The first thing Angelique felt as she regained consciousness was the terrible throbbing ache on the left side of her head and jaw. Then the bright sunlight on her eyelids, a soft mattress beneath her. She didn’t feel the swaying of the boat, hear the creaking of timber, or the shouts of the sailors so she wasn’t aboard ship, but where was she?<br/><br/>The memory of her near rape and the brutal attack of the sailors flooded back. Slowly opening her eyes, she spotted Nikolai. Eyes wide with fear, she scrambled back in the bed, pressing against the headboard despite the pain in her head. Her eyes trained on him, she raised a hand to the side of her head and drew it back, staring at the clotting blood with a puzzled expression on her face.<br/><br/>“Where am I? Who are you?” she asked in flawless French, letting her eyes drift closed, the mere act of speaking making her head ache even more.  Stifling a sob, she realized she had been relegated to servant’s quarters. After what she had been made to suffer as a cabin boy, she had looked forward to resuming a semblance of her station in life, that of an Earls daughter. She watched Nikolai waiting for an explanation.<br/><br/><br/>