ground.
Etienne went over to him, stamped his
boot on the middle of the younger man’s chest and held him there with it.
‘For your information I learned to fight in the backstreets of
Marseille,’ he said. ‘I’m handy with a knife too – would you like
to see?’
He pulled a six-inch, narrow-bladed
knife from a sheath on his belt and, leaning over Sam, held it to one of his
nostrils. ‘One of my favourite punishments for people who displeased me then
was to slice their nose open. It leaves a man looking very ugly, girls don’t
look at them any more, they have to rely on ageing whores when they are desperate
for a fuck,’ Etienne snarled at him.
Sam gave a squeal
of terror, and Etienne smiled as he looked down and saw he was pissing himself.
‘They usually shit themselves as I start to do it too. Not such a big man now,
eh! I can hardly wait to tell Mari that you never even managed to land one punch on
me. Now, are you leaving Russell this morning? Or do I need to give you any more
prompts to do as you are told?’
‘No, I’ll go,’ Sam
whimpered. ‘Just don’t cut me.’
‘Afraid you’ll lose your
looks? I think I should make sure of that so you don’t hurt any more young
girls,’ Etienne said. ‘To be a real man, you have to treat women with
respect. Every time you get tempted to do otherwise, think of me and my knife
slitting your nose open.’ He taunted Sam further by running the blade around
his nostrils, enjoying the terror in the man’s eyes, the way every muscle in
his body was tense, waiting for the agony he was sure would follow.
Etienne straightened up and put the
knife back into its sheath, but he pressed down harder on Sam’s chest with his
boot.
‘I’ll be off now. But
I’ll be waiting at the jetty to see you on the nine o’clock ferry. If
you aren’t on it, I’ll be back for you. But just to make certain you
obey me, here’s something to think about.’
Etienne clenched his fist and slammed it
down on to Sam’s mouth. He took his boot off the man’s chest, and took a
couple of steps back. ‘Sit up, or you’ll choke on your own blood,’
he said.
Sam did as he was told and spat out
blood; with it came his two front teeth. His whole face was a bloody mess now.
Etienne smirked. ‘Knocking front
teeth out is almost as good as split nostrils for putting girls off,’ he said.
‘Remember, be on the nine o’clock ferry. Or there’s more of that
to come. This old man is going home for his breakfast now.’
Etienne walked
away but, some fifty yards further on, he glanced back to see Sam trying to get to
his feet, one hand on his belly, the other on his mouth. The pain he’d
inflicted on him wouldn’t help Mari if she was carrying the man’s child,
but it had made him feel a whole lot better.
When Belle woke up to find herself
alone in bed, she guessed that Etienne had gone to have it out with Sam. She leapt
out of bed and went downstairs to stir up the hot embers in the stove, adding more
wood to boil the kettle for when he returned. But she was afraid he might be lying
somewhere too badly injured to get home, so she decided she must get dressed and go
to look for him.
At that moment, the door opened and he
came in. One look at his face was enough to know his mission had been successful; he
didn’t appear hurt, except for some blood on his knuckles.
‘What happened?’ she
asked.
‘Nothing you need worry
about,’ he said, and his eyes were twinkling.
‘Let me bathe that,’ she
said, pointing to his hand.
‘No need – it’s his blood,
not mine,’ he said calmly, and went over to the sink to wash his hands.
She didn’t ask anything more, but
busied herself taking some scraps out for the chickens and laying the table for
breakfast. When she came down from waking the boys, she found Etienne sitting at the
table staring blankly into space.
‘Do you
Etienne went over to him, stamped his
boot on the middle of the younger man’s chest and held him there with it.
‘For your information I learned to fight in the backstreets of
Marseille,’ he said. ‘I’m handy with a knife too – would you like
to see?’
He pulled a six-inch, narrow-bladed
knife from a sheath on his belt and, leaning over Sam, held it to one of his
nostrils. ‘One of my favourite punishments for people who displeased me then
was to slice their nose open. It leaves a man looking very ugly, girls don’t
look at them any more, they have to rely on ageing whores when they are desperate
for a fuck,’ Etienne snarled at him.
Sam gave a squeal
of terror, and Etienne smiled as he looked down and saw he was pissing himself.
‘They usually shit themselves as I start to do it too. Not such a big man now,
eh! I can hardly wait to tell Mari that you never even managed to land one punch on
me. Now, are you leaving Russell this morning? Or do I need to give you any more
prompts to do as you are told?’
‘No, I’ll go,’ Sam
whimpered. ‘Just don’t cut me.’
‘Afraid you’ll lose your
looks? I think I should make sure of that so you don’t hurt any more young
girls,’ Etienne said. ‘To be a real man, you have to treat women with
respect. Every time you get tempted to do otherwise, think of me and my knife
slitting your nose open.’ He taunted Sam further by running the blade around
his nostrils, enjoying the terror in the man’s eyes, the way every muscle in
his body was tense, waiting for the agony he was sure would follow.
Etienne straightened up and put the
knife back into its sheath, but he pressed down harder on Sam’s chest with his
boot.
‘I’ll be off now. But
I’ll be waiting at the jetty to see you on the nine o’clock ferry. If
you aren’t on it, I’ll be back for you. But just to make certain you
obey me, here’s something to think about.’
Etienne clenched his fist and slammed it
down on to Sam’s mouth. He took his boot off the man’s chest, and took a
couple of steps back. ‘Sit up, or you’ll choke on your own blood,’
he said.
Sam did as he was told and spat out
blood; with it came his two front teeth. His whole face was a bloody mess now.
Etienne smirked. ‘Knocking front
teeth out is almost as good as split nostrils for putting girls off,’ he said.
‘Remember, be on the nine o’clock ferry. Or there’s more of that
to come. This old man is going home for his breakfast now.’
Etienne walked
away but, some fifty yards further on, he glanced back to see Sam trying to get to
his feet, one hand on his belly, the other on his mouth. The pain he’d
inflicted on him wouldn’t help Mari if she was carrying the man’s child,
but it had made him feel a whole lot better.
When Belle woke up to find herself
alone in bed, she guessed that Etienne had gone to have it out with Sam. She leapt
out of bed and went downstairs to stir up the hot embers in the stove, adding more
wood to boil the kettle for when he returned. But she was afraid he might be lying
somewhere too badly injured to get home, so she decided she must get dressed and go
to look for him.
At that moment, the door opened and he
came in. One look at his face was enough to know his mission had been successful; he
didn’t appear hurt, except for some blood on his knuckles.
‘What happened?’ she
asked.
‘Nothing you need worry
about,’ he said, and his eyes were twinkling.
‘Let me bathe that,’ she
said, pointing to his hand.
‘No need – it’s his blood,
not mine,’ he said calmly, and went over to the sink to wash his hands.
She didn’t ask anything more, but
busied herself taking some scraps out for the chickens and laying the table for
breakfast. When she came down from waking the boys, she found Etienne sitting at the
table staring blankly into space.
‘Do you
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