“No, remember the other night? You weren’t following the rules then? Or perhaps I missed when they added ‘grab an umbrella with both hands and whack a man upside the head as hard as you can’ to the guidelines.” She lowered her foil and I followed suit, our harsh breaths in perfect synchrony.
“That was life and death.”
“Right. Why are you practicing as though it isn’t? Those men the other night, they weren’t going to salute you.”
“No…”
“Exactly. You were brilliant. You are brilliant. Better than I am, certainly. But if someone wants to hurt you, they’re not going to follow the rules. You want to fight, you should practice the way you intend to if you’re attacked. Years on the battlefield and not once did anyone wait for someone to keep score. Those points, they’re not just points, love. They’re wounds. Wounds that can maim, wounds that can kill.”
“I’ve never... I wouldn’t know how to.”
“Of course you would, you did the other night. Just have to stop thinking so hard. Now, attack me. I won’t attack, only block. But I want it all, everything you have.”
“But I’ll hurt you.”
“No you won’t, love. Dulled tip, remember?”
“Still…”
“I’d rather you hurt me than be unable to defend yourself if you need to because you’re used to fighting nice. No saluting, attack when you’re ready.”
And she did. Somehow, with the shackles of civilized sportsmanship removed, she was even more graceful, more ferocious, more beautiful.
Finally, she caught me in the ribs with the tip and wore a pleased smirk.
“Good, love. That was good. Next time, aim for the eyes though, or the uh… delicate areas. Feet can be good too, slow a man down to give you time to run.”
“You want me to?—”
“Wantis… perhaps the wrong word. But if you’re being attacked, those will shut a man down faster than the torso. They may not be as deadly but they’re damn painful.”
“I’m not certain Monsieur Jereaux will approve.”
“You can do things properly for your lessons. Though I think it’s a travesty that he’s teaching you to fight politely.”
She pulled the foil from my grip, set it aside with her own, and dragged me toward the nearby bench with enticing kisses.
Twenty-Four
CADIEUX HOUSE, LONDON - JUNE 15, 1816
CELINE
Apparently,I was fond of spectacles on a man. Who could have known? Also, how was I expected to concentrate on anything after the showing Will made on the terrace?
I had such plans this morning. I was going to trounce him thoroughly and he would fall to his knees, impressed with my swordsmanship. Instead,hetrouncedme, and he was entirely too handsome while he did it.
Now he was reviewing ledgers while wearing spectacles which was astonishingly something I found attractive. So far, we’d managed to determine that the horse was likely bred sometime in the three or four years before Gabriel was killed. That was before my time with him, so I was proving to be of little help.
Of course, the longer and more in-depth our search into Gabriel’s less than gentlemanly occupations prior to our marriage, the less I was enjoying the results. Thus far, nothing had been a shock. But the reminder of just how much of a degenerate he was in the years before we met stung.
And I was not alone in my irritation. Oh, William was being nice about it, but both of our frustration was mounting. He’d removed the spectacles at least three times, cleaning them on a handkerchief before returning them to the bridge of his nose. And my lip was certainly reddened from biting back my annoyance.
I was fairly certain we were reviewing transactions from around the time Gabriel had seduced Adriane. It was not exactly a delight to find out just how much money my husband had spent at the local brothel before we met. Still, unlike William, I managed to refrain from clenching my jaw. Each time he did it, the motion emphasized the chiseled angles of his face.
I shouldn’t find it attractive. My new suitor’s annoyance with my late husband was absolutely not something I should take pleasure in, no matter how enjoyable the resulting view.
“What do you suppose is offered at a brothel for ten pounds? Surely nothing should cost that much.” His question was distracted and likely rhetorical though it still hit a mark. Gabriel had never touched another woman after we wed, I had no question of that. But such an astronomical sum… What services could garner that? Certainly nothing we had done together.
