Belong To Me (book 4) (The Fielding Brothers Saga) (33 page)

The man released Charlotte’s arm and moved over to his brother. “Jeffrey?
Whot’s
wrong with
ya
?” He shook his brother’s shoulders.

The commissioner laughed deeply. “What do you mean?
Nuthin’s
wrong. I’m
hav’n
the most
amazin
’ time with this lovely creature.” His gaze moved to Charlotte. “See that woman?
Ain’t
she sweet?” He laughed again.

Benji
let go of his brother and marched back to Charlotte, roughly taking her wrist. “Ye drugged ’
im
, didn’t ye?”

“What?” She tried to appear shocked by his accusation. “We’ve already told you. We were upstairs getting the rooms ready. Besides, why would either of us want to drug your brother? To get him to do things to me, he might normally not do?” Charlotte’s fake laugh was high-pitched. “If that’s the case, you obviously don’t know him very well—”

Benji’s
expression turned from anger to confusion. Charlotte finally saw the similarities in the two brothers.

“I don’t know why,”
Benji
said, his eyes narrowing first on Charlotte, before coming to rest on Jacqueline.
“But
yer
lyin
’.
Just as certain as I’m
standin
’ ’ere, I know
yer
lyin
’. My brother thinks ye pleased ’
im
, yet
ye’ve
been upstairs
gettin
’ the rooms ready. Besides that,
ya
don’t even look as if
ye’ve
been tumbled at all.” His eyes swept over their attire from head to toe. “In fact, ye look almost too perfect.” His gaze moved back up to Charlotte’s hair and he studied it curiously. Then, his hand moved up and quickly snatched off the wig.

She cried out in surprise and horror.

Benji’s
bark of laughter made her cringe.
“
Yer
in disguise!”

Where is Ian?
Her heart beat erratically. Wasn’t he watching what was going on from outside? He wouldn’t have left yet, would he? Of course, he would, she sadly mused.

“We’d been upstairs for more than an hour.” She steadied her voice when she answered, “Most women in my profession wear costumes.”

The man glanced over her shoulder, and then quickly scanned the room. “Where did the other woman go?”

Charlotte finally realized Jacqueline wasn’t standing beside her any longer. A wave of relief swept over her. Jacqueline would go for help. Jacqueline would find Ian, but just as Charlotte’s thoughts brought her a measure of relief, the front door flew open. A second man, much larger than
Benji
, strolled inside. He held a struggling Jacqueline under one arm. Jacqueline kicked and screamed. She tried to bite the man’s arm, but he merely laughed and flipped her under his other arm in one fluid movement.

“
Lookie
what I found
runnin
’ away from the house,” he announced with an air
of
 
self
-congratulation.

It was then that Charlotte finally recognized the two men. They were the same brutes who’d kidnapped her three years ago! The commissioner had already called his brother
Benji
, and she was willing to bet the other man’s name was Henry.

Oh, why had fate stepped into her life so cruelly again? She prayed they didn’t recognize her. She knew she’d changed a great deal—more than most people change in three years. But a wave of insecurity hit her. The fright she’d experienced back then ago closed in around her like a shroud, and she knew she was in grave danger. What were the odds that she would see these two blackguards again? And where was Ian? He’d been there to rescue her the first time, but she feared her luck wasn’t going to be that good this time.

“There ye are,”
Benji
hissed at Jacqueline.

“What’s
goin
’ on here?” the other man barked.

“Well, looks as if these two women ’
ave
drugged my brother and that other fellow, and it seems as if we ’
ave
an impostor among us.”

The larger man with the pocked face moved to Charlotte and stared deeply into her eyes. “
Ya
know, I would think so. She don’t look like
no
whore I’ve ever seen before. A little too fancy, don’t
ya
think?”

His sinister voice chilled Charlotte.

“That’s
whot
I thought, too, ’
enry
.”

She gasped. The other man’s name was Henry!
Just as she’d suspected.

The room had grown quiet and it felt as the walls were closing in on her. Panic like she’d never known before welled up in her throat and flooded up her eyes.

“So, what are
ya
gonna
do with her?” Henry asked.

Benji
glanced at the commissioner who still reposed in front of the settee, a look of total satisfaction on his ugly face. “I think we’ll ’
ave
to sober my brother up first, and then we’ll go from there. I’m certain ’
e’ll
know what to do about these women.”

Sheer black fright swept through Charlotte and her knees started to buckle. Her mind raced, trying desperately to find a way out of this dilemma. She glanced over at the doors, but both men were blocking the only exit in the room.

“What should we do with them while we wait?”

“I think we should tie them up. I don’t want to ’old them the whole time.”

Benji
dragged Charlotte over to a chair and forced her down then roughly wound disposed stocking and pantaloons around her wrists and ankles. She gave the man a hostile glare through her struggles.

Jacqueline fought with them also, but the larger man struck her across the face and she quit. A trickle of blood ran down her lip. Jacqueline stared at the floor and let them bind her hands and feet.

Seconds ticked off a half hour as Charlotte watched
Benji
and Henry force coffee down the commissioner’s throat, coaxing him sober. They’d dragged him outside for fresh air a time or two, and then returned to pour more coffee down him. Finally, Jeffrey showed signs of normalcy, and once he was coherent enough and able to see what was going on, his temper exploded. The men quickly explained to him that they had been drugged and duped.

“What were you thinking, harlot?” he yelled at Jacqueline before backhanding her across the face. Her head swung to the side in a violent motion. Tears filled the woman’s eyes. Her gaze lowered to look at the large red poppy on the rug. She didn’t speak, or even so much as replied.

