“He’s no friend of mine!” Liffi trembled.
“Is everything all right, my dear?”
The whole story flooded out, and the physician insisted on calling the police.
“This is serious,” she told Liffi. “A case of assault and attempted r**e can’t be swept under the carpet. You were lucky the bird intervened, remarkable as that is. I suppose it was a trained falcon?”
Liffi decided a white lie was more believable than the truth. “Yes. She’s a beautiful creature. I call her Freya. After the goddess, you know?”
“Ah, that explains everything. She was defending you. Quite remarkable. Let me look at that lip. Did he do this?”
Liffi nodded, and the doctor tut-tutted and scowled.
“I’ll report it,” she said. “It’s deep. I’m afraid you’ll need a suture. Just one stitch. Come this way. I’ll do it for you
