One True Love (33 page)

"Hold on!" Winnington reached over and grabbed the reins as one of the horses lost its' footing and went down. The vehicle crashed into the rear of the horses and rolled to its' side, sending Cassie and her captor flying through the air.

In slow movement, she watched her life pass before her. She saw herself as a child running through the fields with Jocelyn. Cassie reached out to her parents, but their faces melted in the distance, only to be replaced by the face of her husband. She cried out with joy then horror as she realized she might die.

Cassie braced herself for death and prayed for the life of her child. She cursed Winnington for his stupidity as she hit the muddy ground and shattered. Pain radiated throughout her body, and she wondered how many of her bones snapped. She clutched her stomach and begged God to at least save her baby.

A savage cry echoed through the relentless rain, as Cassie lay on top of Winnington. She lifted her head and met his lackluster eyes set deep into his pale face.

"Miles! Miles!" She grabbed his jacket collar and shook him. "Are you hurt?"

He lifted his hand to her her cheek. "Forgive me, my love." His hand dropped to his side, and his eyelids closed as the life drained from his body.

She shook him harder. "No! Oh, Miles, no. Do not die, do not die!" Cassie reached into her fog clouded mind, and tried to break through the cloudy edges. If only he would have let her be and gone on with his life.

Anger swelled as she pounded at his chest. She sobbed and cried with grief for all that was lost. She feared for the child growing inside of her since she doubted she could survive the fall and the weather.

Cassie pushed Winnington's dead body away from her and rolled to her side. A sharp, searing pain coursed through her shoulder, but she turned anyway and sank her face onto the soaked ground. Every inch of her body hurt. She thought of William one last time before the darkness claimed her.

***

"What the hell are we stopping for?" William banged on the roof and waited for a reply from the coachman.

"There is a wrecked carriage ahead, my lord."

The blood drained from his entire body and left him frozen in time. The months of his marriage passed before him: Cassie as she stepped from her father's carriage that fateful first night, her golden curls spread across his pillow, her smile and laughter, and the fear in her tear stained face after Winnington attacked her. He shoved the carriage door open and jumped into the rain.

The mud sucked at his boots, and made it difficult to run, but he used every muscle in his body to propel himself forward, toward the carriage, and his wife.

He pictured her broken body lying in the road, with the life draining from her. A savage wail tore from his throat as his body moved quickly, yet in slow motion. There was a downed horse and two people in the mud. One was a woman.

William picked up his feet and moved faster, and prayed like never before.
Please God let her live
. To find his one true love, and then lose her seemed a cruel fate. And oh, the time he wasted that he could have spent loving her. He cursed his own foolishness and damnable luck. He cursed the curse that hung over his head.

As he came closer to the accident he saw Cassie's limp body in the mud. His heart hammered in his chest, and a cry escaped his throat. William fell on his knees next to his wife.

"Cassie! Cassie, do you hear me?" He took her pulse, then praised God in Heaven when he found a steady, pulsing beat. He moved his hands across her body, and searched for broken bones. Once he assessed her, he lifted her into his arms and turned towards the carriage.

Stephen rushed up to him. "Is she alive?"

"Yes, thank God, yes." He continued past Stephen until he reached the coach. John Coachman opened the door and he gently laid her on the seat. He stripped off her wet clothes and threw them onto the floor, then he wrapped her in blankets and cradled her in his lap.

William tenderly rocked his wife's body, willing her awake. He refused to leave her as Stephen and the coachman removed the broken phaeton out of the road. He hoped Winnington was dead in the mud where he belonged. If not, he would kill him by driving a rapier through his heart and send him to hell.

The coach door opened and Stephen poked his head in. "We've cleared the road enough to pass by. One of Winnington's horses is dead, but the other is alive and able to move on. Winnington his dead, of course. We tied him across his horse. I will take Mirabella, and lead Winnington's horse to Rosehill Manor where we can send for the magistrate." Stephen shut the door as the coach lurched forward.

Chapter Nineteen

William carried Cassie in his arms as he burst through the doors of Rosehill Manor. A footman, standing sentry, lost his composure when he saw his master and lady. William paused to order the man to fetch the doctor.

He carried his wife up the stairs to her bedchamber. Katie sat in a chair by the fire mending a gown when William exploded through the door. Her face turned white when she saw her mistress, but she quickly jumped up to assist.

"What happened?"

"She was in a carriage accident in the rain. Bring me towels and her warmest nightgown."

William removed the damp blankets from his wife's body, and briskly rubbed her body down with towels. Katy worked to dry her mistress' hair and wash the mud from her face. Cassie's skin was pale and new bruises appeared all over her body. They dressed her in her nightgown, and covered her with thick quilts, while the housekeeper stoked the fire to roaring.

William placed his fingers at her pulse and put his ear to her heart.
Alive.
He pulled a chair next to the bed and collapsed into it.
Please, Cassie, wake up.
If Winnington were not already dead, he would kill the bastard with his bare hands.

"My lord, you are just as soaked as my lady. You must dry off and change before you are in the bed as well. I will watch over her and call for you if there is any change.
Please."
Katie wrung her hands and worry etched across her brow.

