by Ella Quinn
When they arrived back at the Star and Garter, a message from the magistrate awaited them.
Merton opened it up and read it, and growled. “Rubbishing commoner!”
“What does it say?” Charlotte asked.
Con plucked the paper from Merton’s fingers and read it. “The long and short of it is that Sir John is of the opinion that the man who abducted Miss Cloverly and the coachman should be tried in London. He is having them moved to Newgate. Drat. I had hoped to have it finished here. It would have been much faster.” Con read down a little further. “He is sending with them the statements Merton and I wrote.”
“That is something, I suppose.” Charlotte’s nose wrinkled as it did when she was displeased. Con thought it was adorable. “Well, there is nothing we can do about that. I do have an idea for rescuing the last victim.” He nodded. “I think Dotty and Merton should go in without us.”
Her suggestion surprised him. It was true that, using her plan, there would be no need to explain Charlotte and Con’s presence to the innkeeper, his wife, and their daughter. However, it also meant Dotty and Merton would have a more difficult time convincing the landlord that Miss Betsy had been a scoundrel. “My love, I loath saying this, but I find myself in disagreement with you. Who better to convince Mr. Wick and his family that Miss Betsy used them to perpetuate prostitution at best and slavery at worst, than you, who were abducted, and I, who rescued you?”
Charlotte’s brows drew down and she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. “Well, when you put it like that, I suppose you are right. It would not be fair to place the entire burden on Dotty and Merton.”
“There’s my brave lady,” Con whispered in her ear.
“I still feel bad about tying the maid up.”
“Ah, well, needs must. We did not have any choice that I could see.”
On the way to their apartments, he had borrowed the landlord’s map of Surrey and Kent. Rolling it out on the table, he pinned down the edges with candlesticks. He followed the route leaving London that the villains had used. Blast and damnation. He had missed a minor road leading to the post road to London.
“That’s how I became disoriented,” he murmured to himself.
“What is it?” Merton asked.
“Nothing. The inn is only about ten miles on the other side of Twickenham.”
If he had known where he was, Con could easily have had Charlotte back in Mayfair shortly after dawn. Well, he damned sure wasn’t going to tell her that now. Maybe in four or five years, after they had children and she might think it was a funny story. He just hoped she wouldn’t figure it out for herself.
“That close?” his beloved exclaimed. “I would never have known. It took us hours to get there.”
“It makes sense though,” Dotty mused. “Miss Betsy would not have to travel far, but there is enough distance between the Crowes and the Wicks that they would not know each other.”
Merton glanced at the maps and raised his brow.
Con quickly rolled them back up again. There was no point in tempting the Fates. “We could return here, or go to Hilltop Manor. That’s a bit farther, but none of the servants would ask questions.”
“There is no reason why we cannot bring the woman here,” Merton said. “Once we discover where she lives, we can more easily return her from a busy town than from a country estate.”
“If we depart early tomorrow morning, we can be on our way back to Town by tomorrow afternoon,” Dotty added.
Charlotte looked up from the papers she had been reading. “We will want to return to Town as soon as possible in any event. It appears that Miss Betsy has a daughter. Her solicitor’s direction is in these documents, along with her will. The girl is being raised by a couple in Shrewsbury and does not know they are not her true parents. Everything has been left to her.”
That might have been the only selfless thing she ever did. “Tomorrow morning it is then.”
Chapter Thirty
Later that evening, Con entered Charlotte’s bedchamber. She was sitting at the dressing table, already in her nightgown. Her golden hair spilled over her shoulders, glinting in the candlelight, and curling down to her waist. He sucked in a breath, unable to believe how lucky he was. For the rest of his life the most beautiful woman in the world would be the last person he saw before he slept and the first person he saw when he awakened. He could not imagine ever wanting anyone else.
For years he had run from marriage, unable to believe that an innocent could stir his blood. That he could be content with one woman. That conjugal relations could be more than a business arrangement. He had cursed himself for stopping to help her, and cursed the Fates for placing him in a position where he was the only man who could help her.
Yet no whore, widow, or other woman had given herself to him as freely as Charlotte had. Nor had he ever given his heart, mind, and soul to another woman as he had with her. His mother was right when she’d said if he could convince Charlotte to marry him, it would be the making of him. In the short time they had been together he had changed, and for the better.
“Constantine?” Her soft blue eyes warmed as she looked at him. “A penny for your thoughts.”
“I was thinking”—he strolled to her, taking her in his arms—“that I have never been happier than I am with you.”
A light pink colored her neck and face. He hoped that years from now he could still make her blush. “I feel the same. I watched my sisters, cousin, and friend fall in love, and I wondered if I would find the right man for me.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “And I have. Imagine what would have happened if you hadn’t got lost.”
He groaned. “You knew?”
“I am able to read a map, and you talked to yourself about it in the carriage.” Her eyes danced and her lips tilted up. “I am delighted it happened. If not, we would not be together. And your mistress would still be stuck in a life she did not want.”
“I’m usually quite good with directions. I must have been distracted.”
