Free Home to Roost by Tessa Hainsworth Page B

given me trouble before, I recognise you,’ he says, no doubt meaning that incident with Marilyn and the goat blocking the road.
    I finally find my voice. ‘I’ve never given you trouble and I most certainly did not run into your car. You were the one who hit me.’
    At this he blows, swearing and throwing another one of his temper tantrums. Really, the man needs either yoga or tranquillisers; he’ll have a heart attack. I have to admit I’m losing my cool myself. ‘I did not hit you. You rammed your car right into post office property. With me sitting inside, too. You could have injured me badly.’
    We’re at a stalemate. By now several of the villagers have come over to watch the scene. Guy is there with Clara, and Ginger, too, as well as Tufty from the shop. It doesn’t take them long to figure out what happened. Mr Landers is saying again, ‘I’ll swear in court that you drove straight into my parked car.’ He gets his phone, starts to punch in numbers again.
    Guy, standing next to me, says loudly, ‘And I’ll swear that I saw everything, and that the post office van did not move.’
    ‘Me, too,’ echoes Clara, clutching onto Guy’s hand.
    There is a sudden, deadly silence. Ginger breaks it, saying softly but very clearly, enunciating every word carefully, ‘I saw it, too. I’m happy to come to court as a witness.’ And then Tufty and several of the other villagers join in, mumbling promises of support for me.
    Mr Landers doesn’t say a word. He looks from Guy to Ginger and then at me. We all stare back. He looks at Guy again, takes a step forward as if he’s going to punch him. Guy, skinny awkward Guy, doesn’t even flinch but also takes a firm step forward. Mr Landers, the brawny bully, is taken by surprise by this act of courage and obviously is not sure what to do. Finally, in a fury he turns, jumps into his car and violently starts the engine. I tense, thinking he’s going to ram the van again but he reverses and drives far too fast up the road towards Treverny.
    I’m totally shaken. I don’t know if he’d been so angry at whoever he was talking to on the phone that he forgot he wasn’t in reverse, couldn’t remember clearly, or whether he realised too late but was deliberately blaming me. I hope it is the first one.
    Whatever, it’s over now. The other villagers begin to disperse. Tufty says, ‘He was in the shop a while ago, giving Melanie a hard time because she didn’t stock the bottle of wine he wanted. Rude bugger, that one. Glad he doesn’t live in Poldowe.’
    ‘Unfortunately he’s got a second home in Treverny,’ I say. ‘Not the most popular couple in the village, the Landers. Thank goodness they don’t come down often. But never mind them now. I owe you three a big one, coming to my rescue like that. Thanks so much.’ I give them all a hug, and an especially big one to Guy, thanking him for standing up to the man. Guy looks embarrassed, modest but proud. Didn’t I say he was Lancelot? What a hero!
    ‘What luck that you were watching.’ I’m burbling now with relief that the whole sorry incident is over. ‘All of you. And Tufty, too. He must have been watching from the shop window, saw the whole thing. Had you and Clara actually come outside, Guy, just before it happened?’
    Guy looks a bit furtive. ‘Uh, actually no. Clara and I were, um, talking, and we heard all this hollering so we came out to see what was up.’
    ‘Me, too,’ Ginger says. ‘I’d been in the shop, didn’t see what happened. Tufty couldn’t have either; he wasn’t anywhere near the window. We all rushed out when we heard the crash and then the shouting.’ She giggles. ‘I don’t think any of the villagers saw a thing, y’know, just like we didn’t. It’s still winter, still freezing. Everyone was inside until all the noise and hubbub brought us running out.’
    ‘But – but you said you’d go to court. Be witnesses.’
    Now Guy is smiling, too, his crinkly face even more