Several times, he shook her, brutally slapping her face. Blood trickled from her nose, and the left side of her face was bruised and swollen.

Charlotte flinched each time he struck her, thinking how brave Jacqueline was.
How strong will I be when it’s my turn?
Icy fear twisted around her heart.
Ian! Where are you?

Then, it was her turn. The three men surrounded her chair. “I have many questions for you, the first of which is, why
all this
deliberate pretense?” The commissioner’s hands waved to take in the house, her costume.

“I…I…was just…bored,” she said in a choked, frightened voice.

“So, the rumors must be true. Fielding is impotent.” A self-satisfied grin spread across his face.

Charlotte wished she could pound that smile away. She struggled against her bonds, but they were too tight. She took a breath and spat in his face. Her frightened mood veered sharply to anger.

She flashed him a cold look of disdain, and raised her chin defiantly to meet his icy stare. She didn’t waste energy trying to tell him the truth about Ian’s sexual exploits. She didn’t want to upset the commissioner too much. Obviously, the man was envious of Ian in all aspects of his life.

Jeffrey didn’t bother to wipe the saliva off, just stood with his evil smile. Charlotte knew retaliation would be rapid in coming, but she wasn’t going to bow down to him no matter what he did to her. Her pride returned in full dress parade, for she would not let herself
be
put down by this brute.

He folded his arms across his beefy chest and glanced at Jacqueline. He shook his head. “I’m a little disappointed in you. After all I’ve done for you, this is how you repay me?”

“Yes, commissioner,” Charlotte spoke, knowing he was probably going to kill her, and not willing to die without having her say. “Let’s look at everything you have so selflessly given her, shall we? Not only have you given her a bad reputation, you have given her reason to hate you more than anyone on this earth.” She didn’t believe it could happen, but his gaze became even more inflamed. Inwardly, Charlotte cringed, but she was determined not to let her fears show.

“Yes, Charlotte, my dear.
I suppose you could say I’ve given her reason to hate me, but I have also taken very good care of her.”

“Maybe she doesn’t want your kind of care.”

He laughed, his gaze wandering over Charlotte’s dress, lingering mostly on the exposed skin at her chest. She wished she could cover her bodice.

“Maybe you don’t know her as well as you think,” he sneered.
“And what about you, my precious beauty?”
He moved closer. “What have I ever done to you?”

“Don’t tell me your memory is that short.”

Confusion crossed his brow for only a moment then his face relaxed and he smiled. “Oh, do you mean that time in your husband’s office? You can’t still be upset over that.”

She glared at him. “What do you think? You forced yourself on me, you beast! If it hadn’t been for Lord Thatcher, you’d have violated me.”

“Oh, I don’t think so, Charlotte. In fact, I’m quite certain you would have enjoyed my style of lovemaking—”

“And, after being with my husband, I’m quite certain I wouldn’t. You don’t measure up to Ian Fielding, and you never will.”

Charlotte didn’t realize her mistake in saying those words aloud until after she had spoken them, and it wasn’t the commissioner who worried her. At that moment, she received looks from the other two men, and she noticed that they finally recognized her.

It was Henry who laughed first. “Oh, my!” he exclaimed. “I don’t believe my luck.
Benji
?
Do
ya
know who this girlie is? It’s that same ragamuffin we kidnapped three years ago!”

“No!
Can’t be the same one.
She don’t look
nuthin
’ like that girl.”

The commissioner glared at his brother. “What are you two imbeciles rambling on about?”

“Jeffrey, this girl right ’ere is the one we kidnapped three years ago.
Remember, we could ’
ave
been rich off ’
er
.
Everythin
’ was messed up when we trusted that rickety old man to help.”
Benji’s
fists clenched and he took a pair of steps toward her.

Jeffrey’s eyes widened and he nodded. “Yes, and that’s the reason you hate Ian Fielding so much. He was disguised as an old man you thought was going to help you with getting the ransom.”

“
Yer
correct,” Henry said as he walked to Charlotte. “And we also promised revenge when we met up with him again.” His hand came out as he touched her face, his knuckles caressing the side of her cheek. “But is this beauty really that ’
lil
rag doll?” He studied her face closely. “I don’t believe someone could change that much.”

Jeffrey nodded. “Her father’s name is Ashley. Didn’t you say he was William Ashley?”

“Yup, that’s the bloody lowlife!”

Jeffrey looked at Charlotte and grinned. “Well, well, well, my lovely Charlotte.” He rubbed his hands together. “This makes things so much more interesting. It appears my brother and his friend like you as much as I like your husband.”

She maintained her glare when she looked at him. “With all this hate going around, I’m in with the right company, aren’t I?”

He laughed. “You’re certainly a feisty one.”

“This is the girl, ’
enry
,”
Benji
said. “Don’t
ya
remember ’
ow
stubborn and ornery she was back then?”

“Yes, but what are we to do with her now?” Jeffrey grinned. “Maybe you could demand another ransom from her father.” His lips twisted into a cynical smile. “This time, you might be able to get two of them…get a second one from her husband.” His eyes darkened dangerously as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“No, ’
er
father’s dead now.”

“Then get the bloody ransom from her wayward husband!” Jeffrey yelled.

“But didn’t ye say Fielding was in ’
iding
?”

“Yes, but don’t you see?” Jeffrey moved closer to Charlotte as he cupped her face. His foul breath fanned her face. “This is the one thing that will bring the coward out of hiding and we’ll be able to hang him for his thievery.”

Charlotte said a silent prayer, hoping Ian was at the commissioner’s house waiting for them. He’d save her as he’d always done. She hoped.