The wood had indeed splintered; the bastard who had beaten her would need another cane. It had fractured all over her back acting as a whip - he could tell by the lines it was a thin cane - and his eyes darkened.
"What I am going to do is clean up the wound. You have some splinters and it's not very nice and it may sting a little but I promise it will help." Grabbing some of his surgical spirit and a cloth, Daniel dabbed a bit onto the material before gently pressing it to Madeline's wounds, cleaning off the blood. Luckily he wasn't squeamish but at the sound of her sobs the mere feel of it was probably getting to her. In his mind he was resolute but whether she would eventually agree... "How long have you been doing this, Madelene?"