Page 77 of The Duke of Kisses
The blow drove David backward, but he kept himself from losing balance. However, before he could adopt at least a defensive position, the man came at him again.
Unfortunately, Fanny had inserted herself between them.
Snowden’s closed hand connected with Fanny’s cheek, sending her reeling into David’s arms.
The sound of Mrs. Snowden’s gasp was nearly drowned out by the noises coming from the people still collected outside the church.
David cradled Fanny against him. “Are you all right?”
She blinked, her expression one of shock as a bright red spot spread over her cheek where her father had struck her. “Did he just hit me?” She sounded dazed, and perhaps she was.
Raw fury spiked through David, and all he wanted to do was beat her father into the ground.
“Your Lordship, let me.” The soft sound of Fanny’s maid’s voice broke into his angry haze. He turned his head and saw the woman, her chest heaving as if she’d run to the scene, which she likely had.
Turning Fanny over to the woman’s care, he turned his attention to Snowden, advancing quickly and driving his right fist into the man’s chin and then his left into his eye. Snowden staggered back but didn’t fall. Good, David didn’t want this over quickly. He wanted the man tohurt.
“I didn’t mean to hit her,” Snowden said, spitting blood from his mouth. “I meant to hit you.” He lunged forward, his arms coming around David’s middle as he sought to wrestle him to the ground.
Clasping his hands, David brought them down on Snowden’s back. The older man grunted but didn’t let go. He squeezed his grip around David and tried to pull him sideways to put him off balance.
It worked.
David pitched over and hit the ground with a thud, his right arm taking the brunt of the fall. He brought his hands up and put them around Snowden’s neck, not to choke him, but to push him away.
However, the effort ended up doing the former, and very quickly, Snowden’s face turned a bright shade of crimson.
And then other hands were suddenly on them. Two men had joined the fray, one pulling at David’s arms while the other pulled at Snowden.
As the older man’s grip loosened and fell away, David also let go. He sucked in air as his heart hammered in his heaving chest.
The man holding him tried to help him rise, but David shook him off. He stood of his own accord and shook his shoulders out. “You’re a despicable father,” David spat.
Snowden stood with the assistance of the other man, who, judging from his looks, was also a Snowden, likely one of Fanny’s brothers. “Your family are murderers. I’ll do whatever I must to keep my daughter from marrying you.”
David longed to hit the man again. “You can’t. She is of age, and she can do what she likes. If you come within ten feet of her again, I’ll kill you.”
Snowden wagged his finger and shouted for all the dozens of spectators to hear, “See? Murderers, the lot of you!”
Growling, David started forward again, but two things stopped him: the man who’d tried to help him up—another Snowden—and the sight of a third man trying to tend to Fanny. She slapped his hand away as he tried to put it around her and take her from the maid.
Pivoting, David started toward the mystery third man instead. “Take your hands off my betrothed.”
The man snapped his shocked gaze to David. “I’m only trying to help her, which is more than I can say for you.” He sniffed.
It was all David could do not to punch this man too. Instead, he moved past the cretin and took Fanny into his arms. “Are you all right?” he asked again.
She nodded, looking less stunned than she had a few moments before. “Please, can we go?”
He touched her reddened cheek and tamped down his fury. “I’m sorry this happened.”
She glanced around at the crowd and flinched, then turned her attention to the man who’d pulled David from Snowden. “I’m sorry, John. This shouldn’t have happened on your wedding day.”
John said nothing, just grimaced as he moved to stand next to a young woman who had to be his bride. She looked at Fanny with sympathy as her husband put his arm around her.
“Can we please go?” Fanny whispered as she burrowed into David’s side.
“Yes.” He turned to the maid and noticed that Fanny’s footman had also come. He was a young lad, but his expression was dark and focused on Snowden, which pleased David. “Will you both see Fanny to her coach?”
