‘What the hell did you think you were doing?’ He shakes Allingham with the ferocity of a terrier dispatching vermin. ‘You could have killed him.’

The atmosphere has warped into something beyond fear. Clearly sensing the danger, Gwen hastens her retreat, her palm pressed to the back of Tom’s head as if she is afraid to expose him to the anger writhing across Jack’s face. Muriel gathers them up and shepherds them towards the house. Gwen casts an anxious look behind her.

‘Get the hell off me!’ Allingham cries, struggling to free himself, but Jack is taller and stronger and driven by a primeval fury that renders him invincible. Allingham has no choice but to accept defeat. A slow smile twists his lips. ‘What are you going to do? Beat me to a pulp? Please do. I’ll report it to the police, of course. And I’ll let my solicitor know. It’ll strengthen my case.’

‘You have no case.’ Jack battles the itch to pummel the man. Instead he crushes the sheepskin in his fists. ‘Your solicitor has probably already told you that.’

‘I haven’t finished, Ellison. There are other solicitors, other opinions … amenable judges – a few of them family friends. I will not rest, it’s you that’s facing the losing battle.’ He juts out his chin until it is so close to Jack’s they almost touch. Dropping his voice to a whisper, he stares straight into Jack’s eyes. ‘I will have my son.’

With a furious bellow, Jack swings him round and smashes him into the brick pillar of the gatepost. Allingham gasps in pain. Undaunted, Jack hefts him up and rams him against the hard bricks again and as Gordon slumps against his hold, he brings back his fist and drives it into the man’s stomach. Gordon wheezes, doubling over from the blow. Jack brings back his fist again, impervious to his shocked audience, but Ted intercedes.

‘Easy, Jack,’ he says, laying a firm hand on his arm.

Jack clenches his jaw. Lava flows through his veins as his fist flexes. He fights for his self-control and in the end he wins. He yanks Gordon up to his full height so that they are face to face.

‘If you don’t drop this, if you go anywhere near my family again, so help me I will kill you.’

He slams him into the bricks a final time, then with another furious cry, he hauls him round and hurls him to the ground. Allingham collapses prostrate in the dirt.

‘Now, get out of here …’ Jack snarls, ‘because next time I’ll make sure there’s no one around to intervene.’

He kicks dirt into Gordon’s face. The stunned threshing team warily part to let him pass. He doesn’t look back.