Belong To Me (book 4) (The Fielding Brothers Saga) (27 page)

She peered up at him. Through closed eyes, he smiled.

“I love you, Charlotte.”

Her heart twisted with that strange feeling again. “Ian, I—” she began, but was interrupted when a loud knock came upon the door.

Groaning in irritation, Ian moved off the bed, retrieved his robe, and hurried toward the bedchamber’s door. “Who is it?” he snapped.

“Master, it is I, O’Toole.”

Charlotte gathered the sheets high to her neck as Ian opened the door.

“What is it?” asked Ian.

“Someone downstairs demands to speak with Mrs. Fielding.”

Ian glanced over at her then back to the servant. “Why can’t Lord Thatcher keep the visitor company?”

“I cannot find the lord. He has disappeared.”

Ian scowled. “Who’s waiting to see my wife?”

“It’s Commissioner Franklin.”

After O’Toole left, Charlotte scrambled out of bed, searching frantically for her clothes. “What in heaven’s name is he doing here?” She gritted her teeth and took a deep breath and glanced at her husband. “If he catches you here—”

Ian rushed to her and took her in his arms. He won’t.” He kissed her nose. “I’ll hide in the castle’s passageways. He won’t find me.”

Panic clutched her heart. “I don’t want to face the commissioner alone.”

“I’ll search for Lord Thatcher. Meanwhile, O’Toole has a pistol. He knows how to use it, and he will give his life protecting you.”

Tears stung her eyes.
“Oh, Ian.
I can’t let him do that.”

“
Shhh
.”
He kissed her lips then pulled away and proceeded to dress. “I don’t think anything is going to happen. The commissioner isn’t going to bring any harm to you while he’s in Lord Thatcher’s home. He’s here on business, I’m certain.”

She nodded and pulled her gown over her head, slipping her arms through. Ian came behind her and fastened the row of buttons. He kissed her neck before stepping away.

“Be strong. Don’t let him take control.”

She nodded. “I won’t. But Ian...please
be
safe.”

He reached the hidden door, turned and smiled. “I will. I have something to live for, and that’s my beautiful wife. There is no way I’ll let the commissioner take that from me.”

Charlotte wiped the wetness from her eyes and tried to make
herself
presentable. Once satisfied, she calmed her breathing and walked slowly out of the room and down the stairs. As she neared the drawing room, the commissioner’s voice and those of his men boomed through the room and echoed down the hallway. O’Toole stood near the doorway, his narrowed gaze on them. Although she wished Ian or Adam was here with her, the servant’s presence eased her fears slightly.

“Commissioner?”
Charlotte spoke in a stern voice as she entered. “What’s the purpose of this late night visit? Aren’t you aware how ill-mannered it is to drop by unexpectedly like this?”

He quickly stood, and his gaze swept over her. Disgust rolled in her stomach as bile rose to her throat. She had to believe he wouldn’t hurt her in the castle as Ian had promised.

A mischievous grin pulled on the corners of his mouth. “Mrs. Fielding, I assure you I wouldn’t have done such a thing if I didn’t feel this visit was necessary.”

“So, why did you come?” she asked.

“I have reason to believe your husband is hiding in this castle.”

A gasp stole from her throat before she could stop it, and her hand flew to her throat. When the commissioner’s eyes widened, she quickly tried to gain control of the situation, so she chuckled.
“Oh, Commissioner.
How foolish can you be? Don’t you think I’d know if my own husband were here? Although it’s a large castle, I think I would have run across him at some point.”

Jeffrey Franklin balled his hands into fists and kept them at his sides. “As it is, Mrs. Fielding, I have reason to believe Mr. Fielding is hiding here, so if you’ll let me and my men pass, we will search this castle. And you cannot stop us,” he quickly reminded as she stepped forward. “This isn’t your residence. You’re only a guest here, remember?”

Before she had a chance to protest, he pushed her aside, and strode past her. A large dark figure appeared in the doorway, making the commissioner stop in his tracks.