He wanted to stay beside Cassie, forever and always, but he heard the truth in Katie's words. If he caught lung fever he would be no good to his ailing wife. Besides, only a door separated their rooms. Reluctantly, he left Cassie in her maid's care while he dried off and changed.

He stripped his wet clothes and thought about the time he wasted. He prayed for Cassie's full recovery, and swore to himself he would give her the loving attention she deserved. Guilt pressed him as he recalled how he ignored his wife, and flaunted Lady Quartermane in her face, in front of the entire
ton
.

William stood by the fire and dried his naked body with towels in the same brisk manner he dried his wife. He rubbed his wet head until his hair was dry, then ran his fingers through it to tame it. He dressed in buff breeches and a white shirt, but did not bother with a cravat or boots.

He padded back into Cassie's bedchamber, but she looked the same as before. Her milky white skin was translucent, and the only colors on her skin were bruises of black, blue, and green.

"At least she is not feverish, my lord."

"True. Please go and wait for the doctor. I will stay with her now."

"Yes, my lord." Katie curtsied and exited the room.

William bent over Cassie and touched her cool skin. He agreed with Katie. Her golden locks fell into one long braid across her shoulder and over the top of the quilt. He picked up the end of her braid and ran his thumb over the silky ends.

He loved running his hands through her golden tresses. He loved her lemony scent. He loved everything about her. Her loved her smile and laughter, her kind heart, as well as the way she carried herself with poise and grace.

A tear escaped William's eye and ran down his cheek. He swiped it away, dropped the braid, and slumped in the chair beside her bed. His lashes lay wet beneath his closed eyes. The only thing he ever wanted in life was a wife and children. Not a conventional marriage of convenience, but one of love and mutual respect.

Damn the curse to hell!
Believing in an ancient curse went against the very grain of his soul. How ridiculous to live one's life believing in such nonsense. After he received several rejections to his marriage proposals, doubt crept into the corners of his mind.

The twelfth rejection had grated on him. He might have understood if he was ugly, poor, or from a scandalous family, but he was quite handsome, rich, and from a powerful and respectable family. Regardless, he was determined not to let a little curse keep him from his goal.

And then Cassie came into his life. He fell in love the moment he laid eyes on her. She was an angel from heaven with her golden crown of glorious hair, celestial beauty, and green eyes. She did not reject him. If anything, she gave of herself and begged him to do the same.

He cursed himself for rejecting Cassie. He turned from her before giving her a chance to refuse him. If she awakened, he would spend the rest of his life making up for his foolishness.

A soft knock at the door revealed Katie and Dr. Ainsworth. William greeted the doctor as he entered the room. "Ainsworth."

"Lord William." Ainsworth bowed. "What happened?"

"She was in a carriage accident and was soaked through from the rain. She is unconscious."

"What the devil was she doing out on a day like this?"

William bristled. "She was taken by force by her former betrothed, Viscount Winnington. He is dead. Killed when his phaeton crashed."

"Serves the blackguard right. Now leave and let me conduct my examination." Ainsworth set his bag down beside the bed and removed the covers from Cassie's body.

William did not want to leave, but the look Ainsworth gave him left no room for argument. "I will wait outside the door. Oh, by the way Ainsworth, she is with child."

He followed Katie out the door then paced the hallway floor as he held onto hope. Stephen, thoroughly soaked, stomped down the hall. His brother clasped him on the shoulder and asked, "How is she?"

"The doctor is in with her now. She has not awakened."

"Once the rain clears up and makes it safe to ride, I will send word to Camberley House and to Cassie's parents." Stephen shivered from the cold, damp weather.

"Katie, show Stephen the blue bedchamber so that he may dry off and change. Did you bring clothes along, or should I loan you some?"

"I have a small trunk. Listen, I brought back Winnington and sent for the magistrate. The body has already been fetched and carried off."

"Good. I do not even want his dead body in my house, or else I might kill him again." William clenched his fists to keep from punching the wall. Rage boiled below the surface of his deep concern for his wife.

"I will return in a few minutes." Stephen pressed his lips together and patted William's shoulder before going to change.

William sat down on a mahogany bench against the wall, and held his head in his hands. He rubbed his face and tried to make sense of everything, but in truth, nothing made sense to him.

He waited for half an hour before Stephen returned and sat next to him in silence. Margie brought tea and sandwiches, but William could not stomach anything. Stephen, however, finished off the plate.

Finally, Dr. Ainsworth opened the door, and William bound out of his seat. "How is she?"

"Nothing is broken, and her pulse is weak, but steady. She is still unconscious."

"Will she make it, Dr. Ainsworth?" asked Stephen.

Ainsworth took a deep breath. "The longer she stays unconscious, the riskier things become, and of course, if she gets a fever, that will complicate matters. If she does not awaken within the next few hours, I will become gravely concerned."

"She has to awaken." William stated through gritted teeth. "What about the babe?"

"Everything appears to be intact. There are not any ruptures or bleeding. If Lady William wakes up and receives the proper nourishment, I believe the babe will survive," said Dr. Ainsworth.