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

Edmund's Threat

Finally, he released her, and she fell back against the stable, gasping for air. Her lips stung, and her ribs, already bruised from her fight with Le Coquin, ached.

"I love you," Edmund said breathlessly, his eyes bright. "Ever since the moment we met as children. I cannot bear the sight of you in William's arms for another second. Come with me. We could leave right now, and no one could stop us. We'd be free, and we would be together."

Instinctively, she slapped him hard, fury roiling inside of her. "Never say that again," she rasped. "And don't you dare touch me!"

He recoiled, holding his cheek in shock. His eyes were wide with hurt.

"I . . . don't understand. You seemed to return my affections. You reached to me for comfort when William turned you away, you con­fided in me when the countess was cruel . . . you're holding back only because of some silly paper promise to William!"

Fidelia shook her head in amazement. "Edmund, I was acting un­der the assumption that you were a dear friend, but nothing more." How had he taken her friendship and warped it into some strange fan­tasy of love? "My bond to William is more than just some promise on paper! He's my husband, and I love him."

"You don't mean that." Edmund took her shoulders roughly. "You're lying!"

"Edmund, you're frightening me." Fidelia struggled against him. "Let go!"

"It should've been me. It was supposed to be me!" Edmund said, his voice thick with desperation. "If only I had claimed you as my wife first, you would've loved me instead."

She crossed her wrists and thrust them up under his forearm to shield her face as she twisted out from under his grasp. With a sidestep she was away from the stable wall. She shoved her hand into her skirt pocket and wrapped her fingers around the gun's handle while dodging around him before he could snap again. "I love my husband. I always have. There was never any possibility that I would've married you, let alone loved you!"

Edmund clenched his fists and advanced on her, blocking her escape.

Heart pounding with anger, she drew her father's pistol and aimed it at Edmund with a steady hand. "I love William, and nothing will change that." She said the last few words slowly and firmly so that there would be no misunderstanding.

Edmund advanced, forcing her to retreat until her back was pressed to the stable once again. Her hand began to shake. How could this situation be happening? He was supposed to be her friend. His hope­ful eyes were a distant memory. Now, they were red-rimmed and filled with rage.

"We shall see," he snarled. Fidelia feared he would try to kiss her again and she would have to follow through on her implied threat— but instead, he spun around and marched to his waiting horse. He swung himself up into the saddle, and with an angry kick to the ani­mal's side that made it squeal, he thundered away.

Fidelia struggled to breathe. Her hands shook so badly that the gun tumbled from her hand, and she fell against the wall, sliding to the ground in relief.

***
William paced the dark alley, his thoughts constantly straying to a pretty redhead who would be waiting for him as soon as he got this meeting over with. He would finally get to hold her uninterrupted, and the thought filled his heart with warmth against the chilly night.

He checked his pocket watch again, huffing at the late hour as the fog thickened around him. Where was that infuriating Mr. Hughes?

A shoe scuffed against the cobbles, making William whirl, drawing his pistol. He relaxed as he recognized the familiar form emerge from the thick fog. "Where have you been? I've been waiting for an hour—"