She massaged the small of her back, no longer worried at revealing her discomfort. ‘Because you’re worrying about me, aren’t you? It’s making you jumpy. I should not have insisted on us going so far.’

‘All I want is for you to be happy,’ Jack said, tossing the stone away.

Jack looked so serious Kerensa was touched by his concern. With a shy grin he reached for Meryn’s reins to mount and didn’t fully absorb Kerensa’s sudden shrill scream.

He was hurtled forward by a searing pain across the back of his shoulder that forced the hazel stem out of his hand. Kerensa screamed again as she was roughly pulled off Kernick to the ground. The attack happened so quickly there was no time for her to flee or for Jack to put up a fight. The three men they had seen on the cart track earlier had crept up on their bellies behind the cover of a stretch of wild hedge.

Kerensa’s arms were pinioned cruelly behind her and she was forced to watch as Jack was kicked and punched to the ground. She could hear his bones cracking as two of the assailants laid into him with their fists, their feet and the stick he had dropped. They struck his back, chest, legs and head. She screamed throughout the vicious beating, hearing it echoing back until Jack stopped crying and groaning and lay still.

‘Jack! Jack! No! Oh no!’

A heavy slap across her mouth quietened Kerensa to a whimper. Her hat was torn from her head and a cruel hand grasped the back of her neck.

‘Leave me be!’ she cried, kicking out with her feet.

Her attacker thrust her against Kernick’s flank and looked her up and down. ‘Yer a plucky one,’ he sneered, his watery eyes taking in her heavily swollen middle.

‘’Ere, yer not thinkin’ of doin’ nothin’ to ’er, are ’ee, Dando?’ one of the other men growled before giving Jack one last kick in the gut and leaving his inert body to stain the dusty track a liquid red.

‘Naw, t’wouldn’t be much fun with ’er like this,’ Dando replied gruffly, his evil breath swamping Kerensa’s face. She tried unsuccessfully to turn away from him.

‘So she’s stuffed up, that gonna stop either of ’ee?’ the third man sniggered. ‘She’s some beautiful.’

‘You filthy animals, you savages!’ Kerensa shrieked at them. ‘Keep away from me!’

Dando suddenly let her go and clutching her stomach Kerensa moaned and sank to the ground. She kept her eyes rooted in fear and anger on his coarse ugly face.

‘About ready to drop un, are ’ee?’ he asked in mocking tones.

‘Yes,’ she answered defiantly, flinging up her chin, ‘and if you lay a finger on me my husband will have all three of you hung!’