I was late leaving for work that morning. My husband had got up in the middle of the night to pilot his jumbo jet off to Djakarta or somewhere, and the batteries in my bloody alarm clock had chosen that night to give up the ghost. Cursing to the heavens I gave myself a quick splash in the shower, dragged on my business suit, laddering a brand new pair of tights in the process, half-tumbled downstairs to the kitchen, slurped a cup of tea, kissed my21-year old daughter on the crown of her head as she sat blearily preparing for her day at college, and breathlessly sprinted the half-mile to the station.
I usually taking the early train to London, because at least that gives me a sporting chance of getting a seat. I hate getting the 7.26 (ridiculously precise scheduling, as if it ever ran to time) because it's always so crowded. On this day it seemed even worse than usual and I could barely squeeze on board. As it was I was crammed into a corner beside the door, tight against the partition from the seated area, hemmed in on all sides and barely able to breathe. I comforted myself with the thought that, this being the express service (the railway company's little joke, as it chugs and wheezes along its journey), at least there were no more stops before the central London terminus.
We had been going perhaps ten minutes when I felt my skirt riding up behind me. I've always prided myself on having shapely legs and I tend to wear business skirts that end an inch or so above my knee. In irritation I brushed at it, but then to my horror I felt a hand touching the back of my leg, underneath the skirt, just below my buttock. I gasped in shock and would doubtless have uttered a loud and angry exclamation, but before I could I felt warm breather on my ear and a voice whispered "Make a sound and I'll cut you." I felt a sharp point pressing against my ribs and clamped my mouth shut in fear. With the benefit of hindsight it seems ridiculous to believe that my assailant would really have stabbed me on a crowded commuter train (even assuming it really was a knife jabbing against my ribs), but at the time I was too terrified to think so rationally.