Page 71 of The Heiress's Daughter
“Yes, and with his hand over my mouth, I couldn’t scream out and I couldn’t get away—he was too strong, much stronger than he looks.”
Zoë nodded shrewdly. “You prob’ly thought that because of his limp and his stick.”
“I suppose so.”
“Why didn’t you knee him in the nuts?”
Clarissa gave her a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”
“His balls then.”
Still mystified, Clarissa shook her head.
Zoë was incredulous. “Gawd, that’s what comes of bein’ raised a lady—they don’t teach you nothin’ useful.”
“Anything,” Clarissa corrected her. “And I still don’t understand.”
“Well, you said he opened the front of his britches, right?”
“Yes.”
“That’s where he keeps his nuts. Or his balls, if you like.”
Clarissa wrinkled her nose, trying to understand. “Do you mean his…male parts.”
Zoë laughed. “Yeah, his ‘male parts,’ ” she mimicked Clarissa’s accent. “Or his nuts, his balls or his family jewels, or a dozen other names. The point is, a bloke’s nuts are the tenderest part of him. If you give ’em a good hard kick, or jam your knee hard into a man’s nuts, he’s bound to let you go and double up groanin’. And you can get away.”
Clarissa frowned at Zoë’s matter-of-fact description. “Have you ever had to do that?”
She shrugged. “Once or twice.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“It’s all right. Where I came from a girl needed to know how to look after herself. I’m just sorry nobody ever taught you that.”
“In society there’s no need,” Clarissa began, but trailed off in the face of Zoë’s skeptical expression. “You’re right. We’re raised to assume we’re safe, because in society gentlemen are supposed to be gentlemen, but—”
“Some of ’em ain’t.” Zoë slipped off the bed. “So now you know. Go for the nuts.”
Clarissa smiled. “Thank you for educating me, little sister.”
Zoë placed her empty cup on the tray sitting on a side table and, suddenly serious, said, “I hope this Lord Randall is good to you, Clarissa. And that you’ll be happy with him.”
“Oh, it’s not permanent,” Clarissa assured her. “This betrothal is just a temporary ruse to redirect the gossip.”
“Oh. I thought…” Zoë shook her head. “I thought you liked him.”
Clarissa fought a blush. “Oh, well, he’s quite a charmingfellow, and of course he’s my guardian’s best friend, so of course I like him. But he’s a born flirt and could never be seriously interested in someone like me.”
“Why not?”
She said in what she hoped was an airy manner, “He’s always seen with the most beautiful women.”
“You’re beautiful,” Zoë said, and when Clarissa disclaimed, she insisted, “Yeah, you are. All the way through.”
Clarissa just shook her head. “Besides, he’s a rake, and I would never marry a man who is incapable of fidelity. I saw what my father’s infidelity did to my mother.”
“And mine,” Zoë said softly.
