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decide what was to bedone. She quickly dashed cold water on her face. She still looked a fright. Well, Elizabeth would see the proof of his blows; she wouldn’t have any doubts as to the sort of man she’d married. She stuffed her torn clothes into the corner of her armoire, and changed quickly into an old brown wool gown.
    She found her sister in her bedchamber, seated at her small writing desk, penning letters, Sabrina thought, to the wedding guests.
    â€œLeave us, Mary,” she said to the maid.
    Elizabeth raised pale blue eyes to her sister, but said nothing until Mary had finally and reluctantly closed the bedchamber door. She laid down her pen and out of habit smoothed a wisp of pale blond hair back into its knot at the nape of her neck. Both Trevor and Elizabeth had soft blond hair. Where Trevor’s eyes were a pale green, Elizabeth’s were blue. “There’s no need for you to be rude to Mary. She’s a sensitive girl. I don’t wish to see you behave like that again. Now, what do you want? As you can see, I am quite busy. How am I to thank the Viscountess Ashford for that hideous cachepot? Can you imagine, blue tulips strewn all over the thing? Trevor laughed and laughed.”
    â€œThe cachepot is ugly but Mary Louise meant well.” Sabrina slashed her hand through the air. “That’s not at all important. Listen to me, Elizabeth, I must speak with you. I know that this will come as a shock to you, but you must help me. It’s Trevor, Elizabeth—he just tried to rape me.”
    Elizabeth arched a pale blond brow and glanced over at the clock on the mantelpiece. The brow went higher. There was a twisted smile on Elizabeth’s mouth. “First you are rude to my Mary. Now you tell me that my husband of two weeks tried to rape you. Is this some kind of game, Sabrina? Are you thatenvious of my new status? Such a thing is scarce possible, particularly when it is only three o’clock in the afternoon.”
    Sabrina gazed dumbly at her sister, unwilling to believe the iciness in her voice. No, Elizabeth simply didn’t understand. She rushed forward and laid an urgent hand on Elizabeth’s sleeve. “Look at my face. He struck me repeatedly. It gave him pleasure to hurt me. Look, damn you!”
    Elizabeth shrugged. “So, your face is flushed, nothing more that I can see. You are always in the sun so that is no surprise.”
    â€œIt’s winter, Elizabeth. We haven’t seen the sun for days until just this afternoon.” Sabrina couldn’t believe this. She went on her knees beside her sister, clutching her hand between hers. The sunlight was fierce on her face. She knew that the redness and swelling were clear to see. “You must listen to me, Elizabeth. It would make no difference to Trevor if it was day or night. I went to the portrait gallery to look at the countess’s portrait. I want to paint it. Trevor followed me. You know how isolated the gallery is. No one was near to help me and he knew it. That’s why he followed me there. Elizabeth, look at my face. Don’t tell me it’s simply flushed. No, he slapped me and slapped me. He’s vicious and cruel, Elizabeth. He’s proved he has no honor. He even threatened to kill Grandfather if I told him what he’d tried to do. You must help me decide what we must do.”
    Elizabeth shook off her sister’s hand, as if her touch was distasteful to her. She rose slowly from her chair. Sabrina also got to her feet. Elizabeth was some three inches taller than her younger sister. She looked down at her now, and there was intense dislike in her pale blue eyes. “I forbid you, Sabrina, forbid you, to speak any more such absurd nonsense. Pray remember thatyou are speaking of my husband and our cousin. Does it mean so little to you that he will be the Earl of Monmouth after Grandfather’s death?”
    Sabrina took an involuntary step backward.