“Stop this!” He grabbed her arm with force that she sank to her knees. He did as well, pining her arms to her side when she instantly began to thrash about. “Are you out of your mind?”
“Clearly not as much as you are!” she screamed at him. She couldn’t let him do as he wished, couldn’t simply give up without a fight. Her legs may be unable to do anything but her arms worked perfectly fine. She kept trying to flail them so that she could land at least one blow. The darkness creeping in around her vision would not claim her until she knew she was safe. She’d make sure of it.
Then, she heard it. The rattle of carriage wheels. Lord Brownley’s head shot up in the direction of the sound, his brows dipping deeply, but he didn’t loosen his grip. Rather, he seemed to acquire a hidden strength, pushing her to the ground with her arms pinned at her side.
“There she is!” Alice didn’t recognize the voice but as the carriage came into view, making its way up the driveway near to where they were, she could make out her father’s crest. Relief washed over her and that black haze grew stronger.
“Alice!” William exited the carriage first. Her father was right on his heels, then Lord Christopher. But she only had eyes for the man racing toward her, her relief so dizzying that she couldn’t think to speak.
William kept coming, not stopping until he was upon them. Not until he’d slammed his fist into Lord Brownley’s jaw and sent the man careening. The pressure on her body was released and William was instantly there to scoop her into his arms.
“Are you all right?” he asked with desperate worry.
She didn’t have the strength to do anything but close her eyes, letting out a soft breath. She heard Lord Christopher approach Lord Brownley, telling him that it was time he stopped. She recognized Lord Brownley’s pitiful sobs and her father’s angry voice lashing out to him.
“Alice?” She felt William’s warm hand on her cheek. “Alice, are you all right? Please, answer me.”
“Thank you…for coming for me.”
Then, she let go, slipping into the darkness.
* * *
“Stop pacing.”
William ignored Christopher’s calm voice. He kept his eyes on Alice, on her pallid cheeks.
Christopher let out one of his usual sighs. “You will only serve to distract the physician.”
William sincerely doubted that that was the case, but he didn’t want to risk it so he came to a stop by the window next to Christopher. Needing to do something, he began to tap his foot, not taking his eyes off Alice for a moment.
They were all in Alice’s bedchamber—William, Christopher, Lady Emma, and the Duke. Their physician was here as well, after being rushed over the moment they had returned to Warington Manor with Alice’s unconscious body. He’d been silent ever since he began checking her, which did nothing to help rid William of his anxiety.
“She will be all right.” It wasn’t Christopher who spoke this time, but Lady Emma. She was sitting next to Alice’s bed, on the left while the physician occupied the right. She gave him an encouraging smile. “She’s quite strong. I’m sure she will be just fine.”
“I am inclined to agree,” Christopher said. “After what Lord Brownley has told us, I do not think Lady Alice will simply give up after making such a daring escape.”
“She’d always been so strong,” the Duke said with a low voice. He stood in the corner of the room closest to the door, his arms crossed as he too stared at his eldest daughter. “Just like her mother. More and more I see how alike they are.”
Silence followed his words. The physician continued to work, setting the bone even though he had not told them what he’d learned so far. The only thing keeping William from breaking was the steady rise and fall of her chest. At least, asleep as she was, she wouldn’t feel the pain.
Finally, he rose from the bed with a soft sigh. William straightened but the physician faced the Duke. “She will be fine. After a few days, that swelling should go down though it will take a few more weeks for the bruise go away entirely. Unfortunately, she’s broken her left leg which means she will have to stay bedridden until it has healed enough for her to walk again. It was not a difficult fix. She is quite fortunate.”
“Thank you,” the Duke breathed as everyone else in the room let go a breath of relief. “Thank you so much.”
“It is simply what I do, Your Grace,” the physician said in a professional manner. “Now, I shall leave a few vials of laudanum for the pain. I believe that in around a month, she will be able to make use of a wheelchair so she will not have to stay in bed for too long.”
“A month in bed will drive Alice insane,” Lady Emma interjected with a smile.
“Yes, well, there is nothing that can be done,” the physician said regretfully as he reached for his medical bag. After handing over the laudanum, he said, “If that is all, Your Grace, I shall take my leave.”
“The butler will escort you out.”
William didn’t care to watch the physician leave. He let go of another breath, bracing his hands against the windowsill as relief flooded him. He’d feared the worst when she’d gone limp in his arms and those fearful thoughts had nearly consumed him whole.
“My Lord,” the Duke said suddenly. William faced his serious expression, bracing himself for what was to come. “Thank you.”
William blinked. “For what, Your Grace?”