“Constantine, are you upset that you did not realize how close to London we were?”
Bending his head, he nibbled her jaw, fluttering kisses down her graceful neck. “Now? Not at all. Had I discovered my mistake earlier, I would have been. Still, there was something about you that drew me to you.” His hands cupped her breasts, the nipples already furled, waiting for his touch. “Even when I thought you were being stubborn for no reason, I was thinking of ways to make you agree to wed me.”
Her breath hitched as she leaned into his palm. “I know what you mean. Something about you called to my heart.”
“I wish your brother had taken me up on my offer to marry you immediately.” He moved his hands lower. Someday he would be able to spend hours making love with her. Someday when he had her at home, and they didn’t have to rise early to attend to a kidnapped woman.
“No, you do not.” Charlotte laughed, a light tinkling sound. “The revenge my sisters would exact would not be worth it.”
He thought of the twelve-year-olds and their huge bonnets and the two younger girls who were so earnest in their interrogation of him. “You’re probably right.” He took one rosy pink nipple in his mouth and sucked. “We should make use of the time we have before we’re separated.”
That was not something she was going to think of at the moment. Charlotte’s breath became ragged, and she rubbed her body against his erection. “The feelings . . . I do not know what else to call them, are stronger than they were last night.”
He slid his hand over the swell of her hips, brushing his fingers against her mons. His lips curved against her full breasts. “There?”
“Yes.” His deep, seductive voice increased her desire. “As if everything coalesces right there.”
She grabbed his face, pressing kisses along his lips, demanding he open to her. Her tongue tangled with his, and she moaned as he raised her gown, and slid his finger back and forth, dipping it into her sheath. “As if you’ll die
if you don’t get relief.”
“I need you.”
He lifted her up and carried her to the bed. “You are not the only one who is going to die.”
Drawing her nightgown over her head, he released the fastenings on his banyan and shrugged it off.
“I love your chest.” Abandoning his mouth, she kissed her way down his throat, down to his chest, and licked one of his nipples. “You like that. I can tell.”
Con groaned. “If I don’t get inside you right now, I’m going to spill.”
“In that case”—he could feel her lips curve against his chest—“what are you waiting for?”
They barely made it on the mattress before Charlotte wrapped her legs around Constantine, urging him to take her. He thrust deep, deeper than he had last night, filling her, taking her. She reveled in their joining.
The sharp feeling of need spun tighter and soon her tension broke and she found Heaven again. A moment later, he plunged even deeper, and cried her name. She held him to her for a long minute before he fell off to her side, and drew her against him. For the rest of her life, this was where she belonged. She prayed that they would have a very long life together. She knew how easily it could be cut short.
Charlotte drew patterns on his chest, simply to play in the soft hair covering it. “Will we sleep together after we are wed?”
His breath stopped for a second. “If I have my way.”
“Good.” That was exactly what she wanted him to say. “I enjoyed waking up with you this morning. As far as I know, my parents always slept together. At least, they were in the same bed when I had bad dreams.”
“As we shall be for our children.” He nuzzled her hair, and her already loose bones threatened to melt.
If only this could last forever. She stroked lower down his chest, over his hard stomach, and allowed her fingers to delve down the line of hair to his member. At first it was soft, then it grew hard in her hand.
“Lord, Charlotte, what you do to me.”
He rolled her over onto her back, and covered her, entering gently. This time their lovemaking was slower, not so frenzied. She came quickly, bringing him with her to completion.
He kissed her forehead, and eyelids, and lips before pulling her back against his chest. “We need to go to sleep.”
She closed her eyes, then a thought came to her, causing them to pop open again. “I’m going to hate going back to Town.”
“Let’s not worry about that now.” Constantine’s voice was low, sleepy. “We’ll manage something. Preferably a quick wedding.”
They woke just as the sun showed through the slit in the curtains. Collette was curled up next to Charlotte, purring.
His hand stroked her breast and desire filled her again. She wanted him. “I’ll move the kitten.”
“No need.” His chest rumbled against her back as if he was chuckling. “I’ll show you a new position.”
* * *
An hour later they were in the parlor with Dotty and Merton, breaking their fast. Constantine handed Charlotte a piece of toast that had already been spread with jam, just the way she liked it. “Thank you. I didn’t know you paid attention.”
“There is nothing I do not notice about you.” His look made her heart flutter as if butterflies had taken up residence. “How could I not when you fix my tea so perfectly.”
Charlotte wondered if this was simply part of new love, or if it would last throughout their marriage. Her stomach growled, disrupting her thoughts. She was more ravenous than she had been in years, and for a few minutes hadn’t noticed no one else was making conversation.
After she had finished, she set her cup down and sighed. “I do not know when I have eaten so much.”
“I know what you mean,” Dotty replied. “Ever since I married, my appetite has increased.”
Merton flashed Constantine a sly grin Charlotte didn’t understand. “You are eating for two, my love.”
“I suppose you are right.” Dotty started to push her chair back, but her husband jumped up to assist her. “Thank you, sweetheart.”
