The Rakehell Regency Romance Collection Volume 2(177)

She stared at him mistrustfully. "You say that now, but—"



"The physical side of marriage is supposed to be a comfort to us both. We've been so heated with each other. You know how special we make each other feel. It'll be all right, I give you my word. Only please, come back inside before you fall."



By now Elizabeth had her full weight on the trellis, her left foot already descending. All she had to do was climb down the rest of the way to freedom. She could flee to the stables and gallop like the wind.



Yet something in his face and the tone of his voice gave her pause. "It isn't the wedding night. Not completely. I don't know how to trust you outside the bed. How can I trust you in it?"



Will stared. "I'm sorry, my love. You need to tell me what on earth has spooked you. I can't calm your fears if you don't confide in me, tell me what it is that has you so distressed."



"It's too horrible." She shook her head, and the tears began to fall.



"Please, Elizabeth, whatever it is, come and talk to me in safety. Please, I promise not to touch you. But please come in from there now."



"I can't," she said, shaking her head. "I can't risk you touching me. I lose all reason whenever you do. If I come back you'll own me body and soul. I don't want to end up like my sister—"



The trellis cracked further, and her last words were lost in a shriek.



"Hang on! I'm coming!"



"No, don't touch me!"



"If you fall you'll be killed! Take my hand, please!"



"You're going to kill me anyway!" she accused.



"No, never!" Will shouted in anguish, stunned at the words she had just flung at him so viciously.



Seeing her slipping further away from the wall and downwards, he decided that whatever she feared, trying to deal with her rationally when she was twenty feet in the air was pointless.



He made a desperate grab for Elizabeth's hand as it scrabbled for some sort of purchase on the vine-covered plaster, and hung on for dear life.



"No!" Her eyes widened.



She couldn't decide in that split second which she feared more, the fall, or her bridegroom.



Then her instincts took over, and she reached up her other hand to cling to him in terror. "Will, please, help me, my love!"



"Come on, darling. I've got you. I've got you."



He tugged with all his might, but he could feel her slipping. "Oh God, no, Elizabeth! Elizabeth!"



He lunged out the window after her, still clutching tightly to her other hand. Then he felt himself plummeting head-first as her weight dragged him right out the window after her.



He flipped himself upright, snatching at the trellis as they went plunging past. The vines tore into his hands, the wood splintered and dug into his wrist and arm, and still they were falling, falling.



He clung on to his wife tightly, but she panicked and yanked her hand free in a feeble attempt to try to break her fall.



He could feel her slipping away, and prayed as he had never prayed before for the Lord to spare her, even if it meant taking him.



"Will! Will!" she screamed, flailing wildly in the air, all four limbs now free.



Then both their worlds went black.





Chapter Twenty-one



The crash outside the front door was enough to bring Edgars the butler running outside.



The two bodies prone on the paving slabs were a terrifying sight for someone as loyal as he. His normally aloof demeanor fled in the face of such horror.



Edgars ran straight to the back of the house, where the reception was still under way.



He darted up to the only person who could help at this point. Dr. Gallagher, Will's old army colleague down for the day from Cork, literally dropped his plate and charged, with Vanessa Stone, who had been dining with him, in tow. They ran through the house at a breakneck pace, and out the front door.



Vanessa was a strong and capable woman, but even she was horrified by the sight which greeted her.



Will had by now managed to sit up. He was bruised and battered, and trying to crawl towards his wife's prone form, dragging one leg behind him. "Elizabeth! No, no!"



The blood was already pooling under her head, and the doctor knelt by her first. "There's a pulse. She's breathing. Come, we must get her upstairs at once."



Will pressed his bloodied face to his wife's chest to reassure himself that the doctor had spoken the truth.



He clutched her waist and wept. "Elizabeth, darling, please, open your eyes, speak to me," he begged.



If Vanessa had had any doubts about Will's seemingly sudden love for Elizabeth, they were gone in an instant. He was so distraught he could barely stop shaking, and refused any help from the doctor until he had seen to his wife.