“Scour the damned county for Sabrina, my lord. Good day, sir,” he said to Trevor, and strode from the library.
Trevor looked after the marquess. “You didn’t tell me that Sabrina was to wed that man.”
“She hadn’t as yet accepted him.”
“I see,” Trevor said. He began slowly and precisely to turn the gold fob on his waistcoat. “Such a brute of a fellow he is. Surely he is too large, too demanding, to wed a child like Sabrina.”
“He is a man. Go back and nurse your chill, Trevor, I wish to think.”
A slight sneer crossed Trevor’s face. “I believe, my lord, that my chill has been sufficiently attended to. I shall speak with my poor Elizabeth now.”
The earl’s voice halted him at the door. “I would suggest, nephew, that your so-called reason for Sabrina’s running away not reach the marquess’s ears. He is not an understanding man and he would kill you with his bare hands. If you have ever exercised caution in your life, now is the time.”
“I’ve been very cautious since I’ve come here to England.” Trevor then shuddered delicately. “Did you say he would kill me with his bare hands? He does have very large hands, doesn’t he?” He left the library, his footstep soft as his breath.
14
“No, tell me, Phillip, what happened next? Stop teasing me. Tell me.”
“Very well. Without so much as flinching or batting an eyelid, Nell ordered him to drop his trousers. Then she marched him in front of her back to camp, naked as the day he was born, and said to the colonel, ‘The lout tried to rape me, sir. I trust that you will see him hanged.’ She handed the colonel the pistol and pulled the papers the fellow had stolen from her bodice. ‘If attacking a defenseless woman isn’t enough cause, sir,’ she said, ‘I trust these documents detailing the English strategy will settle the matter.’ The colonel looked at Nell, then at the naked fellow, and dropped his monocle.”
“Oh, goodness, that really didn’t happen, did it?”
“Yes, indeed. After that, the colonel gave Nell the rank of corporal. To this day, she marches with the men and is always referred to as Corporal Nell.”
Suddenly the laughter fell from her face, leaving it blank. Then fear took over. “He tried to rape her but she managed to save herself. She did it, Phillip. I wasn’t strong enough. I tried, but I couldn’t.”
He started to take her in his arms, to comfort her, to tell her that he would never let anyone hurt her again. But he knew it wouldn’t be the right thing to do. He didn’t question why he was so certain, he just accepted that he was. He looked down at his fingernails. “You know, Sabrina, you don’t have to be at a man’s mercy.”
She raised her face. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that I can teach you how to fight. If ever again in the future a man tries to hurt you, you’ll know how to defend yourself. You’ll know how to hurt the man.”
“That’s truly possible? You’re not just saying that so that I won’t weep about it anymore?”
“No. When you’re well again, I’ll give you your first lesson.”
Her eyes were shining. “I could kill him if he ever tried to rape me again. I could kill him.”
“Yes, but think if you didn’t kill him, if, instead, you caused him exquisite agony. Then every time he looked at you he would be reminded of the god-awful pain you inflicted on him. Wouldn’t that be a far better punishment than just simple death?”
“Yes,” she said slowly, her voice more intense than any voice he’d ever heard. “Yes, I want to do it.” And then, she said to herself, “I’ll go home.”
“I heard from another military friend of mind that Corporal Nell quit the army last year. She’s now the madam of a very fancy bordello in Brussels.”
“How could she do that? She knew what men were like, what they do to women if they’re but given the chance.”
“I hear that she and all the other ladies are becoming quite rich off the men. Don’t feel sorry for them, Sabrina. Can you imagine any man ever trying to take advantage of a girl who worked for Corporal Nell?”
“Well, maybe no, but I still don’t like it. I don’t think I could ever do something like that.”
“No,” he said, and that was all he said.
He leaned forward then, smiling, and lightly patted her cheek. Instead of drawing back, she said, “You’ve had so many adventures, seen so many exciting places. Of course you could have been killed, but still, you weren’t, and now you have wonderful memories for the rest of your life.”
“They’re by no means all wonderful, Sabrina. Too many men,
brave and loyal men like your father, died and are still dying. That’s why all wars should be pronounced illegal by every government of the world. Can you begin to imagine a world that had no more fighting?”