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

Only a Breath Away

Fidelia stood her ground as William advanced toward her un­til they were close enough that she could feel his warm breath against her cheeks. His face darkened with concern and ag­gravation.

He looked around the room quickly and turned to pull the drapes closed. He then marched to the door and securely locked it. Finally, he crossed to her.

"Fidelia, do you understand what you've done? How did you find out?" he whispered harshly, searching her face.

"I read your letter from Edmund." She unabashedly held up the note and her transcription.

William took them from her hand and scanned the pages quickly. "How did you decipher this? How did you know the code?"

"Your secret is still safe, if that is what you are wondering," she huffed, ignoring his questions. "I haven't told anyone else."

"How did you know the code?" he repeated, his voice somber.

"The same way as you. Charles taught me."

"You shouldn't have read the letter, Fidelia. You cannot comprehend the danger you've put yourself in," he said, grasping her shoulders.

His sudden movement frightened her, and she shoved his hands away. "By marrying a spy?"

"No, by discovering one." William ran a hand through his hair in vexation. "You were safer in ignorance."

"Ah, yes, marrying a British spy was perfectly safe for an Ameri­can woman hiding from the French. What could possibly go wrong?" she rolled her eyes. "You only succeeded in putting Lottie and me in more danger."

"Everything I have done was to protect you." William's shoulders sagged as he reached up to brush a thumb along the edge of her jaw. "Why couldn't you just leave it alone?"

His touch sent shivers through her, but she snatched the letter back and shook it under his nose, unwilling to let him distract her. "Hon­estly, for a spy, you could have come up with a better code!"

Despite his apparent frustration, his lips twitched. "It has never been a problem until a clever girl such as yourself came to share my bed and sneak glances at my correspondence."

Fidelia felt a warm blush tint her cheeks at his compliment. Clever girl? What did he mean by that? She tried to ignore the way her heart fluttered at how close he stood. "You were in America because you're a spy. That's how you were reunited with Charles."

"How did you . . . ?" Now he smiled broadly. "Yes. I was on a peace mission. France made a bargain with America to side with them against Britain. A war on two continents would weaken our armies, and Napoleon would defeat us. I had in my possession a counter­offer from the Prince Regent that would tempt America to our side. I could have ended this senseless bloodshed and assured our victory against Napoleon. When I was captured by Charles's battal­ion, any hope of that was lost. I would be killed before the offer reached President Madison. My failure has already resulted in the deaths of many good men on both sides, and you were forced to marry me."

"I see." She nodded slowly, struggling to process the full weight of these new revelations. "And the names? Mr. Webbing makes sense— that's another word for 'lacy'—but yours?" His nearness was making it difficult to breathe or think. "How does 'Adrien' relate to you?"

William grinned. "It's a shortened version of 'Hadrian.' The Roman emperor had a penchant for long hair as well." He gestured to his own hair. "Aliases are necessary in our line of work. I applaud your deduc­tion skills, my clever girl."

"Do not call me that," Fidelia said, trying to take a step back, but William had her trapped against the writing desk.

"What?"