FREE! In The Arms of My Enemy (Completed!) Book 1

Swoon Worthy

Fidelia looked up sharply, and looming horses filled her vision. All she could see was the flash of their hooves, the foam at their lips, and the face of the man driving them toward her. Her instincts screamed at her to move, but she felt like she was trying to swim through mud. Her limbs wouldn't budge.

A heavy force collided with her side, launching her out of the car­riage's path. Her elbow and foot smashed against the cobblestones, making stars burst behind her closed eyelids. The air was driven from her lungs as her rescuer landed atop her.

The carriage thundered away as Fidelia struggled to breathe, her rescuer's weight pinning her to the rough street.

"Fidelia!" she heard William gasp from above her. With a groan, Fidelia opened her eyes and saw her husband's face, a mere inch from her own. His blue eyes were wide, his breathing shaky. He frantically ran a hand over her brow and cheeks, checking her for injury. Fidelia had never seen him look so frightened.

"Will—" she coughed, straining to push him away. With an apolo­getic gasp, William rolled to the side and knelt by her, his wavy brown hair coming loose from its tie.

"Are you hurt?" he asked. He looked up and down the street, his eyes flashing with a dangerous anger. "He shall pay for that."

"M-my ankle," Fidelia said as tears of pain burned her eyes. She had never been so frightened in her life as she had at the sight of the horses' hooves barreling down on her. "I-I don't know what happened, I felt something in my shoe and-and—" To her horror, Fidelia began to cry from the shock. Since when had she become a weeping woman prone to fits of fainting? Despite her anger at herself, she couldn't make the tears stop.

"Hush," William whispered gently. "We need to get you to the physician." He tucked an arm under her back and knees and lifted her into the air.

"William, I am perfectly capable of walking," Fidelia said, trying to force herself to stop crying.

"No." William's firm voice warned her not to argue, but her pride was already wounded by her tears, and she refused to let it take another blow. They rounded a corner and entered a crowded street where much of the foot traffic stopped to watch them curiously.

"People are beginning to stare!"

"Let them. You are my wife, and you need a physician."

Fidelia hated to admit it, but as her ankle swelled, she realized William was right not to let her walk. The tears worsened along with the pain, and she took comfort in the feel of his arms around her while he carried her through the streets. Once they returned to the town house, William kicked at the door in lieu of knocking.

The butler opened the door, and his calm façade quickly melted into alarm. "M'lord! What—?"

"Send for the physician," William ordered as he barged past the man into the entryway and carried Fidelia up the stairs two at a time. "Lady Greyville has been injured. And fetch Mr. de Lacy from Sydney Place."

Through the pain, Fidelia's cheeks burned in embarrassment as the maids froze on the stairs when William passed them. The indigna­tion she felt warred with the fright and pain that still had her heart pounding. Her thoughts fluttered about like a bird loose from a cage, impossible to trap, and she fought another onslaught of tears.

"Fidelia?" Lottie gasped on the second landing. "W-what hap­pened? Is she dying?"

If she hadn't been in so much pain, Fidelia would have laughed to reassure her sister that she was fine, but a small sob escaped instead. Oh, how humiliating, Fidelia thought, and then she buried her face against William's neck so no one could see. She had always prided her­self on being strong, but here she was, unable to control her tears as her husband carried her up the last flight of stairs.