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the gunshot, Danny told Emily to stay with Cathleen. ‘You’ll be all right now,’ he promised. ‘Don’t move from here, my darlings. I’ll be back for you both.’

      Then he went off at a run, following Jackson, who was headed away from the barn and down, towards the back field.

      In a matter of minutes, Danny was on him. ‘You filthy bastard!’ Enraged by what Emily had told him, Danny swung him round and with a clenched fist gave him a mighty punch that sent the big man reeling backwards. He went after him again, and again, until Jackson was once more in fear for his life. Finally, hitting out with bunched fist, he managed to send Danny sprawling.

      While Danny was down, Clem scrambled over the gate and into the field – but Danny was right behind him.

      Leaping on Jackson from behind, he forced Clem down. The fight was fierce, with first Jackson being floored, then Danny – and now Jackson was running again. But Danny was determined. Going after him, he fetched him such a hard upper-cut that the older man reeled back and fell in a crumpled heap, bloodied and beaten. ‘Get up!’ Gasping and panting, Danny hauled him to his feet. ‘I’m not finished with you yet!’ he spat.

      The blows were exchanged with murderous ferocity; first Danny, then the other man, and now Danny again.

      From the far end of the field where they had been dozing, the bulls were alerted by the disturbance. Curious at first, they ambled over to where they could see the two men locked in battle, their own wicked bloodlust slowly rising. The bulls stood awhile, scraping the ground with one front hoof, and then, heads down, at full speed, they thundered across the field. This was their territory, and they tolerated no intruders.

      The old man saw them charging, as did Aggie and Emily, who had gathered at the gate to see Jackson take the beating he deserved. Emily hid her daughter against her skirts. ‘Danny, watch out!’ they screamed in unison.

      Emily started to climb over the gate to rescue him, but Aggie pulled her back. ‘No! You’ll be killed!’ Then all three were roaring out to warn him. ‘DANNY! THE BULLS! GET OUT OF THERE!’

      What followed happened so quickly there was little anyone could have done. For whatever reason, the bulls made straight for Jackson. Slicing his flesh with their short thick horns, they threw him in the air, and when he fell again, they went in for the kill.

      As much as he hated the other man, Danny could not stand by and see another human being trampled and gored to death. Instinct set in. Oblivious to the shouts of his family, he snatched off his jacket and ran at the bulls, waving his coat and attracting their attention away from Jackson.

      Incensed, they turned their tiny red eyes on him. When in that moment they came at him, he dropped the coat and took to his heels, making for the gate and safety.

      He was almost there when one of the bulls stabbed him in the side with its horn. He stumbled, straightened and clung to the fence, gasping from pain and a terrible fatigue, but by then the same bull had charged again, and gored him in the leg. As he lay there, helpless and in shock, all Danny could do was pray.

      Suddenly, the air was shattered by the crack! of a gunshot. The bulls paused in their attack and then ambled away, as if nothing had happened.

      Slipping in and out of consciousness, Danny heard the old man yelling, ‘For God’s sake … get him out of there!’ Then came another voice he did not recognise. He saw Michael’s face looking down on him. ‘You’ll be all right, son,’ the man who was his father-in-law said, lifting him effortlessly into his arms. ‘I’ve got you now.’

Part 6 March, 1910 What Goes Around

       Chapter 17

      JUST AS SHE had done every afternoon for the past week, Emily climbed the stairs to the first floor of the infirmary. At the top she turned left and continued down the corridor, quickening her steps as she went.

      In a matter of minutes she approached the ward. Weakened by the loss of blood but, thankfully, free from the dreaded septicaemia, which would have cost him his life, Danny was well on the way to recovery. During the first few days following his brutal fight with Clem Jackson, he had drifted in and out of consciousness, but now, thanks to good care and tending, he was regaining his strength.

      As she thanked the nurse who was greeting the families at visiting time, Danny saw her and his face lit up. ‘Hello, sweetheart.’ He held out his arms for a kiss. ‘Home tomorrow, God willing.’ He beamed at his wife.

      ‘Don’t get your hopes up too high,’ Emily warned. ‘Wait until the doctor tells you himself.’

      ‘He already has.’ Danny explained how the doctor had been called away for some emergency or other. ‘He dropped in to see me … said he was so pleased with my progress, he might let me go home tomorrow. Matron should be round any minute to confirm it.’

      Emily was delighted. ‘Oh, love! That’s such good news.’

      His face was wreathed in smiles. ‘You’d best get the fatted calf out,’ he joshed. ‘They only feed you on carrots in here.’

      Holding him for a moment, Emily kissed him with real affection. ‘I’ll go and find a vase for these daffs and sticky buds,’ she said. ‘I picked them from up Potts End Lane. Your dad helped me – and he sends his love. Cathleen can’t wait to have you back, nor can the rest of us, neither. See you in a minute, love. I want to be here when the matron comes.’

      Without further ado she hurried away to search for a vase, but by the time she’d found one and got back to Danny, he was smiling all over his face. ‘I’ve missed her, haven’t I?’ Emily groaned. ‘All right, so what did she say? As if I couldn’t guess.’ His jubilant face told its own story.

      ‘I shall need my clothes tomorrow, ’cause I’m coming home,’ he said excitedly.

      Emily was relieved but, ‘Don’t go getting all worked up and putting yourself back,’ she said. ‘And what about the stitches?’ He had twenty-one stitches in his side, and twelve in his leg. Apparently the gashes had been so deep there had been damage to the muscles. ‘Will you be able to get about all right?’

      ‘They’ve already made me walk slowly round the ward a few times,’ he told her, ‘but when I come home, I’m to use crutches. When I come back to have the stitches out, I should be off the crutches and walking unaided – that’s what I intend.’

      ‘You’ll do it. I know you will,’ Emily replied fondly. ‘As long as you take things easy and don’t damage the muscles any more than they are already.’

      While he chatted, asking after the family and Michael in particular, Emily told him how good it was to have her father home again. ‘At first Mam gave him the tongue-wagging he deserved, and even Grandad had a lot to say … after he refused to talk to him for a whole day! It was so much for us all to take in, what with him walking in like a ghost and nearly giving Mam a heart attack, and then the fight with Uncle Clem,’ she shuddered, ‘and meeting his granddaughter and son-in-law for the very first time …’

      She took a long, long breath. ‘They’re all right together now. Oh, Danny! Everything’s so wonderful. Once you’re home, it’ll be just perfect. I feel sure everything will go like clockwork now.’

      In that moment, John came into her mind and she felt a pang of regret. Her father had told her of John’s part in his rehabilitation, getting him back to work and giving him the chance to regain his mental balance and his self-respect. ‘He’s wed now – a lovely lass named Rosie – an’ he’s building a good life for her and their bairns when they come.’

      When Michael had come out with this, for a time Emily could think of nothing else, even though she had known about the other woman for years – ever