“This may not be Mrs. Fielding’s place of residence,” Lord Thatcher’s scratchy voiced boomed through the room, “but she is as much a ruler here as I. Since Mrs. Fielding is my cousin’s wife, she has just as much right to tell you what to do.”

Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief. Adam had come to her rescue once again. Although she wished it had been her husband, Ian would have definitely been in danger.

The steely dark look in Adam’s eyes made her think he would kill the commissioner with his bare hands. Thankfully, Adam remained composed, yet overbearing as he limped toward the other man.

Jeffrey Franklin cleared his throat. “Lord Thatcher, I’m certain you’re a man who upholds the law, and so if you will, we need to search the premises. We have reason to believe Ian Fielding is hiding here.”

The two men eyed each other in silent combat. Adam’s expression blazed with fury and hate, his mouth forming a thin white line. It seemed Charlotte could hear their gazes clashing with the sound of swords. One could cut the tension in the room with a knife.

Adam kept quiet for a few minutes, and then nodded. “If you feel there’s a fugitive in my house then feel free to do your job, but I’ll have Mrs. Fielding’s servants watching you very carefully to make certain you don’t touch anything of hers.”

Adam stood tall like a cobra arching his back and making himself appear bigger, venomous and dangerous, never taking his eyes off the older man’s, which grew small and burned with a strong, mean fire. Then the commissioner looked away, and to Charlotte’s delight, Adam became the winner in this battle of wills.
  

After the commissioner and his men walked out of the room, Charlotte ran to Adam and tugged on his arm. “Adam? They cannot search the house,” she whispered. “Ian is still here!”

“
Shhh
.”
His gloved finger touched her lips gently. “Everything is being taken care of.”

“But—”

“Trust me, Charlotte,” he whispered.

“What if they find the room where Ian and I had dinner? There are two plates, two glasses—everything will indicate to the commissioner that I didn’t have dinner alone. Plus we dined in Ian’s chambers.” She didn’t dare mention the bed they’d made love on, and the rose petals sprinkled everywhere.

Slipping his arm around her waist, he pulled her beside him as they left the room. A sly smile played on his lips. “Come, Mrs. Fielding. Let’s see what the commissioner is up to, shall we?”

Charlotte tried to appear calm and collected, but her insides jumped crazily. What if the commissioner found something that indicated Ian was staying here? Would they arrest her and take her to jail too? They couldn’t do that…
or
could they? Neither Adam nor Ian would be able to protect her in jail from the commissioner’s clammy, pawing hands.

Her limbs shook the closer the commissioner and his men came to Ian’s room, but when the men entered, there was no evidence of the dinner. The fire was almost out, making it look as if the room had not been occupied for several hours. When the commissioner walked into the same room where she and Ian had just finished making love, she was shocked to see there was no evidence of that either. The bed was made and there wasn’t a trace of the rose petals—not even the smell lingered in the air. Nothing in the room gave substantiation that anyone had been in there. Even when Commissioner Franklin had opened the armoire doors, there was not one stitch of clothing.

Charlotte tried to act normal, although she was probably just as perplexed as the man of the law.

The commissioner angrily marched out of the room and into Charlotte’s bedchambers. A few moments later, Charlotte and Adam entered. Once again, Charlotte was shocked. Placed in the middle of her sitting room was the dinner table where she and Ian had shared a meal, but instead of being two place settings, there was only one.

Commissioner Franklin turned to her. “Do you normally dine alone and in your room?”

She lifted her chin stubbornly. “Is that a crime?”

“No. I just assumed...um, well,” he stuttered. His anger was evident by his pursed lips.

Charlotte stopped the laugh she wanted to release. When he turned on his heel and went into her private room, she quickly followed. He stood in the middle of the floor, staring at her bed. When his expression relaxed, she bunched her hands by her side, feeling the urgent need to claw at his face. A wicked grin sneaked across his mouth before he licked his lips. Tremors of disgust ran over her, and she couldn’t wait to get him out of this castle.

