sustained burst from her Sten gun that blew Kungu Kabaya’s head to pieces.

Kabaya’s men saw that their leader was dead. They started throwing down their weapons and begging for mercy. Several more of them were shot before Makori shouted, ‘That’s enough!’

Saffron ignored it all. She walked through the storeroom door and saw the vague outlines of people, just discernible in the dust and gloom. It occurred to her: What if they think I’m the enemy?

‘Don’t shoot!’ she cried out. ‘It’s me – Saffron!’

And the first thing she heard was a high, piping voice calling out, ‘Mummy!’

It took a second for Gerhard to realise that he wasn’t dreaming. It was Saffron. She was turning to him and he saw the grim mask of the trained killer disappear as she spotted him and ran towards the corner where he was crouched by the children.