Sharpe hauled him upright. “What happened?”
Berry stared at him, astonished. “You hit me!”
,I’ll bloody crucify you if you don’t talk.”
Berry spat something from his mouth, looked round as if for help, but none was coming. “We were playing cards. I won.”
“So?”
The plump Lieutenant shrugged. “There was an argu-ment.” Berry pushed a lank piece of black hair from his forehead, as though trying to rescue a shred of dignity. “She refused to pay her debt.”
“It’s not true!” The girl was angry. “You cheated! I was winning!” She had stood up, taken two steps towards Berry.
Hogan saw her face and knew that she would scratch the Lieutenant’s eyes out, given half a chance. He took her elbow, restrained her. He, at least, knew that the truth of who won, who lost, or who cheated would probably never be known. “So what happened?” The Irish voice was soft.
Josefina gestured at Berry. “He wanted to rape me! Christian hit me!”
Sharpe turned towards Gibbons. The blond Lieutenant had scrambled to his feet and watched Sharpe walk towards him. There was a bloodstain on his white shirt, and Sharpe remembered the knife; Josefina had evidently cut at him but done little damage. “Is it true?” Sharpe asked.
“Is what true?” Gibbons’ voice was touched with con-tempt.
“That you hit her and that Lieutenant Berry tried to rape her?”
Gibbons laughed. “Trying to rape Josefina Lacosta is like forcing money onto a beggar. If you follow my meaning.”
Hogan knew he should step forward, that the tension was too much, but Sharpe broke the silence that followed Gibbons’ sneering remark. “Say that again.” Sharpe’s voice was menacing.
Gibbons looked scornfully at the Rifleman, and when he spoke his voice was invested with all the contempt he had for the lower classes. “Try and understand. We were playing cards. Miss Lacosta lost her money and staked her body instead. She refused to pay up and instead decamped with our money. That is all.”
“It’s not true!” Josefina was crying. She left Hogan’s side and came up to Sharpe, looked at him with her eyes wet with tears, and clasped the bag between her hands. “It is not true. We were playing cards. I won. They tried to steal it from me! I thought they were gentlemen!”
Gibbons laughed. Sharpe turned on him. “You hit her?” He had seen a bruise on her cheek.
“You wouldn’t understand.” Gibbons sounded bored.
“What wouldn’t I understand?” Sharpe stepped closer to the Lieutenant.
Gibbons negligently brushed a blade of grass from his sleeve. “How gentlemen behave, Sharpe. You’ll believe her, because she’s a whore, and you’re used to whores. You’re not used to gentlemen.”
“Call me “sir”.”
Anger flared in Gibbons’ face. “Go to hell.”
Sharpe hit him in the solar plexus, and as Gibbons’ face came forward Sharpe lowered his own and butted him between the eyes. Gibbons reeled, blood dripping from his nose, and Sharpe dropped the rifle to hit him again. Once, twice, and a final massive punch into the stomach. Like Berry, Gibbons folded up and vomited. He dropped to his knees, clutching his belly, and Sharpe contemptuously pushed him with his boot and the Lieutenant keeled over into the mud.
“Lieutenant Berry?”
“Sir?”
“Mr Gibbons is a little the worse for drink. Get him out of here and clean him up.”
“Yes, sir.” Berry was not going to argue with Sharpe. He helped Gibbons uncertainly to his feet. The Colonel’s nephew was gasping for breath, heaving from his stomach, and he pushed Berry away and turned to stammer at Forrest, between gasps. “You saw him. He hit me!”
Hogan stepped forward, his voice crisp and authorita-tive. “Nonsense, Lieutenant. You were drunk and fell over. Go home to bed.”
The two Lieutenants stumbled into the darkness. Sharpe watched them go. “Bastards! You can’t play cards over a woman.”
Hogan smiled sadly. “You know why they made you into an officer, Richard?”
“Why?”
“You’re far too much of a gentleman to have stayed in the ranks. Men have been playing cards over women since cards were invented, or women for that matter.” He turned to the girl. “And what are you going to do now?”