“Commissioner?”
Adam asked. “Have you satisfied your curiosity yet?”

The commissioner turned around with a flustered look on his face. “I’m finished. I would, however, like to search the grounds, too.”

“Be my guest,” Adam replied with a grand gesture of his hand.

Charlotte sighed heavily. Out of relief, she relaxed against Adam’s solid form. “I can’t believe...” She looked up at him. “How did you know? How did you know Ian would cover up everything?”

Adam smiled down at her. “You seem to forget, I know your husband almost better than you do. Besides, O’Toole and the other servants are keeping an eye on things also.”

She smiled. “I shall never doubt you again.” She glanced around the room, and then at him again. “Do you know where Ian is right now?”

“He’s probably in one of the tunnels. Charlotte, why don’t you ready yourself for bed? I’ll see the commissioner out. You look very exhausted from this whole ordeal.” His gloved fingers caressed her cheek.

“Thank you. I do feel very tired right now, but I don’t think I’ll get much rest worrying about Ian.”

“I wouldn’t stress too much. He’s a professional, remember?”

She laughed lightly. “How could I forget?”

Leaning down, he brushed his lips across her forehead. “Good night, Charlotte. Rest yourself and I will see you in the morning.” He left the room, closing the door behind her, limping his way down the hall.

As Charlotte’s maid helped her undress, she couldn’t stop thinking about how much her feelings had changed since Ian had made love to her tonight. Earlier this evening, she was convinced she wasn’t going to let Ian touch her because she thought she was falling in love with Adam. Now everything was different, but yet it wasn’t different at all. Although she had stronger feelings for her husband, she still held the same tender emotions for Adam. None of this made any sense, but it was how she felt.

Ignoring the problem was impossible. But, could she continue to make love to Ian and harbor such strong feelings for Adam at the same time?

After bathing, she put on her nightgown and wrapper and excused her maid. Charlotte wandered into the room where the table was set and took her glass of wine. She sipped, and moved toward the small fire, picking up the bottle as she left. As she sipped her drink, she thought over her problem again. She needed to make a decision. She could not keep stringing the men along. She needed to choose…Adam or Ian.

Charlotte filled her glass again and drank. She moved to one of the chairs and sat, cradling the bottle in her other hand. There was really no choice at all. She was married to Ian and so would continue to be his wife. She knew it would hurt Adam, but it was the only way. But if she picked Adam over Ian, things would be much more difficult. She’d have to obtain a divorce, and marry Adam.
Nothing but a hassle.
Staying with Ian was the safest and easiest. And, if Ian made her nights as exciting as the one they had just shared, she was certain living as his wife would be wonderful.

Staring into the fire, her body relaxed and her eyes drooped, but she didn’t care. It was nice not to think for a while, especially since now she had come to a decision about her marriage.

* * * *

Daylight crept in the bedchamber and awakened Charlotte’s senses. She felt as if a blade sliced through the middle of her head. She couldn’t have consumed that much liquor last night, could she? Wine wasn’t that potent, was it? But how would she know? She’d never done anything like this before. She couldn’t remember going to bed, she seemed to have blacked out.

Luckily, her maid let her sleep in this morning. Charlotte wasn’t certain what time it was, but was sure it had to be the middle of the day.

Painfully, her heavy eyelids opened and she sensed someone was in the room with her, sitting on her bed. A flicker of trepidation coursed through her. She bolted upright in bed. She turned her head toward the familiar presence of her husband.

He smiled down at her and chuckled. “I didn’t know you were one to get sloshed, my dear.”

“
Shhh
,” she whispered as her hands flew to her throbbing head.

Ian leaned over, placing pillows behind her. “I had O’Toole make a special drink for you.” She glared at him through half closed lids as he handed her a cup of liquid. “It will help the headache and upset stomach, I assure you.”