“The coach will be ready in a half hour,” Merton said over his shoulder as he followed Dotty to their chamber.
“We shall be ready.” Charlotte poured another cup of tea and watched Constantine finish his breakfast.
His movements were neat and efficient but graceful, in the same way he drove his carriage, rode a horse, and moved. She stifled a chuckle. And undressed her. Heat rushed into her neck and face.
“Do I dare guess what you are thinking of, my love?” He cast her a wicked grin as he set down his silverware. “If only we had more time.”
“Yes.” An idea occurred to her. “I have something I must do before we depart.”
He rose when she did, drawing her into his arms. “At the very least we have one more night.”
And, if she had her way, many more nights in the very near future. Rising on her tiptoes, she pressed her lips to him. “I love you.”
She spun out of his arms. “I shall see you soon.”
Charlotte strode into her chamber and over to a small writing desk in the corner of the room. She took out a piece of paper, made sure the pen did not require mending, and dipped it into the ink.
My dearest Grace,
I shall assume that by now Matt has told you Kenilworth and I wish to marry and soon. I would like to add my plea that it be shortly after we return to Town. Now that I have found the man I wish to spend my life with, I see no reason to wait. It would please me a great deal if Matt could procure a special license, and contact the clergyman (I cannot for the life of me remember his name) who performed the other services, and arrange a date for four days hence. That should give us sufficient time to settle matters here and return.
In the event Matt asks, Kenilworth knows nothing about this, and I wish to keep it that way.
With much love,
Your devoted sister,
Charlotte
She sprinkled sand on the paper, let the ink dry, then addressed it, pressing the ring she wore on her little finger into the soft wax.
Grabbing her bonnet, gloves, and pelisse, she walked quickly back into the parlor, knocked on Dotty’s door, and called out, “I have a letter I wish a messenger to deliver for me. I’ll be back in a moment.”
Making her way out of the apartment and into the corridor, she summoned the floor steward. “I would like this sent by messenger.” She handed him a letter and a coin. Giving servants vails almost always ensured a task was accomplished quickly. “It must arrive today. There is no need to wait for an answer.”
“Yes, my lady.” The man strode to the stairs and signaled someone else. In a scant moment, a younger man appeared. “Have this taken to London immediately.”
By the time she regained the parlor, Constantine was pacing the room. “Where did you go?” Worry lines marred his forehead. “Not even your maid knew.”
“I’m sorry. I just stepped into the corridor for a moment. I had a task I wished the steward to perform.” She brushed a lock of hair that had fallen across his brow back in place. “I did not mean to concern you.”
“It is not your fault.” His hands settled on her waist. “I merely reacted to what happened yesterday. I do not want you to think I will smother you, but I do want you to be safe.”
Part of her was concerned about his reaction. After all, she had only been in the corridor for a short time. Then again, the last few days had been stressful, and she had been abducted, again. And he did recognize it was his problem to resolve. “I understand.”
Dotty and Merton joined them a few moments later, and they left the inn, headed to the Hare and Hound. She and Charlotte rode in the coach, while the gentlemen decided to ride accompanied by at least ten of Merton’s outriders.
She hoped that Constantine would not insist on so many servants to protect her. Then again, Matt was always adamant that she keep a footman with her when she left the house. He had done the same with Dotty and Louisa be
fore their marriages. Mayhap that was what a dependable gentleman did to keep his family safe.
Charlotte turned her mind to the letter she had written to Grace. The one thing Charlotte had forgotten to consider was whether Louisa could receive notice of Charlotte’s marriage and travel to Town in time. She supposed she could put off the wedding for a day or so if need be. On the other hand—she grinned to herself—the new duchess was a force of nature. Once Louisa knew about Charlotte’s wedding, her sister would move heaven and earth to be there.
Chapter Thirty-One
Con had a bit of a problem convincing Jemmy he could not accompany them. However, in the end, Jemmy finally agreed to remain at the hotel if Charlotte’s maid would find him an ice. The kittens were put in Charlotte’s bedchamber until they departed. It was almost strange to be traveling without the boy and the cat.
Their party arrived at the Hare and Hound shortly after ten that morning. Con had spent the journey considering how he and Charlotte should approach the landlord and his wife. He agreed with her that the pair would not be at all happy to see them again. How difficult would it be to convince the couple that they had been cozened by Miss Betsy? He also wondered if Charlotte had brought the letter that had been sent to the procuress. Perhaps he should have mentioned it to her.
Con moved his horse closer to Merton. “I suggest we take several of your men into the inn. Based on my previous experience with the bawd’s tools, they will be in the common room.” Merton nodded. “One or two should be in the stable in the event anyone attempts to escape or send a message. We still do not know what her arrangements for her customer were.”
“Would you like me to enter first? From what Charlotte said, the innkeeper and his wife might attempt to attack you for spiriting her away.”
“If they plan on harming us,” Con said ruefully, “it will be because we tied their daughter to a bed and gagged her.”