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

The Beginning of The End

William and Edmund crested a hill and looked down at where the cottage should have been. Instead, a bonfire illuminated the night as fiery tendrils crept up the walls and across the roof of his wife's home.

"No," he gasped, spurring his horse onward.

The steed thundered down the lane. William leaped from his horse near the cottage. "Fidelia!" he screamed, desperately looking for a way in. The front door was a furnace of flames; the window to the sitting room had shattered from the heat.

He knocked out the remaining glass and climbed inside, covering his nose with his coat sleeve. Fire licked the settee and writing desk, consuming the walls. Memories of his recent experience in France flickered through his mind, and panic rose in his chest. The scars on his hands seemed to burn as if the wounds were fresh, fogging his thoughts.

"Fidelia!" he shouted again, frantically searching through the rooms as the fire advanced.

The first two bedrooms were empty, and his heart twisted half with hope, half with unease as he kicked open the last door. He almost hoped that he would find her inside, hiding from the flames. At least then he would be able to protect her. But the room was empty, the bed neatly made, the wardrobe full of gowns meant for his wife's tall frame. William shoved the dresses aside in a last act of desperation, wondering if she could be hiding behind them. But it wasn't his wife he discovered.

"Puppy!" He snatched up the floppy-eared cat. It yowled in terror, and he tucked it inside his coat. Fidelia, Lottie, and Sally were nowhere to be found. William fought back a fresh wave of panic. Why hadn't he listened to Fidelia the night before?

Three months ago, he'd sent her away to protect her, but now he feared he had only succeeded in sending her to her grave. The thought made his stomach lurch. With a shout of despair, he threw the wardrobe aside, and it crashed to the floor. He'd searched the whole cottage; she wasn't there.

He shouted her name again, but the roar of flames claiming the walls of the room around him choked the sound. If he didn't leave now, he would be trapped inside the cottage, and Fidelia was still out there somewhere. She had to be.

He yanked the blanket off her bed and threw it over his shoulders before plunging through the bedroom window, Puppy tucked safely inside his waistcoat. Shards of broken glass rained down around him as he landed and stumbled. He coughed from the smoke and threw off the smoldering blanket.

"They aren't here," William said to Edmund as he rejoined his friend by the horses. Just as he stuffed the struggling cat into his saddlebags, a faraway scream curdled his blood.

"It came from the field!" Edmund said. William leapt onto the saddle and raced around the edge of the cottage. The sight that met him spurred him into action. Figures wrestled on the ground out in the field, illuminated by the burning cottage.

"Run, Lottie!" a voice shouted through the night as William raced across the grass, desperately urging his horse on faster.

He spied a flash of Fidelia's red hair, but then the man struck her, pushing her to the ground. He dove atop her, and they were lost in the tall grass.

William's heart thundered, and his blood pounded in his ears. He was almost there!

"Get away from my wife!" he roared. The man looked up. Finally close enough, William slid from his horse, grabbed the man by the scruff of his neck, and threw him aside. The man rolled and came up with his pistol drawn. Le Coquin.

Fury raged in William, and he dove before the Frenchman could aim, tackling him to the ground. The coarse brush dug into the ex­posed skin at the back of William's neck and grains of ice wedged under his clothes as they rolled. William came out on top, and he drove his fist into Le Coquin's face, the force of the blow reverberating up his arm.

But the squat man recovered quickly and swung his pistol, striking William in the side of the head. The solid crack momentarily stunned William, and his vision swam, throwing him off balance.

Le Coquin seized the chance and pushed William off him, strug­gling to his feet. With a triumphant shout, he pointed the gun at Fidelia, who lay crumpled on the ground.

"No!" William dove in the way, falling on Fidelia to block her from harm.

Le Coquin fired, and the dirt beside William's ear exploded, grit stinging the side of his head. Le Coquin had missed! William looked up to see that Edmund had reached them. Edmund dived into the back of Le Coquin's knees at the last instant, throwing off the Frenchman's aim. Le Coquin kicked him in the face, shoving him away.

William rolled off Fidelia and reached for his own gun, realizing too late it had been lost in the grass during the struggle. Le Coquin glared at him and then at Edmund, who, for some reason, hadn't drawn his own weapon to shoot the man. But Le Coquin's single shot was spent, and he had no time to reload.

With an angry curse, Le Coquin mounted his horse and tore off across the field.

"After him!" William shouted at Edmund, turning back to Fidelia. Her face was deathly pale, her hair as red as blood against the patches of snow. Her dress was torn and tangled in the brush. He gathered her tenderly in his arms, gently turning her face to his. He glanced up and saw Edmund, frozen in place and staring at Fidelia in horror.

"Is she—?"

"I will take care of her. You get Le Coquin," William ordered. Slowly, Edmund nodded and mounted his horse to give chase.

William looked down at his wife, cupping her cheek. "Fidelia?" He felt her bruised neck for a pulse. It was faint. His heart stuttered, and he shook her gently. "You cannot leave me now, my clever girl," he begged, kissing her nose and lips and cheeks urgently. "Wake up!"

She coughed and lurched, suddenly coming to. He gasped in relief and pulled her against his chest, rocking her slightly. She was alive. She was safe.

"You"—she broke off to suck in a ragged breath—"you came back to me?"

"Always." He kissed her firmly on the lips with such relief that he knew he could never be without her again. She wrapped her arms around him and threaded her fingers through his hair. He pulled her closer and their kiss deepened.

"William!" Lottie's happy shout broke the couple apart as she and Sally stumbled through the grass and snow to them. "Where's Edmund?"

"He went after Le Coquin. Fear not, you are safe now. It's over."

Fidelia's voice was a low murmur. "It's only beginning, William. The French will be here in two days. They are going to capture the prince regent."

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