His Runaway Lady by Joanna Johnson

Author:Joanna Johnson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-02-12T13:43:56+00:00

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Sophia lay on the ground, one cheek pressed to the cold earth and her arms flung out like a child’s discarded doll. Fell’s shoulder had caught her square in the belly, forcing the air from her and leaving her gasping for breaths that came short and painful.

Where is he? Surely he didn’t—?

She wrenched herself to her knees, feeling her head spin with the movement, but pushing the sensation aside. Mere feet away the knotted trunk of the mighty oak lay defeated on its side, a jagged wound showing where Fell’s axe had brought it tumbling down. There was no sign of him, however, and with the coldest dread Sophia scrambled through the mud on her hands and knees to look among the fallen tree’s tangled branches.

‘Fell? Fell, where are you?’

The leaves were glossy with rain as she parted the boughs and looked desperately for any glimpse of Fell underneath them, searching for a glimpse of white shirt or curling black hair. Sickening fear and a slow creep of hysteria climbed up to choke her, horror and disbelief mixing to make her shake her head in instinctive denial.

No. No. This can’t be happening. Not again. Not after Papa.

Could it be? Sophia gritted her teeth on her terror and ripped the branches back with frantic strength. Had she truly caused the death of yet another man she cared for?

She should have stayed away. If she’d listened, done as she was asked, Fell wouldn’t have had to leap in front of her and save her from certain death—just as Papa had in a different way, leaving Mother a bitter widow with yet more reason to loathe her unwanted only child. It was history repeating itself in the cruellest way and Sophia felt her fingers grow numb as shock and terror turned her blood to ice.

Why didn’t I stay in the cottage? Why did I come to look for him when the rain started?

Fathomless guilt and despair enveloped her in a suffocating cloak and she stifled a desperate sob, still tearing through the branches. Her hands were scratched and sore from the rough bark, but she didn’t spare a thought for the pain, their sting nothing compared to the agony of never seeing Fell’s smile again.

A low groan made her freeze.

Two long, tanned arms bound in a torn shirt reached out from beneath the trunk, hands digging into the wet ground for grip. The rest of Fell followed them, mud-spattered but miraculously unharmed, and Sophia stared up at him from her crouch on the churned earth as he straightened up with a wince.

‘Lucky for me that ditch was there. You’d have been able to use me as a rug otherwise.’

A strangled cry fell from Sophia’s lips and she lurched to her feet. Fell stood large as life before her, fully intact and only a little rumpled from his fall, and without thinking she threw herself into his arms.

‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. You could have... I could have...’

She knew she was babbling, but couldn’t seem to stop as hot tears spilled down her cheeks.

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