* * *
“Hold the dagger with a firm grip, and make certain you keep your fingers behind the guard. Your intent is to harm your opponent and not yourself.”
Dom’s voice was soft and low, his fingers curled over hers on the hilt of the weapon. He was positioned at her back, the strength and heat of him seeming to burn her through the layers of her gown and petticoat. Adele was not sure which she found more disconcerting—her husband’s nearness, the fact that he was teaching her how to wound an enemy, or that said lessons were being conducted in a drawing room laden with gilt and sleek mahogany and rosewood.
The drawing room was as fine as any she had ever seen. Blue French curtains adorned the windows, with a panel of fashionable fringe and tassels suspended from gilt rosettes. The chairs were fashioned of carved mahogany and covered in rich damask silk that matched the window dressings to perfection. A colossal circular ottoman made of matching wood and damask dominated the far wall. It was piled with cushions and ornamented with bronze and carved swans. Everything about the chamber suggested it had recently been abandoned by a fine lord or lady, and yet it was all…new.
“When you acquired this house, was it furnished?” she asked.
“Damn it, Duchess, have you listened to a bloody word I’ve said?” he growled in her ear.
Strangely, even his displeasure sent sparks shooting through her. “I am listening, but I will admit to being a trifle distracted. You cannot deny the events of today have proven most unexpected.”
And that was a profound understatement. The chaos awaiting them at The Devil’s Spawn had yet to be fully explained to her. Their arrival at a home in Mayfair had been shocking enough, but lessons in pistols and knives?
He released his grip on her hand, leaving her holding the blade on her own, and spun Adele about to face him. The sudden movement had her dizzied. She nearly dropped the blade.
“Listen to me.” His expression was harsh and unreadable. “My enemies are also yours, and they have just shown they are willing to go to great lengths to destroy me. I cannot be at your side at all times, and I need to know you will be prepared if they should somehow find their way through the guards I have in place here and find you.”
His warning sent a shiver through her. “You truly believe I will be unsafe here?”
Had he issued the warning in the East End, she would have believed him. But Mayfair? It was impossible to believe the darkness and dangers of his world could exist here.
“I hope not. However, we must prepare. My enemy slashed my brother’s face and nearly burned The Devil’s Spawn to the ground. He is capable of anything.”
The reminder filled her with a renewed grip of nausea, but this time it had nothing to do with her condition and everything to do with fear.
She nodded. “I will learn.”
“There’s my angel.” He nodded approvingly. “Hold the dagger in a firm grip and raise it toward me.”
She did as he asked, hating that she was pointing it in his direction.
“Now imagine you are drawing an imaginaryXwith the tip of your blade.”
Slowly, Adele moved the blade, fashioning anX.
“Draw a cross.”
She changed the direction of the dagger, drawing a cross pattern over and over.
“You need to move with strength and determination. Pretend I am your enemy, coming for you, intending to do you harm. Your blade work would not harm a goddamn butterfly.”
His cutting observation shook her. Not for the first time, it occurred to her how ill-prepared she was for this marriage, this man. She was the daughter of a duke. She had been raised for ballrooms and embroidery and carriage rides in the park. She had never held a blade in her hand before today, nor had she ever imagined the need to wield one.
“I am disappointing you,” she said quietly. “I am sorry.”
“Do not apologize, damn you. Try harder.” He scowled. “You need to slash him. Begin at the top. Wound him at the most vulnerable place, his throat. Do as much damage as you can manage.”
“I am not certain I can do it, Dom.” The notion of striking another with the intent to kill or harm, even in her own defense, made her ill.
“You can do anything. You are the woman who burst into The Devil’s Spawn and demanded an audience with me. That woman is fearless.”
His impassioned words gave her the spur she needed. He was right. She had been brave then. She had never intended to become a part of his world, but she was now. There was no denying it.
Adele nodded and went through the motions he had showed her, theXand the cross. This time, she put more force into her motions.
Dom nodded. “Good, now thrust the blade, then slash. Thrust toward the throat, slash down his coat. Do not show him mercy.”
