She set them down. “What else can I do for you, mistress?” Worry tainted her voice.
When Delphine did not answer, Emeline glanced up. “Some tea would be lovely, Catherine.” Nodding, the woman sped off.
Dipping a rag in the water, Emeline dabbed at the blood on Delphine’s lips.
Wincing, she tried to push Emeline away. “I’m all right. There is no need.”
“At least allow me to put some honey on it. It will stop the bleeding and heal it nicely.”
Delphine’s blue eyes met Emeline’s, fear and shame drifting across them. “We really must remove him.”
“Do you have a footman or butler? Anyone who could lift him?” Emeline dabbed the honey on the small cut.
“Non, just me and Catherine. I had a groomsman, but I could no longer afford him.” Moisture filled the lady’s eyes.
“Then we will do it ourselves. Just gather your strength for a moment.” Finishing her ministrations, Emeline put down the rag and jar and took Delphine’s hand in hers again. “You’re still trembling.”
“I thought he would kill me.” She swallowed hard, her lovely forehead crinkling.
“What happened?”
“Je ne sais pas. He’s a new client.” She pursed her lips, then winced at the pain. “Sometimes they are angry at women, perhaps due to the rebuke of a wife or lover, and they take it out on me.”
What a terrible way to live. “I’m so sorry, Delphine. I’m glad I was here.”
“I am, as well.” Delphine attempted a smile.
But what if Emeline hadn’t been there? Would Miss Catherine have rescued her? Or would Delphine now be lying in a pool of her blood with the villain roaming free, for who gave a care for a harlot?
“You told me I could be free from the control of men,” Emeline said, “from needing them to protect and provide.” Pausing, she lifted a quick prayer for the right words. “Are you not doing the very same thing? Where would you be without men and their wealth?”
At first, she thought she had angered the lady, for Delphine said naught for several minutes. Then she let out a painful sigh and pulled her hand from Emeline’s. “Of course you are right,ma chérie. I hadn’t thought of it in that way.Mais oui, I am as much a prisoner of men’s power as any woman.”
“I know a way to freedom,” Emeline blurted out.
Delphine frowned. “Is there such a thing in this world?”
“’Tis found in the Son of God, who died for you, who loves you, and longs to set you free.”
“Bah!” Rising, Delphine waved an arm through the air. “There is no freedom found in religion. Only more slavery.”
“I quite agree. I don’t speak of religion. I speak of a relationship with God Himself. He forgives. He loves. He gives purpose and meaning to your life.”
Delphine met Emeline’s gaze, suspicion and…perhaps a hint of interest within it? A vision appeared.A man and a young Delphine alone in a darkened room, the man advancing, Delphine cowering. And Emeline knew this poor woman had been ravished when she’d been but a young girl.
“I perceive that something horrible happened to you when you were young, did it not? A man attacked you.”
Shock fired from Delphine’s eyes. “Mon dieu, how...?” She stared at Emeline in confusion, then quickly looked away. “It matters not. It was a long time ago.”
Emeline stood. “It matters a great deal, for it has set the course of your life. A life you do not have to live anymore.”
Delphine swallowed, then stiffened her jaw. “I will never be beholden to a man again.”
“Yet you make yourself so every day.” Emeline gestured toward the beast, who thankfully remained unconscious on the floor.
Sorrow and pain spilled from Delphine’s eyes before they suddenly hardened again. “Dépêchez-vous! We must get him out of here.”
It took all three of them to drag the bully out of the house and down the street, lobbing his body over moist cobblestones and through mud puddles. Finally, they deposited him in a muddy heap in front of the physician’s home. Even though she was grateful the man didn’t wake, Emeline felt a twinge of guilt at the bloody gash on the back of his head.
