Fenella J Miller by A House Party

Author:A House Party [Party, A House]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

In the few moments Penny had before she hit the water she was aware a massive shape was hurtling down beside her. Phoenix had fallen too. She hit the water backwards, giving her precious seconds to take a deep breath and shut her mouth before the river closed over her head.

She was tumbled head over heels, her skirts blanketing her head, pushing her down. Frantically she kicked her feet clawing at the sodden material, trying to find the strength to reach the surface before her breath was exhausted.

She managed to release one hand and grabbing a fold of skirt, wrenched it down and her other hand came free. She prayed that, with both arms to assist her, she could fight her way up and take a gulp of air. From somewhere she found the strength to resist the deadly pull of her habit and for a brief, lifesaving moment, her face broke the surface of the water.

Only a miracle could save her. She was going to be dragged under again and this time wouldn’t be able to swim up. She drew in what she believed would be her final breath and closed her eyes. As she started to sink she remembered she wasn’t alone in the river, her horse was swimming strongly just ahead of her.

His tail! If she could grab it he would pull her to safety. She threw herself forward and her flailing hands succeeded. She twisted the wiry hair around her wrists and hung on, knowing this was the miracle she’d prayed for.

She was towed behind the powerful animal as he swam, unbothered by the extra weight, towards the bank. Her knees bumped against the river bed and she was safe. Half drowned and frozen she stumbled behind her horse until he stopped.

Forcing her eyes open she saw she was kneeling a mere yard from the bank. Had Phoenix sensed he might injure her by heaving himself out of the water? She attempted to unravel her hands from his tail, but for some reason they refused to function. Was she to perish so close to safety?

‘Miss Coombs, Miss Coombs, hang on a moment longer. I shall be with you. For God’s sake don’t let go.’

That was Mr Weston’s voice. Her remaining strength was ebbing. He was here to take care of her now. Vaguely she was aware of splashing and then he lifted her from the water; her ordeal was almost over. She heard him babbling over and over. ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I should have jumped in after you but I cannot swim and then we both would have drowned.’

She hadn’t the strength to answer. She could no longer fight the blackness that was sweeping over her.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.