“If the duchess finds him here, she’ll be furious!” Ganny shook her finger at Nila. “I won’t stick up for you when she turns you out on the street.”
“And when have you ever stuck up for me?”
Ganny’s lips took on a hard line. “I’ll recommend your dismissal to the duchess tonight. You’re nothing but a bad influence on Jakob.”
“I will…” Nila took one look at the sleeping boy and closed her mouth. She had no family, no connections. The duchess already disliked her. Duke Eldaminse had a habit of bedding the help, and he’d been looking at her more often lately. Nila didn’t need any trouble with Ganny, even if she was a bully. “I’m sorry, Ganny,” Nila said. “I’ll get him back to bed now. Do you have any clothes I can get the stains out of for you?”
“That’s a better attitude,” Ganny said. “Now…”
She was interrupted by a hammering on the front door, loud enough to be heard all the way at the back of the townhouse.
“Who is that at this early hour?” Ganny pulled her nightclothes tightly around her and headed into the hallway. “They’ll wake up the lord and lady!”
Nila put her hands on her hips and looked at Jakob. “You’ll get me in trouble, young master.”
His eyes fluttered open. “Sorry,” he said.
She knelt down beside him. “It’s all right, go back to sleep. Let me carry you to bed.”
She’d just lifted him up when she heard the scream from the front of the house. Shouts followed and then the hammering footsteps running up the stairs in the main hallway. She heard angry male voices that didn’t belong to any of the house staff.
“What is that?” Jakob asked.
She set him on his feet so that he couldn’t feel her hands shaking. “Quickly,” she said. “In the washtub.”
He climbed into the washtub. She dumped the dirty laundry on top of him and stacked it high and then hurried into the hallway.
She ran right into a soldier. The man shoved her back into the kitchen. He was soon joined by two other men, then another holding Ganny by the back of the neck. He shoved Ganny to the floor. The governess’s eyes were full of fear mingled with indignation.
“These two will do,” one of the soldiers said. He wore the dark blue of the Adran army, with two golden service stripes on his chest and a silver medal that indicated he’d served the crown overseas. He began to loosen his belt and stepped toward Nila.
Nila grabbed the hot iron from the stove and hit him hard across the face. He went down, to the shouts of his comrades.
Someone grabbed her arms, another her legs.
“Feisty,” one said.
“That will leave a mark,” said another.
“What is the meaning of this!” Ganny had finally gotten to her feet. “Do you know whose house this is?”
“Shut up.” The soldier Nila had hit climbed to his feet, a swollen burn covering half of his face. He punched Ganny hard in the stomach. “We’ll get to you soon enough.” He turned to Nila.
Nila struggled against hands too strong for her. She turned to the washbasin, hoping Jakob would not see this, and closed her eyes to wait for the blow.
“Heathlo!” a voice barked.
She opened her eyes again when the hands that held her suddenly let up.
“What the pit you doing, soldier?” The man who spoke wore the same uniform as the others, only set apart by a gold triangle pinned to his silver lapel. He had sandy hair and a neatly trimmed beard. A cigarette hung out of the corner of his mouth. Nila had never seen a soldier with a beard before.
“Just having some fun, Sergeant.” Heathlo gave Nila a menacing glare and turned toward the sergeant.
“Fun? No fun for us, soldier. This is the army. You heard the field marshal’s orders.”
“But, Sergeant…”
The sergeant leaned over and picked up the iron from where it lay on the floor. He looked at the bottom, then at the burn on the soldier’s face. “You want me to give you a matching one on the other side?”
Heathlo’s eyes hardened. “This bitch struck me.”
“I’ll hit you somewhere prettier than your face next time I see you try to rape an Adran citizen.” The sergeant pointed his cigarette at Heathlo. “This isn’t Gurla.”