me,
because he was making sure that Hannah wasn’t hiding behind one of
the displays.”
“Making as little noise as
possible, although it was doubtful whether Dennison would have
heard a bomb explode above the noise he was making, I tiptoed
through to the back yard, where Simon and Peter were filling the
cart with the boxes of orders for delivery that afternoon.”
“‘Simon,’ I hissed at him, as
quietly but as forcefully as I could, ‘go upstairs to my bedroom
and you ask Hannah to lock the door so that you are both safe
inside my room. Don’t open it for anyone except me. Do you hear
me?’
“Simon opened his mouth to
question why I was asking him to do something so unusual, but there
was a massive crash from inside the shop and he paled and then ran
as fast as his little legs could carry him, through the kitchen and
up the stairs. I offered up a short prayer that he would do as I
had asked and that Hannah would have heard the noise and guessed
what was going on. Only pausing long enough to check that Simon was
on his way to safety, I then turned to Peter.”
“‘Run to the iron works and ask
the gatekeeper to get Sammy. Tell him Butcher Dennison is on the
rampage and we need him here at the shop. Don’t give up until the
gatekeeper gets Sammy Lymer. Do you understand?’”
“I could have screamed at the
slow way in which Peter absorbed my request. He was wide-eyed and
obviously afraid because of the crashing noises now emanating from
the shop and he stood and stared at me. God forgive me, but in my
panic, I took hold of his arm and shook him like a dog shakes a
rat. It was too much for Peter and he turned his troubled face to
me, his mouth turned down and starting to tremble.”
“’Get to the ironworks and ask
the gatekeeper to get Sammy Lymer. He’s urgently needed at the
shop. Do you hear me, Peter?’”
“And I shook him again, my fear
communicating itself to him. I’d never laid a finger on the lad
until that moment and he was only used to smiles and soft-spoken
requests coming from me. He stared back at me, his pet lip
trembling as he tried in his oh-so-slow way to understand why I was
being so rough with him. I could feel the panic and alarm rising in
my chest as more noise came from the shop and it was at that moment
when the pig butcher appeared in the kitchen, spittle covering his
face and his hair sticking out all round his head. He glanced
around the kitchen, obviously searching for Hannah and me and then
he noticed that the back door was open and he could see Peter and
me standing in the yard.”
“‘Go, Peter, go!!’” I screamed
at him, the time for whispering being past and, thankfully, the
sight of the overweight butcher galvanised Peter into action and he
set off through the open back yard gate, heading for the ironworks.
Dennison made as if to follow Peter, as if he thought Peter would
lead him to Hannah, so I stepped across the yard until I was
standing facing him as he moved out of the kitchen and entered the
backyard. I was only inches from his swinging fists, but I was
overwhelmed by the anger I was feeling at his intrusion of my home
and I stood my ground in front of him, oblivious to the fact that I
should have been scared to death of him. I should have been
cowering away from those massive fists which had already killed his
own unborn child, but my own fury was so white-hot within me that
he should dare to enter my inner sanctum, unbidden, that I threw
caution to the winds.”
“I stood, ramrod-straight and in
total control of every muscle in my body, and stared him straight
in his eye, something which I later learnt that his wife had never
managed to do. I then addressed him as though we had met on our way
into church.”
“‘And what can I do for you, Mr
Dennison?’ I asked, in a very restrained and quiet manner. ‘Do you
need some stores which I can supply or have you come for some of my
famous pies? If so, please come back into the shop and we can
because he was making sure that Hannah wasn’t hiding behind one of
the displays.”
“Making as little noise as
possible, although it was doubtful whether Dennison would have
heard a bomb explode above the noise he was making, I tiptoed
through to the back yard, where Simon and Peter were filling the
cart with the boxes of orders for delivery that afternoon.”
“‘Simon,’ I hissed at him, as
quietly but as forcefully as I could, ‘go upstairs to my bedroom
and you ask Hannah to lock the door so that you are both safe
inside my room. Don’t open it for anyone except me. Do you hear
me?’
“Simon opened his mouth to
question why I was asking him to do something so unusual, but there
was a massive crash from inside the shop and he paled and then ran
as fast as his little legs could carry him, through the kitchen and
up the stairs. I offered up a short prayer that he would do as I
had asked and that Hannah would have heard the noise and guessed
what was going on. Only pausing long enough to check that Simon was
on his way to safety, I then turned to Peter.”
“‘Run to the iron works and ask
the gatekeeper to get Sammy. Tell him Butcher Dennison is on the
rampage and we need him here at the shop. Don’t give up until the
gatekeeper gets Sammy Lymer. Do you understand?’”
“I could have screamed at the
slow way in which Peter absorbed my request. He was wide-eyed and
obviously afraid because of the crashing noises now emanating from
the shop and he stood and stared at me. God forgive me, but in my
panic, I took hold of his arm and shook him like a dog shakes a
rat. It was too much for Peter and he turned his troubled face to
me, his mouth turned down and starting to tremble.”
“’Get to the ironworks and ask
the gatekeeper to get Sammy Lymer. He’s urgently needed at the
shop. Do you hear me, Peter?’”
“And I shook him again, my fear
communicating itself to him. I’d never laid a finger on the lad
until that moment and he was only used to smiles and soft-spoken
requests coming from me. He stared back at me, his pet lip
trembling as he tried in his oh-so-slow way to understand why I was
being so rough with him. I could feel the panic and alarm rising in
my chest as more noise came from the shop and it was at that moment
when the pig butcher appeared in the kitchen, spittle covering his
face and his hair sticking out all round his head. He glanced
around the kitchen, obviously searching for Hannah and me and then
he noticed that the back door was open and he could see Peter and
me standing in the yard.”
“‘Go, Peter, go!!’” I screamed
at him, the time for whispering being past and, thankfully, the
sight of the overweight butcher galvanised Peter into action and he
set off through the open back yard gate, heading for the ironworks.
Dennison made as if to follow Peter, as if he thought Peter would
lead him to Hannah, so I stepped across the yard until I was
standing facing him as he moved out of the kitchen and entered the
backyard. I was only inches from his swinging fists, but I was
overwhelmed by the anger I was feeling at his intrusion of my home
and I stood my ground in front of him, oblivious to the fact that I
should have been scared to death of him. I should have been
cowering away from those massive fists which had already killed his
own unborn child, but my own fury was so white-hot within me that
he should dare to enter my inner sanctum, unbidden, that I threw
caution to the winds.”
“I stood, ramrod-straight and in
total control of every muscle in my body, and stared him straight
in his eye, something which I later learnt that his wife had never
managed to do. I then addressed him as though we had met on our way
into church.”
“‘And what can I do for you, Mr
Dennison?’ I asked, in a very restrained and quiet manner. ‘Do you
need some stores which I can supply or have you come for some of my
famous pies? If so, please come back into the shop and we can
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