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Perhaps if she pulled harder at the reins, Fido would slow. She could catch her breath and finally—

Her thoughts were cut short by the sickening lurch of her stomach as the saddle shifted beneath her.

Everything seemed to happen at once.

The world tilted.

She realised she was no longer sitting on the horse.

Chapter 13

Arthur had bid Radnor goodbye earlier that day as the Colonel had received his orders, Radnor, a talented commander, had been ordered to the Low Countries. Arthur was back in his study, working through his mountain of correspondence to see whether any of it might prove useful to his friend on the front lines while Laurence entertained his mother. The pair had done a particularly fine job of testing his patience over the last few days and were likely taking the opportunity to recover, no doubt plotting how best to torment him next.

He was responding to requests from colleagues in the Lords urging him to return to London and instil some sense into the rest of the nobility over intervention in the North when Mr Ellis knocked rapidly at the door. He looked up, motioning for Mr Ellis to speak.

"Your Grace, the Duchess of Buckingham has had an accident beyond the grounds," he said with urgency.

"An accident?" Arthur queried slowly, but he found himself rising from his seat and meeting Mr Ellis at the threshold of his study. Eliza had been at Winworth scarcely a day. How, in God's name, had she already managed to have an accident?

"Near the stables, sir. The Duchess was riding one of your horses. It appears she took a fall."

Who had authorised a visit to the stables? What was she doing unescorted on the grounds?

His headache, it seemed, had no intention of leaving him any time soon. Frowning, he set off towards the stables at a quickened pace. Having grown up as the only child at Winworth, he knew the estate and its shortcuts like the back of his hand.

Through the corridor.

Down the west staircase.

Across the drawing room.

Out through the French doors and the stable yard lay beyond.

In the distance, where the grounds gave way to the woodland clearing, he could make out two small figures: a stable boy and Mrs Clapton, lingering at its edge.

But he could not see a third.

Her absence sent a quiet sense of panic through him, his pulse quickening as his strides lengthened into something more purposeful. With every step, the clearing drew closer, and he scanned the horizon for his new bride until, at last, his eyes found her. Fifteen paces beyond the beginning of the treeline, she lay on her back, half-hidden by patches of long grass. Fido stood twenty yards away, his reins trailing through the grass as he grazed, utterly undisturbed.

Curses. He thought.

Of all the horses, it had to be Fido. He should have given clearer instructions to the staff. Having spent nearly two decades alone at Winworth, it had never occurred to him that he would need to regulate even the smallest of things, like who was permitted near his horses. This would be yet another adjustment he would have to make now that he had acquired a permanent house guest.

Nobody rode Fido but him.

The stallion gave him the greatest joy because he had been the wildest and most difficult beast to tame. That also made him unpredictable with anyone but Arthur. Years had been spent earning the animal's trust and obedience. Much like his master, Fido had little patience for uncertainty and did not respond well to those who lacked confidence.

What if she could not move?

What if she had lost all feeling in her legs?

Unease settled low in his chest as he finally reached her. Eliza’s forearms and elbows were folded tightly in front of her, her head was tilted to the left and her cheek pressed into the ground.

Squinting, she looked up at him.

“Hello, husband," she coughed, sounding thoroughly winded. The tension he had not realised he had been holding in his shoulders eased almost immediately as she spoke.

Looking down at her slight frame in the grass, it finally occurred to him that his responsibilities had changed. She was the Duchess of Buckingham. His wife. And whether he liked it or not, her safety was now his concern.