‘You’re trespassing.’ He stopped a few feet in front of her, a squat solid man in a tweedy cap wearing a filthy waxed coat that had seen better days.

‘I… er…’

Didn’t you see the fence? You stupid or something?’

Hannah’s mouth dried.

‘I’m staying at Killorgally.’

‘You’re still trespassing.’

He gestured with the gun and came forward until the barrel actually touched her chest. An unpleasant smirk twisted his mouth.

‘I… I thought this was Killorgally land.’

‘Well, it’s not and this is my fence you’re climbing all over,’ he spat in his thick accent. ‘You’d better not have damaged it.’

‘I’m sorry.’ Her heart banged hard against her ribs. She could feel the press of metal against her stomach but she didn’t dare grasp the long stem of the barrel; the adrenaline that was sending her pulse racing also brought with it an outraged sense of indignation. ‘There’s no need to point a gun at me.’ Her voice came out considerably stronger and more authoritative than she felt and it made her a touch braver. She lifted her chin and said with a haughty stare, ‘I’m hardly a poacher or anything. I’m just going for a walk. I don’t think you have any right to threaten me.’ Actually, she had no idea. Was the law in Ireland the same as at home? She knew that landlords were allowed to ask people to leave but they weren’t allowed to use excessive force. A shotgun was definitely excessive. But maybe it was different here.

‘I’m a lawyer,’ she said more confidently than she sounded.

‘A lawyer?’ The expression on his face changed for a moment, his eyes sharpening. ‘Good for you. Law or no law, I can do what I like on my land.’ With that he pushed at her with the gun, a hard, sharp shove that had her involuntarily stepping back as much in fear as in surprise. Her heel caught on a tussock of grass and she went straight down onto her bottom, leaving her staring up at the two dark holes of the barrel of the gun. Fear gripped her stomach and her grazed hands grappled with the gravelly soil, trying to gain purchase.

The man smiled, grim and satisfied.

‘Get out of here.’ He waved the gun and she scrabbled backwards until she was able to get onto her feet, too scared to turn her back on him.

She held up both hands, desperately hoping a show of submission might make him lower the gun. ‘OK, OK, I’m going.’